Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (baptized April 26, 1564 – April 23, 1616), popularly referred to as The Bard, was an English playwright.

Background
Shakespeare is most famous for the plays he wrote in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, although he also wrote many sonnets and other poems. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language.

Even after the Great War, many intellectuals in the wasteland still remember the works of Shakespeare. Arcade Gannon and Nick Valentine both quote Shakespeare; Gannon paraphrases a line from The Merchant of Venice, while Nick makes reference to The Tempest and Hamlet.

In the Commonwealth, radio play actor Rex Goodman was imprisoned by super mutants in 2287 when he attempted to civilize them by reading from Shakespeare's works, specifically Macbeth. One of these super mutants, Strong, now seeks out the "milk of human kindness," a quote from Macbeth (known as "Mack Beth" to Strong) which he believes is an actual item that is also the "secret to humans." An excerpt from Macbeth can also be acquired in-game as a paper note.

Appearances
William Shakespeare is mentioned by name only in Fallout 4 and the canceled Van Buren, though references to him and his works also exist in Fallout, Fallout: New Vegas and its add-on Old World Blues, Fallout 76 and Fallout Shelter.

Behind the scenes

 * Several characters in the Fallout series share their names with other characters from Shakespeare's works, including Desdemona (Othello), as well as R. Rosen and Gilden (Hamlet; references to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern).
 * Romero and Julianna, characters cut from Fallout, would have been involved in a quest that heavily referenced Romeo and Juliet.
 * The name of the Old World Blues quest What's in a Name? is a reference to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.