Who Was Shakespeare?

William Shakespeare was born in April of 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon in England. Shakespeare wrote about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, of which the authorship of some is uncertain. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright in history. Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway at the age of 18. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. Around 1613, at the age of 49, he retired to Stratford , where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive. He died in April of 1616, at the age of 52. Some of his most well-known plays include Hamlet, Othello, Romeo & Juliet, and King Lear.

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