Advertisement

Advertisement

Shakespeare

Or Shak·spere,

[sheyk-speer]

noun

  1. William, the Bardthe Bard of Avon, 1564–1616, English poet and dramatist.



Shakespeare

/ ˈʃeɪkspɪə /

noun

  1. William. 1564–1616, English dramatist and poet. He was born and died at Stratford-upon-Avon but spent most of his life as an actor and playwright in London. His plays with approximate dates of composition are: Henry VI, Parts I–III (1590); Richard III (1592); The Comedy of Errors (1592); Titus Andronicus (1593); The Taming of the Shrew (1593); The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594); Love's Labour's Lost (1594); Romeo and Juliet (1594); Richard II (1595); A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595); King John (1596); The Merchant of Venice (1596); Henry IV, Parts I–II (1597); Much Ado about Nothing (1598); Henry V (1598); Julius Caesar (1599); As You Like It (1599); Twelfth Night (1599); Hamlet (1600); The Merry Wives of Windsor (1600); Troilus and Cressida (1601); All's Well that ends Well (1602); Measure for Measure (1604); Othello (1604); King Lear (1605); Macbeth (1605); Antony and Cleopatra (1606); Coriolanus (1607); Timon of Athens (1607); Pericles (1608); Cymbeline (1609); The Winter's Tale (1610); The Tempest (1611); and, possibly in collaboration with John Fletcher, Two Noble Kinsmen (1612) and Henry VIII (1612). His Sonnets, variously addressed to a fair young man and a dark lady, were published in 1609

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Discover More

Other Word Forms

  • pre-Shakespeare adjective
Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

British playwright Tom Stoppard, a major figure of contemporary theater who won an Academy Award for the screenplay for 1998’s ‘Shakespeare in Love,’ has died.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He spun wordplay, philosophical debates and scientific principles into popular theatrical entertainment, landing a string of West End and Broadway hits, and won a best-screenplay Oscar for the smash Hollywood film “Shakespeare in Love.”

He had a parallel career as a Hollywood script doctor, much in demand to add sparkle to others' film scripts, and shared a best-screenplay Oscar for his entertaining contribution to Shakespeare in Love.

Read more on BBC

Sir Tom, who won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for the screenplay for Shakespeare In Love, "died peacefully at home in Dorset, surrounded by his family".

Read more on BBC

British playwright Tom Stoppard, who won an Oscar for the screenplay for the 1998 movie "Shakespeare In Love", has died at the age of 88, United Agents said on Saturday.

Read more on Barron's

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


shake someone's treeShakespearean