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

Derived Forms

• pre-Shakespeare
  adjective

Example Sentences

At the same time, I would remind the victorious populists to look up in the sky and remember their Shakespeare.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026

Appeared in the June 2, 2026, print edition as 'Superb Shakespeare'.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026

The RSC's production of The Tempest marks Sir Kenneth's return to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre for the first time in more than 30 years, and is Sir Richard's debut with the company.

From BBC • May 23, 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

She gave us lectures on women’s suffrage, Shakespeare, Beethoven, English history, and horticulture, and always had two freezers of homemade ice cream, which was why we all went.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns