8-3Authorship

What is the authorship controversy? //Answer prepared by Emily C.//

Many believe that Shakespeare’s work wasn’t his own, but that of an aristocrat, according to Terry Gray. The most prevalent candidates to have been the author of Shakespeare’s alleged plays are Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, William Stanley, and Edward de Vere. Skeptics of his authorship find it difficult to believe that a “commoner” who didn’t attend a university could be such a master of the English language. The majority of the arguments made by nonbelievers are weak and easily disproved, but this ongoing debate is complicated by the fact that there are few remaining documents from Shakespeare’s time. [|Supreme Court Debates The Authorship (mock trial)] [|Authorship Controversy]

Francis Bacon was an English lawyer, statesman, essayist, historian, intellectual reformer, philosopher, and author. Bacon was born into a wealthy family and thus received an extensive education. He was a child prodigy and was always scheming and planning. Bacon was an active participant in amateur theatrical productions, which shows his avid interest in drama and writing. Shakespeare’s plays showed knowledge of law; a person with Shakespeare’s background could never have gained such knowledge. The plays also demonstrate the author’s classical scholarship. Shakespeare’s meager education in Stratford couldn’t have provided this knowledge either. Even the knowledge of Europe’s geography shown in the plays is evidence that the well-traveled Francis Bacon was the author. There is no evidence that Shakespeare ever traveled far from Stratford. Another piece of evidence for the Baconian authorship is the Promus. The Promus was Bacon’s private notebook; the author of “Shakespeare’s” plays frequently used many of these notebook entries in expanded form. In a letter to one of Bacon’s friends, he indicates that he is a secret poet, the letter reads, “So desiring you to be good to concealed poets.” Bacon even had a reason to keep his work a secret. It was considered below a nobleman to permit poetry and plays to appear under his own name. This would only diminish his status at court so Bacon adopted the name William Shakespeare as a pseudonym. By coincidence, later in Bacon’s life he found an actor with the same name as his cover and rewarded him for allowing him write under his name.

Francis Bacon [|Learn More About The Francis Bacon Theory]

Christopher Marlowe, an English dramatist, poet, and translator is another candidate to be the author of “Shakespeare’s” work. Marlowe spent the first thirty years of his life as a playwright for the Elizabethan court. There is no real evidence that suggests Marlowe is the author and Shakespeare seems to have produced his first play just a year before Marlowe's death. Therefore, Marlowe is a poor contender in the authorship debate.

Christopher Marlowe [|Learn More About The Christopher Marlowe Theory]

There is evidence that William Stanley an American physicist is the real author of Shakespeare. Early manuscripts only used the initials W.S. His family was well connected and known for their acting and writing skills, as well as their genius. Stanley is the only candidate to be born earlier than and to die later than Shakespeare, so the time line fits well. While there is little evidence proving Stanley’s authorship, this is also a widely accredited theory.

William Stanley [|Learn More About The William Stanley Theory]

Edward de Vere, an Elizabethan poet and dramatist has also been seriously considered to be the true author. Vere had a passion for traveling, received a wonderful education, and was clearly qualified to have written Shakespeare. Once Vere reached 20 years, he had received two masters’ degrees from Queen’s College in Cambridge, and studied law for three years at Gray’s Inn. The most convincing edivdence for Vere was that Vere’s name was actually encoded in the byline of one book: Our _Ever_-Living Poet (E. Ver). Vere might have even have signaled in one of the plays that he was indeed the author. The author of the play goes out of his way to include the English translation for every word starting with "Ver" in the Italian dictionary. This theory is probably the most common and accepted among Antistratfordians.

Edward de Vere [|Learn More About The Edward De Vere Theory]

Many experts even believe that Marlowe, Stanley, and Vere wrote “Shakespeare’s” work together. They were all well-educated, nobleman, who had the resources to write Shakespeare. Vere and the others studied law at Gary’s Inn, where they might have met. Elizabeth Vere was the daughter of Edward and also the wife of Stanley. Several studies show that Shakespeare’s signature was written in several different styles of handwriting so the theory of them working together may account for this.

There are a number of arguments made by antistratfordians or disbelievers that Shakespeare isn’t the true author. Pressely states that they have developed a spelling argument; the name Shakespeare was used to refer to the author of his plays and poems while the spelling Shakesper referred to the Stratford man. Experts believe that this occurred because of the common illiteracy in Shakespeare’s time. Another frequent argument is that William Shakespeare didn’t have the resources or education needed to intelligently write. However, his best friend and neighbor, Richard Field, had a large book collection. Thus, William had access to many books which allowed him to become familiar with the language. The last widespread argument is that literacy among commoners wasn’t high; even William’s own father wasn’t able read or write. Doubters argue that his signature is nearly illegible and spelt in various ways. They also point out that there are no manuscripts in Shakespeare’s own handwriting. Fortunately, there is very strong evidence that a few pages of manuscript for the play //Sir Thomas More// were in his own handwriting.

Many experts agree that Shakespeare did write his work. They base their opinions off of the following facts: records from the Parish confirm his birth date, life in London, marriage to Anne Hathaway, and his date of death. Evidence suggests that William Shakespeare of Stratford was a writer, actor, and Globe-sharer. No one living in the Elizabethan era ever expressed suspicion that he wasn’t the true author. None of the major candidates to have been the author were ever involved with Shakespeare’s acting company nor anything connected to Shakespeare. __Works Cited__ Kathman, David and Terry Ross. “Introduction.” __The Shakespeare Authorship Page__. April 23, 1996 . Visited April 6, 2009. Gray, Terry. “The Authorship “Problem.” S__hakespeare and the Internet.__ April 3, 2009 . Visited April 1, 2009. = James, Brenda and William Rubinstein. //The Truth Will Out: Unmasking the Real Shakespeare.// New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006. = = McCrea, Scott. //The Case for Shakespeare: The End of the Authorship Question.// West Port, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 2005. = Pressely, J.M. “Authorship Debate.” __Shakespeare__ __Resource Center__. February 18, 2008 . Visited April1, 2009. Hope, Warren, and Kim Holston. //The Shakespeare Controversy//. Jefferson, NC: // McFarland ////,// // 1992 ////.//