William Shakespeare

THE WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE READER

William Shakespeare was baptized on April 26, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. From roughly 1594 onward he was an important member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men company of theatrical players. Written records give little indication of the way in which Shakespeare’s professional life molded his artistry. All that can be deduced is that over the course of 20 years, Shakespeare wrote plays that capture the complete range of human emotion and conflict.

William Shakespeare, often called the English national poet, is widely considered the greatest dramatist of all time. William Shakespeare's early plays were written in the conventional style of the day, with elaborate metaphors and rhetorical phrases that didn't always align naturally with the story's plot or characters. However, Shakespeare was very innovative, adapting the traditional style to his own purposes and creating a freer flow of words. With only small degrees of variation, Shakespeare primarily used a metrical pattern consisting of lines of unrhymed iambic pentameter, or blank verse, to compose his plays. At the same time, there are passages in all the plays that deviate from this and use forms of poetry or simple prose.

The Shakespeare Pro app has been completely refreshed! We've been working hard to put together your best feature requests. The app is still FREE and contains the following:

• CUSTOMIZE YOUR READING EXPERIENCE by choosing day and night mode reading, change the font family and size, and text-to-speech.

• HIGHLIGHT CHARACTER LINES by color coding to more easily read them.