She espouses the first group theory attributing the shakespearean works to a committee headed by francis bacon and including walter. The shakespeare authorship coalition runs this website to introduce the shakespeare authorship controversy, or shakespeare authorship question. History of the shakespeare authorship question wikipedia. Despite hundreds of years of scholarly efforts to establish the credentials of william shakspere of stratforduponavon, doubts that he was the author refuse to go away see the declaration of reasonable doubt. The debate has even attracted the attention of two former u. Oxfordian theory of shakespeare authorship wikipedia. Conspiracy theorists either attribute shakespeares works to another prominent writer of his era or to a group of writers using the shakespeare name as a pseudonym. I had not seen that portion of the oxfordian debate as part of the debate. A scientific approach to the authorship question, sturrock explores the argument through the eyes of four fictional characters, each with a different perspective on the debate. Delia bacon raises the question in the first published book on authorship, the philosophy of the plays of shakespeare unfolded. There are a lot of mysteries surrounding several plays of unknown authorship from the period, some of which may or may not have been written by shakespeare and there has been debate over who shakespeare was and whether or not the stratford shakespeare is the same as the author of the plays. Shakespeare authorship 101 shakespeare oxford fellowship. The book explores the issues in the light of biographical, textual and bibliographical evidence to bring fresh perspectives to an intriguing cultural phenomenon.
In shapiros account, the mischief of the authorship controversy began with a kind of scholarly original sin. Though literary scholars reject all alternative authorship candidates, including oxford, interest in the oxfordian theory continues. This brilliant, powerful book is a major event for everyone who cares about shakespeare. Kinds of authorship, of his chapter, hugh craig points out that authorship. Mark rylance takes on shakespeare establishment in. This book addresses the longstanding debate over the shakespeare authorship problem and offers a daring solution. William shakespeare the authorship controversy essay. There are many other contemporary references to shakespeare as a writer as well. The most startling thing about contested will, james shapiros new book about the shakespeare authorship debate, is not what it concludes about. Activity explain to the class that they will hold a roundtable discussion about shakespearean authorship. I am haunted by the conviction that the divine william is the biggest.
Debate goes on centuries later, doubts persist that william shakespeare penned the works that bear his name. This contends that the bard could not have written 37 plays and 154 sonnets for a very good reason. This is the kind of magazine you keep on your bookshelves with your favorite books. A new attribution method, argues that the statesman contributed to the tempest and loves labours lost, among other works. Mrs stopes concluded that there were fundamental differences, arguing that bacon was not the author. We have more company now as you can see from the sites linked in our bardlinks area below. No hard evidence, no circumstantial evidence, no pointers from contemporaries no undisputed scholarship.
Because if shakespeare didnt write the plays, someone must have. They voice their opinions on 25 pieces of evidence, but sturrock invites readers to weigh in as well and arrive at their own conclusion. As henry james said, the facts of stratford do not square with the. The evidence that william shakespeare of stratforduponavon wrote those plays is overwhelming, argues teen site member scouting for books. Though the shakespeare authorship question has been a topic of lively controversy for nearly two centuries now, its likely to generate some renewed debate this week. Essay on shakespeare authorship controversy 1504 words. Essay about the shakespeare authorship debate 1632 words 7 pages. This book compiled 36 of williams plays, recording and publishing them for the first time. Mark rylance takes on shakespeare establishment in authorship row this article is more than 1 year old actor accuses critics of fearmongering in foreword to new book arguing that francis. The scholarship is surpassingbrave, original, full of surpriseand in the hands of so gifted a writer it fairly lights up the sky.
I will be honest, i am one hundred percent believing in shakespeare as the author of his own works. Hudsons first book is a scholarly examination of the ongoing debate about the authorship of the works of william shakespeare. There is little to document shakespeare s early life. Doubt of shakespeares authorship of his plays essay bartleby. Shakespeare, of all the great writers in western civilization, presents a unique enigma. There is nothing whatsoever to connect any other author with will shakespeare s work. Thats because of the release of the new movie anonymous in theaters october 28, a period historical thriller. The shakespeare authorship debate although william shakespeare is considered to be one of the most revered and wellrenowned authors of all time, controversy surrounds the belief that he actually produced his own literary works. Wikipedia has a convenient list of shakespeares quartos, along with images of all the title pages.
