The Shakespearian Authorship Controversy Analysis

Others also say that there was little evidence left behind about his childhood and later his career as a playwright and poet in London (Goode 9-10). Many scholars that studied Shakespeare?s plays found evidence that whoever wrote the plays must have been the best educated man of his time with knowledge on horsemanship, biology, falconry, astronomy, law, botany, several languages like Italian, French, and Latin, and many other subjects that a common man without much formal education would not poses (Lardner 7).

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.

When you hear the word Shakespeare, you probably think that it is meant for the people that use intellectual language, the literary types, or even the people who have a higher reading level than the average person. Well, a college professor named Michael Mack argues that Shakespeare can be for everyone once you understand it and it can relate to the real world or be a reflection of it. Mack produces an effective argument that although Shakespeare is difficult, it is worth the effort. Through his use of rhetorical devices and counterclaims.

One of the most common pieces of evidence used to support that Shakespeare did not write his own plays was his social status. Shakespeare was a

      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

Shakespeare was one of the most famous people known to literature. He made thirty-eight plays in his lifetime. Being as famous has he was, there was some controversy. Some controversy that a person may believe involving Shakespeare is the authorship conspiracy. Some people believe that there were other authors thats wrote parts of Shakespeare's plays. According to The Telegraph, Edward de Vere wrote poetry similar to Shakespeare's. Some believe that there is references from de Vere in some of the scripts written by Shakespeare. This theory was put forward in the film Anonymous. Another example of controversy that some people believe in is that there are similarities between Sir Francis Bacon and Shakespeare's plays. This theory that was put

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

For many centuries, there has been a controversy over whether or not Shakespeare wrote his plays himself or whether another author wrote the works and gave him the credit. Shakespeare (1564-1616) is recorded to have written 37 plays and 154 sonnets, but the authorship of Shakespeare’s work has been disputed. There is valid reason to believe that Francis Bacon is the genuine author behind Shakespeare’s name. Bacon’s similar high status, numerous travels, and the Baconian theory are valuable reasons that give evidence to Bacon possibly being the author.

For this project, I believe that I am an anti-stratfordian. There is no possible way that Shakespeare could have written all of his works in such minimal time. Going into this project, I expect to form a more educated and informed opinion on this matter. I would like to acknowledge both sides of the argument and pick a side. Before I started researching for this project, I had no idea where to start. Frankly, I didn’t even realize how controversial the Shakespeare’s authorship question really was. I wasn’t sure which websites were true or which ones simply wanted you to believe their side, no matter what false information they presented to you. However, by the end of my research, I am hoping to find four reliable and informative websites

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

Shakespeare’s authorship is being called into question. Reasonings include, multiple indecipherable signatures, the lack of a poet or playwright reputation and missing records. Shakespeare only has six signatures and all can be found on legal documents. Although he is claimed to be a reputable poet, he never had a poet or playwright reputation. There are suspiciously no signatures on any of his works, which creates no record of him being a true author. This evidence leads one to believe he is not an author, but rather a plagiarist. Many authors believe he is still the author with arguments such as the signatures could be a result of different ways to spell the name, or the reputation debate is because he performed in London, but was a businessman

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.

Shahan, John M. Shakespeare beyond Doubt?: Exposing an Industry in Denial. Tamarac, FL: Llumina, 2013. Print.

Shakespeare has been such a big part of all our lives by dominating our literature classes. To have someone state he may be fake is such a crazy thought. Looking at all the research and viewpoints on whether William Shakespeare really is who we all think of him to be is very intriguing. There are so many different thoughts and questions that arise. After reading articles and watching a documentary, I believe Shakespeare is not the person we have always thought him to be. To have written these outstanding plays, sonnets, and poems it would have taken someone with great grammar, lots of education, including politics and royalty, and the ability to travel around the world.

As we all know William Shakespeare was a well known and a highly sought after writer, but did he really deserve all that fame? As early as 1709, with Nicholas Rowe's publication of his edition of Shakespeare's works, the little information that we had about William Shakespeare began to show. Other than several early minor accounts, the preface of Nicholas Rowe's edition contained the first biography of William Shakespeare. Rowe presented eleven known facts about Shakespeare's life. By 1821, however, Edmond Malone in one of his editions of Shakespeare he claims that eight of Rowe's facts were incorrect. Around the early twentieth century, a few more questionable discoveries had been made about Shakespeare's life and biographies that contained