What does bardolater mean?
Bardolater is a rare noun for someone who treats Shakespeare with excessive or uncritical devotion. The term emerged from nineteenth-century discussion of bardolatry, the strong and sometimes indiscriminate cult of Shakespeare, and is chiefly used in literary and historical commentary. In modern writing it normally carries a critical connotation: it distinguishes an enthusiastic admirer from a critic capable of balanced judgment, rather than serving as a neutral label for anyone who likes Shakespeare. The word can therefore be used ironically, especially when discussing the tendency to elevate Shakespeare above all other writers or to treat his reputation as beyond criticism. Its rarity makes it useful chiefly in essays about literary reputation, nineteenth-century criticism, and the formation of cultural canons. The related term bardolatry denotes the devotion itself, whereas a bardolater is the person who practices it.
nounA person who idolizes Shakespeare, especially to an excessive or uncritical degree.
- An excessive or uncritical admirer and idolizer of Shakespeare.
"His reverence for Shakespeare was so unqualified that critics dismissed him as a bardolater."
"Victorian reviewers sometimes dismissed their contemporaries as bardolaters whenever criticism of Shakespeare seemed to them almost blasphemous."
"The essay describes his admiration for Shakespeare not as simple enthusiasm but as the mindset of a true bardolater."
The regular plural is bardolaters, although the rarity of the word makes it uncommon in practice.
"The essay counted three bardolaters among the play's earliest advocates."
A bardolater does not merely admire Shakespeare; in nineteenth-century criticism, the word made that admiration look like worship.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does bardolater come from?
English bardolater is an agent noun formed from bardolatry with the suffix -er. Bardolatry was coined in nineteenth-century literary criticism by combining bard with the combining form -olatry, expressing worship or excessive devotion. The vocabulary has a close Italian parallel in bardolatria, referring to devotion to the bard, particularly Shakespeare.
How bardolater is actually used
This is a rare literary and historical term, usually with a critical or ironic connotation. It generally implies indiscriminate devotion rather than ordinary enthusiasm or informed appreciation.
Easily confused with bardolater
Bardolater denotes a person, whereas bardolatry denotes the excessive or uncritical devotion to Shakespeare that such a person embodies.