Many historians and famous authors, such as Mark Twain and Sigmund Freud, have trouble believing that William Shakespeare truly wrote the plays published in his name. As TIME writer Jumanna Farousky wrote, “Doubters started questioning the true identity of the writer in the late 19th century. Ever since then, the theory of an alternate author has flirted with the mainstream as some scholars and researchers have tried to get the broader academic community to treat the question as a legitimate debate”. (Farousky, 1) Though there are many candidates in the conflict1 surrounding the true identity of the author of Shakespeare’s plays, it is clear Sir Francis Bacon was the true creator. Where Shakespeare never went to college or traveled outside the London area, Bacon was well traveled and atended2 College before moving on to write his own books as well as becoming a philosopher. Sir Francis Bacon was also raised in politics and was in parliament3, while Shakespeare was the son of a glove maker and became an actor. Also, the two authors share many similarities in their writing style. Although there are other candidates in the debate, Sir Francis Bacon is the most likely based on the series of weird or nonsensical things that connect4 them. From the writing style similarities, and the fact that Shakespeare never traveled outside of London while Bacon traveled and had family who travelled to some of the places in the plays, to the information used in the plays, information Shakespeare would not have had access5 to but Sir Francis Bacon would have. There are more reasons that Bacon could be the true Shakespeare than for most others. These are only a few of the many odd coincidences6, circumstances7, and similarities surrounding Sir Francis...
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...4) These facts lead to the question of why someone who was supposedly so eloquent as to be able to write such amazing plays would need someone else to write them down for him, and why did he seem unable to settle on a single spelling of his own name? Frequently, in Shakespeare’s plays the author would need to possess knowledge of both Hebrew and Italian. These facts, combined with Shakespeare’s lack of higher education or travel experience make Shakespeare an unlikely candidate for authorship.
Works Cited
Robertson, John G. "The Shakespeare-Bacon Theory." Encyclopidea Britannica. 11th ed. 1911. TheatreHistory.com. TheatreHistory.com, 2002. Web. Apr.-May 2014.
Farouky, Jumana. "The Mystery of Shakespeare's Identity." Time. Time Inc., 13 Sept. 2007. Web. 19 May 2014.
Lander, Jesse M. "Shakespeare, William." World Book Student. World Book, 2014. Web. 26 May 2014.
Clark, W.G., and W. Aldis Wirhgt, eds. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Vol 2. USA: Nd. 2 vols.
Wadsworth, Frank W. "Shakespeare, William." World Book Online American Edition. Online Edition. Online. Netzero. 26 Mar 2002.
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.
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. Othello. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print
Shakespeare, William. The Norton Shakespeare. Edited Stephen Greenblatt et al. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997.
Shakespeare, William. Othello. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print
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.
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 Norton Shakespear. Othello. Dir. Grenblatt, Cohen, Howard, and Eisaman Maus. (second ed.) New York. 2008.
MrCrea, Scott. The Case for Shakespeare: The End of the Authorship Question. Westport: Praegar, 2005. Print.
Shakespeare, William, and Sylvan Barnet. The Complete Signet Classic Shakespeare. General Editor: Sylvan Barnet. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1972. Print.
Questions rose about the true authorship of Shakespeare's plays 105 years after he died. Literary critics and scholars began to suggest names like Christopher Marlowe, Edward de Vere and Francis Bacon:they were men that had a more known background; as the real authors of the plays. These ideas came from the fact that there isnt a lot of information about Shakespeare's life and due to the death of contemporary primary sources. Records from the Holy Trinity Church and Stratford government show that there was a William Shakespeare but none of them show he was playwright or an actor.