Biography
English playwright and poet, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, he wrote approximately 39 plays, 154 sonnets, and several longer poems. His works — from Hamlet to King Lear to The Tempest — explore the full range of human experience with a depth and linguistic inventiveness that has never been surpassed.
Influence & Legacy
William Shakespeare
Drew From
Inspired
John Milton
Shakespeare's dramatic voice echoes through Paradise Lost
Charles Dickens
Dickens' character work descends directly from Shakespeare
Herman Melville
Ahab is Shakespearean tragedy transposed to the sea
Works in Canon (39)
The Taming of the Shrew
1593comedy
5.0influence7.0popularity
The Comedy of Errors
1594comedy
4.0influence5.5popularity
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
1594comedy
4.0influence3.0popularity
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
1595comedy
6.0influence9.0popularity
The Merchant of Venice
1596comedy
6.0influence8.0popularity
The Merry Wives of Windsor
1597comedy
4.5influence5.5popularity
Love's Labour's Lost
1598comedy
4.5influence4.0popularity
Much Ado About Nothing
1598comedy
5.5influence8.0popularity
As You Like It
1599comedy
5.0influence7.0popularity
All's Well That Ends Well
1604comedy
4.0influence3.5popularity
Measure for Measure
1604comedy
5.0influence5.5popularity
Twelfth Night
1623comedy
6.0influence8.0popularity
Romeo and Juliet
1590tragedy
8.0influence9.5popularity
Titus Andronicus
1594tragedy
4.5influence5.0popularity
Julius Caesar
1599tragedy
6.5influence8.5popularity
Hamlet
1601tragedy
9.5influence9.5popularity
Troilus and Cressida
1601tragedy
5.0influence4.0popularity
Othello
1603tragedy
7.0influence9.0popularity
King Lear
1605tragedy
8.5influence8.5popularity
Timon of Athens
1605tragedy
4.0influence3.0popularity
Antony and Cleopatra
1606tragedy
6.0influence7.0popularity
Coriolanus
1608tragedy
5.0influence4.5popularity
Macbeth
1623tragedy
8.5influence9.5popularity
King Henry VI, Part 2
1591history play
4.5influence3.5popularity
Henry VI, Part 1
1592history play
4.5influence3.5popularity
King Henry VI, Part 3
1592history play
4.5influence3.5popularity
Richard III
1593history play
6.5influence8.0popularity
Richard II
1595history play
5.5influence6.0popularity
King Henry IV, Part 1
1597history play
6.5influence7.5popularity
Henry IV, Part Two
1598history play
5.5influence6.0popularity
Henry V
1599history play
6.0influence8.0popularity
Henry VIII
1613history play
4.0influence4.0popularity
King John
1981history play
4.5influence3.0popularity