William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet, dramatist, and actor who was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564. Shakespeare's birthday is commemorated on April 23 (see When was Shakespeare born), which is also the date he died in 1616. During the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods of British theatre, Shakespeare was a prolific writer (sometimes called the English Renaissance or the Early Modern Period). Shakespeare's plays are undoubtedly his best famous works, yet they are far from his only works.

Shakespeare wrote 38 plays, two narrative poems, 154 sonnets, and a variety of other writings in total. His famous works are Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, King Lear, and Sonnets (1609). Shakespeare's poems are still widely read today although he was dead long ago.

Romeo and Juliet is part of a long history of tragic love stories that dates back to antiquity. The plot is based on an Italian tale transcribed into verse by Arthur Brooke in 1562 as The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet and repeated in prose by William Painter in 1567 as Palace of Pleasure. Shakespeare drew significantly on both but added to the story by fleshing out a cast of supporting characters, particularly Mercutio and Paris.