Unit4StageandscreenWilliamShakespeare(26April1564-23April1616)wasanEnglishpoetandplaywright(剧作家),whoisnowregardedasthegreatestwriteroftheEnglishlanguage
Hissurvivingworksinclude38plays,twolongnarrativepoems(叙事诗),154sonnets(十四行诗),andafewotherpoems
HeisoftencalledEngland’snationalpoet
Hisplayshavebeentranslatedintoeverymajorlivinglanguageandareperformedmoreoftenthanthoseofanyotherplaywright
ShakespearewasbornandraisedinStratforduponAvon
Attheageof18,hemarriedAnneHathaway,withwhomhehadthreechildren:Susanna,andtwinsHamnetandJudith
Sometimebetween1585and1592,ShakespearemovedtoLondon,wherehefoundsuccessasanactor,writer,andpartowneroftheplayingcompanytheLordChamberlain’sMen
HeappearstohaveretiredtoStratfordaround1613,wherehediedthreeyearslater1
Shakespeareproducedmostofhisknownworkbetween1590and1