[sheyk-speer] 
| William, 1564–1616, English poet and dramatist. |
| Shake·speare (shāk'spîr) English playwright and poet whose body of works is considered the greatest in English literature. His plays, many of which were performed at the Globe Theater in London, include historical works, such as Richard II, comedies, including Much Ado about Nothing and As You Like It, and tragedies, such as Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear. He also composed 154 sonnets. The earliest collected edition of his plays, the First Folio, contained 36 plays and was published posthumously (1623). Shake·spear'e·an, Shake·spear'i·an adj. & n. |
Heo scæken on heore honden speren swiðe stronge."[Laymon, "Brut," c. 1205]"Never a name in English nomenclature so simple or so certain in origin. It is exactly what it looks -- Shakespear." [Bardsley, "Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames," 1901] Nevertheless, speculation flourishes.
spɪər