Who Wrote Shakespeare's Plays?

Answer 1

Who wrote Shakespeare's plays?

A great poet and dramatist. That's who.

That's about all we know. It's like asking who wrote Homer's Iliad? Sure, we can anwer: Homer did. But who was Homer? And how did he get to be such a good writer? Or is that just a name we use for an unknown poet? Hard to say.

It's the same with Shakespeare.

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Sorry. Unless another document of some sort is found lying around in somebody's archives, no one will be able to answer your question DEFINITIVELY.

We have to accept Shakespeare, like Homer before him, as not very well known, a construct, maybe even a fiction: MAYBE (a) a brash actor/producer who wrote plays better than anyone could ever expect one of his education and background, (b) a nobleman hiding his identity behind that brash actor for political or "gentlemanly" reasons, or (c) another playwright who was also a spy, caught in his double-dealing, who faked his own death and assumed the identity of that brash actor, or (d) a co-authorship involving any two of the above, or (e) none of the above.

I have just read Mark Anderson's "Shakespeare" by Another Name, which makes a 600-page case for (b) above. His nobleman of choice is Edward de Vere, seventeenth Earl of Oxford, a fascinating man in his own right, both intellectual and wit, nobleman and rapscallion, reputed lover of Queen Elizabeth at one time (well, actually reputed lover of any number of people), ward of the court, officer of the court, and at times exile from the court.

It's an interesting read because de Vere is an interesting person, certainly complex enough to have been a character in one of Shakespeare's plays--or the author of all of Shakespeare's plays, and especially the sonnets and Venus and Adonis and the Rape of Lucrece.

There is certainly evidence that point to de Vere as a possible author of the plays, too, more convincing evidence than anyone could come up with for the brash actor from Stratford--except that de Vere's name is de Vere (or Oxford) and the name that got attached to most of the plays early on was Shakespeare, or Shakspere, or Shake-spear, or . . . well, spelling one's name right and the same way all the time may not have been all that important to a brash actor from Stratford--who retired to Stratford and died there with no evidence of his having become an excellent playwright and poet!

However, as interesting as Anderson's book is, it is ultimately unconvincing. He argues persuasively that Will Shakspere could not have been the Shake-speare. He even argues that the well-known portrait of Shakespeare might well have been that of de Vere. (That's actually the most convincing part of his book.)

But finally he overstates his case. He insists on just too many biographical interpretations of the plays as being based on de Vere's (fascinating) life -- and with too little evidence. Well, his father-in-law might have been a good model for Polonius, and his affair with Queen Elizabeth may well have been like Bottom's with Titania, but eventually enough is enough. His second wife as Portia? Essex as Coriolanus? Southampton as the lover in the sonnets and the lover of Essex . . . er, Achilles, in Troilus and Cressida? Interesting possibilities. Convincing? Not quite.

So I think the best way to answer your question is (1) whoever Shakespeare was, he certainly was NOT uneducated, for he had too much control over classical and continental sources and allusions, Elizabethan courtiers, British history, and European geography for a poorly educated actor from the country. If the brash actor from Stratford is the sole author of the plays attributed to him, he was an autodidact of the very highest order! Or he had a lot of help from his friends.

(2) Whoever Shakespeare was, he probably did not work alone. If he were de Vere, he had all those "secretaries," like John Lyly, who worked with and for him. If he were the actor Will Shakspere, he had all those others in his troop--and all those source-texts he stole (some of which may have been de Vere's). Either he was a team or a plagiarist--or both.

Read Anderson for a fascinating story of an Elizabeth gentleman who certainly had his own ups and downs; for insight into the historical and geographical backgrounds of the plays; for an account that raises lots of questions about how that actor from Stratford could have been such an erudite author. But don't expect to be convinced that DeVere is Shakespeare. Maybe so. Maybe not.

