Shakespeare is globally known for writing the greatest stories in the English language by capturing the different worlds and lives of the Renaissance period. Although having many fans who firmly believe that Shakespeare constructed his plays and poems, there are people who have doubted his authorship for centuries as they question if he even wrote the works that are widely accepted as being penned in his name. Many theories have original followers of his works feeling betrayed. One of the theories is that Shakespeare’s work could have been written by someone else because he never published his works when he was alive, leaving his friends to release them posthumously. Is it possible that someone was writing these iconic stories while using Shakespeare’s …show more content…
The information out about him was vey little that not even Biographers knew what to state about him. He was born in Startford upon Avon, United Kingdom where he spent most of his life, he never traveled beyond London. Most of his plays were set in countries that he never visisted and were writin in a beatiful, lively way that seems impossible to write if he’s never visited the places mentioned in his plays. His writings included extensive knowlege in areas like theology, music, law, philosophy, and politics. A lot of Shakespeares plays included It states “ There is no documentation that William Shakspere of Stratford had access to such information” (Shakespeare oxford fellowship). He did not attend university to be able to know all this information, in fact he didin’t make it pass grammar school. Nothing that supported how he could have received his knowledge was left in his will “noteworthy for its detailed disposal of household items, contains no mention of books, manuscripts, desk, shelves, pens, paper, or anything suggesting literary interest” (Shakespeare oxford fellowship). School is not the only factor that adds to a person’s knowledge, but he didn’t own anything that would have educated him. Having had no education past grammar school, and not …show more content…
Many people believed that a person who matched the lifestyle of Shakespeares writing wrote them. There were other writers at that time that lived the lifetyle mentioned in shakespeares play’s and held the education that could have the ability to write them. Theories started to erupt that Francis Bacon, a famous philopsher was the real author who was hiding behind Shakespeares name; this was the rise of the Baconian Theory. Shakespeare’s plays included an extensive amount of law and political information that matches Bacon’s interests as he was an involved politician. Bacon’s lifestyle matches closely to the wrting int he plays his “supporters point to his superior education, life experiences, writing style, and philosophy as attesting to his probable authorship of the works attributed to Shakespeare” (Decker). Many argue that, if Bacon was the real writter of these plays than how come he never exposed his identify for fame. The answer to this is that he was a noble and a political figure, who couldn’t take credit for his work, “scholars think that he did write as a "concealed poet" on numerous occasions” (Decker). Multiple clues have been found in the plays hinting that France may have been the author. Another candidate that has been said to have written the plays is Edward De Vere. He studied law, owned a
William Shakespeare is widely regarded as on the of the best playwrights and poets to have ever existed. “It is a widely speculated topic that William Shakespeare did not write the poems and that up to about 50 other poets could have writen them.”("Shakespeare facts: Read," 2011) “William Shakespeare is the second most quoted writer in the english language.” ("Shakespeare facts: Read," 2011) It is widely speculated that the true Shakespeare is actually Edward De Vere. I firmlybelieve Shakespeare was not the true playwright because of his lack of education, lack of upper class etiquette, and the different penmanship over time.
Over the past few decades, there's been controversy over whether or not Shakespeare is the real author of his plays. Shakespeare is famously known for his work including, Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar. Throughout his work it is clear to see his originality and his extensive education. Some people may use this against him and say that it is impossible for someone of his status to write so greatly about politics and be able to use such character. Through stylometry, proof of his education, the actors, and the death of one of the alleged authors, it is proven that Shakespeare is, in fact, the real and rightful owner of his work.
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.
Before delving any further into the question of authorship, it may be helpful to define what an author is. According to Focault, the actual identity of an author is irrelevant. He believes that the author is a concept, not an individual. This is because when works are accredited to an author, some may be left out if the writing style, wording, subject matter, or historical time frame is drastically different from the others. This makes the author specific to a certain style, and outside of that style, the author must be someone else. He uses the example that if it were discovered that someone other than the man from Stratford wrote Shakespeare’s works, it would not change the function. Either way, the works will still be called the works of Shakespeare. So essentially, Shakespeare is no longer an individual’s identity; it is an ideal for a certain form of writing.
For 300 years “William Shakespeare has had two lives one on the page and one on the stage” (Research and Innovation). But people ask “Why have the works of William Shakespeare endured for centuries? This is because his wonderful works of his characters, story phrases, and how he just connected to his audience still are alive today as they were alive in the sixteen and seventeen hundreds. This essay will discuss “Why have the works of William Shakespeare endured for centuries?” As evidence three main points will be discussed his great stories, his illumination of the human experience, and his compelling characters.