He wrote twelve books and numerous articles on the authorship issue, and engaged in a series of public debates with sir sidney lee, the leading shakespeare biographer of his. Shakespeares supportersknown as stratfordiansemphasize the fact that the body of evidence that does exist points to shakespeare, and no one else, as the author of his works. This site explores the twocenturies old shakespeare authorship debate. Presenting the authorship of shakespeare s works in relation to historiography, psychology and literary theory, twentythree distinguished scholars reposition and develop the discussion. The problem isnt that documentary evidence doesnt exist. Harold goddard, the meaning of shakespeare sensitive study of shakespeare s complete works. Shakespeare authorship roundtable history of the controversy. The shakespeare authorship question is a theory which was first proposed during the victorian era that william shakespeare did not write the plays and poems which were accredited to him. Skeptics include not only scholars but also famous folks, ranging from orson welles to mark twain. He noted that the shakespeare birthplace trust had refused to enter into such a debate.
The only book on the shakespeare authorship question to catalogue, comprehensively, the evidence and arguments from both sides of the debate, point by point, in a clear, accessible format. Sir george greenwood 1850 1928 was a british lawyer, politician mp, cricketer, animal welfare reformer and leading advocate for the shakespeare authorship question. Doubt of shakespeares aut horship of his plays over the years, various persons have expressed doubt as to the authorship of william shakespeare. The shakespeare authorship question is the argument that someone other than william shakespeare of stratforduponavon wrote the works attributed to him.
If youre looking to know about who really wrote shakespeare s works, shakespeare authorship and books on, shakespeare authorship, visit our website right now. False balance and the shakespeare authorship debate. The shakespeare authorship question oleg seletsky tiger huang william hendersonfrost dartmouth college december 12, 2007 abstract many in academic world accept as fact that william shakespeare of stratforduponavon was the pen behind such works as romeo and juliet, king lear etc. List of books and articles about shakespeare authorship. Francis langley 15481602 biography of the moneylender, extortionist, and entrepreneur who was associated with shakespeare. A neutral compendium for the curious, an invaluable resource for shakespeare researchers, an essential rea. Scholarly editions of the complete works, such as the norton shakespeare and the riverside shakespeare, generally include these references in appendices. Pulitzer prizewinning historian david mccullough in his foreword to charlton ogburns the mysterious william shakespeare. Evidence for this is the fact that he was known in stratford. In 1964, mosteller and wallace14 published an influential work on authorship attribution which introduced the concept of comparing the frequencies of function words, defined as noncontextual words such as and, the, or to. Harvards marjorie garber takes an unusually tolerant view of the longrunning.
William shakespeare and the authorship debate hubpages. The authorship controversy as early as 1709, with the publication of nicholas rowes edition of shakespeare s works, the dearth of information about the life of william shakespeare of stratford. And the evidence for an alternative author is totally nonexistent. Hudson argues that an obscure but talented woman named amelia bassano lanierposited to be both shakespeares dark lady of the sonnets and a secret jewwas in the right place at the right time, and had the right skills and knowledge, to be the true. Perhaps at the heart of the shakespeare authorship controversy is a more philosophical debate. The authorship debate, says bate, is a natural consequence of a cult of shakespeare now deeply rooted in our culture. A shakespeare scholar takes on a taboo subject the. Oxfraud when the shakespeare authorship page began in 1996, it was the only site on the internet dedicated to countering claims that someone other than william shakespeare wrote the lions share of the works professional literary historians have always assigned to shakespeare. If you subscribe to the idea that genius is acquired, then believing that this little man from stratford could acquire the necessary understanding of the classics, law, philosophy, and dramaturgy from a brief stint at grammar school is a stretch. The main culprits in the authorship debate are christopher marlowe he was born in the same year as shakespeare, but died around the same time that shakespeare started to write his plays.