Shakespeare was a playwright from Stratford who had arguably the most influential affect on English literature and the English language. His works are still praised to this day for their divine superiority, however, controversy in exceeding amounts has risen over the dispute of his authorship. This controversy has been the topic of many arguments between differently opinionated scholars who support opposing theories and beliefs (Friedman XV). "A difficult dilemma confronts biographers who tell the story of the glove maker's son from Stratford-on-Avon who is supposed to have become the world's greatest poet and dramatist" (Whalen 3). It may seem odd that this confusion and doubt had come to light in the first place, as the origin of this argument was a simple hint in an article written by a certain "Captain" Goulding. Scholars have scoured Shakespeare's works and any legal documentation related to him in order to support their claims. Shakespeare's greatness also adds to the extraordinary nature of the controversy, because the discovery of a fraudulent authorship could potentially change the way the Stratfordian author is seen (Whalen). Despite the vainness of an argument that requires the testimony of an author who has been dead for over four centuries; through cryptographic analysis and in-depth research about the history of Shakespeare's environment, it will be facile to understand what the author who wrote the plays has been challenged with and how his authorship has been questioned. The theory of Shakespeare's fraudulent authorship first arose in a book written by a 'Captain' Goulding who hinted at the idea of Shakespeare not being the man who wrote the works commonly attributed to him. The fraudulent authorship can ... ... middle of paper ... .... Friedman, William F., and Elizabeth S. Friedman. The Shakespearean Ciphers Examined. Cambridge: University Press, 1957. Print. Hastings, William T. "Shakespeare was Shakespeare." Revolution Streets. Vol. 28. No. 4. (1959): 479-488. The American Scholar. Web. 2 February 2014. . Hope, Jonathan. The Authorship of Shakespeare's Plays. Cambridge: University Press, 1994. Print. McCrea, Scott. The Case for Shakespeare. Westport: Praeger Publishers, 2005. Print. Whalen, Richard F. Shakespeare: Who Was He? London: Praeger Publishers, 1994. Print. Shakespeare, William. Sonnets. Ed. Thomas Tyler. London: D. Nutt, 1890. Shakespeare Online. 22 Dec. 2013. . Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice. Ed. Tucker Brooke and Lawrence Mason. New Haven: Yale UP, 1947. Print.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York; Washington Square Press, 1993.
Clark, W.G., and W. Aldis Wirhgt, eds. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Vol 2. USA: Nd. 2 vols.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice. New York: Bantam Books, 1988.
Vickers, Brian. 1993. Appropriating Shakespeare: Contemporary Critical Quarrels. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
Shakespeare, William. "The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice" The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stanley Wells & |Gary Taylor. New York/London, W.W. Norton Company,1997. 2100-2174
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.
Hechinger, Paul. "Did Shakespeare Really Write His Plays? A Few Theories Examined." BBC America. N.p., 24 Oct. 2011. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
Clark, W. G. and Wright, W. Aldis , ed. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Vol. 1. New York: Nelson-Doubleday
Shakespeare, William. The Norton Shakespeare. Edited Stephen Greenblatt et al. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997.
Cohen, Walter, J.E. Howard, K. Eisaman Maus. The Norton Shakespeare. Vol. 2 Stephen Greenblatt, General Editor. New York, London. 2008. ISBN 978-0-393-92991-1
Shakespeare, William. "The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice" The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stanley Wells & |Gary Taylor. New York/London, W.W. Norton Company,1997. 2100-2174
Shakespeare, William. "The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice." The Signet Classic Shakespeare. Ed. Alvin Kernan. New York: Penguin Putnam, 1998.
Wilkie, Brian and James Hurt. “Shakespeare.” Literature of the Western World. Ed. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992.
Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. 1967. Ed. W. Moelwyn Merchant. The New Penguin Shakespeare. London: Penguin Books, 1996.