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William Shakespeare

Born

in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England

February 23, 1564

Died

April 23, 1616

Website

https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/

Genre

Theatre, Classics, Poetry

Influences

Ovid, Homer, Thomas Kyd, Christopher Marlowe, Lucius Annaeus Seneca, R ...more

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William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is 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 extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, W William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is 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 extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ("sharer") of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men after the ascension of King James VI and I of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs, and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.
Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623, John Heminge and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time". ...more

Combine Editions
William Shakespeare’s books

Average rating: 3.86 · 8,575,056 ratings · 231,511 reviews · 27,914 distinct works • Similar authors

	Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Paul Werstine (Editor), Barbara A. Mowat (Editor) 3.74 avg rating — 2,825,927 ratings — published 1590 — 21 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hamlet 4.03 avg rating — 1,052,939 ratings — published 1601 — 8790 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Carmen Kahn (Contributor), Jack Armstrong (Contributor) 3.89 avg rating — 1,022,182 ratings — published 1623 — 43 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Midsummer Night’s Dream 3.94 avg rating — 579,195 ratings — published 1595 — 1901 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Othello 3.89 avg rating — 437,265 ratings — published 1603 — 4590 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Much Ado About Nothing 4.06 avg rating — 258,773 ratings — published 1598 — 2299 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	King Lear 3.91 avg rating — 237,713 ratings — published 1605 — 4011 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Tempest 3.78 avg rating — 227,652 ratings — published 1611 — 32 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Julius Caesar 3.71 avg rating — 219,622 ratings — published 1599 — 4340 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Twelfth Night 3.96 avg rating — 194,807 ratings — published 1623 — 3125 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by William Shakespeare…

Series by William Shakespeare

The Signet Classic Shakespeare (1 book)
by

William Shakespeare,

Paul Werstine (Editor),

Gail Kern Paster (Contributor),

Henry Irving (Arrangement),

Barbara A. Mowat (Editor),

Henry Norman Hudson (Introduction & Notes),

Frederick S. Boas (Introduction & Notes),

F.H. Mares (Editor),

more…
4.06 avg rating — 258,759 ratings

The Signet Classic Shakespeare (1 book)
by

William Shakespeare,

Paul Werstine (Editor),

Gail Kern Paster (Contributor),

Henry Irving (Arrangement),

Barbara A. Mowat (Editor),

Henry Norman Hudson (Introduction & Notes),

Frederick S. Boas (Introduction & Notes),

F.H. Mares (Editor),

more…
4.06 avg rating — 258,759 ratings

The Signet Classic Shakespeare (1 book)
by

William Shakespeare,

Paul Werstine (Editor),

Gail Kern Paster (Contributor),

Henry Irving (Arrangement),

Barbara A. Mowat (Editor),

Henry Norman Hudson (Introduction & Notes),

Frederick S. Boas (Introduction & Notes),

F.H. Mares (Editor),

more…
4.06 avg rating — 258,759 ratings

The Signet Classic Shakespeare (1 book)
by

William Shakespeare,

Paul Werstine (Editor),

Gail Kern Paster (Contributor),

Henry Irving (Arrangement),

Barbara A. Mowat (Editor),

Henry Norman Hudson (Introduction & Notes),

Frederick S. Boas (Introduction & Notes),

F.H. Mares (Editor),

more…
4.06 avg rating — 258,759 ratings

The Signet Classic Shakespeare (1 book)
by

William Shakespeare,

Paul Werstine (Editor),

Gail Kern Paster (Contributor),

Henry Irving (Arrangement),

Barbara A. Mowat (Editor),

Henry Norman Hudson (Introduction & Notes),

Frederick S. Boas (Introduction & Notes),

F.H. Mares (Editor),

more…
4.06 avg rating — 258,759 ratings

More series by William Shakespeare…

Imagine a Shakespearean retelling of The Godfather set in a small Southern town, and you’ll have an idea about what to expect in Shawn Andre...

Polls

Which is your favorite film adaptation of Shakespeare's ROMEO AND JULIET?

1996 version starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes

19 votes, 31.1%

1968 version starring Oliva Hussey and Leonard Whiting

11 votes, 18.0%

Shakespeare in Love (1998, starring Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow)

11 votes, 18.0%

West Side Story (1961, starring Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer)

10 votes, 16.4%

2013 version starring Hailee Steinfeld and Douglas Booth

4 votes, 6.6%

Gnomeo and Juliet (2011, starring James McAvoy and Emily Blunt)

4 votes, 6.6%

1936 version starring Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer

2 votes, 3.3%

61 total votes

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