Do you believe Shakepeare is a real person, or that he was Marlow, or a group of people...?

Question

There are a lot of different view of the reality of Shakespeare. What do y'all think?

Answer 1

Yes I believe he was real!

No he wasn't Marlowe (But they did know one another.) Marlowe was murdered and believed to have been a part of the Queen's secret service?

There was a group of people that Shakespeare associated with in the form of his theatre group that may or may not have contributed to the literature that Shakespeare got the credit for alone.

Marlowe was just a different kind of poet, they are not the same writer or person... plain and simple!

He was painted with lipstick on because in those days men were made to play the parts of females in their plays because it was illegal for a woman to act on a stage.

and because it was the style then.

Answer 2

I think he was the true author of the plays. The evidence surrounding the Marlowe argument has never fully convinced me - his style is different. Until someone gives me more solid proof, I'll have to take what's been said about Shakespeare for years as true - he was a brilliant playwright and poet whose fame and reputation are more than deserved.

Answer 3

I am completely convinced that while there was indeed an actor named William Shakspere who lived and worked in London, "Shakespeare" (and the author of the plays and poems by "William Shakespeare") was actually Edward De Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford.

I have read several books on the topic and the parallels and coincidences in Edward de vere's life and work vs. shakespeares' plays and works is stunning. The "Oxford is Shakespeare" theory arose in the early 20th century when a scholar with the singularly unscholarly last name "looney" approached the "authorship question" (ie; who wrote shakespeare) as a mystery rather than starting with the theory that Shakespeare was William Shakpere from Stratford on Avon. He came up with Edward De Vere and since then more and more evidence seems to point to this being the correct theory. I just finished "Shakespeare by another name", a stunning biography of Edward De Vere by Mark Anderson. featuring 380 convincing biographical pages, 4 appedixes and nearly 200 pages of scholarly notes, it presents a sweeping and compelling case for this being the biggest revelation in literature known to the english language. As a converted believer, I'll just point out a few of the strongest points and let the books do the rest, if you're interested:

1. Most shakespeare scholars (whether or not they support the Earl of Oxford theory) agree that the model for the character of Polonius in "Hamlet" is Cecil "Lord Burghley," Queen Elizabeth's cheif advisor. The famous speech polonius gives to laertes (neither a borrower nor a lender be) is practically a line for line revision of a letter Lord Burghley wrote to his own son. Edward De Vere was first Lord Burghley's ward, and then his son-in-law, marrying his daughter Anne Cecil. Their lifelong and rocky relationship parallels Hamlet, Polonius (and Ophelia) in an almost biographical way. Edward De Vere wrote and received numerous letters from Lord Burghley and would have been likely to have had access to this letter.
2. Edward De Vere's personal copy of the geneva bible still exists, with numerous quotations, words and phrases underlined in his hand. Nearly all of the underlined phrases appear in shakespeare (and nowhere else in literature.)
3. Edward De vere's terrible marriage to Anne Cecil, and his remorse over his treatment of her after her death, mirrors his portrayal of Ophelia, Helena in "All's well that ends well," Mariana in "Measure for Measure," desdemona in "othello" and several others. She's often cited as the model for some or all of these (even by people who don't think Oxford is shakespeare.)
4. Many classical and contemporary elizabethan books are clearly sources for Shakespeare's works. Many of them had not been translated from the latin (or greek) at the time shakespeare was writing. There were no such thing as public libraries in that day and books were extremely expensive. William Shakpere, the actor from stratford on Avon, is not known to have owned a single book, and no mention of any books (which, again, were very valuable) was made in his will. Edward De Vere, however, either OWNED every one of the source texts, or Lord Burghley did, and Edward De Vere, as his son-in law and ward, had access to Lord Burghley's spectacular private collection.
5. A few of shakespeare's later plays seem to be written with a collaborator (often cited; Henry VIII and a disputed play called "two noble kinsmen"). many scholars strongly suspect they were co-written by a man named John Lyly, who just happened to be Edward De Vere's personal secretary and a publicly acknowledged collaborator (along with anthony munday) of several published works of literature among the three of them.

okay - I meant to write a short answer, but I'm really, really convinced. I'm with the famous shakesperean actor Sir Derek Jacobi on this one, so I'm in good company.

Answer 4

I've heard this question many times and also the questions surrounding his sexuality and I always come to the same conclusion: Why does it matter? Yes, it is interesting to ponder such unknowables, but the facts are that we have some of the greatest works ever written in the English language, works which transcend time and place, and to me, I don't care who wrote them; the author is almost irrelevant when we contemplate the sheer genius of the works themselves. Would I like a definitive answer to these questions? Yes, but only out of curiosity; not knowing does not diminish my appreciation for and love of the works.

Answer 5

Yes, Shakespeare was Shakespeare, and he wrote about 37 plays. He was well known in his lifetime, and nobody during his life doubted he wrote the plays. It was only after his death that questions arose.

If you want to read about the other claimants to Shakespeare's works, read, "Shakespeare's Lives," by Samuel Schoenbaum. You can probably get a copy at your library.

But in the end, it doesn't matter who wrote Shakespeare, does it?

Answer 6

i believe he was real-- it keeps my hopes up in this world, i saw a documentary on how he might have been a woman who used his husbands name... but if it ever came out that he didn't exist like scientifically.. id die!

Answer 7

I do but he might have had "help" with some plays poems etc
(pointless fact; he is wearing lipstick in some portraits! ewe)

Answer 8

He was a real person...the other theories are lies. Just except his genius nature.