William Shakespeare was a writer of plays and poems. Some of his most famous plays are Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. He wrote thirty—seven plays in all. They are still popular today.
He was born in 1564 in England. At school, he liked watching plays. He decided to be an actor when he finished school at the age of fourteen. In 1582, he married a woman from a poor family. She was eight years older than he was. Their first child was a daughter. Later they had twins (双胞胎). In 1585, Shakespeare left his hometown, Stratford—upon—Avon. His wife and children stayed behind. No one knows why he left or what he did between 1588 and 1592.
At twenty—eight, he moved to London and joined a theatre company which opened the Globe Theatre in 1599. He became an actor, and he also wrote plays. He usually acted in his own plays. He made almost no money from his writing. But he made a lot of money from acting. With the money he bought a large house in his home town.
At the age of forty—nine, Shakespeare retired (退休) and went to live in Stratford—upon—Avon. He died at the age of fifty—two. He left his money to his family but he left his great works to the world. You still see his plays in English and in many other languages. He is one of the most famous writers in the world.
