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Shakespeare and Plagiarism Essay

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Shakespeare and Plagiarism William Shakespeare is one of the world’s greatest playwrights; however, some say that he does not fully deserve the credit for his work because he plagiarized the work of others. Shakespeare, who was born in Stratford upon Avon in 1564, is also known as the “Bard” and has written countless plays and poems which have given rise to several novels and movie plots (Chandy). It is said that he found most of his inspiration from nature, as he mentions birds in his works more than any other author (Mabillard). There is not enough evidence to prove that Shakespeare did not plagiarize, nor is there enough to prove that he did. However, from what is known, he did nothing that could get him the knowledge needed to be …show more content…

Some people still like to argue the fact that Shakespeare was not wealthy had a lack of education and would have had a difficult time writing such elaborate works without help (wheeler). There are several people who are believed to be the “real William Shakespeare” including Sir Francis Bacon, the Earl of Oxford, the Earl of Essex, Christopher Marlowe and Queen Elizabeth I herself (Mabillard). This is mainly due to the fact that during the time of Shakespeare these were highly educated and popular people. Also, there are some theories which state that Shakespeare is really just an out-of-town actor who took the credit for countless works done by other authors and playwrights (did Shakespeare actually write all his plays), and there is a record of him acting in front of Queen Elizabeth in 1594 (Chandy). The main reason that these people believed to be the “real” Shakespeare, is Shakespeare lacks the background, education, and breeding in order to write such great plays and poems. William Shakespeare could possibly just be a political cover-up for a politician or a nobleman. “A nobleman could have written the plays but the plays were meant to be read as political commentary, with each character corresponding on a one-to-one basis with real political figures”

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