William shakespeare: Did you mean...?

A c. 1610 CE portrait of William Shakespeare (1564-1616 CE), the celebrated playwright of Elizabethan theatre. (Hatchlands Park, Surrey, England)

The literary works of William Shakespeare (l. c. 1564-1616) are often regarded as some of the most important in the English language. Alongside his famous plays, he also wrote poems, including 154 sonnets. Included here are six of the best-known...

An imagined conversation between William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson at the Mermaid Tavern, illustration from A book for Shakespeare plays and pageants by Orie Latham Hatcher, 1916.

John Fletcher (1579-1625) was a playwright of the English Renaissance who flourished during the Jacobean Era (1603-1625). The author of over 50 plays, he is known for developing the genre of tragicomedy in English literature, and for his...

William the Conqueror (c. 1027-1087), also known as William, Duke of Normandy, led the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 when he defeated and killed his rival Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings. Crowned King William I of England...

William III of England (also William II of Scotland, r. 1689-1702) became king of England, Scotland, and Ireland after the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Protestant William, Prince of Orange, was invited to rule jointly with his wife Mary II...

Thomas Middleton (1580-1627) was a poet and playwright of the English Renaissance, who flourished during the Jacobean Era (1603-1625). One of the most successful dramatists of his time, he often collaborated with other playwrights, including...

The Chandos Portrait, thought to depict William Shakespeare, oil on canvas, attributed to John Taylor, c. 1611. National Portrait Gallery, London.

William the Silent (l. 1533-1584, also known as William of Orange) was the leader of the Dutch Revolt (the Eighty Years' War) in the Netherlands; first politically (between 1559-1568) then militarily (between 1568-1584). He is among the most...

William II of England, sometimes called William 'Rufus' for his red hair and complexion, reigned as the king of England from 1087 to 1100 CE. The son of William the Conqueror (r. 1066-1087 CE), the younger William was loyal to his father...