The works of William Shakespeare bears no comparison in the history of arts and literature. He was a versatile English poet, play writer and dramatist. He has written nearly 38 plays, 154 sonnets and uncounted poems between the years 1582–1612, which are read and discussed even to this day. They had great impact on English literature and western theatre. All his works have been interpreted into all known languages and they have been performed around different countries more than a million times.

Eventough most of his writings are for the English audience the appeal was world-wide. Christopher Marlowe greatly influenced his writing style. In 1594, Shakespeare became part owner of Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a dramatic play company. By then he had even started acting, along with writing plays. Under his presence the company became known which made King James I purchase the company and then it was named as King’s men.

His works revolved around comedy, romance, history, and tragedy. He started working with other writers which was common at that time. Since then he helped the playwrights to finish their work fast. Like Hamlet was the new adaptation of a lost play named Ur-Hamlet and King Lear was the new version of King Leir. His plays on history were inspired by the Greek, Roman and English history. Plays like Plutarch’s Parallel Lives and Raphael Holinshed’s The Chronicle of England inspired plays like Macbeth and King Lear. Tempest was his original work.

Shakespeare’s early works of 1590s were based on romantic comedies and historic nostalgia which were the storyline of works like A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Henry IV, Part I. After the plague, he began including rhymed couplets and dramatic dialogues in his work. His middle period works focused around betrayal, murder, egoism, power, ambition, lust, tragedy and comedy. Plays like Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Troilus and Cressida were were on these genres. His later works were mostly romantic and fantasies such as The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest. His works were also published in press as a series of quartos. Two actors named John Heminges and Henry Condell started First Folio to reward and publish Shakespeare’s work exclusively in 1623. Categories such as comedies, tragedies and histories were made in First Folio. Contemporary critics have added categories like problem-play and tragic-comedies.

The chronology of his plays is not known and has been the subject of debate during that period, plays weren’t authoritatively printed. Many of his plays had many different blueprints and because of technical glitches like printing errors and reading mistakes, so the recognition of his original work is a problem. Shakespeare invented many words and spellings. One of the peculiarities of his works is his habit of writing them a number of times using different words and spellings. After he died, there came the questions on the authenticity of his work. There have been very little record about the events that happened in his life and nor even his will gives details on his ownership of the Globe theater. It has been rumored that they might be works of Francis Bacon or Christopher Marlowe.

The works that have been lost are Cardenio, Love’s Labour’ Won, and Quixote. Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, King Lear, As You Like It, Hamlet, and Richard III are some the critically acclaimed works of William Shakespeare.

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