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.
Edward de Vere was the Lord Great Chamberlain and the seventeenth Earl of Oxford. He was raised as a Royal Ward and from a very young age was educated in the sports and arts of nobility. Although disgraceful for a nobleman to waste time writing frivolous plays, Oxford as a young man wrote and staged the entertainment for the court. As an adult, he became engrossed in theatrical performances and frittered away his fortunes in support of several writers and actors (Friedman 13). During this time, De Vere also began writing several poems and plays. Much like Samuel Clemens, who wrote under the name of Mark Twain, Oxford adopted the pseudonym Shakespeare. Soon after plays appeared under the name of "Shakespeare," poems by de Vere ceased (Russell 5). Coincidently, the coat of arms of Lord Bulbeck, a third title of Edward de Vere, is a lion shaking a spear (Ogburn 10). De Vere was also known by the people as the "spear-shaker" because of excellence at the tilts and at jousting (Russell 5).
“William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was and English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s preeminent dramatist” (vodppl.upm.edu 2). He was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, UK, he also passed away in his hometown. “When Shakespeare died in 1616 the event was barely noticed” (Epstein 7). “Shakespeare’s family was initially prosperous but began having financial difficulties in the 1570’s” (Allen 325). “Shakespeare gained his education by attending the local grammar school, King’s New School, where the curriculum stressed a classic education of Greek mythology and roman comedy”(shakespeareinamericancomunites.org 1). He never carried his educational career to a higher level as in a university. “William Shakespeare was not recognized as an actor, poet, and playwright until 1592” (Allen 346).
One of the largest mysteries of current time is the debate over who the author of the plays commonly attributed to William Shakespeare really is. Commonly termed as the “authorship problem,” many skeptics believe that the William Shaksper of Stratford (the spelling of his name originally) could not have been the true composer of the plays he is traditionally attributed with. Although the thought of someone besides Shakespeare composing the plays is not popular with the American and European world, there are excessive theories concerning the truth behind the possibility of the works being authentically his.
Due to the confusion of a minor mistake from Shakespeare’s time, his true birth date, along with where his education took place remains a mystery. The only things that biographers have to hold onto are suspicions as to where these events could’ve been observed. His suspected is birthday is observed by the public as Saint George’s Day, April 23rd. With only a day given, his exact birth year remains a questionable theory. It is believed that Shakespeare actually attended the school closest to his home in Stratford, known as the “King’s New School”, where he studies grammar. He didn’t choose to continue his studies by going forward into a university. Since there is hardly any factual information about Shakespeare, due to a slight “error”, suspicion arises. ...
Across the Universe of Time: Shakespeare’s influence on 21st century society. It is harder to imagine a more universal writer than William Shakespeare. Rarely, if ever, is one of his many plays not being performed anywhere in the world and similarly rare is the tertiary English student who has not examined his work at length. His plays, sonnets and poems are common fodder for high school English departments across the globe.
Ever since the author's background has been questioned, scholars and other people have debated over who wrote the famous plays and sonnets that have the name William Shakespeare signed on them. Many alternative candidates have been presented, such as Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford. However, these people do not have strong or valid arguments to support their theories. Based on biographical evidence, Shakespeare, not Edward de Vere, most likely wrote Shakespearean works. The arguments for other candidates like de Vere are not strong enough to show that Shakespeare did not write Shakespearean works.
Further proof of authorship comes in the form of a poem by Ben Jonson, one of the Bard's more friendly rivals, which criticizes the playwrights dramatic plays. It is contained within a work entitled Discoveries (also known as Timber) dated 1641. Despite criticizing Shakespeare, Ben Johnson paradoxically also said that Stratford's famous Bard's works were timeless, describing them as "not of an age, but for all time".
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.
He was born in Stratford-on-Avon on April 23rd, 1564. Shakespeare never attended a university and was thought to have been educated at a local school in Stratford. The purpose of this minor school was to prepare scholars for the hard toil of the grammar school. No history, geography, music, handicrafts or physical training was taught. It is evident no doubt that William gained something from the Latin texts he read at school. He loved Ovid and was overjoyed when towards the end of the century Francis Meres wrote: ‘As the soule of Euphorbus was thought to live in Pythagoras: so the sweete wittie soule of Ovis lives in mellifluous an...