William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright of the 16th and 17 centuries, now widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the word's pre-eminent dramatist. Stanley Wells is the General Editor of the Penguin Shakespeare. He is Emeritus Professor of the University of Birmingham and Chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Margaret Jane Kidnie is Associate Professor of English at the University of Western Ontario. She has written a critical guide to The Taming of the Shrew and is the editor of Ben Jonson: The Devil is an Ass and Other Plays.