A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than mere reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwright" and is the first person in English literature to refer to playwrights as separate from poets.
The earliest playwrights in Western literature with surviving works are the Ancient Greeks. William Shakespeare is one of the most famous playwrights in English literature.