I'm sure it was declared he wrote them.
Dutch LesbianWell I doubt its all a fraud.
Is more like he copied and stole from other artists and stories (and made them better in the process).
While reading him I think I notice a distinct style so I dont know.
I will always cherish the chance of a new beggining."Although the idea has attracted much public interest,[2] all but a few Shakespeare scholars and literary historians consider it a fringe belief and for the most part disregard it except to rebut or disparage the claims.[3]"
Please.Seriously, you might as well list every person alive during that time period and call it a day. Outdated conspiracy memes are outdated. Get over it.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"I thought that "Did he write anything" question devolved into "Did he really exist". It doesn't really add up for Shakespeare as we know him to exist and yet not really write.
Now using Trivialis handle.Well, I would not be surprised if he had assistants helping with the writing, and possibly contributing their own input, but at the least Shakespeare was the primary force behind the work attributed to him. No other big names involved.
edited 17th Oct '11 12:50:14 PM by TotemicHero
Expergiscēre cras, medior quam hodie. (Awaken tomorrow, better than today.)I generally see some of the theories as making sense. Most common theories:
- Sir Francis Bacon, !st Viscount Saint Albans
- Edward de Vere, 17 Count of Oxford
- Christopher Marlowe
- William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby
edited 17th Oct '11 1:05:30 PM by secretist
TU NE CEDE MALIS CLASS OF 1971Actually, what really happened is that Francis Bacon wrote all Shakespeare's works, Christopher Marlowe wrote all of Francis Bacon's works, Ben Jonson wrote all of Christopher Marlowe's works, and Shakespeare himself wrote all of Ben Jonson's works.
What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly.Where did Ben Johnson come into the calculation? Edit: I see him on the list of 76 candidates, but he's not that big of one as the other four and Shakespeare.
edited 17th Oct '11 1:09:50 PM by secretist
TU NE CEDE MALIS CLASS OF 1971They had quite a laugh while writing each other's works as well, thinking themselves the best trolls of all time. They're looking up at us from Hell right now, still very amused with themselves.
And really the big hole in any "Shakespeare wasn't Shakespeare" theories is to ask, "Why?" Many of those people are known playwrights, poets, artists and public figures. Why would somebody say, "I'm going to publish some works under my own name, but others under this other guy's name!"
I can't conceive of any reason somebody would do that. Who would gain?
What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly.75 Individuals are listed... and the Rosicrucians.
TU NE CEDE MALIS CLASS OF 1971Secretist, is this thread intended to start an honest discussion or is it just to show off your ability to cite Wikipedia?
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"Interesting point: Evidence leans to WS being uneducated and illiterate.
TU NE CEDE MALIS CLASS OF 1971Secretist, copypasting a list from wikipedia is not an argument.
...I have this as a hotkey for every time he posts, would you believe that?
Anyway, I believe Shakespeare wrote what he wrote, but perhaps gets more credit than he's due. Lot of his works might be loaned/modified from other sources, and he probably didn't invent all those words he's credited for, he's just the earliest surviving source for them.
I am now known as Flyboy.
If he didn't write the plays, why in the world would we know anything about him, ie: that he was illiterate and whatnot? He'd just be some random guy that no one bothered keeping records about. Assuming he didn't write the plays, the name would almost certainly be a pseudonym, so "William Shakespeare" wouldn't even exist. Well, there might be someone who coincidentally had that name, but that wouldn't be the person we refer to.
Also, being illiterate doesn't strike me as a particular hindrance to writing plays anyway. Just dictate them to somebody. And it's not like he wrote in Latin or something either.
edited 17th Oct '11 1:39:14 PM by Clarste
I think this is generally accepted to be true. The Ur-Hamlet and all.
[1] This facsimile operated in part by synAC.A lot of all works are rehashings of older plots and tales. Calling a particular author out on this is hypocritical even by modern lit-crit standards.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"OP: Not sure if I should care about this or not. Either he did or he didn't. Pen name, ghost-writer, whatever. The works were written (well, duh), but does it rightly matter so long after the fact who physically penned them?
If anything, this is just a way of telling us to be pretty sure we attribute works to ourselves so those in the future won't waste time figuring out if some fan-fic was written by you or someone else, or if you even existed.
Happiness is zero-gee with a sinus cold.edited 17th Oct '11 1:46:09 PM by Blueeyedrat
You win the thread. We can all go home now.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"I don't get why it's potholed to Portal Two, though...
I am now known as Flyboy.@ OP I'm facepalming at what you just posted.
William Shakespeare and the authorship question have always been something I have been curious about. Now, the movie Anonymous site has me interested in this topic enough to make this a topic up for discussion. This has a history to it. Does WS deserve his reputation?
Here are the candidates: This list of 79 candidates is in alphabetical order of surname, so that aristocrats appear under their family name, rather than their title (e.g. "De Vere, Edward" rather than "Oxford, Earl of").
Most common theories:
edited 17th Oct '11 3:14:55 PM by secretist
TU NE CEDE MALIS CLASS OF 1971