bard, barred

Bard or bard means a poet or a reciter of poems or traditional lore--
Shakespeare is often called the "Bard of Avon".
The bard spent many years learning to recite all of the ancient epics.

Bard also means a piece of armor for a horse--
The horse's polished bard shone in the sun.
Bard also means to secure with a strip of bacon or fat, in cooking--
Then bard the patties by wrapping a strip of bacon around them and securing it with a toothpick.

Barred or barred ( rhymes with bard ) means furnished or equipped with long even pieces of metal or wood ( bars )--
The windows on the first floor are barred for security.
Barred may also be the past tense ( yesterday, or some time ago ) of "bar", meaning to exclude or except--
After the fight, he was barred from the club.
Barred may also be the past tense ( yesterday, or some time ago ) of "bar", meaning to secure with a long even piece of metal or wood ( bar )--
We barred the gate before we left; don't worry about the cow.
Barred may also be the past tense of "bar", meaning to obstruct or hinder--
He wanted to leave, but she barred his way.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"His way to becoming a famous bard was barred by his poor grammar and worse spelling."

Note--Not to be confused with "bared", the past tense ( yesterday, or some time ago ) of "bare", meaning to display without covering, literally or figuratively--
He bared his soul to the world when his memoir was published.
He bared his behind, and showed it to the world.
Note #2--The past tense ( yesterday, or some time ago ) of "bard", meaning to secure with a strip of fat, is "barded"--
The chef barded the scallops with bacon.