Worship of, or idolizing, the "Bard of Avon"; that is, Shakespeare; occasionally it is also a reference to other writers.

George Bernard Shaw once described a Shakespeare play as "stagy trash". On another occasion, Shaw said he'd like to dig Shakespeare from the grave and throw stones at him. Shaw could beequally scathing toward Shakespeare's adoring fans. He called them "foolish Bardolaters," and he wrote about Bardolatrous ignoramuses, and called blind Shakespeare worship Bardolatry.

As odd as it may appear after such denunciations, Shaw didn't despise Shakespeare or his work; on the contrary, he was, by his own admission, an admirer, but he disdained those who put Shakespeare beyond reproach.