why does shakespear have to be called bard of avon?

Question

how did he become bard of avon?

Answer 1

Well, he's a bard (poet, playright and all that stuff), and he's from Stratford-upon-AVON .
But no-one HAS to call him that.

Answer 2

While in one sense 'Bard' means poet, bards also sang - typically songs commemorating or memorializing great deeds and acts, usually of knights and heroes. To associate Shakespeare with bards was to connect him with a long, time-honoured tradition and to raise his reputation to the level of the classic bards and poets, like Homer and Ovid. Shakespeare became the 'Bard' when some critics, starting in the 18th Century and certainly throughout the 19th, wanted to promote Shakespeare as England's national poet. By the beginning of the 20th century there was something of a backlash against this level of Shakespeare-worship and it came to be sarcastically referred to as 'Bardolatry'.

And yes, Shakespeare was from Stratford-upon-Avon, and someone clearly thought that 'Bard of Avon' had a lovely, Romantic sound to it.

Answer 3

He was a bard, and he was from Stratford-on-Avon.

Next question.