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Top Ten Best Playwrights
The Top Ten
1 William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist.
William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. Shakespeare: Linguistically the equal and possibly superior of Sophocles; and dramatically as well as linguistically unsurpassed since. His metaphors, always the gauge of poetic genius, are both more frequent and crucially more apposite than any other writer's. It's the appropriate sue of these, their rightness, as well as their imaginative force, that makes him the supreme dramatic writer, but also writer per se of the western canon, should we go that far.
Encompassed a greater range and invented a register of feeling that broke convention in both naturalism and psychological force. And in timing, especially comic timing, he's equally unsurpassed - even Beckett owes him a huge debt.
There are other great dramatic writers with poetic or great language, most notably Ibsen (perhaps the greatest after Shakespeare), Chekhov, the trilogy of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and for comedy obviously Aristophanes; and then in some rough descending order (apologies for this late ...more
Shakespeare's plays are appealing on all levels. They have clever dialogue, well developed characters, and intriguing themes. They aren't clear cut. The first time you see Julius Caesar, you may sympathize with Brutus. The next, Cassius. The next, Marc Antony.
Not boring, just brilliant. Any top performance of Midsummer Nights Dream is funny and clever.
I hate him. The only reason he’s #1 is because no one knows any other playwrights. His plays lack taste and and likable characters. And “The Tempest” barely even had a plot! He’s the reason English students are tortured. - Meredy_FT
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2 Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett (13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet, who lived in Paris for most of his adult life and wrote in both English and French. He is widely regarded as among the most influential writers of the 20th century.
Samuel Barclay Beckett (13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet, who lived in Paris for most of his adult life and wrote in both English and French. He is widely regarded as among the most influential writers of the 20th century. Beckett, the analyzer, displayed a mastery of the human condition outmatched only by Tolstoy and Shakespeare.
The heir to Joyce and one of very few writers to master both the dramatic and epic forms - a nonpareil playwright and novelist.
Never tire of his offbeat wit. I could read and watch his plays over and over and come away with a different feeling every time.
Many have wondered whether he was the full quid.
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3 Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Johan Ibsen (20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of realism" and is one of the founders of Modernism in theatre.
Henrik Johan Ibsen (20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of realism" and is one of the founders of Modernism in theatre. There's a great bias against Ibsen in the U.S. , where he is known primarily for A Doll House and Hedda Gabler, with his many other fine plays (Peer Gynt, An Enemy of the People, The Wild Duck, The Master Builder, etc. ) mostly forgotten. Globally, however, he is one of the most respected--and produced--playwrights. By their own admissions, Arthur Miller and George Bernard Shaw would have been nobodys had it not been for Ibsen.
Henrik Ibsen, should be a lot higher than he is! A Dolls House is a genius piece of work. Shakespeare first, then Ibsen straight after, he pioneered modern Drama!
It is outrageous that a vicious old charlatan like Henrik should have achieved such hallowed status. His effigy should be burnt in public squares throughout the civilized world.
Henrik Ibsen - the greatest Norwegian there ever was.
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4 Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist, and figure in 20th-century American theater. He was often in the public eye, particularly between the late 1940s and early 1960s. During this time, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, testified ...read more.
Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist, and figure in 20th-century American theater. He was often in the public eye, particularly between the late 1940s and early 1960s. During this time, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, testified ...read more. The Crucible is an absolutely brilliant work. All of Arthur Miller's plays are. I have not read a playwright that I appreciate the way I appreciate him. Even Shakespeare, who I do passionately love, has not affected me the way Miller has.
In all my years of high school education (currently a Junior), Arthur Miller has been an excellent choice for projects in my AP American Lit class. His books flow like Nutella, unlike the banal, monotone literature received from more "elevated" and "scholarly" playwrights such as Shakespeare.
All My Sons, one undereconized but will always be poignant as long as there is war
A born writer from Brooklyn.
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5 Jean Racine
Jean Racine, baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine (22 December 1639 – 21 April 1699), was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France (along with Molière and Corneille), and an important literary figure in the Western tradition.
Jean Racine, baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine (22 December 1639 – 21 April 1699), was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France (along with Molière and Corneille), and an important literary figure in the Western tradition. Known by contemporaries as 'the Clean Racine'.
Truly the greatest neo-classical writer. His myth-inspired plays ally great sparseness and economy of form with purity and simple elegance of language in wrenching tragedies inspired by the tremendous passions of heroes and gods. His greatest plays, Athalie, Phèdre, Iphigénie, Andromaque, Bérénice, all portraits of major female figures of Greek and Hebraic legend, showcase vibrant energy and magnificently contained emotion.
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6 Kalidasa
He is a better playwright than Shakespeare.
