409 years ago today, on May 3, 1616 (March 18, 1616 lunar calendar), the English poet and dramatist William Shakespeare died. William Shakespeare William Shakespeare was a representative writer of the European Renaissance, an English poet and dramatist, known as one of the greatest literary giants in the world. Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 in the town of Stratford on the River Avon in Warwickshire, central England. His ancestors had been farming for generations, and when his father John Shakespeare came to his father, he abandoned farming and went into business, engaging in the leather glove business, including wool, meat, and grain. In 1557, John Shakespeare married Mary Arden, three daughters of a local small landowner. William Shakespeare was their eldest son. In 1568, William Shakespeare was elected mayor of the town and also served as a city councillor for more than 20 years. Later, the family was in debt, and after 1577, John Shakespeare was finally relieved of all official positions and retired from government affairs. In his childhood, some famous theatre companies in the city of London came to Stratford from the capital every year to perform on tour, which aroused Shakespeare's strong love for drama in his childhood. In his early years, he went to French school and was exposed to ancient Roman poetry and drama, which played an important role in his later dramatic creation. Later, due to the bankruptcy of the family, he dropped out of school to make a living. In 1582, Shakespeare married Anna Hashawi, who was eleven years older than him. After the marriage, there were three women and a boy. The boy died at the age of eleven. Shakespeare left Stratford in about 1585, and after a tour he came to London. There is no record of him for a period of time after that, and during this period of about 11 years, what experience he had and what work he did are unknown to the world. It is said that he first worked in the theatre as a busboy, looking after horses for gentlemen watching plays, and later became a hired actor. These positions gave him access to people from all walks of life and increased his life experience. Shakespeare's record in London only appeared in 1592, when Green of the "University Wise" left a posthumous work. In this posthumous work, he attacked Shakespeare and attacked Shakespeare's success. Calling him a "hateful crow" in the theatre, according to this book, it can be seen that Shakespeare was already emerging and quite successful in the theatre at that time. By this time, Shakespeare had written "Henry II", and in 1592 he wrote "Charles III", which was a masterpiece of his early historical plays. Success in his career kept him increasingly busy. In life, he was both an actor and a playwright, a shareholder and a theatre employee, performing in the public theatre, attending court banquets, and sometimes traveling with the theatre company. At the same time, he also met some young new nobles and university students, expanding his life experience and further exposing himself to ancient culture, Italian Renaissance culture and humanist thought. All of this laid a solid foundation for his outstanding plays in the future. Around 1592, the plague broke out in London, the Black Death spread everywhere, and the great plague that lasted for two years decimated the population of London. People fled from the plague everywhere, and the whole London became a ghost city. During this period, all public entertainment activities in the city were stopped, the major theaters were connected to bankruptcy, many theater companies were forced to disband, and the actors who made a living on the stage were unemployed. Two years later, people resumed their original lives, and London was prosperous again. Some theaters reopened. There were only two major troupes in action at this time, one was the "Lord of the Admiralty's Company", its supporter was Lord Howard, who had commanded the British fleet to defeat the powerful Spanish "Armada" at the time, and made great achievements for Britain; the other was the "Lord of the Interior's Company", which was supported by the Lord of the Interior and the Earl of Hanston, a cousin of Queen Shakespeare. Shakespeare had joined the "Lord of the Interior's Company" since 1594. In the troupe, he was both an actor and a playwright, and became the most important member of it. Due to its many popular actors and beautiful plays, the "Home Secretary's Theatre" gradually defeated its opponents in the theater, occupied a dominant position, and became the best troupe. During the time of James I, it was chosen as the king's own troupe, often performing in the palace, and there was no competition for decades. Shakespeare continued to provide excellent plays for this troupe, becoming an important pillar of the troupe. He spent most of his life in this troupe, devoting his youth wisdom and life's energy to it. For more than five years from 1595 to 1600, Shakespeare was brilliant and brilliant, showing a special creative talent. Every year, one to three plays are produced from his pen. The content and artistic skills of these works have become mature, whether it is the arrangement of the plot, the shaping of the characters, or the use of language, all of which have achieved new achievements. In these years, he has completed a total of thirteen plays, including six comedies, two tragedies, and five historical plays. Shakespeare gradually became wealthy in London. In 1596, he applied for a family crest symbolizing the status of the squire in the name of his father, and soon was approved by the government. After 1597, he bought some real estate in the countryside, including the best house in the area, "New Garden". In 1599, the six shareholders of the "Home Secretary's Theatre" used all the materials after the demolition of the "Grand Theatre" to build a new theatre, the Globe Theatre. At this time, Shakespeare was not only the shareholder of the theater, but also the manager of the theater, and also wrote, acted, and engaged in other affairs. With his full support, the "Globe Theatre" became the center of Shakespeare's dramatic activities, and it has been famous for a long time and has continued unabated. Shakespeare's most brilliant period of tragic creation also began here. It can be said that 1599 is the most important milestone in the development of his dramatic career. From Hamlet in 1601, Shakespeare's creation entered a period of tragedy in an all-round way. By 1607, he had written tragedies such as Othello (1604), King Lear (1605), Macbeth (1606), and Timon of Athens (1607), which constituted the most glorious period of Shakespeare's creation. At this time, the "Home Secretary's Theatre Company" had been renamed the "King's Theatre Company" of King James I of England, and Shakespeare and some other actors were named "court attendants". In addition to acting for the king, they also participated in some court ceremonies. From 1607 to 1608, there was another plague in London, and the theatre was closed, so the actors had to go on tour. Shakespeare also often returned to his hometown of Stratford. In 1610, the plague broke out again in London, and Shakespeare decided to withdraw from the London theatre. In 1611, he left London to return to his hometown. Initially, he maintained contact with the troupe and continued to write plays for the "King's Theatre Company". "Winter's Tale", "The Tempest" and "Henry VIII" were completed during this period. After 1613, he stopped writing and died peacefully in his hometown. On May 3, 1616, just as he was 52nd birthday, Shakespeare died and his body was buried in the local Trinity Church.