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.
The first to be presumed the writer is Shakespeare himself. William Shakespeare was an actor in the troupe or company that performed William Shakespeare's plays. On May 16, in 1903, the troupe was licensed as the King's Men. On that list was William Shakespeare and his fellow members (How).In Ben Jonson's 1616 folio of Works, he listed all the actors of each play. In 1598, “Will Shakespeare” was listed for Every Man in His Humor. When Shakespeare bought the Blackfriar Greenhouse, John Hemmnyg was the trustee for the buying, stating that William Shakespeare Stratford-upon-Avon, was the one who bought the house. William Shakespeare was also noted as a poet when in 1615, Edmund Howes published a list of “Our moderne, and present excellent Poets” in John Stow's Annales, “M. Willi. Shakespeare gentlemen” was listed on ...
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...http://absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/authorship/authorship_de_vere.html. Absoluteshakespeare.com, 2005. Web. 17 February 2014.
“From Edward D. Johnson: “The Shaksper Illusion,” chapter: “Francis Bacon's Promus”. http://www.sirbacon.org/links/notebook.html. N.p, n.d. Web. 17 February, 2014.
Jamieson, Lee. “Who was Edward de Vere? Could Edward de Vere be the Real Shakespeare?” http://shakespeare.about.com/od/authorshipdebate/a/Edward_de_Vere.html. About.com, 2014. Web. 17 February 2014.
Reedy, Tom and David Kathman. “How We Know that Shakespeare Wrote Shakespeare: The Historical Facts”. http://shakespeareauthorship.com/howdowe.html. J.M. Pressley and the Shakespeare Resource Center, 1 January 2014. Web. 17 February, 2014.
“Summary of Baconian Evidence for Shakespeare Authorship”. http://www.sirbacon.org/links/evidence.html. N.p, n.d. Web. 17 February, 2014.
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.
Although Shakespeare was known to be a talented writer, there seems to be many things that have inspired Shakespeare to write this play. King Lear, for example, it mainly based of King Leir, a legendary king of the Britons, which was accounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae in 1135. However, the play King Lear seems to be influenced and inspired by many historical events and lawsuits occurred in Britain at the time it was written.
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.
William Shakespeare wrote the play that may have also influenced and inspired him to write. At
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.
The works of Shakespeare are some of the most respected in English literature. They have set the standard for all the great writers who followed. Although these works have been attributed to William Shakespeare of Stratford, they could have been written by anyone. The definite authorship of a work is always uncertain, but these works are particularly contested. There are those who believe someone besides Shakespeare of Stratford wrote the works, while others believe his identity, as a whole, is a conspiracy. Clearly the author of a work is important, but some wonder if knowing the author’s identity is really worth all the fuss. The works of Shakespeare will still reign at the top of English literature no matter who wrote them. Therefore, the question of authorship may not even be relevant.
Ludowyk, E. F. C. Understanding Shakespeare. London, N.W.: The Syndics of the Cambridge University Press, 1962. Print.
In another attempt to find evidence to confirm or deny that Shakespeare authored his plays, who else could have written the plays must be considered. To illustrate, Steven Dutch writes, “Bacon Fra...
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.
Scene 1 of Act 4 is certainly one of the most visually impacting and intriguing scenes of the entire play. This strong effect is attained by the sequential presentation of mysterious images and a close reference to evil throughout the whole scene. On stage, the visual (the actions and apparitions) and audible (the speech and sound effects as the thunder) factors engulf the entire scene in an atmosphere of wickedness.
Perhaps the reason that Shakespeare’s works have not been attributed to any other man would attest to the fact that scholars are not willing to accept the implications that the man celebrated to be the world’s most ingenious literary figure is not, in fact, who he was thought to be. However, the search for evidence leading to the true author will continue out of the ethical implications that credit must be given to the true author of the world’s greatest literature.
Although William Shakespeare is considered to be one of the most revered and well-renowned authors of all time, controversy surrounds the belief that he actually produced his own literary works. Some rumors even go so far as to question the reality of such a one, William Shakespeare, brought on by paralleling the quality of his pieces with his personal background and education. With such farfetched allegations, it persuaded others to peek into the person we all are taught to learn as “Shakespeare”, but who is actually the person behind these genius works of literary promise and enlightenment? To some, Shakespeare is as much accredited to his works as frequently as you see his name placed. To others, Shakespeare is a complex enigma into which we the people are supposed to unravel; the true author behind a falsely-given pseudonym. The debate pertaining to the true authorship of William Shakespeare’s works are still questioned in today’s society.
Looney, J. Thomas. "Shakespeare" Identified in Edward De Vere, the Seventeenth Earl of Oxford. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1920. Print.
From the works of William Shakespeare and Edmund Spenser it is clear that some similarities are apparent, however the two poets encompass different writing styles, as well as different topics that relate to each other in their own unique ways. In Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” and Spenser’s “Sonnet 75”, both poets speak of love in terms of feelings and actions by using different expressive views, allowing the similar topics to contain clear distinctions. Although Edmund Spenser’s “Sonnet 75” and William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” relate in the sense that love is genuine and everlasting, Spenser suggests love more optimistically, whereas Shakespeare focuses on expressing the beauty and stability of love.
One does not simply become the father of English literature. To be coined such a grandiose title requires the approval of many, and especially the king of England. Although an entertaining storyline does earn one respect as a writer/poet. It was Shakespeare’s masterful use of literary devices that garners the respect and acknowledgement of many modern day professors. In Act 3, Scene 1, Hamlet begins a soliloquy in which Shakespeare showcases his literary genius.