He is the worthy play write inspiring many young play writers of that time
This writes is especially a brilliant drama literature with the mental of a true genius.
He understood the beauty and mysteries of life insinctively and realised the genius og language
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7 Noel Coward
Dialogue like a crisply ironed white shirt.
A flaming exhibitionist with a closet full of skeletons.
His ways with word are deeply appealing especially in the witty mode. this international class of its own.
8 Sophocles
Sophocles (c. 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC) is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides. Sophocles wrote 120 plays during the course of his life, but only seven have ...read more.
Sophocles (c. 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC) is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides. Sophocles wrote 120 plays during the course of his life, but only seven have ...read more. One of the rarest Dramatist ever. We still couldn't be able to write down a play like him.
A crashing bore and a certified theatrical nincompoop.
There is something out of whack with this exchange.
"Antigone", greatest of all plays not written by Shakespeare. As relevant today as it was then. How far can the State go in over riding family and religious obligations
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9 Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. He is remembered for his epigrams, his novel ...read more.
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. He is remembered for his epigrams, his novel ...read more. Definitely a great prose writer and had a good knowledge in literature, but this man wrote bundles that's it, there is no meaning in his work, and his ideologies are full of crap.
"To live is the rarest thing in the world most people exits that is all"
Maybe he took his own quote too seriously, he cheated on his wife as a result, and gave his sons a childhood where they saw their mother crying every day.
He wrote too much rubbish just to defend his act, he was a copy cat, and faced too much critisism in his early career.
Most of his quotes make no sense to me, he was more like a "talker".
If there weren't his witty and humorous stage plays, the world theatre would be poor and boring.
This man is the greatest prose lesson topic included that he was the story teller and writer the lesson the model millionaire.
His pockets were full of lollipops with which to bribe his rent boys.
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10 Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene OM CH (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991), better known by his pen name Graham Greene, was an English novelist regarded by some as one of the great writers of the 20th century.
Henry Graham Greene OM CH (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991), better known by his pen name Graham Greene, was an English novelist regarded by some as one of the great writers of the 20th century. This Englishman is genius of literary novelists - and even writing the plays!
One of the most evil men since Adolf Hitler.
He was addicted to brothels.
As novelist perhaps - as a playwright he ranks well below Pinter.
The Contenders
11 Harold Pinter
Giant of British playwrights. A unique talent.
The early plays are already classics, especially 'The Caretaker' and 'The Homecoming'. Certainly among the greatest plays of the 20th century.
In a class of his own. Comparisons are futile.
A loony leftist with a deep hatred of America.
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12 Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière (15 January 1622 – 17 February 1673), was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature. He was the official author of court entertainments under the reign of Louis XIV.
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière (15 January 1622 – 17 February 1673), was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature. He was the official author of court entertainments under the reign of Louis XIV. He wrote under a pseudonym to avoid retribution from his critics.
Moliere is far the best ever
13 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German writer and statesman. His body of work includes epic and lyric poetry written in a variety of metres and styles; prose and verse dramas; memoirs; an autobiography; literary and aesthetic criticism; treatises on botany, anatomy, and ...read more.
Johann Wolfgang Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German writer and statesman. His body of work includes epic and lyric poetry written in a variety of metres and styles; prose and verse dramas; memoirs; an autobiography; literary and aesthetic criticism; treatises on botany, anatomy, and ...read more. One of the true-blue, old-style 'word bottlers'.
14 Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (10 November 1759 – 9 May 1805) was a German poet, philosopher, physician, historian, and playwright.
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (10 November 1759 – 9 May 1805) was a German poet, philosopher, physician, historian, and playwright. These sound more like advertising slogans than meaningful comment.
Better than all the rest!
One of the best, indeed.
15 Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short story writer, who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short fiction in history. ...read more.
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short story writer, who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short fiction in history. ...read more. Not sure how you can be a master of 'unending hopes' but he was certainly a great playwright.
A theatrical titan. Ought to be in the top five.
Master of the unending hopes and fears of all Russians from then until now.
Not the greatest but cannot be only at 15. Someone's 'avin' a laf!
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16 Jonathan Larson
'The Far Side' is his greatest work.
Ah yes, but he owed a great debt to Kliban!
17 Alexandre Dumas
Alexandre Dumas, born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas, père, was a French writer. His works have been translated into nearly 100 languages, and he is one of the most widely read French authors.
Alexandre Dumas, born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas, père, was a French writer. His works have been translated into nearly 100 languages, and he is one of the most widely read French authors. Did obesity affect his later work?
Y isn't he first?! Shakespeare is so boring!
