The Shakespearean authorship question has been studied and argued for year and will continue to be argued because of lack of facts and holes in history. Shapiro wrote the book Contested Will and filled it with as much research, facts, and clue from his plays to persuade the reader to agree with his opinion. Shapiro believes that although we may not understand or have any knowledge of Shakespeare's inner workings, there is only one reasonable explanation on who wrote Shakespeare’s plays: Shakespeare did. Almost all of them on his own and a few in collaborations with scholars and writers in that time. He explains why so many believe that such a man never actually existed, by backing it up with theorist’s ideas and conspiracists. As stated
He takes current topics and proves time and time again that whether we believe in God or not, it is important to believe in something or others to keep us going. Believing gives us faith to be good human beings to each other and to others. All in all,
The debate of whether Shakespeare wrote his works will be debated for years. Both sides have strong arguments but neither have enough evidence to prove the other wrong, the thing we know is that whoever wrote them they did a spectacular job. So if you can't decide who the author is, just know that they are wonderful
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
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.
Nearly ten percent of the most quoted lines in the English language are accredited to William Shakespeare. But should this be the case? Many scholars argue that Shakespeare is not the author of his plays. In fact, none other than Edward de Vere comes to the forefront of this controversy. De Vere was highly educated, had a biographical connection to some of the characters in Shakespeare’s plays and had a similar writing structure to Shakespeare.
The works of Shakespeare are some of the most respected in English literature. They have set the standard for all the great writers who followed. Although these works have been attributed to William Shakespeare of Stratford, they could have been written by anyone. The definite authorship of a work is always uncertain, but these works are particularly contested. There are those who believe someone besides Shakespeare of Stratford wrote the works, while others believe his identity, as a whole, is a conspiracy. Clearly the author of a work is important, but some wonder if knowing the author’s identity is really worth all the fuss. The works of Shakespeare will still reign at the top of English literature no matter who wrote them. Therefore,
Few writers have managed to enter the world-wide public consciousness as well as Shakespeare; everyone knows his name and can terribly misquote his plays. Yet, for all his popularity, many of his critics have called him unlearned, saying his plays are entertaining but shallow. These same critics often point at the many inconsistencies of his writing, claiming that Shakespeare was not trying to convey anything but witticisms and beautiful sounds. Of course, even his harshest detractors acknowledge his plays and sonnets have influenced the world's literature on a scale that is intimidating; every writer of his era stood in his shadow, and modern literature stands on his
The debate between the Oxfordians and Stratfordians opens people's eyes to see the importance in authorship. Oxfordians believe that Edward De Vere holds the true authorship as well as using the pseudonym of Shakespeare to escape the consequences of the subject matter he was writing about. "De Vere Authorship Argument." De Vere Authorship Argument at Absolute Shakespeare. N.p., 2000-2005. Web. 09 Dec. 2015. There is persuasive evidence that Edward De Vere wrote the plays accredit to Shakespeare. Although we are all entitled to our own opinion there must be an answer to who the real author
“Did Shakespeare Really Write His Plays?” BBC America, http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2011/10/did-shakespeare-really-write-his-plays-a-few-theories-examined Accessed 27 February 2017. This article opened like many of the others did. “The Shakespeare authorship question has been a topic of lively controversy for nearly two centuries now”. The source detailed the evidence...and lack of evidence from Shakespeare’s life.
The different theories people have fabricated has caused a major controversy over the authorship of William Shakespeare's famous plays. With the few surviving documents we have, we can see small glimpses into the life of William Shakspeare. All that we know about Shakespeare's
THe expectation I have coming into this project is that I will learn of theories that contradict the authenticity of the man William Shakespeare. My opinion on the matter is that SHakespeare is the true author due to information I have learned through my life, knowing that there was a man named William SHakespeare who was part of the “Lord CHamberlain's Men,” an acting troop meaning Shakespeare had knowledge of the entertainment business. To start my research I looked for websites that expressed the opinions people had on the many theories that contradict Shakespeare’s authorship. As I searched I came across websites that deem to be reliable and possess the information needed to answer the question.
Concluding his argument, he introduced the idea that scripts are like the Renaissance because they only existed to put on a play. Bevington proposes that we do not need to know everything about Shakespeare’s life, nor do we need all his handwriting samples and manuscripts. For example, we don’t even have any manuscripts of plays by some of the other famous playwrights such as Jonson, Marlowe or Webster, so why does Shakespeare seem like the only victim being picked on? Bevington makes a very good point that Oxford, being along the many other claimants to the true author only, make us more curious as to try to find an answer to a problem that may not actually exist. He closes by saying that this case crashes altogether because of the lack of motive and evidence that Shakespeare isn’t the true author by trying to find some other bard to fit this great genius’ profile. I find Bevington’s argument to be very in depth, defensive and vastly persuasive on behalf of the Stratfordian point of view.
For many years, people wondered if Shakespeare actually wrote his plays. Even famous authors such as Mark Twain, Helen Keller, Charlie Chaplin, and many more spoke about it. There are theories that Sir Francis Bacon was a ghostwriters for Shakespeare. There’s even a movie that deals with this situation called “Anonymous”. Another theory that goes against Shakespeare’s authorship is the Christopher Marlowe, poet and dramatist, wrote for Shakespeare.
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).
Who is the real Shakespeare? There are those who insist that William Shakespeare is the author of the many works attributed to him and reports state that there are those who believe some type of conspiracy exists to protect the real name of the author of those works. Claims state that there is no evidence to document William Shakespeare of Stratford as the author and that he did not have the aristocratic background, education, or knowledge to have written such content as is found in the works of Shakespeare. It is reported that the evidence that does exist to document his life are inclusive of such as "mundane personal details such as vital records of his baptism, marriage and death, tax records, lawsuits to recover debts and real estate transactions." (Nicoll, 2010)