William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet and actor born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. He wrote 37 plays and 154 other works including poems during his lifetime. Some of his most famous plays include Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Macbeth. Shakespeare's plays were performed in London theaters like the Globe Theatre, which was owned by Shakespeare and his acting troupe. His plays have endured and are still popular today for their complex characters, themes, and use of language like iambic pentameter and sonnets.