Shakespeare

American  

[sheyk-speer] / ˈʃeɪk spɪər /

Or Shakspere,

noun

1. William, the 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

See Examples For:

Shakespeare

Chaucer, Shakespeare and Milton are examples of authors who hewed closely to writers who had come before them.

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026

STRATFORD-UPON-AVON — The Kingdom of Westeros arrived in Stratford-upon-Avon on Saturday night as “Game of Thrones: The Mad King” held its opening night at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

He studied hydraulics, civil engineering and Shakespeare at the public library and impressed everyone with his pluck and problem-solving prowess.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Cardiff-born Gill performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company and appeared in films including HMS Defiant and Zulu before embarking on a successful theatre directing career.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

He had named it after my mother’s favorite character from Shakespeare to please her, but he had insisted on the Sue.

From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson