William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616) is the most influential writer in English history. Shakespeare has been called The Barb of Avon and England's national poet. There are 2 narrative poems, 154 sonnets and 38 plays in his collected works. He began work as an actor and writer in London first writing comedies and historic plays. He later wrote tragedies. Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and Othello are some of his more famous plays. Venus and Adonis was written in 1593. In 1593 a plague closed all the playhouses in London which gave Shakespeare the time to write this poem based on a story from mythology. Venus is in love with Adonis but nothing she does interests him. Adonis says he will go boar hunting. Venus finds Adonis fatally gored by a boar and at that point puts a curse on love.