William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English writer who lived from 1564 to 1616. He wrote plays and poems during the time of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. Many people think he is the greatest writer in the English language. His plays are still performed all over the world more than 400 years after his death.

Shakespeare was born in a small town called Stratford-upon-Avon in England. His father was a glove maker. As a boy, William probably went to the local grammar school, where he studied Latin and Greek stories. At 18, he married Anne Hathaway. They had three children together.

Sometime in his late twenties, Shakespeare moved to London. London was the biggest city in England, and it had a busy world of theaters and actors. Shakespeare joined a group of actors called the Lord Chamberlain's Men. He worked as an actor, but he was an even better writer. Soon he was writing plays for his company to perform.

He wrote at least 37 plays. They fall into three main groups. His comedies, like A Midsummer Night's Dream and Much Ado About Nothing, are funny stories that usually end in weddings. His tragedies, like Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Macbeth, end with the main characters dying. His histories tell stories about real English kings, like Henry V and Richard III. He also wrote 154 short poems called sonnets.

Shakespeare's company built a famous round theater called the Globe in 1599. Up to 3,000 people could pack inside to watch a play. That is more than fit in many movie theaters today. The cheapest tickets cost one penny, so even poor workers could come. They stood on the ground in front of the stage and were called groundlings.

Some people doubt that Shakespeare wrote the plays at all. They argue that a glove maker's son could not have known so much about kings, foreign cities, and law. Most scholars disagree. They point out that grammar schools taught a lot, and that Shakespeare worked closely with educated friends. The debate has gone on for almost 200 years.

Shakespeare changed the English language itself. He used about 20,000 different words in his writing, far more than most writers of his time. He invented new words and phrases that people still say every day, like "break the ice," "wild goose chase," and "heart of gold."