English male dramatists and playwrights

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" or simply "the Bard". His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.

Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English writer and journalist. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime and, by the 20th century, critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are widely read today.

English Romantic poet and lyricist (1788–1824)

English poet and civil servant (1608–1674)

British Romantic poet (1792–1822)

British statesman (1804–1881)

English novelist and playwright (1867–1933)

British novelist, poet, playwright and Nobel Prize for Literature laureate (1911–1993)

English playwright and author (1874–1965)

British playwright (1930–2008)

British writer, playwright and literary critic (1904–1991)

English writer and poet (1885–1930)

English dramatist, poet and translator (1564–1593)

British-American poet (1907–1973)

17th-century English poet and playwright (1631–1700)

British actor, writer and director (1921–2004)

English essayist, poet, playwright and politician (1672–1719)

English playwright, poet, and actor (1572-1637)

English humorist (1859-1927)

English novelist and dramatist (1707–1754)

English occultist (1875–1947)

British statesman and author (1803–1873)

British writer (1824-1889)

Sir Tom Stoppard was a British playwright and screenwriter. He wrote for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covered the themes of human rights, censorship, and political freedom, often delving into the deeper philosophical bases of society. Stoppard, a playwright of the Royal National Theatre, was one of the most internationally performed dramatists of his generation and was critically compared with William Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw. He was knighted for his contribution to theatre in 1997 and awarded the Order of Merit in 2000.

English author (1881–1975)

Sir Stephen John Fry is an English actor, comedian, presenter and writer. He began his career on the sketch comedy series Alfresco (1983–1984) and the sitcom Blackadder (1986–1989), before gaining recognition as part of the comedy duo Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, appearing together in A Bit of Fry & Laurie (1989–1995) and Jeeves and Wooster (1990–1993). His later television roles include Kingdom (2007–2009), Bones (2007–2017), and It's a Sin (2021). Fry was the original host of the comedy panel show QI (2003–2016), for which he was nominated for six British Academy Television Awards. In 2006, the British public ranked Fry number 9 in ITV's poll of TV's 50 Greatest Stars.

British crime writer, journalist and playwright (1875–1932)

British comedian, actor and writer (born 1943)

English novelist of the Victorian period (1815-1882)

English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer (1899–1973)

English writer (1867–1931)

English author, film director, and visual artist (born 1952)

British science fiction writer (1925–2017)

British writer (1670-1729)

British actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer (1717–1779)

English poet and playwright (1685–1732)

English playwright (1929-1994)

British-Irish filmmaker and playwright

British actor and writer (1927–1978)

English writer and director (born 1943)

British actor (1893–1943)

English author (born 1949)

English Jacobean playwright (1579–1625)

English actor, playwright and theatre director

English dramatist (1578-1634)

16th/17th-century English dramatist, poet, and translator

English dramatist, poet and illustrator (1836–1911)

English writer (1894–1984)

English writer (born 1954)

English chess master and Shakespearean scholar (1810-1874)

English architect and dramatist (1664–1726)

English dramatist

British dramatist (1932-2016)

British linguist and writer (born 1941)

English playwright and screenwriter (1926-2016)

British Zionist author (1864–1926)

British naval officer and novelist (1792–1848)

British actor

English playwright and poet

English dramatist and pamphleteer