William Shakespeare (rửa tội ngày 26 tháng 4 năm 1564 – 23 tháng 4 năm 1616) là nhà thơ và nhà soạn kịch người Anh lừng danh thế giới. Ông viết khoảng 38 vở kịch và nhiều loại thơ khác, đặc biệt là thơ sonnet). William Shakespeare sinh ra và lớn lên ở Stratford-upon-Avon, là con trai của John Shakepeare, một thợ làm găng tay và ủy viên hội đồng địa phương đến từ Snitterfield và Mary Arden, con gái của một chủ đất giàu có. Ngày sinh của ông thường được cho là vào ngày Thánh George- 23 tháng 4 | In 1649, after the regicide of King Charles I, Milton was appointed Cromwell's Latin secretary of foreign affairs and wrote many pamphlets in defense of the Commonwealth. The intense work of translating and writing created much strain on his eyes and he resorted to a secretary. By 1652 he was entirely blind and relied on the assistance of Andrew Marvell (1621-1678), but it seems that Milton was not unduly grieved by his loss of sight. After the death of Cromwell and the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660 Milton retired from public life; as staunch defender of the Commonwealth, he first had to hide entirely from King Charles's loyalists and some of his books were burned. The Great Fire of London in 1666 destroyed the Bread Street house where he was born and that he had inherited from his father. During the plague years he left London for surrounding areas; his cottage in the village of Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire and its gardens are now a museum housing many of his works. It was here that Milton prepared for publication Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, which also includes his poetic drama wherein he reflects on his own life once again under the monarchy, Samson Agonistes (1671);
