William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He was known as the greatest writer in English language and world's greatest dramatist. He is often called England's national poet, also known as "The Bard of Avon". Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire.

Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best work produced in these genres. Until about 1608, he wrote mainly tragedies, among them Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.

Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, Shakespeare's works have been continually adapted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance. His plays remain popular and are studied, performed, and reinterpreted through various cultural and political contexts around the world.

Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616, at the age of 52. He was buried in The Collegiate Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England.