DeVere or Shakespeare? 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. In countries all over the globe the name William Shakespeare brings to mind literary genius, a character so famed in eloquence and creativity that none other comes close to him in prestige. Yet for centuries scholars, students and readers have argued a very fundamental question: whether or not the plays and poems attribute to William... ... middle of paper ... ...rpose-to designate a penname without confusion (Whalen 32). * Principal actors in the plays of Shakespeare's First Folio included Jon Heminge,Henry Condell and Richard Burbage, the same three who were in the late edition to Shakesperes will (Whalen 51). * Oxford was said to be an excellent playwright, yet no plays written under his name were ever found (Whalen 127). Works Cited "A Beginners Guide to the Shakespeare Authorship Problem." Online. 31 October 1999. Available http: www.shakespeare-oxford.com/guide/htm. Kathman, Dave and Tom Reedy. "How we know the Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare: The Historical Facts." Online. 2 November 1999. Available http: www.clark.net/pub/tross/ws/howdowe.html. Michell, John. Who Wrote Shakespeare? London: Thames and Hudson, 1996. Whalen, Richard F. Shakespeare-Who Was He? Westport:Praeger, 1994.
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“When the rich wage war it’s the poor who die”, Jean-Paul Sartre, a prominent Marxist literary critic, existentialist philosopher and author stated in his 1951 drama, The Devil and the Good Lord. Wilfred Owen’s poetry is a profound protest at this fact. Owens poetry was shaped by the horrors of the first world war, he enlisted as a naïve young man with dreams of heroic deeds and “desperate glory” only to be exposed to the realities of what war really entailed. War opened his eyes to the “truth” of the world if looked at through a Marxist lens. He abhorred the patriotic poetry that gave a warped view of the war and wrote many poems depicting the horror and helplessness, he aimed to capture the pity of war in his poetry. Through this we can
There seems to be a great discussion on whether or not Shakespeare is the true author of the plays associated with his name. The internet seems to be full of essays, discussion boards and book reviews all dealing with this particular topic and most of the people submitting them are very forceful and definitive about their positions. In just a few hours of searching I found well over a thousand pages dealing with the original source of the works of art assigned to Shakespeare's name. The most disappointing part was that none of the essays I read even suggested the possibility of Shakespeare just "borrowing" information and topics from other playwrights and authors. They were all mainly interested in the man who actually put the words on paper. Not only did this decrease their usefulness for this particular paper but also they made it seem like the person who wrote the plays down on paper had some particular lawful ownership over them. This was not true though.
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.
...100 C.E.]. Trans. Sir Thomas North (1579). Ed. Geoffrey Bullough, Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare. Vol. V. Columbia UP, 1964.
Who was the real Shakespeare? The son of a Stratford glovemaker? Or was he a forgotten nobleman, the 17th Earl of Oxford? It is the greatest detective story there ever was. As more clues are being found, more and more people are doubting the fact that he ever wrote all his plays or even existed. The big question people are asking is why the man who told so much about who we are tell us so little about himself? That is one of the many reasons why I think he never existed or even wrote all those plays. How could a ‘nobody’ have thought a man who could barely sign his name was the greatest writer in the English language? In this essay I will tell you about why I don’t think he wrote the plays, why Edward de Vere was the real Shakepeare, and other things like why it’s impotrant to see who the real Skaespeare is.
Dutton, R., & Howard, J.E. (2003). A Companion to Shakespeare’s Works.(p. 9) Maiden, MA: Blackwell Pub.
William Shakespeare has become landmark in English literature. One must be familiar with the early days of English literature in order to comprehend the foundation of much of more modern literature’s basis. Shakespeare’s modern influence is still seen clearly in many ways. The success of Shakespeare’s works helped to set the example for the development of modern dramas and plays. He is also acknowledged for being one of the first writers to use any modern prose in his writings.
When books are thought of, it's usually by the author. The author comes up with the ideas for the plot, storyline, characters,etc. But with shakespeare, that's seems to be a different case. Throughout the past couple of years, there has been something known as the “Authorship Debate”. People seem to be coming up with theories that Shakespeare himself, didn't write the play, but someone else. During that era, if you were of high standing, you weren't allowed to write without facing some sort of prejudice. Many people believe that someone of high standings wrote it and Shakespeare took credit for it, with the high standing person's permission, so they wouldn't get bite by the bug. 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.
Bethell, Tom. "Looking for Shakespeare: Two Partisans Explain and Debate the Authorship Question." The Atlantic Monthly 268.4 (Oct. 1991): 43-61. Rpt. in Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Michelle Lee and Dana Ramel Barnes. Vol. 41. Detroit: Gale Research, 1998. Literature Resource Center. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.
“Oxford Authorship Argument.” Absolute Shakespeare. 2000-2005. The Oxford arguments: Why Shakespeare could not have authored his works. http://absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/authorship/authorship_oxford_arguments.htm
Wadsworth, Frank W. "Shakespeare, William." World Book Online American Edition. Online Edition. Online. Netzero. 26 Mar 2002.
... Instead of idealizing war in a romantic way, war poets such as Wilfred Owen aimed to expose gruesome truths about these wars and how they impacted lives. It points a finger and criticizes the governments and authorities that wage these wars but don’t fight in them themselves but rather watch as lives are lost. It exposes propaganda for what it is, a tool for brainwashing. It puts into question the notion of dying for ones country to be noble, honourable and admirable.
The poetic techniques used in Wilfred Owen’s war poetry sweep the reader from the surface of knowing to the essence of truly appreciating his ideas. Through sonnets, Para rhymes, ironic titles, voices and strong imagery, not only is the reader able to comprehend to the futility and the horrors of the Great War, but also they can almost physically and mentally empathise with those who fought. Through the three poems examined, it is evident that Owen goes to great effort to describe the conditions and thoughts of the First World War, thus his works are considered an invaluable asset to the modern literature.