William Shakespeare
AUTHOR

William Shakespeare

Tap the gear icon above to manage new release emails.
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire and was baptised on 26 April 1564. Thought to have been educated at the local grammar school, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he went on to have three children, at the age of eighteen, before moving to London to work in the theatre. Two erotic poems, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece were published in 1593 and 1594 and records of his plays begin to appear in 1594 for Richard III and the three parts of Henry VI. Shakespeare's tragic period lasted from around 1600 to 1608, during which period he wrote plays including Hamlet and Othello. The first editions of the sonnets were published in 1609 but evidence suggests that Shakespeare had been writing them for years for a private readership. Shakespeare spent the last five years of his life in Stratford, by now a wealthy man. He died on 23 April 1616 and was buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford. The first collected edition of his works was published in 1623. (The portrait details: The Chandos portrait, artist and authenticity unconfirmed. NPG1, © National Portrait Gallery, London)
Read more Read less
Not an Audible member?
From £7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Start your free 30-day trial

Othello

Most popular
View Details

Best Sellers

Product list
  • Macbeth cover art

    £7.99 or free with trial. Auto-renews at £8.99/month after trial. See eligibility.

    Try for £0.00
  • Shakespeare: The Complete Works cover art

    £19.99 or free with trial. Auto-renews at £8.99/month after trial. See eligibility.

    Try for £0.00
  • BBC Radio Shakespeare: A Collection of Eight Comedies cover art

    £16.99 or free with trial. Auto-renews at £8.99/month after trial. See eligibility.

    Try for £0.00
  • Hamlet: The Arkangel Shakespeare cover art

    £7.99 or free with trial. Auto-renews at £8.99/month after trial. See eligibility.

    Try for £0.00
  • Classic BBC Radio Shakespeare: Romances cover art

    £12.99 or free with trial. Auto-renews at £8.99/month after trial. See eligibility.

    Try for £0.00
  • SmartPass Plus Audio Education Study Guide to Hamlet (Unabridged, Dramatised, Commentary Options) cover art

    £13.99 or free with trial. Auto-renews at £8.99/month after trial. See eligibility.

    Try for £0.00
  • Great Nature Poems cover art

    £6.99 or free with trial. Auto-renews at £8.99/month after trial. See eligibility.

    Try for £0.00
  • A Midsummer Night’s Dream cover art

    £7.99 or free with trial. Auto-renews at £8.99/month after trial. See eligibility.

    Try for £0.00
  • Classic Love Poems cover art

    £5.99 or free with trial. Auto-renews at £8.99/month after trial. See eligibility.

    Try for £0.00
  • King Lear cover art

    £7.99 or free with trial. Auto-renews at £8.99/month after trial. See eligibility.

    Try for £0.00
  • Othello cover art

    £7.99 or free with trial. Auto-renews at £8.99/month after trial. See eligibility.

    Try for £0.00
  • Shakespeare’s Sonnets, Retold cover art

    £12.99 or free with trial. Auto-renews at £8.99/month after trial. See eligibility.

    Try for £0.00
  • As You Like It cover art

    £7.99 or free with trial. Auto-renews at £8.99/month after trial. See eligibility.

    Try for £0.00
  • Richard III cover art

    £7.99 or free with trial. Auto-renews at £8.99/month after trial. See eligibility.

    Try for £0.00
  • Hamlet cover art

    £11.99 or free with trial. Auto-renews at £8.99/month after trial. See eligibility.

    Try for £0.00
  • The Ultimate Children’s Shakespeare Collection cover art

    £16.99 or free with trial. Auto-renews at £8.99/month after trial. See eligibility.

    Try for £0.00
  • SmartPass Plus Audio Education Study Guide to Romeo and Juliet (Unabridged, Dramatised, Commentary Options) cover art

    £13.99 or free with trial. Auto-renews at £8.99/month after trial. See eligibility.

    Try for £0.00
  • Shakespeare: The Tragedies cover art

    £19.99 or free with trial. Auto-renews at £8.99/month after trial. See eligibility.

    Try for £0.00
  • Julius Caesar cover art

    £9.99 or free with trial. Auto-renews at £8.99/month after trial. See eligibility.

    Try for £0.00
  • Henry IV, Part 1 cover art

    £7.99 or free with trial. Auto-renews at £8.99/month after trial. See eligibility.

    Try for £0.00

Featured article: 50+ timeless Shakespeare quotes


Immerse yourself in these Shakespeare quotes to dive into the comedies and tragedies penned by the Bard of Avon. From knock-knock jokes to the wild goose chase, we owe many of our most-used and best-loved phrases to the talent of the Bard. His words are timeless in their direct wisdom, their witty humour, and their surprising applicability to modern life. We’ve collected some of our favourite William Shakespeare quotes for when you want to think about life’s big questions, wax poetic on the nature of love, or just need a good laugh.

Featured article 50+ timeless Shakespeare quotes

Are you an author?

Help us improve our Author Pages by updating your bibliography and submitting a new or current image and biography.
Visit Amazon Author Central