Shakespeare was born on the 23rd of April 1564, at Stratford-upon-Avon, a little town in the heart of England. He was the eldest son of the family and educated at the local grammar school, but his father’s business went from bad to worse, he had to leave school and begin to earn his living.

When eighteen, he was a married man to a local girl. At the age of twenty-one, he set off to seek his fortune in the great city of London. There, he was in turn a horse-keeper, a stage-boy, a play mender and finally a playwright.Afterwards Shakespeare joined as an actor one or several companies of players. By 1584 he became as a rising playwright in London, and became soon a central figure in London’s leading theater company. During that time he wrote many great plays for the group. He was known in his day as very rapid writer: “His mind and hand went together,” his publisher reported, “and what he thought, he uttered with that easiness that we have scarce received from him a blot in his papers.”

Shakespeare was also a great humanist. His interest in the life and people of his time made him watch with an observant eye the scenery of his native country, men and women in all walks of life, their appearances, habits and speech. He was familiar with the traditions of English folklore and showed deep concern for his people and his country’s destiny.

His plays show us basic human flaws played out to their tragic conclusion. But Shakespeare doesn’t judge these faults. He doesn’t preach: he simply tells the story and we our own minds up. That is why they can be so effective because we as an audience draw our own conclusions. Recently, some people have even suggested that because of this, Shakespeare helped shape society.

What’s more, Shakespeare’s contribution went beyond writing some good plays and dramas. He also introduced several hundred works to the English language including: aerial, assassination, countless, hurry, disgraceful and sportive. Besides, he coined phrases and expressions we still use to this day, such as “fair play”，“a foregone conclusion” and “to wear your heart on your sleeve”.

All these came from an ordinary man. He didn’t come from a rich background, and he didn’t go to the best schools. He was from the midlands, went to a good school, but in those days if you were to be taken seriously, as a writer you normally had to go to university. The fact that William Shakespeare’s influence extends from theatre to literature to the English language itself justifies of his famous quotes: “Be not afraid of greatness: some men are bom great, some are achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.”