William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright.

He is best known for his

comedies and is also considered one of the greatest poets in the English language. His work
has been translated into every primary living language, and he is the only writer to have
more than one work performed on television or stage. William Shakespeare was born on
April 23, 1564, in Stratford upon Avon. His father, John Shakespeare, was a weaver and
moneylender. His mother, Mary Arden, was the daughter of a wealthy landowning family.
William's older sister became a nun after she married an attorney and scholar named Philip
Arden. The family's wealth was based on woolens sold in London and their primary source
of income came from farming land in the nearby countryside of Warwickshire - an area
now known as the Black Country. His most famous works include the tragedies Macbeth,
Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet among many others.

The play Macbeth is a tragicomedy about ambition and the price of power. The story opens
in a dark forest where Old King Duncan is murdered by Lady Macbeth, Lady Macbeth's
husband Sir Macbeth, and their son Malcolm. In Act I, Lady Macbeth lures three courtiers
to her castle Banquo and Fleance who are visiting with the King of Scotland, Duncan is
killed shortly after midnight. In Act II, Duncan's son Malcolm takes his crowns from him
and becomes king. However, Shakespeare uses several different styles of writing in this
play which will make you feel as if you are partaking in the events as they unfold right
before your eyes.

The book of Hamlet is literally about a man whose mind is clouded over by doubt, though
he knows that he must take revenge upon the man who murdered his father and brother. He
tries to solve this dilemma with a talk with figures from history, including his father's ghost
and something supernatural. The characters are the ghosts of old kings and their family
members, who ultimately set out to tell young Prince Hamlet about the horrid crimes
committed by his uncle, Claudius. By doing so, unbeknownst to Claudius that they have
made him guilty of the murders of Hamlet's father and brother by revealing them in live
theater.

The book Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare are about a young man named Romeo
and his love for Juliet. The story occurs in Verona where two feuding families fight over
their land. When Romeo's family murders Mercutio, Countess Capulet sends him to the
Friar's house where he is quickly attracted to Juliet. Unfortunately, she marries Paris instead
of Romeo but they make up on their wedding day when she runs away because of Paris'
cruelty.