William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is widely 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". His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three 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 remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
The Chandos portrait, likely Shakespeare, early 17th century
John Shakespeare's house, believed to be Shakespeare's birthplace, in Stratford-upon-Avon
Shakespeare's coat of arms, from the 1602 book The book of coates and creasts. Promptuarium armorum. It features spears as a pun on the family name.
Shakespeare's funerary monument in Stratford-upon-Avon
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Ben Jonson coined the term "playwright" and is the first person in English literature to refer to playwrights as separate from poets.
The literary production of Aleksis Kivi, the Finnish national author, consisted mainly of plays. One of his best-known plays is Heath Cobblers from 1864.
