Was William Shakespeare an Author? Essay -- Biography Biographies Essa

Was William Shakespe are an Author? That every word doth almost tell my pee-pee / Showing their birth, and where they did proceed... Some might say that this quote from Sonnet 76 eloquently expresses the narrators desire to be heard. This is a normal enough emotion to have. In todays society, people will fight behemently for that right. In Elizabethan times, however, to be heard was not a right at all, but a privilege. The queen, Elizabeth I, had the power to hush up any opposition. One could easily see how a verse like the above example could find its inspiration. Some would argue that, with the necessary information, one could average as easily see a darker purpose uncovered, William Shakespeare Did he exist? There is no doubt of that. Was he responsible for the greatest poetry and prose the communicatory ball has ever known? That, it would appear, is a greater mystery than one would initially think. I intend to search for the answer to the question Was William Shakespeare r esponsible for the writings traditionally attributed to him? When I first became aware of this debate, I was skeptical. Who wouldnt be? A 400-year old conspiracy theory always invokes doubt, especially one of this caliber. The plays and poetry of William Shakespeare are frequently called the greatest writings of the English language. The Guiness Book of World Records, using only his plays and poetry or the word count, lists him as the man with the largest vocabulary. How then green goddess these works be attributed to the son of a glove maker with no formal education? This is the backbone of the debate raging through the literary world today. Stratfordians, the people who hold to the traditional view, have no real answers. Oxfordians, however... ... Haugen, Peter. (1997, April 20). Who wrote Hamlet? Online http//www.sacbee.com/leisure/goingout/theater/hamlet.htm. Kathman,Dave, and Terry Ross. (1997) Shakespeare authorship. Online http//www.bepl.net/tross/ws/will.html Kelly, Kathleen. (1997, April 25). The bard by any other name. . . Online http//www.dailycal.org/ schedule/04.25.97/feat/shakespeare.html McFarlan, Donald, ed. (1990, April). Guinness book of world records. New York, NY Bantam. Shaking the spear. (1997, February 18) Online http//hhs.stcharles.k12.la.us/mypages/devere.htm Sim, Kevin. (1992, December 22). The Shakespeare mystery. Frontline. Stevens, John Paul. (1992, April 4). Shakespeare canon of statutory construction. Online http//www.shakespeare-olford.com/stevens.htm William Shakepeare the complete works. (1998). New York, NY Dorset Press.