William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was a playwright, poet, and actor.

He wrote 39
plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses. Shakespeare is regarded as the
greatest English-language writer and the world's greatest dramatist.

Early life

William Shakespeare was probably educated at the King's New School in Stratford-upon-Avon, a free
school chartered in 1553 about a quarter-mile (400 m) from his home. No attendance records for the
period are known to exist, but most biographers agree he was educated there.

London and theatrical career

Shakespeare was attacked by Robert Greene in his Groats-Worth of Wit. Greene's attack is the first
surviving reference to Shakespeare's work in the theatre. Shakespeare's plays were only performed after
1594 by the Lord Chamberlain's Men, a company owned by actors including Shakespeare. Shakespeare's
first plays were published in 1594 and his name appeared on the title pages by 1598. Shakespeare
continued to act in his own and other plays until 1616. The First Folio of 1623 lists Shakespeare as one of
"the Principal Actors in all these Plays".

Later years and death

Shakespeare wrote fewer plays after 1610, and none are attributed to him after 1613. At the time,
retirement from all work was unusual; he returned to London several times between 1611 and 1614.
Shakespeare passed away on April 23, 1616, at the age of 52. William Shakespeare died in 1616 and was
buried two days later in Southwark Cathedral. He left most of his estate to his daughter Susanna, with
the condition that she pass it down to "the first son of her body". Elizabeth died childless in 1670,
bringing Shakespeare's direct line to an end.

Plays

Richard III and the three parts of Henry VI are Shakespeare's first recorded works. Shakespeare's plays
are difficult to date precisely, and textual studies indicate that Titus Andronicus, The Comedy of Errors,
and The Taming of the Shrew may also be from his early period. Shakespeare's sequence of great
comedies is completed by the wit and wordplay of Much Ado About Nothing. His characters become
more complex and tender as he switches deftly between comic and serious scenes. Shakespeare wrote
the so-called "problem plays" Measure for Measure, Troilus and Cressida, and All's Well That Ends Well.

Many critics believe Shakespeare's greatest tragedies are the pinnacle of his work. The plots of
Shakespeare's tragedies are frequently based on fatal errors or flaws that upend order and destroy the
hero. Shakespeare turned to romance or tragicomedy in his final period, completing three more major
plays.
Performances

Shakespeare's plays were performed by his own company at The Theatre and the Curtain. The Globe
was the first playhouse built by actors for actors, opening in 1599. The King's Men performed seven of
Shakespeare's plays at court between 1604 and 1605. Following 1608, Shakespeare's company
performed at the indoor Blackfriars Theatre in the winter and outdoor Globe in the summer. Well-
known actors included Richard Burbage, William Kempe, Henry Condell, and John Heminges. On June
29, 1613, a cannon set fire to the Globe's thatch and burned the theatre to the ground.

Textual sources

The First Folio, a collection of Shakespeare's plays, was published in 1623. Many of the plays had already
been published in quarto editions. The 1623 folio version is so different from the 1608 quarto that most
modern editions conflate them.

Poems

When the theatres were closed due to plague in 1593 and 1594, Shakespeare published two narrative
poems. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece depict the guilt and moral confusion that result from
uncontrollable lust. A Lover's Complaint was printed in the first edition of the Sonnets in 1609.

Sonnets

The Sonnets were the last of Shakespeare's non-dramatic works to be printed, appearing in 1609.
Scholars are unsure when each of the 154 sonnets was written, but evidence suggests he wrote them for
a private audience. The Sonnets are regarded as a profound meditation on the nature of love, passion,
procreation, death, and time.

Style

The Sonnets are regarded by critics as a profound meditation on the nature of love, sexual passion,
procreation, death, and time. The 1609 edition was dedicated to a "Mr. W.H.," who was credited as the
poems' "only begetter". Shakespeare's preferred poetic form was blank verse in iambic pentameter.
Shakespeare's mastery grew as he gave his characters clearer and more varied motivations, as well as
distinct speech patterns. He combined poetic brilliance with a practical understanding of the theater.
Late romances, with their time shifts and plot twists, inspired a final poetic style in which long and short
sentences are set against one another.

Influence
Shakespeare's work had a significant and long-lasting influence on later theater and literature. The
Romantic poets attempted, but failed, to revive Shakespearean verse drama. Many painters, including
the Romantics and Pre-Raphaelites, were inspired by Shakespeare. Scholars have discovered 20,000
pieces of music associated with Shakespeare's works. His plays and poetry have been translated and
popularized across the world. He is still the world's best-selling playwright, with sales of his works
estimated to be over four billion copies.

Critical reputation

In 1598, Francis Meres singled him out as "the most excellent" in comedy and tragedy. Shakespeare was
rated lower than John Fletcher and Ben Jonson by most critics at the time. During the 18th century,
critics began to respond to Shakespeare on his own terms. In the 19th century, critical admiration for
Shakespeare's genius often bordered on adoration. His plays were staged as lavish spectacles on a grand
scale by the Victorians.

T. S. Eliot argued that Shakespeare's "primitiveness" made him truly modern. In the 1950s, new critical
approaches swept over modernism, paving the way for post-modern Shakespeare studies.

Works

Shakespeare's works are classified as comedies, histories, and tragedies according to their folio
classification. The term "problem plays" was coined by Frederick S. Boas in 1896 to describe four plays:
All's Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure, Troilus and Cressida, and Hamlet.

Summery

William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was a playwright, poet, and actor. He wrote 39
plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses. Shakespeare's first plays were
published in 1594 and his name appeared on the title pages by 1598. The Globe was the first playhouse
built by actors for actors, opening in 1599. Shakespeare's company performed at the indoor Black Friars
Theatre in the winter and outdoor Globe in the summer.

The Sonnets were the last of Shakespeare's non-dramatic works to be printed. Shakespeare's preferred
poetic form was blank verse in iambic pentameter. His plays were staged as lavish spectacles on a grand
scale by the Victorians. In the 1950s, new critical approaches swept over modernism, paving the way for
post-modern Shakespeare studies.

William Shakespeare was a playwright, poet, and actor from England. He is known as the "Bard of Avon"
and England's national poet. Shakespeare is regarded as the greatest English-language writer and the
world's greatest dramatist.