William Shakespeare is considered the greatest English-speaking writer in history and is known as England’s national poet. He has had more theatrical works performed than any other playwright.

Born into Elizabethan England, the “Bard of Avon” wrote at least 37 plays and a collection of sonnets, established the legendary Globe theatre, and helped transform the English language.

To this day, countless theatre festivals around the world honor his work, students memorize his eloquent poems and scholars reinterpret the millions of words of text he composed. They also hunt for clues about the life of the man who seems to remain shrouded in mystery.

Childhood & Family Life

Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, a bustling market town 100 miles northwest of London, and baptized there on April 26, 1564. 

His birthday is traditionally celebrated on April 23, which was the date of his death in 1616

William was the third of eight Shakespeare children, of whom three died in childhood. Though no records of his education survive, it is likely that he attended the well-regarded local grammar school, where he would have studied Latin, grammar, and classics. It is unknown whether he completed his studies.

At 18 Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway. A daughter, Susanna, was born less than seven months later. Twins Hamnet and Judith followed less than 2 years after that. Susanna and Judith would live to old age, while Hamnet, Shakespeare’s only son, died at 11. 

As for William and Anne, it is believed that the couple lived apart for most of the year while the bard pursued his writing and theatre career in London. It was not until the end of his life that Shakespeare moved back in with Anne in their Stratford home.

Lost Years & Early Career

To the dismay of his biographers, Shakespeare disappears from the historical record between 1585, when his twins’ baptism was recorded, and 1592 when we see his first review.

What did the newly married father and future literary icon do during those seven “lost” years? Historians have speculated that he worked as a schoolteacher, studied law, traveled across continental Europe, or joined an acting troupe that was passing through Stratford.

But whatever the answer, by 1592 Shakespeare had begun working as an actor, penned several plays, and spent enough time in London to write about its geography, culture, and diverse personalities with great authority.

Some theorists have suggested that because his earliest works have knowledge that might seem unattainable to a young man raised in the provinces by parents, who were probably illiterate, that one or several authors at the time wishing to conceal their true identity used the person of William Shakespeare as a front.

Plays & Poems

Shakespeare’s first plays, believed to have been written before or around 1592, encompass all three of the main dramatic genres in the bard’s collective works: Tragedy (“Titus Andronicus”); Comedy (“The Two Gentlemen of Verona,” “The Comedy of Errors” and “The Taming of the Shrew”); and History (the “Henry VI” trilogy and “Richard III”)