# William Shakespeare

> A glove-maker's son from Stratford-upon-Avon, he became an actor, playwright and partner in London's leading company; half his plays survive only because two colleagues collected them after his death.

- Playwright and poet · Hamlet · Romeo and Juliet · The Sonnets
- Known for: Some 38 plays and his sonnets; 18 of the plays, among them *Macbeth* and *The Tempest*, were first printed in the 1623 First Folio and might otherwise have been lost.[2][4]
- Born: April 1564 (baptized April 26)
- Died: April 23, 1616
- Last updated: 2026-11-14
- Editorial review: approved 2026-11-14
- Web page: https://authorbackstories.com/classic/william-shakespeare/
- Reading list (PDF): https://authorbackstories.com/classic/william-shakespeare/reading-list.pdf

## Featured book: Best known

*Hamlet* (1603). First printed in 1603.[5] The Associated Press reported in 2026 that the play was having a resurgence, with new films, stage productions and a Taylor Swift song about Ophelia.[10]

## At a glance

- Baptized: April 26, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon; his birth date is not recorded[1]
- Died: April 23, 1616, in Stratford; buried in Holy Trinity Church[1][8]
- Parents: John Shakespeare, a glove-maker who became the town's bailiff, and Mary Arden[1]
- Married: Anne Hathaway, in late 1582; three children, Susanna and the twins Hamnet and Judith[1]
- Theater company: The Lord Chamberlain's Men, renamed the King's Men in 1603[1]

## William Shakespeare's Backstory

### Stratford

William Shakespeare was baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 26, 1564; the date of his birth is not recorded.[1] His father, John, was a glove-maker who became an alderman and then the town's bailiff, and his mother, Mary Arden, came from a prominent local family.[1] He probably attended Stratford's grammar school, where the teaching centered on Latin classics, and likely left at about 15.[1] In late 1582, at 18, he married Anne Hathaway, who was 26; their daughter Susanna was baptized in May 1583, and the twins Hamnet and Judith in February 1585.[1]

### The lost years and London

Nothing is known for certain of his life from about 1585 to 1592: how he earned a living, when he went to London or how he came into the theater.[1] By 1592 he was established there as an actor and playwright, mocked by a rival as an upstart "Shake-scene."[1] His narrative poem *Venus and Adonis* was published in 1593, followed by *The Rape of Lucrece* in 1594, the year the first quarto editions of his plays appeared.[1][6][2] He became a partner in the Lord Chamberlain's Men, the company renamed the King's Men in 1603.[1]

### Family and fortune

His son, Hamnet, died at 11 and was buried on August 11, 1596; the cause is not known.[1] The same year a coat of arms was granted to his father, and in 1597 Shakespeare bought New Place, the second-largest house in Stratford.[1] In 1613 he bought the Blackfriars Gatehouse in London for £140, his only London property; he had rented it out by 1616, and whether he ever lived there is unclear.[3]

### Death and the First Folio

Shakespeare signed his will on March 25, 1616, and died in Stratford on April 23, 1616; the cause is not known.[1] He is buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford.[8] At his death only about half of his plays had been printed, in small single-play editions.[2] In 1623 his fellow actors John Heminges and Henry Condell compiled *Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies*, now called the First Folio, with 36 plays, 18 of them printed for the first time.[4][6] *The Two Noble Kinsmen* was printed separately in 1634, with John Fletcher named on the title page as co-author.[6]

### Authorship

Since at least the nineteenth century some people have argued that someone else wrote his works, among them Delia Bacon, who promoted Francis Bacon, and later supporters of the Earl of Oxford.[7][9] The academic consensus is that Shakespeare wrote them; the evidence includes his name in more than forty official documents and dozens of literary references from his lifetime, and Ben Jonson's tribute in the First Folio.[9]

## Fun facts

- The first certain mention of him in London, in 1592, mocks him as an upstart "Shake-scene."[1]
- Researchers estimate that 750 or fewer copies of the First Folio were printed; 233 survive, and 82 of them are at the Folger Shakespeare Library.[4]
- His will left his wife his "second best bed with the furniture"; the Folger says this was probably the bed they shared, since the best bed was usually kept for guests or as an heirloom.[1]
- A coat of arms was granted to his father in 1596; in 1602 a herald challenged it as too like others and the family as unworthy, and the challenge failed.[1]
- He bought the Blackfriars Gatehouse, his only London property, in 1613 from a minstrel named Henry Walker; the Folger holds his copy of the deed.[3]
- His family later died out, leaving no direct descendants.[1]
- Patrick Stewart recorded all 154 sonnets for an audiobook released in 2026.[3]

## Books

In order of first publication; each series is kept together in reading order.

