Shakespeare's Psalm 46

761 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Was Francis Bacon William Shakespeare

Shakespeare's Psalm 46

William Shakespeare is still suspect. A rough overview of the debates surrounding the author, or partial author, or non-author, reveals that: (a) Francis Bacon wrote Shakespeare's plays, (b) Ben Jonson did, (c) the Earl of Oxford penned some of them and died shortly thereafter, and then the bard (or non-bard) stole the batch, (d) nobody knows for sure, and (e) it doesn't matter. Shakespeare's corporeal existence is not in debate. More interestingly, the possibility that he, or the person or persons posing as him, might have had a hand in polishing the King James version of the Bible is also not hotly debated -- that possibility stands as the core of this essay.

Shakespeare and the King James version share a curious synchronicity, which the authors of The Story of English, point to: the bard started wrote his last play at the same time the King James Bible was released. Also important is Shakespeare's success and favor with the court in the first decade of the 17th century: "The young actor-playwright quickly caused a sensation with his plays," the authors say -- something of an understatement. A few odd facts need to be thrown in: the Authorized Version was published in 1611 and was heavily revised for nine months before publication, so that "it would not only read better but sound better." The revision took place mostly in 1610. The committee in charge of revising the initial translation was headed by John Bois and Dr. Anthony Downes, who had also coordinated the initial team of 47 translators, give or take a few. Shakespeare was not among the chosen 47, and he is not credited as one of the revisers. Nothing other than time and place links him to the Authorized Version revision -- nothing readily apparent to the eye.

Shakespeare was recognized as a gifted artist in his own time. He was favored by the same court that commissioned the Authorized Version. And the peculiar power of this Bible's prosody certainly lends itself to speculation. And then there is Psalm 46.

I first stumbled upon the strange nature of Psalm 46 in Anthony Burgess's autobiography, You've Had Your Time. The argument that Burgess makes, as an aside on composing a musical on the life of Shakespeare, is not meant to be conclusive but is offered as a curio.

Show More
Related

  • Why Francis Bacon Is the Most Likely Candidate Responsible for the Sheakespearean Plays

    920 Words  | 2 Pages

    Francis Bacon is the most likely candidate. He fits the time period, had the power, writting background and a secret hierarchy group of literary writers. Francis Bacon was born in 1561 and he died in 1626. The first Folio of Shakespear was released in 1623. The first play was written around 1589-1591. This puts Bacon within the time period to be responsible for the plays. Unlike Shakespeare or Edward de vere. Shakespeare died in 1616 and the highly edited folio was released 7 years after the death of Shakespeare. Similarly Edward de Vere died in 1604 and was not around to do the extensive editing that had taken place by the time of the first folio. If it was edited by others who were not in charge of the plays I concede that this would have been Plagiarism and disrespecting an authors work shortly after their deaths. Whom I believe they respected and would not have done unless they were a part of the work.

    Read More

  • DeVere or William Shakespeare?

    2837 Words  | 6 Pages

    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 arguments of these two groups. It would be impossible to include all arguments and evidence in a paper such as this. Full books have been written on aspects of the debate I will not even mention, or may just barely touch on. Hopefully after reading this paper, however, you will have a little better understanding of the debate of authorship. As I am not in any respect a scholar on the subject I shall not attempt to make a conclusion as to which of these men is the author, but rather to inform and explain the many arguments on both sides of this debate in the hopes that the reader can learn a little more about the ongoing debate and form an opinion of his or her own.

    Read More

  • Parallelism's Role In Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

    1115 Words  | 3 Pages

    develop an overall theme of good and evil in the story and to create a

    Read More

  • Summary Of John Knowles 'A Separate Peace'

    259 Words  | 1 Pages

    Finny’s response to his injury and Gene’s revelation is believable because of his affection for Gene. For example, when Finny’s talking about his grades, although slightly discouraged, he says it for Gene, “‘Me?’ He smiled faintly. ‘Listen, I could study forever and I’d never break C. But it’s different for you, you’re good’” (Knowles 58). Finny includes Gene in everything because he always wants his presence there, “...’‘and at this teen-age period in life the proper person is your best pal.’ He hesitated and then added, ‘which is what you are,’ and there was silence on his dune” (Knowles 48). For this reason when Gene makes his revelation he tells Gene that he doesn’t know anything and to, “‘Go away. I’m tired and you make me sick. Go away’”

    Read More

  • Catholicism in the Life of Shakespeare

    1436 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are many Shakespearean experts who hold true to the belief that Shakespeare was a Protestant as was the custom of the time in England. Those who are in this manner of belief, point out the one thing that can be universally agreed on in the debate, the fact that there is no concrete evidence in the case for Shakespeare’s Catholicism. There is however a plethora of potential and speculative evidence to support the idea that William Shakespeare was a Catholic.

    Read More

  • Who Is the Real Author of Shakespear?

    792 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... should encourage Oxfordians. It is very difficult for people to find out about Shakespeare’s life since their is no book on his life, and there is little evidence showing that he really was the author.

