An authoritative, accessible overview of history's greatest literary figure

The great dramatist Ben Jonson wrote that William Shakespeare "was not of an age, but for all time." In the nearly four centuries since his death, Shakespeare's plays still have a tremendous impact on everything from the classroom to popular culture. Now you can have at your fingertips all the vital details on the most influential writer in the history of the English language--straight from one of the most trusted sources of information in the world.

In Shakespeare, Encyclopaedia Britannica presents a concise and balanced overview of the Bard's life, work, and legacy. From his upbringing in Stratford to his early theater career in London, from his poetry and plays to the controversy surrounding his authorship, from his contemporaries and collaborators to his critics past and present, this comprehensive guide provides the necessary background to appreciate Shakespeare's unique place in world literature.

This informative volume also looks at new interpretive approaches to Shakespeare and his work and offers insights from the foremost Shakespeare scholars in the world, including David Bevington (University of Chicago), Stephen J. Greenblatt (Harvard University), and Gail Kern Paster (Folger Shakespeare Library), among others. Every concise entry--from All's Well That Ends Well to The Winter's Tale--promotes a deeper understanding of Shakespeare's life, times, writings, and influence that only Encyclopaedia Britannica can provide.

Since 1768, Encyclopaedia Britannica has been a leading provider of learning products and one of the world's most trusted sources of information.

Note to the Reader.

Introduction by Gail Kern Paster.

All's Well That Ends Well.

Antony and Cleopatra.

As You Like It.

Assessment.

Authorship.

Bacon, Sir Francis.

Beaumont, Francis.

Blackfriars Theatre.

A Closer Look: Theaters in the Liberties (by Steven Mullaney.

Burbage, Richard.

Collaborations and Spurious Attributions.

The Comedy of Errors.

Coriolanus.

Criticism.

Cymbeline.

The Dark Lady.

Davenant, William.

Dekker, Thomas.

Derby, William Stanley, 6th Earl of.

Early Plays.

Edward III..

Elizabeth I.

Elizabeth Poetry and Prose.

Elizabethan Theater.

A Closer Look: Shakespeare on Theatre by Alvin B. Kernan.

The First Folio.

Fletcher, John.

Folger Shakespeare Library.

The Globe Theater.

Greene, Robert.

Hamlet.

Hathaway, Anne.

Henry IV, part 1.

Henry IV, part 2.

Henry V.

Henry VI, part 1.

Henry VI, part 2.

Henry VI, part 3.

Henry VIII.

Holinshed, Raphael.

Jonson, Ben.

Julius Caesar.

King John.

King Lear.

A Closer Look: Music in Shakespeare's Plays by Mary Springfels.

Kyd, Thomas.

Life.

The Lord Chamberlain's Men.

Love's Labour's Lost.

Macbeth.

Marlowe, Christopher.

Mature plays.

Marston John.

Massinger, Philip.

Measure for Measure.

The Merchant of Venice.

The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Middleton, Thomas.

A Midsummer Night's Dream.

A Closer Look: Shakespeare and Opera by Chantal Schütz.

Much Ado about Nothing.

Othello.

Oxford, Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of.

Pericles, Prince of Tyre.

Poetry.

Raleigh, Sir Walter.

Richard II.

Richard III.

Romeo and Juliet.

A Closer Look: Viewing Shakespeare on Film by Kenneth S. Rothwell.

Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).

Sexuality.

Sidney, Sir Philip.

Social and Intellectual Context.

Sources.

Southampton, Henry Wriothesley, 3rd earl of.

Spenser, Edmund.

Stratford-upon-Avon.

The Taming of the Shrew.

The Tempest.

The Theatre.

Timon of Athens.

Titus Adronicus.

Troilus and Cressida.

Twelfth Night.

The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

The Two Noble Kinsmen.

University Wits.

Wars of the Roses.

Webster, John.

W. H., Mr.

The Winter's Tale.

Appendix 1: Chronology of Plays.

Appendix 2: Selected Filmography.

Bibliography.

Credits.