Throughout the years, many notable minds such as Mark Twain and Sigmund Freud have voiced their doubts about the playwright from Stratford-upon-Avon and the authorship of his 2 poems, 37 plays, and 154 sonnets. In recent years, speculation has only grown stronger about the authorship of the Bard’s work, with there being as many 70 candidates for true authorship, with the four most likely candidates are Christopher Marlowe, Francis Bacon, Edward deVere, and the bard himself, William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon. Though all of these candidates have evidence backing them, the most probable candidate is the one credited for the past 400 years, William Shakespeare. He most likely wrote his plays because the style was unique to him, all of the candidates had no known reason to hide their identity, and he was well known as a writer.
His Style was Unique
The first reason why Shakespeare was the one who wrote the plays is that his style was unique among playwrights. Though he started in the traditional iambic pentameter, after completing Hamlet, he adopted his own style. It was a, “…more centered writing style. He began to use more run-on lines, uneven pauses and stops, and excessive alterations in sentence length and structure.” (The Writing Style of William Shakespeare” 2016)
Most of the playwrights of that period wrote exclusively in that iambic pentameter, sticking strictly to its ten syllables per line rule, making this the most probable chosen style of the figures “anti-Stratfordians” say wrote the plays. Shakespeare’s style, however was exclusive to him and his works. That rules out many, if not all, of the candidates for authorship. Some may say that Shakespeare could not have possibly written the plays because he was from a rural town, where illiteracy was common, even more so in the 16th century. However, Shakespeare’s father was a relatively wealthy merchant and was elected as the bailiff, aka mayor, of Stratford and had the privilege of going to the Stratford Free School, where he may have been taught to read and write.
Candidates Have no Reason to Hide
The second reason why Shakespeare wrote all the plays is that anybody who people say actually wrote them had no reason to conceal their identity. Anti-Stratfordians say there there was a stigma against people who did the sort of thing as Shakespeare did. During that time, however, he was widely respected across the country, rich or poor alike, and even performed for King James and Queen Elizabeth. There was, “very little evidence that such a ‘stigma’ existed in England at the time.” (Knapp 2011) With that being known, there is very little reason for hiding their identity, and many poets in that age published anonymously, including Shakespeare for a couple of his plays.
There are multiple theories surrounding who wrote Shakespeare, the most realistic being the one for Christopher Marlowe. Christopher fakes his death in 1593, and fools everyone who knew him, even though he was well known throughout London. Then, he continues to fool everyone by writing as Shakespeare until his real death in 1616. The theory also says that he planned this several years before faking his death. Considering that Marlowe died by being stabbed in the forehead, this theory is already in shambles. Furthermore, the most well known people in London in that time, was the Queen, Shakespeare, and Marlowe, so getting around without being recognized was near impossible, even if he somehow survived and had a disfigured face because of his injuries.
He Was Well Known
The final reason why Shakespeare wrote all of the plays is that he was well known as a writer. Since his plays were renowned across all of England, he became the 16th century equivalent of a rockstar. Considering that he not only wrote the plays but acted in them, he would not be easily forgotten by the public. He also put his name on his works, a very uncommon thing to do back then. He even collaborated with other authors, like when he worked with John Fletcher to make Two Noble Kinsmen.
Conclusion
William Shakespeare was history’s most brilliant mind when it came to literature. He wrote an estimated total of 2 poems, 37 plays, and 154 sonnets. In recent years, the speculation has grown that Shakespeare was not the true author of his works. Though there were some points made about how he didn’t write his works, an overwhelming amount of evidence is for the Bard from Stratford-upon-Avon. This is mostly because his style was unique to him, the people who could have written them had no reason to hide it, and he was so well known as a writer, he had his name put on his works and he worked with other writers on plays.
References
- Reedy, T., & Kathman, D. (2011, December). “How we know that Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare: The historical facts.” Retrieved December 06, 2017, from http://shakespeareauthorship.com/howdowe.html
- Knapp, A. (2011, October 19). “Yes, Shakespeare really did write Shakespeare.” Retrieved December 06, 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2011/10/19/yes-shakespeare-really-did-write-shakespeare/#3fd837934011
- Wheeler, K. (2011, September). “Did Shakespeare really write Shakespeare?” Retrieved December 06, 2017, from https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/shake_did_write_plays.html
- Pruitt, S. (2015, July 15). “Did Shakespeare really write his own plays?” Retrieved December 10, 2017, from http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/did-shakespeare-really-write-his-own-plays
- Biography.com Editors. (2017, August 05). “William Shakespeare.” Retrieved December 10, 2017, from https://www.biography.com/people/william-shakespeare-9480323
- Writing Freelancers. (2016, October 07). “The writing style of William Shakespeare.” Retrieved December 10, 2017, from https://www.freelancewriting.com/creative-writing/the-writing-style-of-william-shakespeare/
- Christopher Marlowe. (2017, April 28). Retrieved December 11, 2017, from https://www.biography.com/people/christopher-marlowe-9399572