Authorship3

Answer prepared by: Giulia R **
 * WHAT IS THE AUTHORSHIP CONTROVERSY? WHAT ARE THE MAJOR THEORIES BEHIND THE AUTHORSHIP CONTROVERSY? WHAT FACTIONS OR SIDES ARE THERE TO THE CONTROVERSY? WHY DOES THIS CONTROVERSY CONTINUE TO INTEREST SCHOLARS TODAY?

For many centuries a heated debate as to whether or not Shakespeare really wrote his plays has been taking place. From as early as 1785, people have doubted whether the ‘man from Stratford’ wrote the plays, considered masterpieces. And of course, for as long as people have doubted, people have refuted the theory that no one other than William Shakespeare wrote what we now consider some of the greatest pieces of literature ever. But why does it matter? Why would we debate who wrote the countless plays and poems? Well, we want to give credit to the right person. If someone other than William Shakespeare wrote these literary masterpieces, and all these years we have been crediting the wrong person, then someone has had a very unfair legacy in history.

Oxfordians, people that support the theory that Shakespeare did not write his plays, claim that the simple man from Stratford-Upon-Avon could not have written poems and plays of the highest quality. William Shakespeare was a man of simple origins and humble beginnings. Oxfordians have built their theory, as the __DK Essential Shakespeare Handbook__ explains, around the disbelief that a man from a small country town without a university education could have had such a large vocabulary and have known so much about areas as law, astronomy, medicine, history, and court etiquette (36). This is reinforced by the fact that the knowledge shown in the plays was only available to aristocrats, high-class, well-educated and well-travelled people. They also point to the fact, as mentioned in the DK Essential Shakespeare Handbook, that none of Shakespeare’s manuscripts exist and there are few surviving references linking him to his plays (36).

Oxfordians have pointed to several well-known aristocrats to be the true authors. At first, Oxfordians advanced the theory that Sir Francis Bacon, Elizabethan essayist and statesman, was the actual Shakepeare. Many references Bacon’s works were similar to those in the plays. The references about the Bible and Ancient Classics were very similar to references in Shakespeare’s plays, as the __DK Essential Shakespeare Handbook__ explains (36). Bacon also possessed the class to have known about court etiquette and was very well educated. However, this theory was soon discarded, and Christopher Marlowe was the new candidate for being the real Shakespeare. Christopher Marlowe was a well-known poet and dramatist. He was famous for his blank verse, a type of poetry with a meter but no rhyme. He commonly used iambic pentameter in his plays and poetms, the same meter as Shakespeare used. Marlowe died a mysterious death. Oxfordians claim that Marlowe faked his own death and fled to Italy. He sent his plays to a middleman, William Shakespeare.

Click on this link to watch extracts of a documentary about the authorship controversy.

Today, however, most Oxfordians believe that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford was the true Shakespeare. Edward de Vere also possessed the class and knowledge to have written fine literature. Some of his works were also, at times, similar to Shakespeare’s earlier works. This theory is supported by the fact that Vere had good reason to use a nom de plume or pseudonym. As explained in the __DK Essential Shakespeare Handbook__, for a nobleman of such high-class it would have been improper and disgraceful to be associated to the lowly craft of writing plays (36).

However as David Kathman and Terry Ross, authors of ‘The Shakespeare Authorship Page”, say, “professional Shakespeare scholars -- those whose job it is to study, write, and teach about Shakespeare -- generally find Oxfordian claims to be groundless, often not even worth discussing.” The Stratfordians, defenders of William Shakespeare, signal to 50 surviving references in which Shakespeare is linked to his plays, one example being an angry and envious outburst of Robert Greene in 1592, in which Shakespeare is accused of plagiarism.

Another point the Stratfordians make regards the First Folio. Leslie Downer and Alan Riding, authors of the __DK Essential: Shakespeare Handbook__, say that in the First Folio while, “Introducing the plays, the actors John Hemminge and Henry Condell, as well as the playwright Ben Johnson, speak of Shakespeare with fondness and admiration”(36). Their point being, why would anyone choose to perpetuate the lie that Shakespeare was the author of plays and poems written by someone else?Also in the __DK Essential: Shakespeare Handbook__ it is claimed that, “In the gossipy world of London’s theaters, such a hoax would soon have been exposed”(36). With that Stratfordians rest their case. [|Click on this link to watch a mock trial with a Supreme Court Justice on the authorship debate.] Both sides have valid and legitimate points for or against Shakespeare writing Shakespeare. Today however, most scholars and people agree that William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, did indeed write countless masterpieces of the English literature. The debate about this however, will probably keep going, with both sides battling fiercely.

**Works Cited Kathman, David, and Terry Ross. "Introduction and How We Know that Shakespeare Wrote Shakespeare."//The Shakespeare Authorship Page//. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar 2010. . Ogburn, Charlton. "The Man Who Shakespeare Was Not(and Who He Was)."//Harvard Magazine Nov 1974: Print. // ** From:http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shakespeare/debates/ogburnarticle.html

Downer, Leslie, and Alan Riding. //DK Essential Shakespeare Handbook//. New York, NY: DK, 36-37. Print. Holland, Peter.William Shakespeare. New York, NY: 108-109. Print.   Laroque, Francois.//The Age Of Shakespeare. New York, NY: 127. Print. // Weiss,Rene.//Shakespeare Unbound: Decoding a Hidden Life//. New York, NY: 209-208. Print. 

