William Shakespeare

^{William Shakespeare}

^{English dramatist, poet, and actor}

^{Date Baptized}

^{April 26, 1564}

^Death

^{April 23, 1616}

^{Place of Birth}

^{Stratford-upon-Avon}

^{Known for}

^{Producing perhaps the most varied and powerful body of work any author has ever written 838p153i}

^{Exploring elemental themes of power, justice, love, and death in his tragedies, comedies, histories, romances, and sonnets}

^{Creating realistic stage characters whose appeal comes in their truly human motives, actions, and flaws}

^{Achieving widespread and lasting recognition for his work, which continues to be taught and performed worldwide}

^{Adding innumerable phrases and quotations to the English language}

^Milestones

^{Published the poem Venus and Adonis}

^{Published the poem The Rape of Lucrece}

^{Joined the Chamberlain's Men theatrical company as an actor and playwright}

^{Early 1590s Shakespeare's early plays, The Comedy of Errors, The Taming of the Shrew, Richard III, and Henry VI, Parts I, II, and III, were performed for the first time.}

^{Mid 1590s Shakespeare's plays Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Richard II were first performed.}

^{Late 1590s Shakespeare's comedic plays The Merry Wives of Windsor, Much Ado About Nothing, and As You Like It were first performed. His tragic play Julius Caesar was performed about 1599.}

^{Shakespeare's great tragedies Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth were first performed.}

^{Shakespeare's later plays, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, The Winter's Tale, The Tempest, and Henry VIII were first performed.}

^{Published Sonnets}

^{First Folio, a compilation of all of Shakespeare's plays, was posthumously published.}

^{Did You Know}

^{During a performance of Shakespeare's Henry VIII at London's Globe Theatre in 1613, a cannon set the roof on fire and the theater was destroyed.}

^{At 18, Shakespeare married 26-year-old Anne Hathaway. They had a daughter, Susanna, and twins, Hamnet and Judith.}

^{In the mid-19th century, some scholars believed that Shakespeare's plays were authored instead by Sir Francis Bacon.}