Shakespeare

American  

[sheyk-speer] / ˈʃeɪk spɪər /

Or Shakspere,

noun

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

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Shakespeare British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• pre-Shakespeare adjective

Example Sentences

After meeting bassist Robbie Shakespeare in 1972, the pair built distinct rhythms such as the insistent “Rockers” groove that bolstered canonical reggae tracks.

From Los Angeles Times

In his teens, Dunbar met bassist Robbie Shakespeare and formed the rhythm section of the Revolutionaries, who became regular session musicians at the famed Channel One recording studio.

From BBC

To be or not to be, that is the question for a solo version of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”

From Los Angeles Times

My preschool was built over the cellar of the medieval palace where Shakespeare set a scene in “Richard II.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Unlike “Shakespeare in Love,” the script doesn’t have Tom Stoppard punching up the dialogue.

From Los Angeles Times