Why Is Shakespeare Known as The Bard?

"The Bard" is Shakespeare's most famous nickname. But where did it come from, and why has it stuck for 400 years?

What Is a Bard?

Long before Shakespeare, the word "bard" described a professional poet or storyteller in Celtic cultures, someone whose job was to compose songs about heroes and history and perform them at feasts and courts. These were respected figures who kept memory and culture alive through verse.

Shakespeare was not a bard in that ancient sense. He was a playwright and actor working in the commercial theatres of Elizabethan London. But the title stuck because his command of language felt comparable to those legendary poets of the past.

The Bard of Avon

Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564, so people often call him "the Bard of Avon." Ben Jonson pointed the way, calling Shakespeare the "Sweet Swan of Avon" in his poem for the First Folio (the first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays, published in 1623). "Bard" as a title for Shakespeare came into common use in the 18th century, when his reputation was being actively celebrated.

Shakespeare and Language

One reason the title fits is his command of English. His writings provide the first known written use of over 1,700 words still in use today, including "bedroom," "eyeball," and "assassination." Phrases like "break the ice" and "wild-goose chase" began in his plays.

His stories also covered almost every human experience: young love (Romeo and Juliet), a prince seeking revenge (Hamlet), a soldier destroyed by jealousy (Othello), and a king who gives away his power and pays for it (King Lear). No other writer in English has matched that range.

Want to Know More?

• The Royal Shakespeare Company: Watch performances of his plays by professional actors.
• The Globe Theatre: Visit the reconstruction of the theatre where Shakespeare's plays were first performed.
• The Folger Shakespeare Library: Explore manuscripts, costumes, and surviving documents from Shakespeare's own time.

Sources and Further Reading

• Shakespeare Birthplace Trust: Biography
• Royal Shakespeare Company: About Shakespeare
• Shakespeare's Globe: The Globe Theatre
• Folger Shakespeare Library: Collections