Sylvan Barnet was a Shakespearean scholar and an American literary critic. He was also a Fletcher Professor of English Emeritus at Tufts University.

Barnet is the author of numerous books and articles on Shakespeare. He is the author of A Short Guide to Shakespeare, the general editor of the Signet Classics Shakespeare, and has written many textbooks. He is the co-author with William Burto of occasional essays on aspects of Japanese art. He has also written books about the art of writing.