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Essays on william shakespeare and the authorship debate
Writings of William Shakespeare
Writings of William Shakespeare
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Was it William Shakespeare?
William Shakespeare was one of the most memorable play writers in history. However, William may have been given false credit. Many people believe that he may not author the plays. In fact, there is much evidence that shows that he did not author the plays.
Some people believe that they have found the real author. According to this quote, “An English schoolmaster, J. Thomas Looney went looking for Shakespeare, After years of searching through old documents, Looney came up with a man names Edward De Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford , who lived from 1550-1604,” (Austin Para. 8), It is strong evidence. It means that Looney may found the real author who authored the plays. This also shows that William Shakespeare may not be the author at all. According to this quote,” Periods in which Shakespeare wrote typically did not include the authors name at all,” (Khapp Para. 4), it gives us a feeling that we might have some strong evidence. This clearly shows that someone else may have wrote the plays but did not include their name, so William thought he could plagiarize and pretend he wrote them. This also shows that Shakespeare didn’t include his name to prove that he wrote them. William clearly did not write the plays because Looney searched through old documents and found an unknown name in his documents and Shakespeare did not include an authors’ name in his so called plays.
Most People believe that William wasn’t educated enough to write or author his own plays. In this quote, “People believe William was an untutored genius,” it seems like people think he did not go to school at all. (Para.1) this means that William was probably just really smart but was not educated enough. It also means that William was probab...
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...Frontline / WGBH Educational Foundation, n.d. Web 28 Apr. 2014.
"Elizabethan Education." Elizabethan Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Khapp, Alex. “Yes, Shakespeare Really Did Write Shakespeare.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 19 Oct. 2011/ Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
Mabillard, Amanda. "Shakespeare's Education and Childhood. “Shakespeare's Education and Childhood. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
McCrum, Robert. “William Shakespeare Guilty of Plagiarism?” William Shakespeare Guilty of Plagiarism? N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014
Thapaliya, Bhuwan. “Was Shakespeare a Fraud? – OhmyNews International.” Was Shakespeare a Fraud? – OhmyNews International. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014
The Shakespeare Dutch, Steven. "Who Wrote Shakespeare's Plays?" Who Wrote Shakespeare's Plays? 5, 5 Feb. 1998. Web. 28 Apr. 2014
Shakespeare, William. "The Tempest." Shakespeare, William. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions, 1996. 1135-1159. Print.
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. Romeo and Juliet. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt et al. The Norton Shakespeare. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 1997. Print.
William Shakespeare: The Comedies, Twayne Publishers, 1992, pp. 69-85. Twayne's English Authors Series 489. Twayne's Authors Series, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3025500016/G-Twayne?u=avlr&sid=G-Twayne&xid=930ccbd3. Accessed 11 Apr. 2018.
Shakespeare, William. The Norton Shakespeare. Edited Stephen Greenblatt et al. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997.
The truth is historians may never know who truly wrote William Shakespeare’s works. There is no concrete evidence linking his work to another person other than himself writing them. All three of theories that are most commonly accepted among historians have good points and ideas, but none can determine whether or not they are accurate. William Shakespeare is still regarded as one of the best playwrights and authors of all time. Unless someone finds a document proving otherwise he will always be remembered for his amazing works. If someone did discover that he was a fake it would greatly alter theatre history. Until some written document is found, which many never happen, the mystery may never be solved.
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.
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.
Shakespeare, William. "Richard II." The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Ed. David M. Bevington. 7th ed. N.p.: Pearson, 2014. 745-83. Print.
So to conclude, we can safely agree with most academics that William Shakespeare did exist and that he did indeed write the 37 plays and 154 sonnets credited to him.
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.
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.
There is evidence to suggest that Shakespeare is a fraud; however, there is also more logical evidence to support that William Shakespeare from Stratford-upon-Avon is the Shakespeare who wrote those great pieces. William Shakespeare is the true author of his works because there are holes in the opposing theories, his distinct writing style, and the fact that that not all great stories are not from high class people. and ……. The article, “The Shakespearean Puzzle”, by Raymond Schuessler, provides various theories of different men anti-Stratfordians believe could be the real Shakespeare. The leading candidates for the true author are Sir Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, and Edward de Vere (Lord Oxford).
Stratfordians believe that William Shakespeare was the true writer of many great plays like Hamlet, Macbeth, and Othello. This belief may be true, but there are many pieces of opposing evidence showing that he did not actually write these plays or poems. From the lack of information about his life, to his lack of education, there is almost no true reason that he could have written such amazing plays. There are many pieces of evidence showing that an earl named Edward De Vere wrote these plays. De Vere was a well educated nobleman with a degree from Oxford University. He had knowledge of the places most plays were set, and had a perfectly wide enough range of knowledge to be able to have written these plays. Because playwriting was considered
"The Historical Inaccuracies of Shakespeare's Macbeth." Teen Ink. N.p., n.d. Web. The Web. The Web.