The Real Man behind William Shakespeare (original) (raw)
A Few Curiosities Regarding the 17th Earl of Oxford and the Writer Who Called Himself Shakespeare, An essay by Mark Alexander, Prof. Daniel Wright, 2025
"A Few Curiosities Regarding the 17th Earl of Oxford and the Writer Who Called Himself Shakespeare, An essay by Mark Alexander, Prof. Daniel Wright" Here I am posting an intriguing article by Mark Alexander and Prof. Daniel Wright which I found informative. The essay weaves together historical analysis, literary criticism, and also some personal reflections on the value of authorship and identity in the dilemma of the work signed by William Shakespeare. I think the Oxfordian theory — that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, was the true author behind the works attributed to William Shakespeare — is intellectually stimulating, and certainly more than a fringe idea. It poses serious, stimulating questions about authorship, class, education, and the nature of genius. It’s no surprise it attracts thoughtful, sensitive readers — especially poets and writers — who sense something "off" in the traditional narrative. From a purely literary and stylistic angle, de Vere’s known writing, his education, life experiences, and connections to court culture do seem to echo through the Shakespearean corpus — especially in the Sonnets, where the intimacy, courtly anxiety, and learned melancholy feel almost autobiographical. One could say they belong to someone writing within the structures of power, not merely about them. De Vere’s documented life offers rich parallels — Italy, court scandals, theatrical patronage, and linguistic refinement — that make for an alluring candidate. That said, the theory does face strong resistance from academic orthodoxy, (E. Passannanti)
William Shakespeare, 2022
William Shakespeare His Life, Works and Influence William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright who is considered one of the greatest writers to ever use the English language. He is also the most famous playwright in the world, with his plays being translated into over 50 languages and performed across the globe for audiences of all ages. Known colloquially as "The Bard" or "The Bard of Avon," Shakespeare was also an actor and the creator of the Globe Theatre, a historical theatre, and company that is visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. His works span tragedy, comedy, and historical works, both in poetry and prose. And although the man is the most-recognized playwright in the world, very little of his life is known. No known autobiographical letters or diaries have survived to the modern day, and with no surviving descendants, Shakespeare is a figure both of magnificent genius and mystery. This has led to many interpretations of his life and works, creating a legend out of the commoner from Stratford-upon-Avon who rose to prominence and in the process wrote many of the seminal works that provide the foundation for the current English language. Shakespeare's real name was recorded as Gulielmus Shakspere at his baptism in 1564, which is the Latin word for William. He called himself 'Will' in his Sonnets and most of his contemporaries referred to him as William Shakespeare, so it's safe to say that this was his name
Developments in the Shakespeare authorship question
A summary of the PhD thesis "A linguistic analysis of Francis Bacon's contribution to three Shakespeare plays: The Comedy of Errors, Love's Labour's Lost, and The Tempest" awarded in January 2014. The conclusion is reached that Shakespeare cannot be excluded from having had a hand in any of the plays under his name but that Francis Bacon was in an ideal position to contribute to the three plays mentioned.
Shakespeare and Paradigms of Early Modern Authorship
Journal of Early Modern Studies, 2012
This essay examines current thinking on early modern authorship within the competitive economies of the theatre and publishing industries. In the wake of Foucault's seminal essay, 'What is an Author?', there has been much investigation of the status, the branding, the proprietary and moral rights of the author in the early modern period and claims made for the emergence and birth of the author. The essay argues that, while authors were increasingly alert to authorship being wrongly claimed, the late sixteenth to early seventeeth century was in England a moment of transition and uncertainty. Unlike Ben Jonson not all authors vigorously identified with and laid claim to their work. The author's emergence was a slow and fluctuating process.
Further Information on the Shakespeare Authorship Question
Journal of Scientific Exploration
At the time of this writing, a Google Scholar search of the term "Shakespeare Authorship Question" (SAQ) returned 264,000 results. These range from reasonably impartial papers in peer-reviewed journals [e.g.
The Earl of Oxford and the Making of "Shakespeare": The Literary Life of Edward de Vere in Context
2011
The identity of Shakespeare, the most important poet and dramatist in the English language, has been debated for centuries. This historical work investigates the role of Edward De Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, establishing him as the mostly likely candidate for authorship of Shakespeare's literary oeuvre. Topics include an historical overview of English literature from 1530 through 1575, major contemporary transitions in the theatre, and an examination of Oxford's life and the events leading to his literary prominence. The sonnets, his early poetry, juvenile pre-Shakespeare plays, and his acting career are of particular interest. An appendix examines the role of the historical William Shakespeare and how he became associated with Oxford's work.
2019
Shakespeare occupies a position unique in the world of literature. Other poets, such as Homer and Dante, and novelists, such as Leo Tolstoy and Charles Dickens, have transcended national barriers; but no writer’s living reputation can compare to that of Shakespeare’s. Although his plays were made public in the late 16th and early 17th centuries for a small repertory theatre but are still performed and read more often and in many countries than ever before. The prophecy of his great contemporary, the poet and dramatist ben Jonson, that Shakespeare “was not of an age, but for all time,” It may be audacious even to attempt a definition of his greatness, but it is not so difficult to describe the gifts that enabled him to create imaginative visions of pathos and mirth that, whether read or witnessed in the theatre, fill the mind and linger there. He is a writer of great intellectual rapidity, perceptiveness, and poetic power. Other writers have had these qualities, but with Shakespeare,...
Shakespeare Authorship Doubt in 1593
Critical Survey, 2009
Beliefs acquired from authoritative sources and maintained over time, tend to achieve the status of truths. As a result, though there are many possible ways of interpreting historical data, consensus beliefs are so powerful a determinant of interpretive outcomes that new interpretations of historical evidence will tend to be rare. In addition, any evidence that conflicts radically with a belief that has achieved the status of a truth will logically be dismissed. Such, historically, has been the status of the Shakespeare authorship question. Since we know who wrote the Shakespeare canon, there is no apparent point to research. Evidence from the late 16th and early 17th century that there was any doubt, at that time, about those things we take to be certainties – Marlowe’s death, for example, or the authorship of Shakespeare’s works – are therefore quite naturally overlooked. But in overlooking evidence and interpretations that conflict with the prevailing consensus belief system, we can miss valuable insights that are uncovered by adopting a different perspective: insights into the period, into the nature of authorship, and into ourselves as authors and interpreters, constructors of our own realities.
Shakespeare Disintegrated: Authoriality, Textuality, Co-Authorship, Biography
Journal of Early Modern Studies
The article explores one of the most assiduously researched topics in Shakespeare criticism: that of the ways in which Shakespeare’s responsibility as author of the plays that traditionally bear his name has been established. Rehearsing the major contributions to this debate (from the mid-nineteenth-century idea that Shakespeare’s plays were the work of a group of intellectuals, to recent tendencies in attribution studies which dismember the canon on the basis of theories of co-authorship and collaboration), it maintains that one of the most persistent tendencies in the debate has been that of disintegration; and that both the dismembering of the canon as a whole and the amputating of parts of it as collaboratively written have had the paradoxical effect of de-authorialising what are conventionally known as ‘Shakespeare’s plays’.Not simply meant as a historical survey, the article also highlights the fact that, as well as determining effects on the Shakespeare canon, disintegrative ...