Elizabeth Woodville (1437-1492), Queen Consort of Edward IV of England. Portrait of Sir Francis Bacon by Frans Pourbus, 1617. Some theorists have found patterns between Shakespeare’s plays and Bacon’s writings that may suggest common authorship. Francis Bacon, the philosopher who served as both Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of London, is often cited as the mostly likely alternative author, but other candidates have proposed: two earls, Edward de Vere and William Stanely, and even Queen Elizabeth I. There’s an entire field of a study dedicated to the various conspiracy theories regarding Shakespeare’s “true” identity. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, and his father's name was John Shakespeare. The Shakespeare that we think we know may not even have existed at all. His signature is hotly contested by anti-Stratfordians, who point out that in the surviving six authenticated signatures, his name is spelled differently in each one. William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor of the Renaissance era. William Shakespeare, the figure to whom the most influential works of literature in history are credited, was born in April of 1564 (the exact date is approximated as April 23rd, also the date given as his death fifty-two years later) in Stratford, England to John and Mary Shakespeare. Next, read about the four most enduring conspiracy theories in history. His signatures are barely legible, and contain multiple variant spellings of his name. It might be said that, before his death, the poet, in this epopee of the ideal, had designed a codicil for the Future. In 1593 and 1594, when the theatres were closed because of plague, Shakespeare published two narrative poems on sexual themes, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. Although this theory was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, another candidate has overtaken Bacon in popularity among anti-Stratfordians. Starting in the 19th century, a growing movement starting asking: Was Shakespeare real? William Shakespeare creates Othello” as a real character to prove his price as a husband and noble soldier. Read another story from us: The Fanciful Toilet Humor of Mozart. . When that I was and a little tiny boy. There is a solid body of evidence to show that a real person named William Shakespeare wrote the poems and plays attributed to him and that this very Shakespeare became an actor in the company that produced the plays. Their first child, Susanna, was born on May 26, 1583, about six months after the marriage ceremony. The notion that Shakspere was the great playwright "William Shakespeare" did not arise until 1623 seven years after (the real) Shakspere died!" Analysis of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest By Nasrullah Mambrol on July 26, 2020 • ( 0). At age 18, in 1582, he married Anne Hathaway, a woman who was eight years older than he. One of the most popular candidates, favored by 19th century theorists, was Sir Francis Bacon, a scientist and philosopher who was a contemporary of Shakespeare. Three Songs. Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, was a keen poet and noted for his patronage of the theater. However, since the 19th century, conspiracy theorists have been casting doubt over Shakespeare’s legacy. Despite this compelling circumstantial evidence, there is no concrete proof that Edward de Vere was the real author of Shakespeare’s plays. William Shakespeare, poet and playwright at the court of Queen Elizabeth I, is one of Britain’s most celebrated national figures. If William Shakespeare didn’t write the plays and sonnets that are attributed to his name, then who did? He was born into a relatively low-status family in Stratford-upon-Avon, and there is no direct evidence that he ever received a proper education. The name William Shakespeare is synonymous with greatness and everlasting literary legacy – who in this world is not familiar with the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet, the enigmatic character of Hamlet, the madness of King Lear, and dozens of other memorable figures who … He studied Latin works at Stratford Grammar School, leaving at about age 15. The historical figure of William Shakespeare, however, does not fit this profile. As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII [Blow, blow, thou winter wind] William Shakespeare 1623. Victorian commentators simply could not reconcile the image of the literary genius that emerged from the page with the figure of the historical Shakespeare. Shakespeare's Family An introduction to William Shakespeare's immediate family. Her mother Mary Arden was the daughter of a rich landowner family. In Venus and Adonis, an innocent Adonis rejects the sexual advances of Venus; while in The Rape of Lucrece, the virtuous wife Lucrece is raped by the lustful Tarquin. Shakespeare's School Find out what we know about Shakespeare's school and how else he may have been educated. Anti-Stratfordians, as they are known, also point to the mysterious lack of personal information, letters, or original manuscripts as further evidence that his identity was deliberately covered up. They collected them for publication after Shakespeare died, preserving the plays. We all know that William Shakespeare was a glove maker’s son from Stratford Upon Avon. According to the BBC, questions over Shakespeare’s identity first arose in the 19th century, when his plays were undergoing a revival in British society. According to tradition, the great English dramatist and poet William Shakespeare is born in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 23, 1564. 