William Shakespeare (1564–1616), born in the English town of Stratford-upon-Avon to Mary Arden and John Shakespeare, is widely considered to be the greatest playwright who ever lived. Very little is known of Shakespeare's early life. His mother was from a well-to-do local family. His father was a politician and glove maker who eventually became bailiff of Stratford-upon-Avon, a post equivalent to mayor. Shakespeare attended the local grammar school and may have worked for some time thereafter as a school teacher. In 1582, at the age of eighteen, Shakespeare married a woman named Anne Hathaway, who was twenty-six. The couple had three children, Susanna, Hamnet, and Judith.

By 1592, Shakespeare was living in London and working in the theater. Shakespeare's theater company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, became the most popular group of actors in the city, performing at the Globe Theater and in a smaller indoor theater called Blackfriars. The company enjoyed royal support and in 1594 performed two plays before Queen Elizabeth I. In 1603, after the death of Queen Elizabeth, the company became servants of the new king, James I, and changed their name to the King's Men.

In 1597 Shakespeare bought a large house in Stratford-upon-Avon called New Place. Thereafter he divided his time between Stratford-upon-Avon and London. Despite a busy career as actor and theater owner, Shakespeare managed to write at least thirty-six plays and some of the finest poetry in the English language, including a series of famous sonnets. His plays include comedies such as The Taming of the Shrew and The Merchant of Venice; histories such as Richard the Third and Henry the Fifth; tragedies such as Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth; and romances such as The Winter's Tale and The Tempest. The Tragedy of Julius Cæsar, which is both a history and a tragedy, was first performed on September 21, 1599, at the Globe Theater. In or around 1611, Shakespeare retired to Stratford-upon-Avon a wealthy and successful man. There, on April 25, 1616, he was buried in Holy Trinity Church. Carved in stone above his grave are the following lines, believed to have been written by Shakespeare himself:

Good friend, for Jesus sake forbeare, To digg the dust enclosed heare! Blest be the man that spares thes stones, And curst be he that moves my bones.