William Shakespeare Research Paper

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

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.

One of the most argued cases in history is whether or not William Shakespeare was the one to write his own plays, or if he had someone else write them for him. There are numerous amounts of arguments agreeing that Shakespeare wrote his plays, and then there are numerous amounts disagreeing with his penmanship of “his” plays. According to some sources, Shakespeare was an impractical choice to write such famous works of art due to his lack of traveling, and his lack of education (Hechinge). These theories come into play when explaining that Shakespeare was, indeed, a fraud.

While the ideas of the true identity of Shakespeare have differed over the years in an almost trend-like fashion, a very popular idea has surfaced over the last century. The most prolific debate today is between the Stratfordians, or those who claim Shakespeare to be the true author, and the Oxfordians, those who claim Edward DeVere, Earl of Oxford, to be the true author.

People assume that just because as Pruitt (2015) explains “...Nothing has been found documenting the 37 plays and 154 sonnets” (p. 1) that Shakespeare did not do his own work. Everyone believes someone else with more of an education is the mastermind behind the plays and sonnets. Someone like Christopher Marlowe, Edward de Vere, Francis Bacon, or perhaps a group of people.

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.

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

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

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.

The different theories people have fabricated has caused a major controversy over the authorship of William Shakespeare's famous plays. With the few surviving documents we have, we can see small glimpses into the life of William Shakspeare. All that we know about Shakespeare's

William Shakespeare was a playwright, poet, and actor. He wrote thirty seven plays, one hundred and fifty four sonnets, and five long poems. He is also considered to be one of the greatest writers in the English language and all over the world. These three sources talked about the theories surrounding the actual author of Shakespeare’s plays, poems, and sonnets. Shakespeare did not write the plays, sonnets, and poems that he said he did because he didn’t have an education and he didn’t have any connections to the royal court.

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

William Shakespeare is known to be the “greatest English-speaking writer in history” and an England’s national poet, actor, and an extremely successful playwright. During Shakespeare’s acting career in London, he started writing all about “European geography, culture, and diverse personalities (History.com).” Willm Shakspere or William Shakspeare, as written by him, then went on to write plays. His first three plays were all created around or a little before 1592 and captured the core studied categories; tragedy (Titus Andronicus), comedy (The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Comedy of Errors and The Taming of the Shrew), and history (Henry VI trilogy and Richard III). He wrote plays and sonnets for many theater companies, was one of the main playwrights for the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, which was renamed the King’s Men when James I was in charge, and formed the Globe theater in 1599 with other partners. Shakespeare’s unique language, themes, verses, format, characters, and plots makes his writing universal to every culture and time period. Shakespeare is still taught in school nowadays due to its’ educational and transitional purposes. Shakespeare continues to influence modern-day life and I believe will for a long time to come.