OXFORD SCHOOL SHAKESPEARE : MERCHANT OF VENICE (NEW),About William Shakespeare William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and writer. Best remembered for his plays, he is called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". Shakespeare's plays have been adapted into several movies, and they are enacted in theatres around the world even to this day, centuries after his death. His works came to the spotlight in the Nineteenth century and he was idolized by the Romantics. A prolific writer and poet, he is also known for his poems, mainly the Sonnets.