Fortunately we can enjoy the plays--and Homer's Iliad--without knowing much, for sure, about the author. He was a fine poet and playwright, a genius, whoever he was.

Answer 2

William Shakespeare

Answer 3

The old old questions: What is the meaning of life? Why asre we here? Who wrote Shakespeare?

Here's a good website:

http://www.princeton.edu/~rbivens/shakespeare/

In S. Schoenbaum's book, "Shakespeare's Lives," there is a chapter on the other claimants to Shakespeare's plays. It an easy read. Or you can get it at Amazon.com for about $4.00 for a used paperback copy.

I taught a class once in the other claimants to Shakespeare's plays: Marlowe, Bacon, Earl of Essex, etc.

I managed to prove, by some of the internal 'coding' that the supporters of other claimants say should be obvious to anyone, that I had written Shakespeare. I'm serious. It ticked off a lot of the students because I had burst their bubbles. So, to make up to them, I proved that Queen Victoria had written them! It still didn't satisfy them.

Oh well.

Answer 4

Shakespeare.

There are a number of crack-pot (and a few not-so-crack-pot) theories claiming that any one of several other people actually his plays. I once encountered one that tried to argue that the plays may have actually been written by the Bard's sister or some such nonsense. I expect that a lot of them are based on a combination of the *lack* of concrete information we've got about Shakespeare-the-man and the fact that as far as anyone's been able to figure, he was only educated to about an 8th grade level (and even that, we don't have proof of). Serious Shakespeare scholars who support the idea that he did, indeed, write his plays far outnumber those who think the plays should be credited to someone else. And even among top Shakespeare scholars there are a lot of questions about the authorship of some of the plays- Pericles the Prince of Tyre and Henry VIII, for example. The theories about those two I've heard most (and personally think make sense after reading both several times) is that they were partially written by Shakespeare and partially written by someone else.

Answer 5

Most of his plays were written by Shakespeare himself, but a couple others were collaborations with Shakespeare's contemporary poets. For example, Thomas Middleton co-wrote Timon of Athens and Titus Andronicus, and George Wilkins, a lesser-known writer, collaborated with the bard on Pericles.

It's pretty crazy too because, when you know it's not Shakespeare writing, it jumps out at you as obvious, but when you don't, it's sometimes a little harder to pick out. That is, of course, unless you're the man at Shakespeare, which I am not,

Answer 6

Who wrote Shakespeares plays..Hmmm...You'r coming from this whole theory where people say this anonymous group of people wrote the stories, and credited Shakespeare, arent u?

It was THE ILLUMINATI!!! MURHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!

uh, um, I'm kidding. Yeah, anyway.

Seriously, though, I reckon its all speculation.

If someone OTHER than Shakespeare wrote the plays, he/she obviously didnt want to be recognized (unless shakespeare killed the real writer and stole credit. Please.)

So theres not much to lose there.

But if Shakespeare DID write the plays, poured his heart and soul and blood and sweat of a lifetime into them, and hundreds of years down the line people say "Screw shakespeare, someone ELSE wrote that stuff"...imagine what a pain that can cause the artist. That would dent Shakespeares balls like a jackhammer, and he wouldnt stop screaming. Well, ...maybe thats a wrong analogy, but u get my point.

Discrediting him has very little advantage to it if proven right, but has a HUGE disadvantage if its wrong.

So I say Shakespeare wrote them.

(God. It took me 10 pages to say "yes.")

Answer 7

Hard to believe that an ignorant country boy showed up in London as a literary genius. Other brilliant and creative types came from humble roots as well...Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci. And yes, the consensus among experts is that Shakespeare did in fact write all those plays and sonnets.

Answer 8

you hav got to be kidding me.. Shakespears plays were written by William shakespear!!! GOD!!!

Answer 9

Are you bloody serious!!!! Shakespeare wrote his own plays.....clap clap for you!! lol!!

Answer 10

Tragedy Comedy (The Tempest) and Historical (Richard II)