Why is Shakespeare called the "bard if Avon" and the "Swan of Avon"?

The Avon is a river that flows through Shakespeare's hometown of Stratford. A bard was a minstrel poet, and since Shakespeare's writing was poetic, it makes sense that he would be called "The Bard of Avon." The Swan of Avon was a name given to Shakespeare by Ben Jonson an Elizabethan playright.  more