The Real William Shakespeare Conspiracy

      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.

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

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.

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.

These critics like to point to the lack of public records. And also to the writings of literary figures, claiming that some reference to Shakespeare in a literary context should have been made at some point in his life. Giving the impression that maybe another person wrote the plays, someone with a motive to conceal his or her own identity and using the Stratford actor, William Shakespeare, as a so called front man. Writers throughout history have sought to hide their identities behind fake names and fronts, so it wouldn’t be a surprise that a writer who dealt with potentially controversial topics at a time of great religious and political conflict in England may have been the man behind the curtain. The more puzzling question is why the secret of their true identity would have been kept after he died. A few possible theories have been suggested, but without any conclusive evidence. If he wasn’t really the author, who was William Shakespeare? With the little evidence found it supports the idea that he was a simple businessman from Stratford who was also a owner of a theater and sometimes a minor actor in London. Some have proposed that he may have knowingly fronted for whoever the real author was, however it is still unclear whether he played this role or why. If he was a front, he kept such it such a

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”

“Like alien autopsies and the second gunman, the belief that someone other than a glover's son from Stratford wrote William Shakespeare's plays is a conspiracy theory that refuses to die” said Jumana Farouky in The Mystery of Shakespeare's identity article. There are a lot of conspiracy theories but one that many people are familiar with is the theory that William Shakespeare may or may not have written or created his plays. Many people hold on to the belief that Shakespeare wrote all his plays, and others think that someone other than Shakespeare wrote them and that William Shakespeare was never even a person. If that is true then who came up with the brilliant plays and poems that were created? When you think about the Shakespeare conspiracy theory and if it is real or not do you think about how...how could all of his even happened without the person William Shakespeare being real in the first place.

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).

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.

In William Shakespeare 's play 1 Henry IV, deception is a recurring theme. Main characters King Henry IV and Hotspur deceived other characters in order to benefit themselves. Were these characters deceiving their subordinates for the sole purpose of gaining power for themselves or were their choices and actions political strategy geared toward gaining honor and maintaining the well-being of the nation? It is hard to answer this with an exact, correct answer since the only person that can really answer the question is no longer here, but from these two characters’ actions we can draw conclusions. However, it is not as black and white what their intentions were when they used deception since they both show qualities that make their deception look good and bad. The question arises from this, did King Henry and Hotspur use their deception merely for their own personal benefit or for the benefit of the country as a whole? Shakespeare depicted King Henry as having more complicated reasons for taking the throne since we see both sides where he shows he wants it for his own benefit but also we see that he wants it for the benefits of others while with Hotspur it is pretty clear to see that he used deception to try and gain power just for selfish reasons.

The debate of the true authorship of Shakespeare is one that has been argued for centuries. While there are various theories to suggest that William Shakespeare, the man from Stratford on Avon was not the true author of the plays produced within his lifetime, one theory in particular seems to hold the most concrete evidence. The authorship theory about Edward de Vere, Seventeenth Earl of Oxford seems to have the most historical evidence proving that he is the writer of the plays and sonnets under the pseudonym William Shakespeare. Looking at DeVere’s personal life, one can see how his social status and access to higher education would have made it more credible for him to have written such literary masterpieces. Various circumstances of historical fact found about de Vere’s life are mirrored in the circumstances and relationships found within the works of Shakespeare. The rich settings in which many of the plays are set include traditional and historical details that could not have been available to anyone who did not travel to these places themselves. Lastly many of the biblical passages and allusions found in the work of Shakespeare are also found in the Bible that de Vere had his personal marks. There are too many historical facts found about DeVere that coincide with the plays of Shakespeare that cannot be brushed aside as coincidence. This essay will aim to show how these historical facts lead to solid proof that Edward DeVere was in fact the true author of the works

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

Sometimes there are holes in the understanding and knowledge we have of things. To help us understand, we try and patch those holes with what are called conspiracy theories. William Shakespeare's life is one big quilt filled with holes. People all over the world have come up with conspiracy theories to try and fill these gaps in his life. Some are made with educated guesses while others are just wild theories made by people who just happened to stumble upon William Shakespeare. The different theories people have fabricated has caused a major controversy over the authorship of William Shakespeare's famous plays.