Does Shakespeare Exist?

There are have been many arguments throughout the history of Shakespearean academia regarding the validity of Shakespeare’s authorship to Titus Andronicus, and the critics have not been shy to express their discontent of its seemingly endless violent montage. As Michael Fentiman and Harold Fuller point out of what Dr. Samuel Johnson spoke to in 1765,

For years we have had a question that no one quite knows the answer to. Was the so called Shakespeare really and truly the actual author of the 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and 5 poems? There has been a dispute between the Oxfordians, who are supporting Edward de Vere, and there are the Stratfordians, who are supporting Shakespeare. Both sides have a lot of evidence to back their positions, but who really wrote the plays, the sonnets and the poems? Three points that support the Oxfordians include Edward de Vere’s life parallels many of Shakespeare’s writings, Edward de Vere traveled to many of the countries or places that were cited in Shakespeare’s work, and Edward de Vere had the knowledge that a person would need in order to write at the level Shakespeare wrote at.

      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.

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

The conspiracies are not true! Although many people around the world believe that Shakespeare did not write his famous literature that assumption is false. Many of these people are very educated scholars that just don't think there is enough information to prove he is real . On the other hand there is no rock solid evidence that he was a fake in any way. Shakespeare was married to Anne Hathaway in 1582 and had two children named Hamnet and Judith it is pretty clear he was in fact real.

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

William Shakespeare’s works being just that is a notion most accept; however, there has been a lot of evidence and arguments by historians, who opt to challenge this notion, arguing that Shakespeare was the pen name of Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford had to conceal his authorship for social and political reasons. After careful examination of historian’s evidence this theory doesn’t measure up and it was indeed Shakespeare, who was the genuine author.

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.

Students all over the world read Shakespeare’s iconic and well known dramas. As they are seated in the classrooms, they interpret the stories differently and read each line with anticipation on what’s going to happen next. They continue relating to Shakespeare’s works in their own ways and are, overall, effected positively by his dramas. Schools should continue including Shakespeare in their curriculum because the dramas are timeless and beneficial to students.

An issue that is hotly debated is whether William Shakespeare is real or not. William Shakespeare’s personal life was always a mystery. Research shows, however, that many people believe Shakespeare is real. Therefore, I believe that William Shakespeare was Christopher Marlowe.

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).

There has been many disputes in the past regarding the roots of Shakespearean writing. Although many believe that William Shakespeare of Stratford was the writer of his own work, others suggest the possibility of another authorship. For the past decades, opposite groups have gathered clues as to who is the true author of the notable plays supposedly written by Shakespeare. The anti-Stratfordians, who do not support Shakespeare’s authorship, have coalesced to believe that a man named Edward de Vere, the seventeenth Earl of Oxford, to be the legitimate writer of Shakespeare’s plays/sonnets. On the other hand, anti-Oxfordians argue that Shakespeare is indeed the author. One of the anti-Stratfordians, Tom Bethell, persuades his audience that Edward

Shakespeare was real though he was not just one person, but a group of different writers. There have been other theories that state that Shakespeare was a penname for another writer. The theory that Shakespeare was not a person, but a group of men was first posed by the New York lawyer and journalist named Joseph C Hart in 1848. In Hart’s book, The Romance of Yachting, he asks, “the enquiry will be, who were the able literary men who wrote the dramas imputed to him?” (Hart). Hart believed in this theory, but he did not dig deeper to find out more about who the group was. In contrast, the woman named Delia Bacon wrote an article supporting the same theory. Bacon discusses in depth how she thinks the group of men are prophets of republican America.

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