Excessive admiration or worship of bards, particularly of Shakespeare or other celebrated poets.
From 'bard' + '-olatry' (from Greek 'latreia,' worship). This term emerged in the 19th century when Shakespeare worship reached fever pitch, combining the bard's revered status with the Greek concept of religious devotion.
Bardolatry exploded during the Victorian era when Shakespeare was treated as a secular religion—scholars could spend entire careers debating whether he wrote a single word, showing how obsessed we become with literary genius.
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