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As a result, the vast majority of Shakespeare scholars continue to believe that he was the genuine author of these plays and poems. (Hart, 156) The orthodox version of William Shakespeare's life is that Shakespeare s father John had once been prosperous, but lost his money. His father John was the son of a farmer who became a successful tradesman; his mother Mary Arden was gentry. Early Years. Their argument is that in plays, often times fictional names were hyphenated. Shakespeare’s sexuality has been speculated on for centuries, he was married but it’s rumored that he took on male lovers and that one of his greatest loves was indeed a male lover. Is it possible that William Shakespeare was simply a pseudonym adopted by a powerful aristocratic writer who wanted to keep his identity a secret? . William Shakespeare on engraving from “Shakspeare’s Dramatic Works, Vol. In fact, his name itself is the basis of much of controversy surrounding the authenticity of his authorship. ^ Prescott 2010, p. 273: "'Anti-Stratfordian' is the collective name for the belief that someone other than the man from Stratford wrote the plays commonly attributed to him. Shakespeare is Shakespeare's real name. Many commentators agree in the belief that The Tempest is the last creation of Shakespeare. Despite the conspiracy theories, the evidence is solidly behind the idea that Shakespeare, in fact, wrote Shakespeare. Here’s what you need to know. He fit the profile of the Shakespearean author perfectly, and many now believe that he used the figure of Shakespeare as a pseudonym to protect himself from criticism by his aristocratic peers. Other scholars, such as Isaac Hull Platt, have even suggested that Bacon left ciphers and clues in the text of Shakespeare’s plays. Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons. The debate goes on. Influenced by Ovid's Metamorphoses, the poems show the guilt and moral confusion that result from uncontrolled l… 1. He (or she) must also have had intimate knowledge of the law, the royal court and aristocratic politics, in addition to being well-traveled and knowledgeable when it came to foreign affairs. He was the first son and third child of John Shakespeare , a leather tanner and a maker of gloves, and Mary Arden Shakespeare . Male And Male Love In William Shakespeare By William Shakespeare 850 Words | 4 Pages. He is then thought to have used the figure of Shakespeare to continue writing. Christopher Marlowe is often suggested as Shakespeare's rival and as the real author of Shakespeare's plays. Shakespeare is England’s national author and regarded the best writer of all time. His name is also hyphenated on many of the title pages of his collections and plays, leading many anti-Stratfordians to believe that Shakespeare was a pseudonym for the real author. These humble beginnings and lack of formal education seem incompatible with the writer’s intimate knowledge of courtly procedure, convincing some scholars that the true author must have been a nobleman. William Shakespeare died 400 years ago today — if he even existed. No original manuscripts of Shakespeare's plays are known to exist today. The Chandos portrait of William Shakespeare, artist and authenticity unconfirmed. Shakespeare’s works area unit noted throughout the globe, however his personal life is shrouded in mystery. He dedicated them to Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton. There is so little known about the real William Shakespeare. There’s an entire field of a study dedicated to the various conspiracy theories regarding Shakespeare’s “true” identity. from forth a copse] William Shakespeare 1900. Most scholars accept that William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, and spent time acting in London before returning to Stratford, where he lived until his death in 1616… There is in The Tempest the solemn tone of a testament. "; McMichael & Glenn 1962, p. 56. William Shakespeare was born on 23 April 1564 on Saint George’s Day and baptized three days later on 26 April. . As a result, some theorists have argued that Shakespeare himself was basically illiterate. In contrast, we have an abundance of documentary evidence to suggest that Shakespeare existed, that he lived in London and Stratford-upon-Avon, and that he earned his way as a playwright, actor and businessman. For example, the obscure Latin word honorificabilitudinitatibus, which is found in Love’s Labour’s Lost is thought to be an anagram of Hi ludi F. Baconis nati tuiti orbi. Some scholars have even questioned whether he was literate at all. William Shakespeare died 400 years ago today — if he even existed. remind us that the past was real - William Shakespeare. The proposed candidates for the true authors of William Shakespeare’s