A verbal 'gastronomer' with a vital heartbeat,
18 Aeschylus
Aeschylus (c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian. He is often described as the father of tragedy. Academics' knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier tragedies is largely based on inferences from his surviving plays.
Aeschylus (c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian. He is often described as the father of tragedy. Academics' knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier tragedies is largely based on inferences from his surviving plays. Given that the majority of playwrights weren't born thousands of years ago, this is hardly surprising.
'The reek of human blood smiles out at me. '
He created tragedy and in one of few whose work has lasted over thousands of years.
19 Athol Fugard
Fugard is the second most performed playwright in history because his stories are relevant and serve to push both political and human narratives.
His plays have a particular pertinence wherever race is an issue.
He is the best play wrigt of the contemporary world. He fought for the humanbeings. Ifwe read his playes of pre and post appartheid time we will surely understand it. P a m rasheed
20 Pierre Corneille
Pierre often wrote with his feet in a tub of warm water. He claimed it 'stimulated the imaginative capacity'.
21 Tennessee Williams
Nothing moves me like the plays of Williams. Played by amateurs or professionals, they always seem to work unlike most other plays. The writing is exquisite and the drama, compelling!
Yesterday I watched 'The glass Menagerie' and that once more confirmed my view of Williams as a great dramatic poet.
The poet playwright. One of the greats.
Simply the best!
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22 Euripides
Euripides (c. 480 – c. 406 BC) was a tragedian of classical Athens. He is one of the few whose plays have survived, with the others being Aeschylus, Sophocles, and potentially Euphorion.
Euripides (c. 480 – c. 406 BC) was a tragedian of classical Athens. He is one of the few whose plays have survived, with the others being Aeschylus, Sophocles, and potentially Euphorion.
23 Neil Simon
Looked down upon by hi-brows but a master of his craft.
Great humour and a wry tolerance of human frailty.
More human beings have seen Neil Simon plays than ANY other playwright in history!
That's #1, numero uno, the Top Dude; even though Shakespeare had a 500 year head start and, certainly, has always been produced and popular. Still, Simon is tops. Live with it!
He is the most successful playwriter in THE WORLD!
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24 Luigi Pirandello
Don't like the words 'beat him'. What is this, a wrestling match?
Since he is Italian, not many people consider him and his deeply innovative and revolutionary ideology. If read and understood with critical attitude, he turns out to be a genius. Only Aeschylus, Sophocles, Shakespeare and probably Ibsen could beat him.
Ah yes...Italians are always overlooked. just ask Leonardo da Vinci.
25 Horton Foote
Horton discovered England, rescued his village from a pack of rogue bears, and lived to be 152. He died on September, 30. Unknown year.
Of course. Yes. Very convincing. Didn't he also hatch an egg?
26 Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. Twain wrote no plays. Other writers have dramatized his stories.
Is he dead, the name of one of the funniest plays I ever had the fortune of seeing, may not be as good as shakespeare, but this guy is a genius.
What plays did Mark Twain write?
27 Eugene O'Neill
This is and indication of playing favorites and the sign of the times that I am living in. O'Neill wrote good plays, great plays, and bad plays. But his life work is his life. Reminder that a play doesn't solve all of your problems is something that will make him my creative inspiration and he will be number one on my list.
Perhaps the greatest American playwright. Wrote some of the most intense dramas of the 20th century.
Why is O'Neill not in the top five? How odd.
An obsessive who disowned his children.
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28 Christopher Marlowe
He only wrote a few plays but those inspired many of Shakespeare's plays, without him we might not have the Shakespeare with know today.
This is rather odd logic.
29 David Rabe
'Hurly Burly' is outstanding. A real tour de force.
30 Jules Feiffer
Cartoonist and playwright. Interesting combination.
Still relevant after all these years. God bless you, Jules!
31 Anthony Shaffer
Let's not forget brother Peter.
32 Sarah Kane
Her plays and monologues resemble a poem or a tragic ballad that will cut through your soul and leave you utterly shaken from within. Beautiful, feminine, grotesque and haunting. Sarah Kane is all of this and much more! The discovery is certainly worth it :-)
Her plays were evidence of the mental illness that finally engulfed her.
The blackest night cut by a shaft of moonlight.
33 Edward Albee
I'm so angry that people forgot about Edward Albee. He definitely made Theater of the Absurd more relevant to American culture.
I agree. He is a magnificent playwright, and should be higher up in the list.
"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? " is brilliant. - Blue_Devereaux
Always highly ambivalent about his 'absurdist' credentials.
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34 Caryl Churchill
The fact that she is not first on the list demonstrates the deep sexism that runs rampant through the theatrical world. Shame!
Each play is a category smasher, interweaving different genres and styles.
