William Shakespeare is one of the best-known poets in the world. He was born in Stratford, England to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. The generally accepted date of birth for him is April 23rd, 1564. He attended Stratford Grammar School at age 7. In November 1582, at age 18, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, who was 26 at the time. Six months later, their first daughter, Susanna, was born. In 1585, Anne Hathaway gave birth to twins, a boy named Hamnet, and a girl named Judith. During these years, it is believed that Shakespeare went to London to begin his career as a playwright.

When he arrived in England, scholars believed that he joined several playgroups as a playwright. It is known that Shakespeare performed in Queen Elizabeth's court more than once. In 1594, he became a stockholder of an acting company called Lord Chamberlain's Men. For the rest of his career, Shakespeare was a leading actor of the group for the rest of his career. By 1594, at least six of his plays had been produced. From 1592 to 1594, London's authorities closed the theaters because of the plague. Because of this, Shakespeare began writing poems. The people during this time frame considered poetry to be much more important than plays. Shakespeare believed that by writing poems he would be able to win the praise that his playwriting never received.

Shakespeare's career began to take off between the years of 1594 and 1608. Not only was he a stockholder and actor in the Lord Chamberlain's Men, he wrote an average of almost two plays a year for his company. Most of his plays were performed in the Globe Theater. During this period, Shakespeare ranked as one of London's most popular playwrights. However, it was his plays that gave him fame and not his genius. Few people gave Shakespeare the praise that was given to him by later generations.

It is debated where Shakespeare spent the last years of his life. Six weeks after the wedding of his youngest daughter Judith, he revised his will. About one month later, he died, on April 23rd, 1616, his recorded birthday. Shakespeare's direct family line ended when his granddaughter, Elizabeth, died.

The following poem 'Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day' is one of Shakespeare's many sonnets, his 18th sonnet to be precise.

Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date;
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;
ffffffffffSo long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
ffffffffffSo long lives this, and this gives life to thee.