William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon".

The exact date of his birth is not recorded, but it is most often celebrated around the world on 23 April.

Shakespeare’s baptism is recorded in the Parish Register at Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon on Wednesday 26 April 1564. Baptisms typically took place within three days of a new arrival,

Did you know:
Shakespeare left his wife his “second best best” ……….On his death, Shakespeare made several gifts to various people but left his property to his daughter, Susanna. The only mention of his wife in Shakespeare’s own will is: “I gyve unto my wief my second best bed with the furniture”. The “furniture” was the bedclothes for the bed.

Shakespeare died on his birthday. ………. William Shakespeare’s burial at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford upon Avon is documented as happening on 25th April 1616. In keeping with traditions of the time it’s likely he would have been buried two days after his death, meaning Shakespeare likely died 23rd April 1616 – his 52nd birthday.

Shakespeare put a curse on his grave. ……….Shakespeare penned a curse for his grave, daring anyone to move his body from that final resting place. His epitaph was:
Good friend for Jesus’ sake forbear,
To dig the dust enclosed here:
Blest be the man that spares these stones,
And curst be he that moves my bones.

Though it was customary to dig up the bones from previous graves to make room for others, the remains in Shakespeare’s grave are still undisturbed.

He couldn’t spell

Although William was taught Latin at his local school, spelling was not part of lessons and everyone spelled words how they wanted. Imagine that! Shakespeare spelled his name a number of different ways, including: Willm Shakp, William Shaksper, Wm Shakspe, William Shakspere and Willm Shakspere!

Shakespeare certainly had his lighter side. He liked to put jokes in his plays, even in his tragedies, and he also made up phrases that we still use today, such as “melted into thin air”, “wild goose chase”, “I haven’t slept a wink”, and “break the ice”.

…and rude insults were his speciality

William was very handy with insults, conjuring up some fierce put-downs, such as:

"Thine face is not worth sunburning."
"Thou art as fat as butter."
And who could forget:
"You scullion! You rampallian! You fustilarian! I'll tickle your catastrophe!"

His extant works, including collaborations, consist of approximately 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories, and these are regarded as some of the best work ever produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest works in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights.

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