William Shakespeare's Controversy

Serious and intense skepticism began in the 19th century when adoration for Shakespeare was at its highest. The most notable taking place about 150 years after his death. This is when questions rose about the authorship of William Shakespeare's plays. Scholars and historians have debated this topic. The real question is: “How could Shakespeare write with such profound skills in English and Writing when he did not finish school?” (Hechinger, “Did Shakespeare Really Write His Plays? A Few Theories Examined.”). Many claim Shakespeare wasn’t intelligent enough to write his plays. His plays contain a deep knowledge of English novels, yet Shakespeare did not have a university education. Whatever the truth may be, it is undeniable that whoever wrote the plays has immense

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.

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.

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

William Shakespeare is a name familiar to nearly every English-speaking person. He is known as a poet, playwright and actor, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language. While many people might know a thing or two about Shakespeare, does anyone stop to think about what the world was like around him? What kind of trials and tribulations did the people of that Era have to face? What type of people did Shakespearian productions attract?

The lack of information that is available about his life is quite minimal and has been the backbone of the attacks and arguments against Shakespeare's legitimacy (Hastings 480). "Shakespearean scholars have often had to deal with arguments that Shakespeare did not have the birth, breeding, or education necessary to write the plays" (Friedman XV). However, the information about his occupation and his life in business and real estate gives evidence to his life as an actor (Whalen 3). As a business man, it is argued that Shakespeare was invoked in "petty transactions" rather than being a playwright. The is an inadequate amount of facts in regards to claims of Shakespeare's petty

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.

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

These double standards are as illogical as any other is. They, and the practices that led to them, have luckily fallen to the wayside. Shakespeare’s capture of these double standards in his work allows modern humanity to look at them, and see how little sense they make. Humanity should apply this understanding to the double standards which plague it

The subject I am writing about the controversies during Shakespeare's life. One of the controversies is people are asking did he have a co author , which helped him write his play All’s well. People who found the book found fingerprints of William Shakespeare's and also Thomas Middleton. Thomas Middleton which also help him with Women Beware Women. There is another one where many people are saying it’s very possible that he wrote more plays than we thought. There is a big possibility that he could have written a large number of plays that were never released to the public. One of the weird more serious more controversies is that many people say that he could have been a drug addict. In 2001 Thackeray said they found traces of cannabis residue

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 most controversial and subjective argument stems from the apparent wealth of knowledge possessed by the Shakespearean author. Throughout the plays and sonnets, he makes numerous classical allusions. Oxfordians claim that the Shakespeare from Stratford (usually referred to as Shakspere in the debates) could not have possessed the necessary knowledge to draw upon these sources. Tom Bethell, another noted Oxfordian, writes that “Shakspere is not known to have attended Stratford grammar school … [and] if he was a pupil, he probably was not one for long” (Bethell). However, respected Stratfordian Irvin Matus argues that no records of anyone attending the school exist before the 1800’s (Matus). He also notes that Ben Jonson, a contemporary of Shakespeare’s and a revered playwright, did not have “much more than a few years of rudimentary schooling” and that there are no attendance records for Jonson’s school before 1715 (Matus). On his comprehensive Stratfordian website, David Kathman asserts that “Shakespeare’s classical knowledge, while impressive by our standards, was

None of his schooling and no handwritten manuscripts have been found by him, despite being a famous writer and actor during the time. Many doubters of Shakespeare think lowly of his authenticity due to this lack of documentation, the argument of the true meaning of the words that were written by him, and the high possibility that a man with such lowly background could have never written such magnificent literature. Some even goes as far as to say that Shakespeare leached his plays off of others. “The poet-ape” began his career as a (plays?) broker and then emboldened, he became an out-and-out play thief.” (Anderson 318)