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[[Image:Foliou.jpg|right|thumb|[[portraits|Engraving]] of William Shakespeare on the cover of the First Folio (1623), the first collected edition of his plays]]

[[Image:Foliou.jpg|right|thumb|[[portraits|Engraving]] of William Shakespeare on the cover of the First Folio (1623), the first collected edition of his plays]]

'''William Shakespeare''' (1564-1616), also called the Bard of Avon or simply the Bard, was an Elizabeth playwright considered the greatest in the English language and possibly the world for his masterful plots, poetic dialogue, and subtle conservative themes.<ref>"Shakespeare, William."  ''Encyclopedia Britannica Online''.</ref> Many of his plays are beloved throughout the world, and required reading in most English-speaking schools. Among the most famous are his ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' the ending known to almost every English speaker, ''[[Macbeth]]'' a renowned yet bloody tragedy, ''[[Julius Caesar]]'' a historical tragedy depicting the former dictator of Rome, ''[[King Lear]]'', the whimsical ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'', ''[[Hamlet]]'' and ''[[Othello]]''.<ref>''The New York Public Library Student's Desk Reference''.  Prentice Hall: New York, 1991.</ref><ref>"Shakespeare I."  ''Great Books of the Western World''.</ref>  His works were mostly performed at his patron theatre, the [[Globe Theater]], and were only published posthumously.  The total number of words in all of Shakespeare's works is nearly 900,000, or slightly more than the word length of the [[Bible]].

'''William Shakespeare''' (1564-1616), also called the Bard of Avon or simply the Bard, was an Elizabeth playwright considered the greatest in the English language and possibly the world for his masterful plots, poetic dialogue, and subtle conservative themes.<ref>"Shakespeare, William."  ''Encyclopedia Britannica Online''.</ref> Many of his plays are beloved throughout the world, and required reading in most English-speaking schools. Among the most famous are his ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' the ending known to almost every English speaker, ''[[Macbeth]]'' a renowned yet bloody tragedy, ''[[Julius Caesar]]'' a historical tragedy depicting the former dictator of Rome, ''[[King Lear]]'', the whimsical ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'', ''[[Hamlet]]'' and ''[[Othello]]''.<ref>''The New York Public Library Student's Desk Reference''.  Prentice Hall: New York, 1991.</ref><ref>"Shakespeare I."  ''Great Books of the Western World''.</ref>  His works were mostly performed at his patron theater, the [[Globe Theater]], and were only published posthumously.  The total number of words in all of Shakespeare's works is nearly 900,000, or slightly more than the word length of the [[Bible]].

Shakespeare was a devout [[Christian]], as proven by what he wrote in his will: "I commend my soul into the hands of God, my Creator, hoping and assuredly believing, through the only merits of Jesus Christ, my Saviour, to be made partaker of life everlasting."<ref>[http://www.bardweb.net/will.html Shakespeare's Last and Testament]</ref>  Yet his work is also loved by people who are not religious, who consider it "the secular [[canon]], or even the secular [[scripture]]."<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,981571-2,00.html#ixzz13lnUzy40 Hurrah for Dead White Males! - TIME]</ref>

Shakespeare was a devout [[Christian]], as proven by what he wrote in his will: "I commend my soul into the hands of God, my Creator, hoping and assuredly believing, through the only merits of Jesus Christ, my Saviour, to be made partaker of life everlasting."<ref>[http://www.bardweb.net/will.html Shakespeare's Last and Testament]</ref>  Yet his work is also loved by people who are not religious, who consider it "the secular [[canon]], or even the secular [[scripture]]."<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,981571-2,00.html#ixzz13lnUzy40 Hurrah for Dead White Males! - TIME]</ref>