William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He began his successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men. His early plays were comedies and histories, considered some of the best in these genres. In 1623, a more definitive collection of his works known as the First Folio was published.
Shakespeare was born to a successful glover and educated at the King's New School in Stratford. He married Anne Hathaway and had three children. Shakespeare's plays were performed by the Lord Chamberlain's Men, making him a wealthy man. He continued to act in his own plays and collaborated with other playwrights. Shakespeare's last three plays were collaborations, and he retired to Stratford before his death.
His work has had a lasting impact on theatre and literature, and he is considered a genius and a classic of the German Weimar era. There have been doubts about the authorship of his works, but they are considered fringe theories.