It may be the oldest controversy in literary history: Who wrote Shakespeare’s plays?
The debate over whether or not the simple businessman from Stratford-upon-Avon actually wrote the canon of plays and sonnets attributed to him began in the mid-18th century more than 100 years after the man’s death. Ironically, if William Shakespeare’s works had been less timeless, their authorship would likely never have been questioned. However, when his plays gained new popularity in the mid-18th century doubts about the writer’s identify began to surface. As a new generation of dramatists and historians studied the Bard and his plays, a disconnect between William Shakespeare the man and William Shakespeare, England’s literary genius, began to emerge.
Antistradfordians – those who question who wrote Shakespeare’s plays — believe that the author of such dramatic and richly layered plays had to have been a man with an extensive education, access to the royal court and someone who was worldly and well-traveled. William Shakespeare, the son of a businessman, a part-time actor-turned-businessman with no record of formal education or travel does not fulfill the preconceived notions of who one of the world’s premier playwrights should be. Add to this lack of a writerly persona the fact that not one original script has ever been found in Shakespeare’s handwriting. As director of the Shakespeare Authorship Research Center Daniel Wright stated in an interview with NPR, “He’s the only presumed writer of his time for whom there is no contemporary evidence of a writing career.”
Throughout the years any number of historical figures have been credited with penning such works as “Hamlet” and “Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Most notable are Francis Bacon, an English statesman and one-time Lord Chancellor, Christopher Marlow, an Elizabethan era dramatist and Edward de Vere, a poet, patron of the arts and 17th Earl of Oxford. The 2011 film “Anonymous” directed by Roland Emmerich identifies Edward de Vere as the person who wrote Shakespeare’s plays.
Most Shakespearean scholars dismiss the controversy over William Shakespeare’s works and point to historical timelines that strongly support Shakespeare’s career as a playwright. Especially troubling is the inescapable fact that Edward de Vere, the most popular contender in the authorship debate, died in 1604. Almost one-third of the Bard’s plays were written after that date.
Experts from both sides of the debate offer interesting and compelling information in support of their theories. Conspiracies explaining who lied or who imbedded secret codes into the plays or who took credit and why abound, but the truth is we may never know for sure who wrote Shakespeare’s plays. Fortunately, the debate and controversy over William Shakespeare’s works are nearly as entertaining as the plays themselves.
Resources:
http://www.observer.com/2011/10/anonymous-gives-the-mystery-of-who-wrote-shakespeare’s-plays-a-very-good-name/
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92142217
http://www.absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/biography/shakespeare_biography.htm
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/637105/the_simple_case_for_shakespeare.html?cat=37
http://shakespeareauthorship.com/#dating