To thine own self be true.
William Shakespeare (baptized April 26, 1564 – April 23, 1616) was an English playwright, poet, and actor who wrote **39 plays**, **154 sonnets**, and two long narrative poems that redefined the possibilities of language, character, and theater. His works—performed continuously for over 400 years—have been translated into every major language and shaped global literature, psychology, law, and popular culture. From **_Hamlet_**’s introspection to **_Romeo and Juliet_**’s doomed passion, his dramas explore ambition, love, power, and mortality with unmatched “tongue that can speak anything.” The **First Folio** (1623) preserved his canon; today, **4 billion+ words** of his dialogue circulate annually on stage, screen, and meme.
Born in **Stratford-upon-Avon**, Warwickshire, to **John Shakespeare** (glovemaker, alderman) and **Mary Arden** (landed gentry), William was the third of eight children. Likely educated at the **King’s New School** (Latin, rhetoric, Ovid), he left formal schooling around age 15 when his father’s finances collapsed.
At 18, he married **Anne Hathaway** (26), who was three months pregnant. Their daughter **Susanna** was baptized May 26, 1583; twins **Hamnet** and **Judith** followed in 1585. Between 1585 and 1592—the “lost years”—Shakespeare vanished from records, possibly teaching, soldiering, or traveling with acting troupes.
By 1592, he was a playwright-actor in London, mocked by rival **Robert Greene** as an “upstart crow.” Member of the **Lord Chamberlain’s Men** (later **King’s Men** under James I), he performed at **The Theatre**, **The Curtain**, and co-owned the **Globe** (1599) and **Blackfriars** (1608).
| Period | Output & Milestones |
|--------|---------------------|
| 1590–96 | Early histories (**_Henry VI_** trilogy), comedies (**_Taming of the Shrew_**), tragedies (**_Titus Andronicus_**) |
| 1594–99 | Peak comedies (**_Midsummer Night’s Dream_**, **_Twelfth Night_**); **_Romeo and Juliet_** |
| 1599–1608 | Great tragedies (**_Hamlet_**, **_Othello_**, **_King Lear_**, **_Macbeth_**) |
| 1608–13 | Romances (**_The Tempest_**, **_Winter’s Tale_**) |
Wrote ~**2 plays/year**; acted roles like **Ghost** in _Hamlet_, **Adam** in _As You Like It_. Earned **£200–300/year**—equivalent to a modern multimillionaire—buying **New Place** (Stratford’s second-largest house) in 1597.
| Play | Year | Innovation |
|------|------|------------|
| **_Richard III_** | 1593 | Villain as charismatic anti-hero |
| **_Hamlet_** | 1601 | 4,000-line psychological interiority; “To be or not to be” |
| **_Othello_** | 1604 | Racial outsider; Iago’s motiveless malignity |
| **_King Lear_** | 1606 | Double plot; nihilism → redemption |
| **_The Tempest_** | 1611 | Metatheatrical farewell; Prospero’s “rough magic” |
**Sonnets** (1609): 126 to “Fair Youth,” 28 to “Dark Lady”; erotic, philosophical, timeless.
c. 1613, returned to Stratford. Died **April 23, 1616** (age 52)—cause unknown (possibly typhoid). Buried in **Holy Trinity Church**; epitaph curses grave-disturbers.
> *“Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear, / To dig the dust enclosed here. / Blest be the man that spares these stones, / And cursed be he that moves my bones.”*
**Ben Jonson** eulogized:
> “He was not of an age, but for all time!”
Shakespeare didn’t just write plays—he **invented the human** as we imagine it: conflicted, articulate, infinitely quotable. Four centuries later, every heartbreak still whispers **“Romeo, Romeo”**, every betrayal hisses **“Et tu?”**, and every mirror reflects **“To thine own self be true.”**