William Shakespeare

Who is William Shakespeare?

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, he married Anne Hathaway and later worked in London as a member of the playing company the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later the King's Men. He wrote approximately 39 plays and 154 sonnets, along with narrative poems. His works span comedies, histories, and tragedies, including Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He was part-owner of the Globe Theatre. His plays were collected after his death in the First Folio of 1623, compiled by his colleagues John Heminges and Henry Condell. Shakespeare's influence on the English language is immense, with hundreds of phrases and words attributed to his coinage, and his plays continue to be performed and studied worldwide.

Sources: William Shakespeare, First Folio (Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies), 1623 · Stephen Greenblatt, Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare, 2004