William Shakespeare wrote works.
William Shakespeare . His extant works , including collaborations , consist of approximately 38 plays , 154 sonnets , two long narrative poems , and a few other verses , some of uncertain authorship . He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608 , including Hamlet , Othello , King Lear , and Macbeth , considered some of the finest works in the English language . In his last phase , he wrote tragicomedies , also known as romances , and collaborated with other playwrights .