The tumultuous life and times of William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare’s creative output embodied everything from love poetry to history, fantasy, tragedy, comedy and magic. But little of what he wrote was an explicit commentary on contemporary events at the time he was writing, despite it being a fascinating and turbulent period in history: a time of religious and political upheaval, devastating disease and significant personal triumphs and tragedies for Shakespeare himself. What was going on in Britain and the rest of the world while the poet was producing some of the finest literature ever written, and are there echoes of real events in his work?