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

Derived Forms

• pre-Shakespeare
  adjective

Example Sentences

But in the superb new production of the tragedy at the Shakespeare Theatre Company here, directed by Simon Godwin, they take on an almost mocking tone.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026

Oscar has spent the day remembering his Shakespeare, for an English Literature GCSE.

From BBC • May 27, 2026

Judge Lasnik: Well, a lot of people remember the part of a Shakespeare play where they said, “First, we kill all the lawyers.”

From Slate • May 12, 2026

Gunton notes that even relatively loose ties to Britain can help accumulate points, such as a project being based on the works of Shakespeare or in the English language.

From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026

“Only because Shakespeare said it first. Moving on. How are you dauntless scribes doing on your special assignment? The ‘Quo quid vis fieri?’ project?”

From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein