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{{About|the poet and playwright|other persons of the same name|William Shakespeare (disambiguation)|other uses of "Shakespeare"|Shakespeare (disambiguation)}}
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{{Use British English|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name = William Shakespeare
| image = Shakespeare.jpg<!--Please see the talk page before making any changes to the portrait-->
(contracted; show full)f>[http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/shakespeare "Shakespeare"] entry in ''[[Collins English Dictionary]]'', HarperCollins Publishers, 1998.</ref> <!-- Please don't write that Shakespeare was born on 23 April; this is a tradition, not a fact (see the section on Shakespeare's life below) -->26 April 1564 ([[baptism|baptised]])&nbsp;– 23 April 1616)<ref name=dates group=nb/> was an English [[:poet]], [[:playwright]], and actor
, widely regarded as.  He is widely considered the greatest writer in the [[English language]] and the world's pre-eminentbest writer of dramatists.<ref name=Harvnb1>{{Harvnb|Greenblatt|2005|loc=11}}; {{Harvnb|Bevington|2002|loc=1–3}}; {{Harvnb|Wells|1997|loc=399}}.</ref> He is often called England's [[List of national poets|national poet]], and the "Bard of Avon".<ref>{{Harvnb|Dobson|1992|loc=185–186}}</ref><ref name=national-cult group=nb/> His extantknown works, including [[Shakespeare's collaborations|collaborations]], consist of approximatelycollaborations]], are made up of about [[Shakespeare's plays|38 plays]],<ref name=exact-figures group=nb/> [[Shakespeare's sonnets|154 sonnets]], two long [[narrative poem]]s, and a few other [[verses, some of uncertain authorship]]s. His plays have been [[translate]]d into every major [[modern language|living language]] and.  The plays are performed more often than those of any other playwright.<ref>{{Harvnb|Craig|2003|loc=3}}.</ref>

Shakespeare was born and brought up in [[Stratford-upon-Avon]], [[Warwickshire]]. At the age of 18, he married [[Anne Hathaway (Shakespeare's wife)|Anne Hathaway]], with whom .  They had three children together: [[Susanna Hall|Susanna]], and twins [[Hamnet Shakespeare|Hamnet]] and [[Judith Quiney|Judith]]. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a [[playing company]] called the [[Lord Chamberlain's Men]], later known as the [[King's Men (playing company)|King's Men]]. He appearseems to have [[retire]]d to Stratford around 1613, at age 49, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, which has stimulated considerable.  This has caused much speculation about such matters as [[Portraits of Shakespeare|his physical appearance]], [[sexuality of William Shakespeare|sexuality]], [[Religious views of William Shakespeare|and religious beliefs]], and whether the works attributed tosaid to be by him were [[Shakespeare authorship question|written by others]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Shapiro|2005|loc=xvii–xviii}}; {{Harvnb|Schoenbaum|1991|loc=41, 66, 397–98, 402, 409}}; {{Harvnb|Taylor|1990|loc=145, 210–23, 261–5}}</ref>

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613.<ref>{{Harvnb|Chambers|1930|loc=Vol. 1: 270–71}}; {{Harvnb|Taylor|1987|loc=109–134}}.</ref><ref name=play-dates group=nb/> His early plays were primarimostly [[Shakespearean comedy|comedies]] and [[Shakespearean history|histories]], and; these are regardedthought of as some of the best work ever producedmade in these [[genre]]s. He then wrote mainly [[Shakespearean tragedy|tragedies]] until about 1608, including ''[[Hamlet]]'', ''[[Othello]]'', ''[[King Lear]]'', and ''[[Macbeth]]'',.  These plays are considered some of the finbest works in the English language.<ref name=Harvnb1/> In histhe last phaseart of his career, he wrote [[tragicomedy|tragicomedies]], also known as [[Shakespeare's late romances|romances]], and collaboratworked with other playwrights.

'''''Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime.'''''<!--NOT QUITE SURE HOW TO SIMPLIFY THIS ONE YET-->  In 1623, however, [[John Heminges]] and [[Henry Condell]], two friends and fellow actors of Shakespeare, published a more definitive text known as the [[First Folio]], a posthumous collected edition of his dramatic works that includ.  It was published after Shakespeare died; the book contained all but two of the plays now recognisedknown as Shakespeare's.<ref name=NortonAnth1/> It was prefaced with a poem by [[Ben Jonson]], in which Shakespeare is hprailsed, presciently, as "not of an age, but for all time".<ref name=NortonAnth1>The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Sixteenth/Early Seventeenth Century, Volume B, 2012, pg. 1168</ref> '''''In the 20th and 21st centuries, his works have been repeatedly adapted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance.'''''<!--SAME HERE--> His plays remain highly popular, and are constantly studied, performed, and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world.

In 2016, the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death, celebrations will commence in the United Kingdom and across the world to honour Shakespeare and his work.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kennedy|first=Maeve|title=''Shakespeare's 400th anniversary: 'man of Stratford' to be celebrated in 2016''|url=http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/jan/01/shakespeares-400th-anniversary-man-of-stratford-to-be-celebrated-in-2016|date=1 January 2016|publisher=The Guardian|accessdate=13 January 2016}}</ref> throughout the world.⏎


==Life==
<!-- This is a SUMMARY. Please don't add new information or details here, but instead at the main article [[William Shakespeare's life]]! -->
{{Main|Shakespeare's life}}

===Early life===
(contracted; show full)[[Category:People from Stratford-upon-Avon]]
[[Category:People of the Elizabethan era]]
[[Category:People of the Stuart period]]
[[Category:Shakespeare family|William]]
[[Category:Sonneteers]]
[[Category:King's Men (playing company)]]
[[Category:English male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:English male poets]]-->