offspring or children of another Heywood family. By 1598, Heywood was gaining recognition as a comic writer, with most of his significant literary work occurring between 1600 and 1620. His most famous play,A Woman Killed with Kindness, was produced in 1603. After the death of his first wife, Heywood married his second wife, Jane Span, on January 18, 1633. In his later years, Heywood served as City Poet and produced several pageants for the Lord Mayor. He was buried on August 16, 1641, in Clerkenwell.

Ben Jonson (1572–1637)
Ben Jonson was born in Westminster in 1572. His stepfather was a master bricklayer, a trade Jonson briefly took up during his youth. He also served as a soldier for a short period before returning to England and marrying before 1592. Upon his return, Jonson pursued a career in acting and, by 1597, was working as a playwright for the theatrical entrepreneur Phillip Henslowe. Jonson’s debut play, co-authored with Thomas Nashe in 1597, was titled The Isle of Dogs. The play was considered offensive, resulting in Jonson's brief imprisonment. In 1598, Jonson was arrested again, this time for killing a fellow actor in a duel. However, that same year, he achieved his first significant success with the play Every Man in His Humour. This work marked the debut of a new comedic style called “the comedy of humours” and made Jonson a celebrity. Jonson became a favorite of King James I, for whom he wrote over thirty masques for court performances. In 1616, King James I appointed him poet laureate, granting him an annual pension that enabled him to live comfortably. Jonson suffered a severe stroke in 1628 and passed away in Westminster on August 6, 1637.

Thomas Kyd (1558–1594)
Thomas Kyd was born in London in November 1558 to Thomas Kyd, a scrivener, and his wife, Anna. He attended Merchant Taylors’ School but did not pursue a university education. From around 1587 to 1593, Kyd served a nobleman and began writing plays during this period. His most significant success came with the production of The Spanish Tragedy, a play that captivated Elizabethan audiences and established Kyd as the pioneer of a new genre known as “blood tragedy.” The exact date of the first performance of The Spanish Tragedy remains unknown. In 1591, Kyd encountered serious trouble due to his past association with the dramatist Christopher Marlowe. During a government search, antireligious papers were found in Kyd’s home, leading to accusations of atheism. He was arrested and tortured but maintained that the papers belonged to Marlowe and had been mixed with his belongings when they briefly shared a room. Although Kyd was eventually released, the nobleman he served doubted his innocence and dismissed him in 1593. Unable to secure further financial support, Kyd died in poverty in August 1594.

Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593)
Christopher Marlowe was born in Canterbury in 1564, the first son of master shoemaker John Marlowe and Katherine Arthur. He attended Cambridge, where he quickly stood out as a brilliant student. During his time at Cambridge, Marlowe joined Queen Elizabeth’s secret service and undertook several covert missions for the crown. After earning his degree in July 1587, he moved to London and became an actor and playwright for the Lord Admiral’s Company. That same year, both parts of Tamburlaine the Great were performed on London stages, propelling Marlowe to fame. Marlowe led a reckless life and had multiple run-ins with the law. In 1591, his former roommate, playwright Thomas Kyd, was imprisoned and tortured after authorities discovered heretical writings in Kyd’s room. Kyd, who was also interrogated, claimed that the writings belonged to Marlowe. Marlowe was released without incident, possibly due to his connections with the secret service. Tragically, Marlowe’s life was cut short at the age of twenty-nine. On the night of May 30, 1593, he was fatally stabbed in the head during a barroom brawl and died instantly.

William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564, to John and Mary Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon. He was the third of eight children. At eighteen, Shakespeare married the already-pregnant Anne Hathaway, and they eventually had three children. Little is known about Shakespeare’s life from 1583 to 1592. By 1594, however, he had joined the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, working as both an actor and playwright. By the end of that year, six of his plays had been performed. In 1599, Shakespeare and other members of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men funded the construction of the Globe Theatre. The Lord Chamberlain’s Men continued to stage popular performances there, including many of Shakespeare’s plays. The company became the leading troupe in London, performing at Court thirty-two times between 1594 and 1603. After James I ascended to the throne, he granted the Lord Chamberlain’s Men a royal patent, and the company was renamed the King’s Men. Shakespeare’s talent as a playwright was widely acknowledged, making him one of the wealthiest dramatists of his time. He retired to Stratford in 1610 and passed away on April 23, 1616. In 1623, actors Henry Condell and John Heminge published his plays as a collection, known as the First Folio.