Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, he wrote 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and several long narrative poems. Shakespeare's plays — including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Tempest — explore the full range of human experience with unsurpassed depth, complexity, and psychological insight. His linguistic impact is staggering. Shakespeare invented over 1,700 words still used today, including "bedroom," "lonely," "generous," "disgraceful," and "countless." He coined phrases still in everyday use: "break the ice," "cold comfort," "good riddance," "heart of gold," and hundreds more. Perhaps the greatest testimony to Shakespeare's genius is that his plays continue to resonate — performed in every language, adapted into films, referenced in political speeches, and studied in schools worldwide — 400 years after his death.