The Controversy Behind Shakespeare's Work

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.

Among writers and historians, the lack of historical evidence about the life of William Shakespeare has been the main cause of much controversy. Many people doubt that if he was the author of such shocking and transcendental pieces of literature. As a result, the uncertainty that surrounds the authenticity of his persona has increased. Since his childhood, there is no record of Shakespeare attending primary or even university studies. Compared with many other poets and writers his literary training was scarce and his social position was not very favorable to access some kind of help. Many people tend to argue that a man with such a low academic level would be able to possess the rigorous legal, historical and mathematical knowledge that is

One of the first men brought up to be the credible writer of each work of art was Sir Francis Bacon (Hechinge). It is believed that he wrote the plays due to his level of education and social status (Hechinge). In the article it states, “As a leading figure of the English Renaissance, he certainly had the biography for it: educated at Cambridge, widely traveled, Bacon was a famous philosopher, one of the inventors of the scientific method, who also led a literary society,” and it is know that someone with an education has a better chance at knowing 29,066 different words (Hechinge). Not only was it believed because of his higher education, but many people believed they found secret messages in Shakespeare’s plays that pointed to Sir Francis Bacon being the writer (Hechinge). A man named Dr. Isaac Platt found out that by extracting certain letters from this line in Hamlet, “"The funeral baked meats did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables,” ended up with an anagram of “FR. BACONI NATI,” which according to Latin, means that Francis Bacon was the true playwright (Wheeler)

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.

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

    Bacon grew up during an amazing time in history, between 1561-1626, as well as was trained during the age of rhetoric. He was both an English Renaissance statesman and philosopher. He was best known for the use of the scientific method, which is the strategy to use ideas and argue for a more observational approach. He attended Trinity College located in Cambridge when he was only 12 years old and finished his courses

Shakespeare wrote thirty seven dramatic works between 1580s and 1613. But the exact chronology of its plays is still subject to discussion. However, the volume of its creations does not have to appear as exceptional compared to the standards of his period. Anti-Stratfordians a collective term for adherents of the various alternative authorship theories believe that Shakespeare of Stratford was a front to shield the identity of the real author or authors. Arguments that tries to prove that Shakespeare did not write his plays are that a commoner from Stratford would be unable to write good plays, a nobleman would have the education and experience to write these plays but he would have to hide his hobby to avoid social stigma also anagrams in

Shakespeare is one of the most famous dramatist and poet in England. His literature works have been translated into more than 80 languages. He is the England's pride, and the world's treasure because he not only helped to shape the English we use today, introducing up to 300 words and dozens of well-known phrases but also wrote plays that are known around the world for their universal themes and insight into the human condition. However historians don’t know his date of birth, where he was educated or how he spent seven years of his life and even the playwright of his play is a mystery.

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.

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