Argumentative Essay: Was Shakespeare A Writer?

Lastly, The director of Anonymous states that there are no educational records or any other records connecting to Shakespeare. It is nearly impossible to gain the amount of knowledge Shakespeare had with out going to school. There are no records to prove that Shakespeare ever attended the Stratford grammar school, yet the work of who really wrote these plays shows extensive knowledge about medicine, astronomy, art, music, military, law, philosophy, and activities such as royal tennis and falconry (Ten reason). It is unbelievable for one to know all that without even a trace of school. This suggests that some one else wrote the plays because Shakespeare does not have the education and knowledge to do so. Likewise, it is strange how one knows so much about foreign countries without ever leaving their country. Shakespeare’s records show that he has never left

Throughout the last century, a raging phenomenon known as the “Authorship Debate”, has come to light. It disputes whether Shakespeare himself wrote the plays and sonnets or if it was someone else writing under a pseudonym. There are countless theories of who the writer might actually be but the main suspects are Shakespeare himself, Edward de Vere, Sir Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, William Stanley, Roger Manners, Sir Walter Raleigh and Mary Sidney Herbert (Pressley).

Shakespeare, the man who wrote 37 plays and more than a hundred sonnets, is known throughout the world. Many people consider him one of the best English playwrights of our time, others say that he was a genius.

In 1564, a man was born by the name of William Shakespeare. He was born to a poor family, was given little education, and had no interaction with sophisticated society. Thirty-eight plays and over 150 sonnets are not attributed to this ignorant man. Those who believe that Shakespeare was the author have no definitive proof but instead point to Hamlet’s declaration: "The play’s the thing(Satchell 71)." The true author, however, lies hidden behind he name of Shakespeare. Edward de Vere the premier Earl of Oxford is not only considered a great poet in history, but he may also be the great playwright who concocted the sonnets and plays which are now attributed to William Shakespeare of Stratford, England.

One of the most argued cases in history is whether or not William Shakespeare was the one to write his own plays, or if he had someone else write them for him. There are numerous amounts of arguments agreeing that Shakespeare wrote his plays, and then there are numerous amounts disagreeing with his penmanship of “his” plays. According to some sources, Shakespeare was an impractical choice to write such famous works of art due to his lack of traveling, and his lack of education (Hechinge). These theories come into play when explaining that Shakespeare was, indeed, a fraud.

The large body of work attributed to William Shakespeare shows education, experience, creativity, and wisdom far beyond what many people are willing to accept came from a single author. Due to the scarcity of facts surrounding Shakespeare’s life, speculation arouse about whether or not he actually wrote his works became more common. In the mid-1800s ideas about other authors were brought forward. However, these theories have little sustenance, and it is likely that the entire body of work attributed to Shakespeare in fact belonged to Shakespeare himself.

      Abstract:  The debate over the legitimacy of the authorship of Shakespearean works has been disputed for centuries. While many scholars have held beliefs that Shakespeare's works have been written by figures such as Christopher Marlowe, Francis Bacon, William Stanley, and others, the most heated debate today is between William Shakespeare and Edward DeVere, the Earl of Oxford. Each side of this debate has many followers, the Stratfordians, or those who claim Shakespeare to be the true author, and the Oxfordians who believe that true credit should go to DeVere. My paper, far from being a complete analysis of the possibilities of Shakespearean authorship, attempts to summarize and rationalize the

To start from the beginning of the controversy, the earliest actual documentation of such findings began in 1785 by an oxford scholar named James Wilmot. It was here that when James came up “empty-handed” of any evidence of Shakespeare’s plays did he come to the conclusion that it had to have been someone else and that someone was Sir Francis Bacon. James however never reported anything and on his deathbed actually destroyed his writings, but not before telling a fellow scholar, James Corton Cowell, his findings. Cowell would leave and make a presentation to the Ipswich Philosophic Society, and so began the greatest mystery of whether William Shakespeare was a famous playwright or a fraud taking credit for the work of someone else.

There are a variety of theories that suggest that Sir Francis Bacon was, in fact, William Shakespeare. Supporters of these claims refer to Shakespeare’s writing style, lack of education, and reportedly hidden messages within his texts as some of the evidence that indicates that Bacon was the real author of the many plays and poems attributed to Shakespeare. However, these assertions do not conclusively substantiate the Bacon theory and only attempt to discredit the real William Shakespeare. Therefore, Sir Francis Bacon did not write as William Shakespeare.

The Shakespeare name is known by almost everyone. The true identity of the great writer is still a mystery. There isn’t a single picture to portray the true identity of Shakespeare. When you look at the pictures they are different and resemble someone else. We know that he was a well educated business man, knowledgeable in the law and Royalty just for starters. The man credited with the works doesn’t poses these qualities. Over the years, more people ask the same question, who was the true Shakespeare?

Shakespeare was a playwright from Stratford who had arguably the most influential affect on English literature and the English language. His works are still praised to this day for their divine superiority, however, controversy in exceeding amounts has risen over the dispute of his authorship. This controversy has been the topic of many arguments between differently opinionated scholars who support opposing theories and beliefs (Friedman XV). "A difficult dilemma confronts biographers who tell the story of the glove maker's son from Stratford-on-Avon who is supposed to have become the world's greatest poet and dramatist" (Whalen 3). It may seem odd that this confusion and doubt had come to light in the first place, as the origin of

For many centuries, there has been a controversy over whether or not Shakespeare wrote his plays himself or whether another author wrote the works and gave him the credit. Shakespeare (1564-1616) is recorded to have written 37 plays and 154 sonnets, but the authorship of Shakespeare’s work has been disputed. There is valid reason to believe that Francis Bacon is the genuine author behind Shakespeare’s name. Bacon’s similar high status, numerous travels, and the Baconian theory are valuable reasons that give evidence to Bacon possibly being the author.

While William Shakespeare’s name is written on many famous plays such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream and more, did he actually write the plays? The truth is, that there is no solid proof that William Shakespeare was a writer at all, except for his signature scrawled on the manuscripts. Over the years, many people and organizations have claimed that other people have written the plays, such as, Christopher Marlowe, Francis Bacon, William Stanley, Edward De Vere and even Queen Elizabeth I. All of these people were good writers, and there is a possibility that one of them wrote Shakespeare, but why would somebody write under a pen name? The answer is, they would not, unless they were hiding something. The only person

Who was Shakespeare? Was he a man from Stratford-Upon-Avon who started with little and became the greatest English author to ever live; or was he a privileged Earl who was a favorite at Queen Elizabeth’s court? That is the great mystery. This particular mystery is difficult to solve because of the lack of documentary evidence. The Elizabethans did not believe in getting everything in writing as people do today. Therefore, the truth may never be known with certainty. However, evidence does exist to support at least two theories about the Shakespearean authorship: one that the man from Stratford wrote the works, the other that Edward de Vere the Earl of Oxford was the author. The question then becomes, which

Hechinger, Paul. "Did Shakespeare Really Write His Plays? A Few Theories Examined." BBC America. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2017.