William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare stands as the preeminent dramatist—and, by some estimations, the foremost author overall—within English literature. Any attempt to summarize his body of work would far exceed the scope of a popular-music reference work. It is enough to note that passages drawn from his dramas and verse have been adapted for musical settings at multiple points across history, while his texts have fueled creations ranging from grand operas of the classical tradition to contemporary chart-oriented tracks. Sex Pistols singer Johnny Rotten once remarked that Shakespeare was really very good, in spite of the people who liked him.