William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor who is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the worlds pre-eminent dramatist. He was born on or around April 23, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon, and he produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. Shakespeares plays are perhaps his most enduring legacy, but he also wrote poems, including two long narrative poems and 154 sonnets. His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship.

Shakespeares early plays were primarily comedies and histories, and he then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, 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. Shakespeare combined poetic genius with a practical sense of the theatre, and his plays have a strength of design that ensures they can survive translation, cutting, and wide interpretation without loss to their core drama.

Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the nineteenth century. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeares legacy is as rich and diverse as his work, and his plays have had an enduring presence on stage and film.