Shakespeare's years are commonly given as:

Shakespeare's years are commonly given as:

• A. 1500-1560
• B. 1640-1700
• C. 1564-1616
• D. 1600-1670

Answer: (C)

Knowing when Shakespeare lived helps place his works in their historical context. He is commonly listed as living from 1564 to 1616, based on the best historical records: he was baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564, and he died in 1616. Those dates frame the late 16th and early 17th centuries, during the Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods in England. The other date ranges would place his life outside this timeline, so they don’t fit the established evidence. So the commonly cited years reflect the best-supported birth and death dates for Shakespeare.

Knowing when Shakespeare lived helps place his works in their historical context. He is commonly listed as living from 1564 to 1616, based on the best historical records: he was baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564, and he died in 1616. Those dates frame the late 16th and early 17th centuries, during the Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods in England. The other date ranges would place his life outside this timeline, so they don’t fit the established evidence. So the commonly cited years reflect the best-supported birth and death dates for Shakespeare.