William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was basically THE writer of all time. Like, he's the guy everyone talks about when they mention English literature. People call him the "Bard of Avon" cause he was from this town called Stratford-upon-Avon.
So Who Was This Guy?
Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, back in 1564. His dad John was a glove maker who did pretty well for himself – even became an alderman (kinda like a local politician). His mom Mary came from a wealthy family. William was the third of eight kids, so yeah, big family.
How He Got Famous
Sometime in the late 1580s or early 1590s, Shakespeare showed up in London and started making waves. He became an actor, a writer, and eventually part-owner of a theater company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later renamed the King's Men when King James took over). Pretty smart business move honestly.
He retired back to Stratford around 1613 when he was about 49, and died three years later in 1616.
What Did He Actually Write?
Dude was PROLIFIC. We're talking:
The Plays About 39 plays total, including: - Tragedies like Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet - Comedies like A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night - Histories like Henry IV, Henry V, Richard III
The Poems - 154 sonnets (those 14-line love poems) - A few longer narrative poems
Why Does He Still Matter?
Here's the wild part – Shakespeare literally invented words we use every day. Stuff like "assassination," "bedroom," "lonely," "generous," and "eyeball." He made up over 1,700 words that stuck around!
Plus his phrases are everywhere: "break the ice," "wild goose chase," "heart of gold," "all that glitters is not gold." You've probably said Shakespeare quotes without even knowing it.
His plays explore stuff that never gets old – love, jealousy, ambition, betrayal, what it means to be human. That's why theaters still perform his work 400+ years later. Not bad for a glove maker's kid from a small English town, right?