    Read More

  • Gilgamesh's True Identity

    1138 Words  | 3 Pages

    be a great king, but a journey within himself to find who he truly was

    Read More

  • A Separate Peace By John Knowles: Character Analysis

    1133 Words  | 3 Pages

    When Gene begins to reminisce, the first memories that enter his mind are that of when him and Finny are jumping off of the tree for the first time. Throughout the majority of the experience Gene questions ¨why did I let Finny talk me into stupid things” which shows his constant recurring regret (Knowles 17). Gene allows Finny to control his decisions which restricts him from thinking on his own. Gene has not yet acknowledged the presence of his identity, so he seems to feed off of Finny's actions as his own. This poor decision results in Gene not having the ability to grow based on his own actions and decisions, because he does not think on his own. Apart from not thinking on his own, Gene struggles continually with the fact that he lacks the ability to follow through on some actions. He attempts to study to pursue dreams of valedictorian, but Finny comes into his room and interrupts him with questions. Gene shrieks at Finny with rage, lecturing him about the importance of studying, but then ¨slammed the chair against the desk¨ following Finny out to the tree (57). Although Gene knows that he should be thinking on his own, he allows Finny's

    Read More

  • Jessica Nobles

    678 Words  | 2 Pages

    When education is concerned, no one truly knew whether or not Shakespeare wrote his plays. According to the article “The Education of William Shakespeare”, “William Shakespeare would have attended King Edwards VI Grammar school in Stratford-Upon-Avon.” ("The Education Of William Shakespeare” sec. 1). On the contrary, an article written by Dutch Steven states, “Shakespeare was not educated enough and Stratford- Upon-Avon was too backward of a place to have produced a play write of such caliber.” (Dutch, Steven para. 1). Needless to say, the true education of William Shakespeare cannot be determined because the evidence proving his schooling contradicts itself. If the true records of Shakespeare’s education were found, would it prove he wrote the plays? Why are the records of his education scrambled and inconclusive? This leads readers to believe different stories that may or may not be valid. Therefore, there is not solid evidence that Shakespeare had a strong enough education to author such elaborate plays. To conclude, there is not solid evidence that Shakespeare authored the plays.

    Read More

  • Shakespeare - Authorship

    1790 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Influence of Shakespeare

    683 Words  | 2 Pages

    Shakespeare has perhaps contributed the most to the English language of any writer known to man – literally. Over 1000 words and phrases that he coined as part of his plays and prose are now in common use across the globe. He changed nouns into verbs, verbs into adjectives, added on previously unheard-of prefixes and suffixes and in some cases made words out of nothing. Even culturally sensitive words such as ‘ode’ (The ANZACS) and scientific jargon (‘epileptic’) are in fact products of Shakespeare. Bernard Levin probably summed this up best when he wrote: “If you cannot understand my argument, and declare "It's Greek to me", you are quoting Shakespeare; if you claim to be more sinned against than sinning, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you recall your salad days, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you act more in sorrow than in anger, if your wish is father to the thought, if your lost property has vanished into thin air, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you have ever refused to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy, if you have played fast and loose, if you have been tongue-tied, a tower of strength, hoodwinked or in a pickle… had short shrift, cold comfort or too much of a good thing, … - why, be that as it may, the more fool you, for it is a foregone conclusion that you are (as good luck would have it) quoting Shakespeare;…” (Bernard Levin. From The Story of English. Robert McCrum, William Cran and Robert MacNeil. Viking: 1986).

    Read More

  • The Argument for Shakespeare Being the Real Author

    1516 Words  | 4 Pages

    Edmondson, Paul, and Stanley Wells, eds. Shakespeare Beyond Doubt: Evidence, Argument, Controversy. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, n.d. Print.

    Read More

  • Skakespeare and his style of writing

    2363 Words  | 5 Pages

    Shakespeare’s plays are a product of the Elizabethan theatrical context in which they were first performed. A lot of pressure was put on Shakespeare as he wrote his plays because he was not allowed to upset the royal family. His style would have been different than others in those times and a lot more thought has gone into his writing than people listening would think. Usually, the audience take for granted the cleverness and thought of Shakespeare’s writing, however, now we have studied and gone into great detail about Shakespeare’s writing, we can appreciate it more than they did:

    Read More

  • Shakespeare's Themes And Writings In Hamlet By William Shakespeare

    1558 Words  | 4 Pages

    Although scholars and literary critics continue to question the true authorship of his plays long after his death in 1616, William Shakespeare is still considered one of the greatest writers of all time. Throughout Shakespeare’s career, up until the fire that destroyed the Globe Theatre in 1613, many people believe that Shakespeare wrote thirty-six full length plays (Literary Cavalcade).

    Read More

  • The Role of Music in Christian Worship

    411 Words  | 1 Pages

    Psalm 43 is a cry to God: “Judge me O God and plead my cause against

    Read More

More about Shakespeare's Psalm 46

Open Document