Was there really a William Shakespeare?

Question

Did he really exist or was his name used by another historical figure?

Answer 1

William Shakespeare did really exist. The scandal with Shakespeare is that he wrote almost nothing he ever created down. The actual plays and sonnets that we know as Shakespeare today were actually created from the memory of two of his closest stagehands. They decided that his work was so great that it deserved to be remembered even though he was gone. So, they wrote down all that they could remember and did a LOT of research.

I hope this helps you.

Answer 2

Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, the son of a glover. He left for London in the 1580’s where he became an actor, poet and playwright, certainly the greatest poet and playwright in the English language although little is known of his acting skills. He wrote about 42 plays, the exact extent of his work is uncertain as some plays have dubious authorship. Shakespeare is justly famous for his portrayal of English kings which have given us a rigid yet, alas, totally inaccurate portrayal of their personalities.

Strangely, we are unsure as to the exact date of Shakespeare’s birth. We know that he was baptised on 26th April and the great literary critic A L Rowse tells us that infants in those days were baptised three days after birth.

Stranger still, we are unsure as to the exact date of Shakespeare’s death. His burial record does not show the date of death.

Stranger yet, we are unsure as to who actually wrote the plays. Many critics say that Shakespeare was illiterate, there are none of his manuscripts extant, and that the works were written by another playwright or playwrights of the time.

Answer 3

Oscar's claims are all wrong. Since Henry VIII died in 1547 and James I was born in 1566, Henry VIII would have really struggled to have had More put to death for making claims about James Stewart. James I wrote the King James bible in about the same way that Donald Trump build skyscrapers - he gave approval to the project, but he didn't do the actual work.

There really was a WIlliam Shakespeare. Whether he wrote *all * of the works that have been attributed to him is impossible to know for sure, but I am inclined to believe that he wrote most of the things that we say he did.

Answer 4

~According to Thomas Moore, Shakespeare was really James Sterwart (James I), but since royalty could not condescend to cater to the hoi poloi, he had to create his mythical alter ego. This is one of the reasons that Henry VIII had Moore killed. However, his daughter, Elizabeth I, was a patron of the arts. Although James was a "pretender" to her throne, she was so enthralled by his works that she let him live. He not only made a ton on his plays, but he took the throne for a fews year after Liz (and lil sis Mary) kicked. It was James, writing as Shakespeare, writing as James, who produced the King James Bible. Sir Francis Bacon wrote an excellent thesis on this subject, but, James being a Catholic king, it was banned by Pope Clemidia II as heresey.

Answer 5

Until someone comes up with irrefutable evidence that Shakespeare didn't write the plays and sonnets, I'm not going to believe anyone else wrote them.

Answer 6

oh my gosh.are you for real asking this question.i have to assume you are either young or your not paying ANY attention in your lit classes.

Answer 7

Nah, he was the real deal...

Answer 8

He was real.