Shakespeare

[Goughy]

I have to be honest and show my ignorance on this topic.

Id heard rumours that Shakespeare may not have written some or all of his works but I didnt know the evidence.

Ive spent the last 2 days reading up on this and Im amazed.

Basically there is no evidence that Shakespeare could even write let alone was the author of his works.

Most what suggests him being the writer is :
- The simlar name (born as Shakspere, often spelled differently)
- Warwickshire references.

After that, nothing suggests the guy that wrote anything. We know he was an actor and left little in his will relating to plays.

It is highly possible that Shake-speare was used as a pen name by someone far more travelled and educated than a travelling actor and the work has been incorrectly attributed.

I dont think there is evidence to say for sure who the 'real' playwright was, so therefore it must stay with William of Stratford. However, I think it unlikely that it was him, though there isnt enough to conclusively prove and change history.

Im sure everyone already knew all this, I just took me by suprise.

[Kweek]

haha, never heard this story before tbh.

[Goughy]

Originally Posted by Kweek

haha, never heard this story before tbh.

This isnt to say William of Stratford didnt write the works atributed to him. Simply, we dont know.

However, there are far more likely candidates. The record suggests Shakespeare was an actor and nothing more. He may be the lucky recipient of a legacy based on little more than sharing a similar name to a pen name of a rare talent.

[Kweek]

but come on...the history writing must've been at least decent back then?

there must be some evidance? one way or another?

[Kweek]

I mean the actor you refer to actually had a son Hamnet, on which Hamlet is partly written on..

[Goughy]

Originally Posted by Kweek

but come on...the history writing must've been at least decent back then?

there must be some evidance? one way or another?

No and no.

There is no evidence that Shakespeare wrote the plays whilst he was working as an actor. There is suprisingly little evidence on all this. We know there were plays written by Shakespeare (or related spelling) but we dont know who that was. It has been attributed to William of Stratford but even in the early days people thought otherwise and increasingly evidence suggests it wasnt. We will probably never know.

Also, Hamlet/Hamnet is most likely nothing but a coincidence.

[Kweek]

have you ever heard the name Hamnet before?
I have not, doubt it's a coincidence.

[Goughy]

Originally Posted by Kweek

have you ever heard the name Hamnet before?
I have not, doubt it's a coincidence.

Hamnet - Origin and Meaning of the name Hamnet at BabyNamesWorld

[Chubb]

There have been theories that Shakespeare was really Christopher Marlowe, or variously the Earl of Oxford, a group of several different people including Richard Burbage and John Fletcher, a woman or an alien. Frankly I think all those ideas are ridiculous. As far as we can ever possibly know he was William Shakespeare from Stratford-upon-Avon, and to argue about the provenance of his work is pointless. What remains to us is the genius of his work, and fundamentally it doesn't matter if he was not who the vast majority of people think he was and most importantly there is no compelling evidence to doubt that idea.

[Goughy]

Originally Posted by Chubb

there is no compelling evidence to doubt that idea.

I think there is clearly compelling evidence to doubt the idea. There just isnt enough evidence to clearly suggest who it otherwise was. As such, we stay with the established idea.

I like the Marlowe idea, though I personally doubt it.

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Originally Posted by Goughy

I think there is clearly compelling evidence to doubt the idea. There just isnt enough evidence to clearly suggest who it otherwise was. As such, we stay with the established idea.

Welcome to the study of history, Kev....

[Jamee999]

Originally Posted by dontcloseyoureyes

welcome to the study of history, kev....

[Anil]

Originally Posted by Chubb

There have been theories that Shakespeare was really Christopher Marlowe, or variously the Earl of Oxford, a group of several different people including Richard Burbage and John Fletcher, a woman or an alien. Frankly I think all those ideas are ridiculous. As far as we can ever possibly know he was William Shakespeare from Stratford-upon-Avon, and to argue about the provenance of his work is pointless. What remains to us is the genius of his work, and fundamentally it doesn't matter if he was not who the vast majority of people think he was and most importantly there is no compelling evidence to doubt that idea.

i have heard some of these theories and have used them(especially the marlowe one) to tease and irritate my sis who did her masters in literature and worships shakespeare..., but there is really no solid proof for any of these theories/rumors...

[nightprowler10]

All the works were obviously translated to english from the writing of the hindustani writer Sheikh Peer.

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Originally Posted by antimatter

Fur die lulz.

sup Precam.