William Shakespeare, Shakespeare also spelled Shakspere, byname Bard of Avon or Swan of Avon (baptized April 26, 1564, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England—died April 23, 1616, Stratford-upon-Avon) English poet, dramatist, and actor, often called the English national poet and considered by many to be the greatest dramatist of all time.
William Shakespeare, detail of an oil painting attributed to John …Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London (http://www.npg.org.uk)Title page of the First Folio, the first published edition (1623) of the collected works of William …
