Authors of William Shakespeare's Macbeth A five-act tragedy composed by William Shakespeare somewhere between 1606-07 and published in the First Folio of 1623 from a playbook or a transcript of one. It is believed that the play was written for the King's Men, who probably performed it first. It has been argued that it was also written for Lord Birkenhead, who was in England during this time. The title character is a Thane of Cawdor, formerly a friend to the king. He does not reveal his crime until near the end of the play, when he accuses the three witches of having tried to kill him. After hearing this news, Lady Macbeth commits suicide, leaving Macbeth as the sole survivor of this murder attempt. Shakespeare wrote many plays throughout his career but only four have survived today: Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Othello. Although these plays were popular with audiences at the time they were written, today they are considered masterpieces. Shakespeare lived in London at some point between 1564-1616. He began writing for the theater around 1590 and continued through 1613. His early work was not very successful so he turned to writing histories, comedies, and tragedies later in his career. He died in 1616 at the age of 52.