Editing Playwright (section)

{{Short description|Person who writes plays}}
{{For|the software|Playwright (software)}}
[[File:Benjamin Jonson by Abraham van Blyenberch.jpg|thumb|[[Ben Jonson]] coined the term "playwright".]]
A '''playwright''' or '''dramatist''' is a person who writes [[play (theatre)|play]]s, which are a form of [[drama]] that primarily consists of [[dialogue]] between [[Character (arts)|characters]] and is intended for [[Theatre|theatrical]] [[performance]] rather than just
[[Reading (process)|reading]]. [[Ben Jonson]] coined the term "playwright" and is the first person in [[English literature]] to refer to playwrights as separate from [[Poet|poets]].  

The earliest playwrights in [[Western literature]] with surviving works are the [[Ancient Greek]]s. [[William Shakespeare]] is amongst the most famous playwrights in literature, both in England and across the world.