Has been publically very reticent about her relation to Winston. Why?
Winston disowned her, describing her as 'an obsessive word regurgitator'.
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35 Eugene Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco, born Eugen Ionescu (26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and one of the foremost figures of the French Avant-garde theatre. Beyond ridiculing the most banal situations, Ionesco's plays depict the solitude and insignificance ...read more.
Eugène Ionesco, born Eugen Ionescu (26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and one of the foremost figures of the French Avant-garde theatre. Beyond ridiculing the most banal situations, Ionesco's plays depict the solitude and insignificance ...read more. King of the Absurdists. Should rank much higher.
Ought to be much, much higher. He is a better playwright than Beckett
Ionesco famously engaged in public debate with Ken Tynan - Absurdist Theatre vs Social Realist Theatre. To quote Martin Esslin: 'Tynan rightly argued that he expected what an artist communicated to be true. But Ionesco, in asserting that he was concerned with communicating his personal vision, in no way contradicted Tynan's postulate. The truthful exploration of a psychological, inner reality is in no way less true than the exploration of an outward objective reality. '
36 Mohan Rakesh
Wrote his first play after studying the entrails of a squid. He was on an upward trajectory from there.
A distinct gift for bebop dialogue.
Did he ever crack Minsk?
37 Martin McDonagh
Really? Nobody bothered to add Mcdonagh.. Pillowman? The Lonesome West? A Skull in Connemara? The Beauty Queen of Leenane? The Cripple of Inishmaan? The Lieutenant of Inishmore? The Banshees of Inisheer? A Behanding in Spokane?
Great narrative skill and a strong grasp of theatrical plasticity.
Irish hijinks with a dash of Grand Guignol.
Brazenly pilfers from Pinter, Mamet and Tarantino with less than stellar results. A bit of a dud.
38 Bertolt Brecht
Eugen Bertolt Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956) was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director of the 20th century. He made contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter through the tours undertaken by the Berliner Ensemble – the post-war theatre company ...read more.
Eugen Bertolt Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956) was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director of the 20th century. He made contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter through the tours undertaken by the Berliner Ensemble – the post-war theatre company ...read more. Brecht shaped the modern theater as we know it today, as profoundly as any writer of the entire 20th Century.
His theatrical colleagues complained that he didn't wash and his clothes 'reeked of cigar smoke'.
A literary chameleon in a bright red coat.
39 George Bernard Shaw
Shaw was a towering figure; deserves to be much further up the list.
Come on: he was a socialist. Rank should not apply.
GB Shaw.. This low... The irony of it
40 Heinrich von Kleist
Heinrich was sometimes short of a dollar, but never short of ideas.
41 Karel Čapek
Even with his warped ideas of 'spiritual inequality', he managed to write great plays.
Muscular dialogue with a pronounced backbeat.
42 August Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg (22 January 1849 – 14 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over sixty plays and more than thirty works ...read more.
Johan August Strindberg (22 January 1849 – 14 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over sixty plays and more than thirty works ...read more. An object lesson in turning neurosis into art.
One of the founders of the modern theatre, a playwright whom GB Shaw considered 'the only genuinely Shakespearean modern dramatist'.
43 Girish Karnad
Girish was a good friend of my aunt and she rated him very highly.
44 Tom Stoppard
Dazzling to some; too clever by half to others.
Intricately perfect plays. Genius.
45 Federico García Lorca
He once shocked guests at a literary luncheon by wearing his underpants on the outside.
46 Gil Vicente
Despite being supressed by the Portuguese Inquisition his work has survived.
Celebrated by his peers for his 'Vicentecisms'.
Not as good as Shakespur.
47 Sam Shepard
Cowboy poet of broken America.
48 Alan Ayckbourn
One of Britain's most popular and prolific playwrights - ever.
49 J. M. Barrie
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM (9 May 1860 – 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan.
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM (9 May 1860 – 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. God bless the 'Lost Boys'.
50 Aristophanes
His historical significance shouldn't blind us to the fact that his plays are essentially sex comedies with smattering of philosophical small talk.
One of the enduring ancients.
Genius or charlatan? Only his mother knew.
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List Stats
1,000 votes
96 listings
10 years, 174 days old
96 listings
10 years, 174 days old
Top Remixes
1. Jean Racine
2. Kalidasa
3. William Shakespeare
Advocatus2011
2. Kalidasa
3. William Shakespeare
Advocatus2011
1. William Shakespeare
2. Euripides
3. Samuel Beckett
Bruno2202
2. Euripides
3. Samuel Beckett
Bruno2202
1. William Shakespeare
2. Arthur Miller
3. Noel Coward
SirDan
2. Arthur Miller
3. Noel Coward
SirDan
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