William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright of the 16th and 17 centuries, now widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the word's pre-eminent dramatist.
Stanley Wells is Emeritus Professor of the University of Birmingham and Chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
Adrian Poole is Reader in English & Comparative Literature and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. His publications include Shakespeare and the Victorians and Tragedy: Shakespeare and the Greek Example.