William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor.  His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Shakespeare was baptised on April 26, 1564 and died on April 23, 1616.  While his exact date of birth is unknown, historians believe it to be April 23, 1564.

At the age of 18, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway.  They had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, Shakespeare began a career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a theatrical company called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men.  The company later changed its name to the King’s Men.

It’s believed that in 1613 Shakespeare retired to Stratford.  He died there three years later.

There are few records of Shakespeare’s private life.  That’s lead to much speculation about his physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs and the authenticity of works attributed to him.

William Shakespeare at Amazon.com

Comedies by William Shakespeare

• All’s Well That Ends Well
• As You Like It
• The Comedy of Errors
• Cymbeline
• Love’s Labours Lost
• Measure for Measure
• The Merry Wives of Windsor
• The Merchant of Venice
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• Much Ado About Nothing
• Pericles, Prince of Tyre
• Taming of the Shrew
• The Tempest
• Troilus and Cressida
• Twelfth Night
• Two Gentlemen of Verona
• Winter’s Tale

Histories by William Shakespeare

• Henry IV, part 1
• Henry IV, part 2
• Henry V
• Henry VI, part 1
• Henry VI, part 2
• Henry VI, part 3
• Henry VIII
• King John
• Richard II
• Richard III

Tragedies by William Shakespeare

• Antony and Cleopatra
• Coriolanus
• Hamlet
• Julius Caesar
• King Lear
• Macbeth
• Othello
• Romeo and Juliet
• Timon of Athens
• Titus Andronicus

Partial List of Poems by William Shakespeare

• The Sonnets
• The Rape of Lucrece
• Venus and Adonis