In his time, Shakespeare was the most popular playwright of London. His genius surpassed all others of his age: Kyd, Greene, Marlowe, Jonson, Dekker, Heywood - none approach the craft or the humanity of Shakespeare´s work. He created the most vivid characters of the Elizabethan - or any other - stage. With the use of subtle and witty language and extensive themes, he captivates audiences everywhere to the present day.

The precise dates of many of Shakespeare´s plays are in doubt, but his dramatic career is generally divided into four periods:

(1) the period up to 1594,
(2) the years from 1594 to 1600,
(3) the years from 1600 to 1608,
(4) the period after 1608.

Because of the difficulty of dating Shakespeare`s plays, these dates are only approximate. The dates are taken from chronicles, histories, or earlier fictions.

Around 1592 he had already been distinguished as a playwright. But his success made rivals as Richard Greene, who called him "an upstart crow" in the same year, jealous.

In 1593, Shakespeare found a patron, Henry Wriothsley, 3rd earl of Southampton, to finance him. During this time, he wrote two long poems ("Venus and Adonius" 1593; "Rape of Lucrece" 1594).

In 1594, Shakespeare was acting and writing for the "Lord Chamberlain´s Men", a theatrical company patronized by the royal court. Shakespeare was managing partner as well. After the ascent of James I in 1603, the company was called "The King´s Men". This company became the largest and most famous acting company because Shakespeare worked for them. When the plague forced the theatres to close in the middle of the 1590´s, Shakespeare and his group made plans for the Globe Theatre, which was built in 1599. Shakespeare was one of the proprietors. The theatre opened in 1594.

Shakespeare´s plays were usually performed by this own company. All 154 sonnets were published in 1609. At this time, Richard Burbage was reputed as the greatest actor. With Will Kempe, a master comedian, and Richard Burbage, "The King´s Men" became a favourite London troupe. James Burbage, Richard´s father, was the first who built a theatre in London called "The Theatre" in 1576. The company soon became the most successful of its kind in London. Shakespeare had plays published and sold in octavo editions, or "penny-copies" to the more literate among his audiences. It is noted that never before a playwright had enough purchaser to publish and sell his works as popular literature in the beginning of his career.

Shakespeare´s professional life in London was supported in parts by the profits of his acting company and its two theatres: the Globe Theatre and The Blackfriars.

His plays were presented at the courts of Queen Elizabeth I and James I.. It is known that he risked losing royal favor only once in 1599, when his company presented "The Play of the deposing and killing of King Richard II " at the demand of a group which conspired against Elizabeth. Robert Devereux, second Earl of Essex, Elizabeth´s unsuccessful court favourite, and the Earl of Southampton led them. But Shakespeare and his company were absolved from the conspiracy.

As an actor, writer, director and stockholder in " The King´s Men " company, Shakespeare had a very high income. He became a wealthy man, and bought New Palace, one of the largest houses in Stratford in 1597. He cooperated in the theatre in London until 1614, then he retired to Stratford.

A few people thought and think Shakespeare was a rough and untutored genius. They were or are of the opinion that his plays have been written by someone else- maybe a more educated person like the Earl of Southampton (Shakespeare´s patron).  Groups still discuss this "authorship question". Nevertheless in his own time, Shakespeare was celebrated by other English writers, like Ben Jonson, as absolutely brilliant.