First-publication years from the record of his works printed in quarto before 1623 and the plays first printed in the 1623 First Folio, as listed by the Folger Shakespeare Library, the University of Colorado and Wikipedia.[5][4][2][6]

- 1593: *Venus and Adonis* (Poetry). His first published work, printed by Richard Field, a schoolfellow from Stratford.[1][7] ISBN 9780521671620. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780521671620) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780521671620)
- 1594: *Henry VI, Part 2* (Play). First printed in 1594 as *The First Part of the Contention betwixt the two famous Houses of Yorke and Lancaster*.[5] ISBN 9780140714661. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780140714661) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780140714661)
- 1594: *The Rape of Lucrece* (Poetry). ISBN 9781903436875. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781903436875) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781903436875)
- 1594: *Titus Andronicus* (Play). ISBN 9780143130192. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780143130192) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780143130192)
- 1595: *Henry VI, Part 3* (Play). First printed in 1595 as *The True Tragedie of Richard Duke of Yorke*.[5] ISBN 9780140714678. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780140714678) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780140714678)
- 1597: *Richard II* (Play). ISBN 9781501146282. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781501146282) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781501146282)
- 1597: *Richard III* (Play). ISBN 9781476786926. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781476786926) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781476786926)
- 1597: *Romeo and Juliet* (Play). ISBN 9781451621709. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781451621709) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781451621709)
- 1598: *Henry IV, Part 1* (Play). ISBN 9781982122515. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781982122515) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781982122515)
- 1598: *Love's Labour's Lost* (Play). ISBN 9781982164959. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781982164959) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781982164959)
- 1600: *A Midsummer Night's Dream* (Play). ISBN 9781501146213. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781501146213) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781501146213)
- 1600: *Henry IV, Part 2* (Play). ISBN 9781982157401. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781982157401) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781982157401)
- 1600: *Henry V* (Play). ISBN 9781982109417. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781982109417) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781982109417)
- 1600: *Much Ado About Nothing* (Play). ISBN 9780743482752. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780743482752) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780743482752)
- 1600: *The Merchant of Venice* (Play). ISBN 9780743477567. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780743477567) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780743477567)
- 1602: *The Merry Wives of Windsor* (Play). ISBN 9780140714647. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780140714647) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780140714647)
- 1603: *Hamlet* (Play). First printed in 1603 as *The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke*.[5] ISBN 9780743477123. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780743477123) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780743477123)
- 1608: *King Lear* (Play). ISBN 9780743482769. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780743482769) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780743482769)
- 1609: *Pericles* (Play). ISBN 9781982170172. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781982170172) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781982170172)
- 1609: *Shakespeare's Sonnets* (Poetry). 154 sonnets, published with the poem *A Lover's Complaint*.[6][3] ISBN 9780743273282. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780743273282) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780743273282)
- 1609: *Troilus and Cressida* (Play). ISBN 9780199536535. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780199536535) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780199536535)
- 1622: *Othello* (Play). First printed in quarto in 1622, six years after his death.[5] ISBN 9781501146299. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781501146299) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781501146299)
- 1623: *All's Well That Ends Well* (Play). ISBN 9781982164966. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781982164966) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781982164966)
- 1623: *Antony and Cleopatra* (Play). ISBN 9781982157340. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781982157340) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781982157340)
- 1623: *As You Like It* (Play). ISBN 9781982109400. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781982109400) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781982109400)
- 1623: *Coriolanus* (Play). ISBN 9781982157371. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781982157371) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781982157371)
- 1623: *Cymbeline* (Play). ISBN 9780140714722. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780140714722) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780140714722)
- 1623: *Henry VI, Part 1* (Play). ISBN 9780143132257. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780143132257) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780143132257)
- 1623: *Henry VIII* (Play). ISBN 9781982170158. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781982170158) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781982170158)
- 1623: *Julius Caesar* (Play). First printed in the 1623 First Folio.[4] ISBN 9781439196717. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781439196717) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781439196717)
- 1623: *King John* (Play). ISBN 9781982167462. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781982167462) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781982167462)
- 1623: *Macbeth* (Play). First printed in the 1623 First Folio.[4] ISBN 9781451694727. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781451694727) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781451694727)
- 1623: *Measure for Measure* (Play). ISBN 9781982157418. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781982157418) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781982157418)
- 1623: *The Comedy of Errors* (Play). ISBN 9781982156909. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781982156909) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781982156909)
- 1623: *The Taming of the Shrew* (Play). ISBN 9781476777399. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781476777399) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781476777399)
- 1623: *The Tempest* (Play). First printed in the 1623 First Folio.[4] ISBN 9780743482837. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780743482837) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780743482837)
- 1623: *The Two Gentlemen of Verona* (Play). ISBN 9781982157395. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781982157395) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781982157395)
- 1623: *The Winter's Tale* (Play). ISBN 9781982122508. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781982122508) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781982122508)
- 1623: *Timon of Athens* (Play). ISBN 9780140714876. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780140714876) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780140714876)
- 1623: *Twelfth Night* (Play). First printed in the 1623 First Folio.[4] ISBN 9780743482776. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780743482776) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780743482776)
- 1634: *The Two Noble Kinsmen* (Play, with John Fletcher). Not in the First Folio; first printed in 1634 with John Fletcher named on the title page.[6] ISBN 9781982170165. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781982170165) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781982170165)

