Who do you think was the narrator of Shakespeare's sonnets?

Question

Some say that the evidence points towards it being Shakespeare himself, others disagree - as it at times it doesn't sound or look like him at all. What do you think?

Answer 1

Christopher Marlow. By a strange coincidence he vanished from the scene just as Shakespeare suddenly became well known. He had a rich patron. And when it comes to the mystery over the dark lady who may have been a man -- well, Marlow was gay.

There is very convincing evidence in Calvin Hoffman's book "The Man who was Shakespeare." Calvin Hoffman's basic Marlowe-as-Shakespeare theory can be outlined as follows:

1. Various details of the life of William Shakespeare of Stratford-on-Avon make it extremely unlikely that he was the author of the works attributed to him.

2. Shakespeare seems to suddenly appear on the scene with no prior works at approximately age 30 almost immediately after Christopher "Kit" Marlowe supposedly died.

3. Marlowe did not die at Deptford on 30 May 1593. He faked his death because the Privy council was planning to hand him over to Archbishop John Whitgift and his Star Chamber. The details of this alleged plot are outlined in the "Marlowe's death" section of the Christopher Marlowe article.

4. Marlowe escaped, likely by boat down the Thames, to Italy where he lived on for many years. He continued to write, sending plays and sonnets back to England where they were presented to the public by one William Shakespeare, who was merely a front man.

5. Hoffman listed hundreds of alleged similarities between the works of Marlowe and Shakespeare. Calling them "parallelisms", he claimed they were clear evidence that Marlowe and Shakespeare were one and the same.

Answer 2

Hey nonny nonny, someone with a sense of humour no doubt.