A collection containing Alls Well that Ends Well Measure for Measure and The History of Troilus and Cressida Shakespeare s Problem PlaysWilliam Shakespeare was an English playwright poet and actor He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the worlds pre eminent dramatist He is often called Englands national poet and the Bard of Avon or simply the Bard His extant works including collaborations consist of some 39 plays 154 sonnets three long narrative poems and a few other verses some of uncertain authorship His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed often than those of any other playwright Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted. Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford upon Avon W William Shakespeare was an English playwright poet and actor He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world s pre eminent dramatist He is often called England s national poet and the Bard of Avon or simply the Bard His extant works including collaborations consist of some 39 plays 154 sonnets three long narrative poems and a few other verses some of uncertain authorship His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed often than those of any other playwright Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted. Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford upon Avon Warwickshire At the age of 18 he married site_link Anne Hathaway with whom he had three children Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith Sometime between 1585 and 1592 he began a successful career in London as an actor writer and part owner sharer of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain s Men later known as the King s Men after the ascension of King site_link James VI and I of Scotland to the English throne At age 49 around 1613 he appears to have retired to Stratford where he died three years later Few records of Shakespeare s private life survive this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance his sexuality his religious beliefs and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others. Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613 His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608 among them Hamlet Romeo and Juliet Othello 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. Many of Shakespeare s plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime However in 1623 site_link John Heminge and site_link Henry Condell two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare s published a definitive text known as the First Folio a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare s dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays Its Preface was a prescient poem by site_link Ben Jonson a former rival of Shakespeare that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet not of an age but for all time site_link