## Latest news

- Nov. 6, 2026: Shakespeare's Globe opened its winter season with *Julius Caesar*, directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins, in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, running until February 14, 2027.[11]
- May 2026: The Associated Press reported a *Hamlet* resurgence, from Riz Ahmed's modern film version to a National Theatre staging in New York; the Harvard scholar Jeffrey R. Wilson said the play offers "a tool kit of ideas to help us process angst."[10]
- April 2026: The scholar Lucy Munro reported an overlooked map confirming the exact site of the Blackfriars Gatehouse, the only property Shakespeare bought in London.[3]

## Adaptations and other media

### Film

- *Hamlet (Riz Ahmed)* (2026). Based on *Hamlet*. A modern-day film set in London's South Asian community, directed by Aneil Karia, with Riz Ahmed, who developed it with Karia and Michael Lesslie.[10]

### Stage

- *Hamlet (National Theatre)* (2026). Based on *Hamlet*. Robert Hastie's production with Hiran Abeysekera played at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the AP reported.[10]

### Music

- *The Fate of Ophelia (Taylor Swift)* (2025). Based on *Hamlet*. A Taylor Swift song drawing on the character from *Hamlet*; it reached No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart.[10]

## Myth and record

- Claim: Someone else wrote Shakespeare's plays, most often said to be Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford, or Francis Bacon; doubters have included Mark Twain and Sigmund Freud.[9][7]
  The record: His name appears in more than forty official documents and dozens of literary references from his lifetime, and the academic consensus is that he wrote the works.[9] Ben Jonson, who knew him, called him the "Sweet Swan of Avon" in the First Folio, which his fellow actors Heminges and Condell compiled, and in 1598 Francis Meres listed his plays while treating Bacon and Oxford as separate writers.[7] Oxford died in 1604, before later plays such as *The Tempest* were written.[9]
- Claim: Shakespeare was born on April 23, the same day of the year on which he died, as tradition holds.[1]
  The record: No record of his birth survives; the record shows his baptism on April 26, 1564. April 23 is a tradition the record neither confirms nor rules out.[1]

## Timeline

- April 26, 1564: Baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon.[1]
- Late 1582: Marries Anne Hathaway; he is 18 and she is 26.[1]
- 1592: First definite mention in London, as an established actor and playwright mocked as a "Shake-scene."[1]
- 1593: *Venus and Adonis*, his first published work, appears.[1]
- 1594: The first quartos of his plays are printed.[2]
- August 1596: His son, Hamnet, is buried on August 11, aged 11.[1]
- 1597: Buys New Place, the second-largest house in Stratford.[1]
- March 10, 1613: Buys the Blackfriars Gatehouse in London for £140.[3]
- April 23, 1616: Dies in Stratford.[1]
- 1623: His fellow actors John Heminges and Henry Condell publish the First Folio, with 36 plays.[4][6]
- Nov. 6, 2026: Shakespeare's Globe opens its winter season with *Julius Caesar*.[11]

## What came after

The Globe's *Julius Caesar* runs in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse until February 14, 2027.[11]

## Sources

1. [William Shakespeare: A biography](https://www.folger.edu/shakespeares-life). Folger Shakespeare Library. (primary record)
2. [Publishing Shakespeare](https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeare-in-print/publishing-shakespeare/). Folger Shakespeare Library. (primary record)
3. [Shakespeare in the news, April 2026](https://www.folger.edu/blogs/shakespeare-and-beyond/shakespeare-in-the-news-april-2026/). Folger Shakespeare Library. (news)
4. [Learn about the First Folio](https://www.colorado.edu/shakespeareatcu/exhibitions/learn-about-first-folio). University of Colorado Boulder. (reference)
5. [List of Shakespeare plays in quarto](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Shakespeare_plays_in_quarto). Wikipedia. (reference)
6. [Early texts of Shakespeare's works](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_texts_of_Shakespeare%27s_works). Wikipedia. (reference)
7. [The Shakespeare Authorship Question](https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/william-shakespeare/shakespeare-authorship-question/). Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. (reference)
8. [William Shakespeare Biography](https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/william-shakespeare-biography/). Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. (reference)
9. [Shakespeare authorship question](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/shakespeare-authorship-question). EBSCO Research Starters. (reference)
10. [From Taylor Swift to the Oscars, 400-year-old 'Hamlet' flourishes in the age of TikTok](https://wtop.com/lifestyle/2026/05/from-taylor-swift-to-the-oscars-400-year-old-hamlet-flourishes-in-the-age-of-tiktok/). Associated Press (via WTOP). (news)
11. [Press releases](https://www.shakespearesglobe.com/press-room/press-releases). Shakespeare's Globe. (primary record)