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William Shakespeare

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William Shakespeare


Born
Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England
Died
April 23, 1616

Genre

Influences


William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. Scholars believe that he died on his fifty-second birthday, coinciding with St George’s Day.

At the age of 18 he married Anne Hathaway, who bore him three children: Susanna, and twins Hamn
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Average rating: 3.86 · 7,427,488 ratings · 161,155 reviews · 11,869 distinct worksSimilar authors
Romeo and Juliet

3.74 avg rating — 2,453,955 ratings — published 1597 — 11184 editions
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Hamlet

4.03 avg rating — 885,379 ratings — published 1601 — 10314 editions
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Macbeth

3.90 avg rating — 832,662 ratings — published 1623 — 7240 editions
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A Midsummer Night's Dream

3.95 avg rating — 511,838 ratings — published 1595 — 2639 editions
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Othello

3.89 avg rating — 367,337 ratings — published 1603 — 4492 editions
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Much Ado About Nothing

4.06 avg rating — 235,146 ratings — published 1598 — 4153 editions
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King Lear

3.91 avg rating — 207,117 ratings — published 1605 — 4107 editions
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The Tempest

3.79 avg rating — 198,523 ratings — published 1611 — 4837 editions
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Julius Caesar

3.70 avg rating — 193,530 ratings — published 1599 — 4710 editions
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Twelfth Night

3.97 avg rating — 174,602 ratings — published 1601 — 3787 editions
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More books by William Shakespeare…
Richard II King Henry IV, Part 1 Henry IV, Part 2 Henry V Henry VI, Part 1 King Henry VI, Part 2 King Henry VI, Part 3
(8 books)
by
3.82 avg rating — 191,970 ratings

Richard II King Henry IV, Part 1 Henry IV, Part 2 Henry V
(4 books)
by
3.81 avg rating — 118,854 ratings

Henry VI, Part 1 King Henry VI, Part 2 King Henry VI, Part 3 Richard III
(4 books)
by
3.82 avg rating — 73,116 ratings

King Henry IV, Part 1 Henry IV, Part 2
(2 books)
by
3.79 avg rating — 47,799 ratings

Henry VI, Part 1 King Henry VI, Part 2 King Henry VI, Part 3
(3 books)
by
3.62 avg rating — 22,240 ratings

More series by William Shakespeare…

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Quotes by William Shakespeare  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”
William Shakespeare, As You Like It

“Love all, trust a few,
Do wrong to none: be able for thine enemy
Rather in power than use; and keep thy friend
Under thy own life's key: be check'd for silence,
But never tax'd for speech.”
William Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well

“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; And therefore is wing'd Cupid painted blind. Nor hath love's mind of any judgment taste; Wings and no eyes figure unheedy haste: And therefore is love said to be a child, Because in choice he is so oft beguil'd.”
William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

Polls

April 2020 Poll for Revisit the Shelf

A Passage to India by E.M. Forster (pub 1922, 376 pp. last read March 2014)
 
  85 votes, 23.9%

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (pub 1847, 464 pp. last read July 2017)
 
  84 votes, 23.6%

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (pub 1947, 283 pp., last read Feb 2016)
 
  42 votes, 11.8%

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (pub 1985, 858 pp, last read Sept/Oct 2012)
 
  40 votes, 11.2%

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (pub 1962, 218 pp. last read April 2017)
 
  38 votes, 10.7%

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare (pub 1601, 272 pp., last read June 2017)
 
  37 votes, 10.4%

Beowulf by Unknown (pub 975, 213 pp, last read April 2015)
 
  30 votes, 8.4%

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