William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born to John Shakespeare and mother Mary Arden some time in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. He wrote about 38 plays (the precise number is uncertain), a collection of sonnets and a variety of other poems.John Kerrigan is a lecturer in English at Cambridge University.Dr. Nicholas Walton is the Executive Secretary of the International Shakespeare Association. He is a lecturer on Shakespeare at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, and teaches at the University of Warwick.