1. BORN : Baptised 26 April 1564 (birth date unknown) Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England.DIED : 23 April 1616 (aged 52) Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England.OCCUPATION : Playwright, poet, actorPARENTS : John Shakespeare (father) Mary Shakespeare (mother)SPOUSE : Anne HathawayCHILDREN : Susanna HallHamnet ShakespeareJudith Quiney

2. William Shakespeare was the son of John Shakespeare, an alderman and asuccessful glover originally from Snitterfield, Mary Arden, the daughter of anaffluent landowning farmer. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and baptisedthere on 26 April 1564. His actual birth date remains unknown, but istraditionally observed on 23 April, St Georges Day. This date, which can be tracedback to an 18th-century scholars mistake, has proved appealing to biographers,since Shakespeare died 23 April 1616. He was the third child of eight and the eldestsurviving son. Although no attendance records for the period survive, mostbiographers agree that Shakespeare was probably educated at the Kings newschool at Stratford, a free school chartered in 1553,about a quarter-mile from hishome .Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but hisreputation did not rise to its present heights until the 19th century. The Romantics,in particular, acclaimed Shakespeares genius, and the Victorians worshippedShakespeare with a reverence that George Bernard Shaw called bardolatry. 3. John Shakespeares house, believed to beWilliam Shakespeares birthplace, in Stratford-upon-Avon. 4. Greenes attack is the earliest surviving mention of Shakespeares career in thetheatre. Biographers suggest that his career may have begun any time from themid-1580s to just before Greenes remarks. From 1594, Shakespeares plays wereperformed by only the Lord Chamberlains men, a company owned by a group ofplayers, including Shakespeare, that soon became the leading playing company inLondon.Some of Shakespeares plays were published in quarto editions from 1594. By1598, his name had become a selling point and began to appear on the titlepages. Shakespeare continued to act in his own and other plays after his successas a playwright. The First Folio of 1623, however, lists Shakespeare as one of"the Principal Actors in all these Plays", some of which were first staged afterVolpone, although we cannot know for certain which roles he played.The Reconstructed GLOBE THEATRE In London. 5. Most playwrights of the period typically collaborated with others at some point,and critics agree that Shakespeare did the same, mostly early and late in his career.Some attributions, such as Titus Andronicus and the early history plays, remaincontroversial, while The Two Noble Kinsmen and the lost Cardenio have well-attested contemporary documentation.The first recorded works of Shakespeare are Richard III and the three parts ofHenry VI, written in the early 1590s during a vogue for historical drama.Shakespeares plays are difficult to date, however, and studies of the texts suggestthat Titus Andronicus, The Comedy of Errors, The Taming of the Shrew and TheTwo Gentlemen Of Verona may also belong to Shakespeares earliest period.Oberon, Titania, and Puckwith Fairies Dancing.BY : William Blake , c. 1786 . 6. Among Shakespeares greatest contributionto the English Languagemust be the introduction of new vocabularyand phrases which have enriched thelanguage making it more colorful andexpressive. Some estimates at the number ofwords coined by Shakespeare number inseveral thousandsShakespeares writings greatly influenced the entire English language. Prior toand during Shakespeares time, the grammar and rules of English were notfixed. But once Shakespeares plays became popular in the late seventeenthand eighteenth century, they helped contribute to the standardization of theEnglish language, with many Shakespearean words and phrases becomingembedded in the English language, particularly through projects such asSamuel Johnsons A Dictionary of English Language which quotedShakespeare more than any other writer. He expanded the scope of Englishliterature by introducing new words and phrases, experimenting with blankverse, and also introducing new poetic and grammatical structures. 7. COMEDIESHISTORIES LOST PLAYSAlls Well that Ends Well King John Loves Labour WonThe Two Gentlemen Of VeronaAs You Like ItRichard IIThe History Of CardenioThe Comedy Of ErrorsHenry IV Part 1Loves Labours LostHenry IV Part 2Measure for MeasureHenry VThe Merchant Of VeniceThe Merry Wives Of WindsorHenry VI Part 1A Midsummer Nights dream Henry VI Part 2Much Ado About NothingHenry VI Part 3Pericles, Prince of TyreThe Taming Of The ShrewRichard IIIThe Tempest Henry VIIITwelfth NightThe Two Noble KinsmenThe Winters Tale 8. TRAGEDIESPOEMSApocryphaRomeo and Juliet Shakespeares SonnetsArden Of FavershamCoriolanus Venus and Adonis The Birth Of MerlinTitus Andronicus The Rape of LucreceEdward IIITimon of AthensThe Passionate Pilgrim LocrineJulius CaesarThe Phoenix and Turtle The London ProdigalMacbethA Lovers ComplaintThe PuritanHamlet The Seven Ages Sir John OldcastleTroilus and CressidaThomas Lord CromwellKing Lear A Yorkshire TragedyOthello Sir Thomas MoreAntony and CleopatraCymbeline 9. Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616. In his will, Shakespeare left the bulk of hislarge estate to his elder daughter Susanna. The terms instructed that she pass itdown intact to "the first son of her body". Shakespeares will scarcely mentions hiswife, Anne, who was probably entitled to one third of his estate automatically. Hedid make a point, however, of leaving her "my second best bed", a bequest that hasled to much speculation.Shakespeare was buried in the chancel of the Holy Trinity Church two days afterhis death. The epitaph carved into the stone slab covering his grave includes a curseagainst moving his bones, which was carefully avoided during restoration of thechurch in 2008.Good frend for Iesvs sake forbeare,To digg the dvst encloased heare.Bleste be ye man yt spares thes stones,And cvrst be he yt moves my bones.