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Shakespeare as a writer
Essay research question for shakespeare authorship controversy
Shakespeare as a writer
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Recommended: Shakespeare as a writer
“I am firm against Shakespeare — I mean the Avon man, the actor.” (Whitman) The true author of the works attributed to Shakespeare have been in question since the late eighteenth century and really garnered attention until the early twentieth century, when famous authors such as George Bernard Shaw, Walt Whitman, and Ralph Waldo Emerson declared their opinions on the question. The most popular candidates for authentic authorship, besides William Shakespeare himself, are Edward DeVere, Francis Bacon, Queen Elizabeth I, and Christopher Marlowe. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, writing was not considered a noble profession; therefore, authors would use either an alias or hire someone to allow them to take their name, which in this case it was Christopher Marlowe who took up Shakespeare’s name. Marlowe is the most credible of the contenders to be the true author because of his style of writing, and his education compared to that which is known of William Shakespeare.
First, the writing styles of Shakespeare and Marlowe are eerily similar. Most notable is the author Calvin Hoffman, who wrote The Man Who Was Shakespeare. In his book he compares passages of Marlowe and Shakespeare’s writings. Most notable is a passage from Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor and Marlowe’s Passionate Shepherd to His Love
“To shallow rivers, to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals:
There will we make our beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant posies.” (Merry Wives of Windsor. Act 3. Scene 1.)
“By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals
And I will make thee beds of roses
And a Thousand fragrant posies.” (Passionate Shepherd to His Love. Act 5. Scene 1.)
There are obvious similarities between these ...
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...ociety. N.p., 2014. Web. 08 May 2014. .
"Past Doubters." Doubt About Will. Shakespeare Authorship Coalition, n.d. Web. 07 May 2014. .
Shakespeare, William, and George Van Santvoord. "Act 3. Scene 1." The Merry Wives of Windsor. New Haven: Yale UP;, 1922. N. pag. Print.
Shakespeare, William, and Horace Howard Furness. "Act 2. Scene 2." Romeo and Juliet. New York: Dover Publications, 1963. N. pag. Print.
Wheeler, Kip. "Authorship of Shakespeare's Plays." Authorship of Shakespeare's Plays. N.p., 2014. Web. 08 May 2014.
Whitman, Walt. "In Re Shakespeare: The Authorship of Shakespeare on Trial." Preface. In Re Shakespeare: The Authorship of Shakespeare on Trial. By David Lloyd Kreeger. Vol. 37:609. N.p.: n.p., 1988. 610. Print. The American University Law Review.
Act 1 scene 3 and Act 3 scene 5 of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare, William, and John Wilders. "Act 1, Scene 7." Macbeth. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Page 2. Print.
Shakespeare, William. "The Tempest." The Riverside Shakespeare: Second Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997. 1661-86.
Clark, W.G., and W. Aldis Wirhgt, eds. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Vol 2. USA: Nd. 2 vols.
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.
Shakespeare, William. "Shakespeare Study Guides - Spark Notes - Spark Notes: Today's ...." spark notes. John Heminges, Henry Condell, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. . .
Dutton, R., & Howard, J.E. (2003). A Companion to Shakespeare’s Works.(p. 9) Maiden, MA: Blackwell Pub.
Shakespeare, William. The Norton Shakespeare. Edited Stephen Greenblatt et al. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997.
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.
J. M. Pressley and the Shakespeare Resource Center. The Authorship Debate. Shakespeare Resource Center. February 5, 2012 http://www.bardweb.net/debates.html.
Meron, Theodor. “Crimes and Accountability in Shakespeare.” The American Journal of International Law. 92.1 (Jan.,1998): 1-40. JSTOR. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square Published by Pocket, 1992.
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.
In "The Merchant Of Venice." English Literary Renaissance 34.3 (2004): 286-305. Shakespeare, William, Barbara A. Mowat, and Paul Werstine. The Merchant of Venice. New York: Washington Square, 1992.
In his time, Shakespeare was the most popular playwright of London. As time passed, his smartness covers all others of his age; Jonson, Marlowe, Kyd, Greene, Dekker, Heywood—none had the craft or the kindness of character. He was the master of poetry writing and he did it well. He created the most vivid characters of the Elizabethan stage. His usage of language, both high and low, shows a remarkable fun and insight. His themes fit all generation even to this day.