WilliamShakespeare (26April1564-23April1616) wasanEnglishpoet, playwrightandactor, widelyregardedasthegreatestwriterintheEnglishlanguageandtheworld’’snationalpoetandthe “BardofAvon”.Hisextantworks, includingsomecollaborations, consistofabout38plays, 154sonnets, twolongnarrativepoems, andafewotherverses, .
ShakespearewasbornandbroughtupinStratford-upon-Avon.Attheageof18, hemarriedAnneHathaway, withwhomhehadthreechildren: Susanna, andtwinsHamnetandJudith.Between1585and1592, hebeganasuccessfulcareerinLondonasanactor, writer, andpart-ownerofaplayingcompanycalledtheLordChamberlain’sMen, laterknownastheKing’sMen.HeappearstohaveretiredtoStratfordaround1613atage49, ’sprivatelifesurvive, andtherehasbeenconsiderablespeculationaboutsuchmattersashisphysicalappearance, sexuality, religiousbeliefs, andwhethertheworksattributedtohimwerewrittenbyothers.
Inthe20thcentury, , performed, andreinterpretedindiverseculturalandpoliticalcontextsthroughouttheworld.