1. William Shakespeare was and still is one of the most famous writers, actors and poets alive. Over the course of his life, he has written many sonnets, plays and poems. Did you know…? That William Shakespeare only ever wrote with quills. By Laura, Hope, Alyx and Francesca

2. During his life, William wrote many plays, poems and sonnets. William Shakespeare has written overall 16 comedies and 12 tragedies. As you can see, he wrote more comedies than tragedies. Also he wrote 10 histories which involved King John, Richard II, Henry V and many more. Many of his works have been represented by other things. For example: Taylor Swift’s song ‘Love Story’ which is based on the story of Romeo and Juliet.

3. William Shakespeare has written many love poems (sonnets) and has 4 main narrative poems. These are: *A Lovers Complaint *Phoenix and the Turtle *Rape of Lucrece *Venus and Adonis And his narrative poems are REALLY long !!! (over 50 verses in each)

4. During the course of his life, Shakespeare wrote roughly 154 sonnets, a form of poetry. There are three major recurring characters within these sonnets: the Dark Lady (a woman supposedly African in origin), the Fair Youth (a young man Shakespeare is rumoured to have been in love with) and the Rival Poet (an opposing poet, often named by critics as Christopher Marlowe or George Chapman, both poets at the time of Shakespeare).

5. The Dark Lady is a young, dark-skinned and dark-haired woman, with about 26 sonnets dedicated to her. There has been some speculation as to whether she is of African origin. They are possibly the most famous, and the famous Sonnet 18 (beginning Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?) is either dedicated to her or another recurring character among Shakespeare’s sonnets, the Fair Youth. It is one of the most frequently-quoted sonnets in popular culture today. Shakespeare uses words to seemingly express his love towards the so-called ‘Dark Lady’.

6. The Fair Youth’s identity has yet to be discovered, but it is known, however, that he is a young man. In the Fair Youth sonnets, Shakespeare uses terms of endearment (fondness) towards the young man, and it still puzzles critics, historians and writers today whether these are used to describe a close friendship, the bond between father and son or gestures of love. This has led to arguments and conspiracies about Shakespeare’s sexuality. He married a woman at the age of eighteen. The arguments about this subject still go on today.

7. The Rival Poet, like the Dark Lady and the Fair Youth, has yet to be identified, yet many historians and critics have suggested that the sonnets refer to other sixteenth/seventeenth century poets, Christopher Marlowe and George Chapman. However, there are theories that the sonnets are addressed to a non-existent rival. The sonnets appear to symbolize the struggle for more fame and money, an ordeal which still resonates today throughout fame.

8. William wrote over 30 plays, many which are still popular worldwide such as Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Hamlet, Henry V and The Tempest. His plays are categorized into several types of play. The main categories are: comedies, histories, romances, tragedies, and problem plays. There have been many adaptations and changes in his plays but it still has its original touch. Did you know…? That William’s most famous play of all time is “Romeo and Juliet.”

9. Question 1: What is Shakespeare's most famous play? Question 2: What is a sonnet? Question 3: Who were the three major recurring characters in Shakespeare’s sonnets? Question 4: How many Comedies did William Shakespeare write? Question 5: How many tragedies?

10. B IBLIOGRAPHY http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare's_plays http://www.william-shakespeare.info/ http://shakespeare.mit.edu/ http://shakespeare.com/ http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/ http://www.shakespeare-online.com/ THANK YOU FOR WATCHING!