Exam 15: Europe in the Age of Religious Wars, 1560-1648

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William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest 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 approximately 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship.

Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, in 1564, and his baptism is recorded on April 26 of that year. He married Anne Hathaway in 1582, with whom he had three children. 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.

His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. They include tragedies such as "Hamlet," "Othello," "King Lear," and "Macbeth," comedies like "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Twelfth Night," and "As You Like It," and histories such as "Henry IV, Part 1," "Henry IV, Part 2," and "Henry V."

Shakespeare's work has made a lasting impression on literature and the arts, influencing a vast number of writers, theater practitioners, and artists over the centuries. He died on April 23, 1616, at the age of 52, but his legacy endures, and his plays and poems continue to captivate and challenge audiences and readers worldwide.