William Shakespeare
1564 – 1616 · Britain and Ireland
Shakspere, the Bard, the Bard of AvonWilliam Shakespeare was a glover’s son from Stratford who went to London, acted, and wrote for the company that became the King’s Men, sharing in its profits and retiring prosperous. Between about 1590 and 1612 he produced some thirty-eight plays and the Sonnets, never publishing the plays himself; friends collected them in the Folio of 1623. The comedies, histories and tragedies were written for a working theatre, at speed, and the lists still assign more of them than of any other author. Hamlet, Lear, Macbeth and Othello are read everywhere; the rest, from Richard II to The Winter’s Tale, follow close behind.
Works on the lists
The Taming of the ShrewRichard IIIThe Comedy of ErrorsRichard IIRomeo and JulietA Midsummer Night's DreamHenry IV, Part 1The Merchant of VeniceHenry IV, Part 2As You Like ItHenry VJulius CaesarMuch Ado About NothingHamletTwelfth NightTroilus and CressidaMeasure for MeasureOthelloKing LearMacbethAntony and CleopatraCoriolanusSonnetsThe TempestThe Winter's Tale
