Ben Johnson joined the army, serving in Flanders. He returned to England about 1592 and married Anne Lewis on November 14, 1594.

Robert Browning was married to the poetess Elizabeth Barrett Browning, who wrote the famous sonnet beginning, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”

Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, in 1564. Very little is known about his life, but by 1592 he was in London working as an actor and a dramatist. Between about 1590 and 1613, Shakespeare wrote at least 37 plays and collaborated on several more. Many of these plays were very successful both at court and in the public playhouses. In 1613, Shakespeare retired from the theatre and returned to Stratford-upon-Avon. He died and was buried there in 1616.