William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is the subject of "On Shakespeare." He is perhaps the most famous Elizabethan playwright to have come out of the early modern period, and is widely considered an important member of the English literary canon. Shakespeare is best known for his plays, having written comedies, tragedies, histories, and romances, but was also an accomplished poet. His most famous poems are his 154 sonnets and his narrative poems, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. Shakespeare was born in 1564 and wrote 37 plays (along with other collaborations) during his lifetime. Most of his plays were performed while Elizabeth I was on the throne, though she was succeeded by James I in 1603. Shakespeare died in 1616. By the time Milton wrote "On Shakespeare," Shakespeare was already regarded as one of the greatest writers in history.

Shakespeare's Readers

"On Shakespeare" is focused primarily on its deceased subject, but Milton makes...