work (clockwise from top left): Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, William Stanley, and Edward de Vere. According to the Guardian, conspiracy theorists suggest that Marlowe’s death was faked, to allow him to escape trial and conviction of being an atheist. Shakespeare’s biography claims that he was born in the small town of Stratford-upon-Avon where he married at 18, eventually leaving his family behind to pursue a career as an actor in London. It is actually thanks to a group of actors from Shakespeare's company that we have about half of the plays at all. Check out a video on some hilarious Shakespearean insults: According to History magazine, there are only six authenticated documents in which Shakespeare signed his own name, and no manuscripts that have been definitively proved to be in Shakespeare’s own handwriting. William Shakespeare's birthdate is assumed from his baptism on April 25. A Moscow River Erupts In Flames After An Oil Spill, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch, the four most enduring conspiracy theories. Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London. This translates as “these plays, the offspring of F. Bacon, are preserved for the world.”. As a result, the vast majority of Shakespeare scholars continue to believe that he was the genuine author of these plays and poems. In contrast, we have an abundance of documentary evidence to suggest that Shakespeare existed, that he lived in London and Stratford-upon-Avon, and that he earned his way as a playwright, actor and businessman. Shakespeare's works include 38 plays, 2 narrative poems, 154 sonnets, and a variety of other poems. I will readily believe it. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer and dramatist in the English language, and authored 39 plays and over 150 poems. William Shakespeare, Shakespeare also spelled Shakspere, byname Bard of Avon or Swan of Avon, (baptized April 26, 1564, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England—died April 23, 1616, Stratford-upon-Avon), English poet, dramatist, and actor often called the English national poet and considered by many to be the greatest dramatist of all time. Surely a man of such humble beginnings and apparently little education could not have produced so many literary masterpieces. But was he really? Shakespeare lived in a townhouse on Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon with his family. William Shakespeare's birthday is most commonly celebrated on 23 April. The fact remains however that, “No one in Shakespeare’s lifetime or the first two hundred years after his death expressed the slightest doubt about his authorship,” Jonathan Bate wrote in the Genius of Shakespeare. Although these theories offer exciting possibilities, there is no direct evidence to suggest that any of these figures actually wrote the plays we now attribute to Shakespeare. But "William Shakespeare" has none of the characteristics of a pseudonym; it was the real name of a person closely connected with the production of the plays, and there is no indication in the historical record that anybody ever suspected it of being a pseudonym or said that anybody other than William Shakespeare was the author. William Shakespeare Title Author Year; Venus and Adonis [But, lo! 1” published in 1849 in Boston. It is hardly surprising therefore that plenty of theories about our most famous bard and his work have arisen. For example, the large number of legal references in Shakespeare’s plays points to an author with a strong legal background, such as Bacon. The question about the real identity of ‘William Shakespeare’ — who wrote such celebrated plays as “The Merchant of Venice,” “Julius Caesar” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” -continues to haunt scholars with many trying to work out how a glover’s son from the countryside entered the literary world. Some suggest that Shakespeare was not a person at all but a group of different writers that wrote under the pen name of William Shakespeare while others say that Shakespeare was not a writer, but an actor. He was an important member of the King’s Men company of theatrical players from roughly 1594 onward. However, the lack of surviving manuscripts written in Shakespeare’s own hand means that people will continue to ask questions about his authorship. At the heart of the problem is the fact that, for a man who was so prolific with his pen, Shakespeare didn't leave much evidence of his life behind. Other potential candidates include William Stanley, the 6th Earl of Derby, and Christopher Marlowe, the celebrated poet and playwright who was thought to have died in a bar brawl in 1593. Here are 10 other historical figures with legitimate claims to be the real Bard of Avon. Elisabeth Sherman is a writer living in Jersey City, New Jersey. Indeed, it is conventionally accepted that 14 of Shakespeare’s plays were written after 1604 – the year of De Vere’s death. His father John Shakespeare was an alderman and a glove-maker. He was exceptionally well educated, widely traveled (especially in Italy), and had an intimate knowledge of Jacobean politics. William Shakespeare 1600. 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