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Who Wrote Shakespeare? The Authorship Question Introduction Some people believe that William Shakespeare of Stratford is not the man responsible for writing the works generally attributed to him. Various people have been suggested as the true creative genius hiding behind the name of 'Shakespeare'. They say that a man from such a poor background and without a university education could never have demonstrated such wide knowledge, nor know so much about court life. Contenders Earl of Oxford The current favourite contender for the title of being the real Shakespeare is Edward de Vere, Seventeenth Earl of Oxford. His supporters have their own web site, and supporters of the man the doubters insist on calling the 'Stratfordian' have a site too that painstakingly demolishes the Oxford claims one by one. I don't find the Oxfordian arguments persuasive. They depend on so many people being perjurers and liars, and have to explain away so many awkward facts. For instance, Oxford is known to have died in 1604, but some of the greatest 'Shakespeare' work appeared after this date. It is thought that The Tempest was based in part on a the story of a ship-wreck that took place in 1609, but Oxfordians have 'explanations'. Christopher Marlowe Other people believe that the plays were written by Christopher Marlowe. He was a playwright of the same age as Shakespeare, responsible for such plays as Dr. Faustus and The Jew of Malta. He was certainly a great influence on Shakespeare in his early career. He was also a government agent, an atheist, and a homosexual. He was killed in a barroom brawl in 1593. There are certainly suspicious circumstances surrounding his death, but I find it implausible that he actually slipped abroad, and carried on writing as Shakespeare for another nearly twenty years. The case for the Stratfordian It is untrue to say that almost nothing is known about the man from Stratford, and I like the man that emerges from what I have read. Not a saint, but the picture I have is of a sociable, kind man with the sharpest of wits. Also a successful business man. The man who wrote the plays knew about human beings, and managed to portray them with reality and love; even many of his villains evoke our sympathy. The doubters say that the man who wrote those works would have made sure that his daughters were literate, and there is some evidence that they were not. The problem is that we judge the attitudes of a Tudor man by the standards of today. The daughters of gentlemen, as opposed to those of the nobility, were not generally educated then. I find the argument amusing that only a nobleman could have depicted court life so accurately. How do we know that the depiction of court life in the plays is accurate? Are we all Tudor nobility? Furthermore Shakespeare's group of players performed at court regularly, and even though they were treated as servants, they would observe and also be told about life in court by the servants with whom they ate and drank. The treatment of the players in Hamlet is probably an accurate picture of the relationship. The arguments will continue, and certainly do on the humanities.lit.authors.shakespeare Usenet group that I visit from time to time. However there is also a lot of very interesting discussion there about the work itself. Links Internal Brief Biography   An outline of the life of Shakespeare     Shakespeare Family Tree   Shakespeare was part of a large family in Stratford and fathered three children. Click here to see the family tree.     Shakespeare's Plays   A list of all the plays, including the doubtful ones, in probable order of first performance.   The Globe Playhouse   Drawings and information about the playhouse where Shakespeare's plays were produced in his lifetime, and information and pictures of the new reconstructed Shakespeare's Globe on London's Bankside     External Shakespeare Oxford Society Site All the arguments for those who believe that Oxford was the real Shakespeare     Shakespeare Authorship Site The site of scholarship and sense (oops! - there goes my impartiality) managed by David Kathman and Terry Ross who carefully debunk all the theories that claim to prove that Shakespeare didn't write the works         Home|Gaynor|Mike|Art|Theatre|Book Shop   Updated 26th June 2005