8-2Authorship

What is the Authorship Contreversy? //Answer Prepared by Katie M.//

We all know that Shakespeare was famous for the many great plays and poems that he wrote, but some may say that he actually didn’t write them. That Edward de Vere, Francis Bacon, or Christopher Marlowe may have. Even though this is a long shot, its still important to put this long-term argument out for people to hear.

Although some may say that Shakespeare was the author of the famous poems and plays, some may argue that this is proof that supports the side that Shakespeare wasn’t really Shakespeare. One day Detective Looney went looking for the real author with a list of requirementsvv that they would have to have, like fingerprints. And, Detective Looney came up with de Vere, a potential Shakespeare, someone who could have been writing under the name Shakespeare. This is probably the best canidate for him, but we still don’t know. Many ignored the idea of de Vere, even though he had 2 masters degrees by the time he was 17, being educated at Queens’ College, Cambridge. Looney also found poems that were written by him that sounded like a poem Shakespeare would have written. Like de Vere’s Lord Burghely is similar to Shakespeare’s Polonious in Hamlet. One argument that has come up against this is why wouldn’t he publish it under his name? But, Looney came up with an answer, de Vere was very noble and to many play writing was below that. So, if you were someone who was important and noble you needed to have a higher ranking job then a poet/play writer. Also, because he was from a high society he knew all of the knowledge inside the court intrigues. And having such a powerful person being the writer of plays could embarrass people such as Queen Elizabeth and Lord Bughely. So, who would want to release their name if shame came upon them by such powerful people.

Another argument saying that Shakespeare wasn’t the author is, just like de Vere. Francis Bacon is a potential Shakespeare. http://www.bardweb.net/debates.html, believe that even though he was an undisputed man of letters, his style and expression vary greatly from Shakespeare. Bacon also produced many of his own works, which makes it harder to produce a large amount of works on top of that. So, Francis Bacon is not a very high candidate, but is still one. Another person who is suspected to maybe be Shakespeare is Christopher Marlowe. Marlowe would be another good option for the mysterious, “maybe” Shakespeare. But, he was supposivly stabbed to death in 1593, but some say that he actually didn’t die. So, after he was stabbed he ran off and became Shakespeare. Marlowe and Bacon may be good ideas, but probably aren’t one of the best options.

Other possible people would be William Stanely, Earl of Derby, Ben Jonson, Thomas Middletown, Sir Walter Raleigh, and even Queen Elizabeth I herself. There have been many other nominations as well, but none have really presented enough proof to eliminate the writer Shakespeare. Though, for those who argue it wasn’t him, it’s important to have an open mind about who it may be.Many may deny that Shakespeare really was the author of the wonderful plays and poems, still discussed today, but, like there is theories that he didn’t write it, there are theories that he did too. On many of his plays, Shakespeare’s name appears, like on the 1593, “Venus and Adonis” and 1594, “The Rape of Lucrece” were both published with the signature of William Shakespeare. Like those two poems there are many others with his signature. Also, many plays were printed off in attribute to William Shakespeare, like Hamlet Q1 1603 by Shakespeare. Another piece of evidence is that Shakespeare’s first folio is attributed to him. The first volume says “Mr. William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies,” this information was found from shakespeareauthorship.com. Finally, another big piece of evidence is that, Shakespeare was an actor in his plays from the company that performed plays by William Shakespeare. So, no matter what you believe there is still so much controversy over whether he is or isn’t the author of these plays still going on today, and probably will be going on in the future.

Works Cited: Austin, Al. "Who Wrote Shakespeare?." Web.14 Apr 2009. .

Reedy, Tom, David, Kathman. "How We Know That Shakespeare Wrote Shakespeare:The Historical Facts." Web.14 Apr 2009. .

"The Shakespeare Authorship Page." Web.14 Apr 2009. .