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 …show more content…
It is hard to believe that a man like Shakespeare could have understood all the court insights. A poor Stratford man, without any connections to noblemen, could not have wrote about the French court so detailed in Love’s Labour’s Lost. Also, Oxfordians believe that de Vere wrote earlier plays for court performances. However, noblemen associated with the public was not highly valued during Oxford’s time; hence, de Vere could have used a pseudonym to cover his true identity. Moreover, Oxfordians claim that Shakespeare is not the true author due to his lack of education. As a son of a glove maker, Shakespeare could not have afford to be sent school to receive formal schooling. Bethell indicates that there are no records of Shakespeare’s attendance at grammar school. The fact that Shakespeare had a limited chance to gain education becomes crucial when interpreting his works because his plays are written with accurate grammar and powerful diction. As a result, Oxfordians advocates that Edward de Vere has to be the real author of Shakespeare’s plays because de Vere was able to afford proper education. Evidently, Oxfordians’ justifications to confirm the authorship of Edward de Vere are demonstrated from de Vere and Shakespeare’s …show more content…
Many critics of Hamlet have recognized the resemblance between de Vere and its protagonist. They were Renaissance men of diverse talents; both were scholars, poets, and even athletes. Besides their correspondence, many ironically similar events occurred both in Hamlet and De Vere’s life. To begin with, Edward had made multiple allusions to Hamlet in his own writing. In 1573, he contributed a preface to an English translation of a book consoling advice, Cardanus Comfort, which was also known by scholars as “Hamlet’s book.” In the play, Hamlet’s most trusted friend was Horatio. Edward de Vere’s most trusted relative was Horace Vere, who, in some documents, was called Horatio. In both the play and real life, Hamlet and Edward, on route to England, had been captured by pirates, which both ended in sea battles. These discoveries, that were initially ignored because they were thought to be acts of desperation after the debunk of Francis Bacon as the authorship, eventually was noted by many scholars to be
While William Shakespeare’s name is written on many famous plays such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream and more, did he actually write the plays? The truth is, that there is no solid proof that William Shakespeare was a writer at all, except for his signature scrawled on the manuscripts. Over the years, many people and organizations have claimed that other people have written the plays, such as, Christopher Marlowe, Francis Bacon, William Stanley, Edward De Vere and even Queen Elizabeth I. All of these people were good writers, and there is a possibility that one of them wrote Shakespeare, but why would somebody write under a pen name? The answer is, they would not, unless they were hiding something. The only person
The article was written by Allan Hall, who reviewed the book and gives us an exceptional overview of the author’s own arguments from each chapter. Hall first addresses that Kurt Kreiler, the author of the book, was an established Shakespeare scholar who gives mountains of evidence in his book to prove that we have been revering the wrong man for many centuries. Instead, Kreiler claims that Edward de Vere actually wrote them, by stating that some of de Vere’s well-known works have a strong “Shakespearean style” and also makes clear that there is some sort of connection between Shakespeare and Earl’s nickname- “Spear-shaker.” Kreiler goes on to talk about de Vere’s education in contrast to the lowly-born Shakespeare. De Vere was supposedly
Shakespeare’s authorship that people use to prove his writings are indeed his. The first point
Well that is true, when shakespeare past away they found no poems no books nothing that would suggest he has even read a poem befor. No books or poems is already a big red flag on him writing the poems but another problem would be we only have six very shaky signatures from him. While he left his wife the second best bed, thats all she received since there was no poems or books in his will. With only six signatures from shakespeare and all of them being spelled differently but none spelled the same as the playwright, that would lead me to wonder if he did write the plays or is he just the lucky sap that was chose to take credit for the
The name William Shakespeare brings to mind visions of old English literature that is still used to this day. Although there is a controversy that William Shakespeare was not the real author, there are indications found that Edward de Vere was the true author of Shakespeare’s plays. The question is, who is the real author to Shakespeare’s works? I believe Edward de Vere wrote Shakespeare based upon his higher education, and by events that happened in his life which could be tied to Shakespeare’s plays. Many books that were written by William Shakespeare tend to have the words “probably” or “maybe” which gives the illusion that William Shakespeare was a man of false value. I believe that Edward De Vere is the real author to Shakespeare’s works.
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
William Shakespeare, by far one of the greatest playwrights of all time, is clouded with controversy. Rumors run rampant that he was nothing more than a non de plume for someone who wished to keep the anonymity of his identity. There have been names such as Edward De Vere the 17th Earl of Oxford, Sir Francis Bacon, even Queen Elizabeth herself was among those thought to be the true writer of the plays and poems.
In the 1500s there was no online databases or bibliographies that floated around through generations that kept facts about people in the past. Most of the information we know about these people are from historical records that were necessary or from personal journals that people kept. Shakespeare did not write his works but rather someone who went under this alias and used this "title" to remain hidden and private from the public eye. Maybe the real author of these sonnets and great feats of literature were really written by a man named Edward de Vere. The only real evidence that de Vere could not have written Shakespeare is that he died before some of Shakespeare's works were published, but they could have been written before de Vere's death
How do we know that Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare? We know because the historical record tells us so, strongly and unequivocally. The historical evidence demonstrates that one and the same man, William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon, was William Shakespeare the player, William Shakespeare the Globe-sharer, and William Shakespeare the author of the plays and poems that bear his name -- and no person of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras ever doubted the attribution. No Elizabethan ever suggested that Shakespeare's plays and poems were written by someone else, or that Shakespeare the player was not Shakespeare the author, or that Shakespeare the Globe-sharer was not Shakespeare of Stratford. No contemporary of Shakespeare's ever suggested
plays are too scholarly to have been written by a man without a degree, but that,
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).
William Shakspere was born in Stratford-upon Avon in 1564 and died in 1616 at the age of 52. In the mid-19th century, questions had arisen about the Shakespeare authorship controversy, and many scholars wondered whether Shakspere, the man from Stratford, wrote the plays. Ralph W. Emerson once said, ?I can not ?marry? Shakspere?s life to Shakespeare?s work? (qtd. in Bethell 48). In many ways, he was right, some things just did not link up. Many people started noticing this thus two opposing sides were formed. Those who believed
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