In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights.

Next he wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest examples in the English language. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth century. Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 15. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later.

Between 15 he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of the playing company the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. Scholars believe that he died on his fifty-second birthday, coinciding with St George’s Day.Īt the age of 18 he married Anne Hathaway, who bore him three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. He is often called England's national poet and the 'Bard of Avon' (or simply 'The Bard'). William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. An extensive glossary explains vocabulary which may be unfamiliar to modern readers. The introduction summarises the known facts about the dramatist's life, his reading and use of sources, and the nature of theatrical performance during his lifetime.Brief introductions to each play, written specially for this volume by the Arden General Editors, discuss the date and contemporary context of the play, its position within Shakespeare's oeuvre, and its subsequent performance history. The paperback edition includes eight newly revised playtexts as published in the Arden Third Series since 1998.A general introduction by the three General Editors of the ongoing Arden Shakespeare series gives the reader an overall view of how and why Shakespeare has become such an influential cultural icon, and how perceptions of his work have changed in the intervening four centuries.

The Complete Arden Shakespeare contains the texts of all Shakespeare's plays, edited by leading Shakespeare scholars for the renowned Arden Shakespeare series.

The Complete Arden Shakespeare, published for the first time in hardback in 1998, is now available in an updated paperback edition.

Arden complete works of shakespeare