DeVere or William Shakespeare? Essay -- Biography Biographies Essays

DeVere or Shakespeare? Abstract The debate over the legitimacy of the authorship of Shakespearean works has been disputed for centuries. While many scholars have held beliefs that Shakespeares works have been written by figures such as Christopher Marlowe, Francis Bacon, William Stanley, and others, the most heated debate straightaway is between William Shakespeare and Edward DeVere, the Earl of Oxford. Each side of this debate has many followers, the Stratfordians, or those who claim Shakespeare to be the true author, and the Oxfordians who believe that true credit should go to DeVere. My news report, far from creation a complete analysis of the possibilities of Shakespearean authorship, attempts to summarize and rationalize the argu workforcets of these two groups. It would be impossible to include all arguments and evidence in a paper such as this. Full books have been written on aspects of the debate I will not even mention, or may just but touch on. Hopefully after readin g this paper, however, you will have a little better understanding of the debate of authorship. As I am not in any respect a scholar on the subject I shall not attempt to make a conclusion as to which of these men is the author, but rather to inform and explain the many arguments on both sides of this debate in the hopes that the reader can learn a little more than about the ongoing debate and form an opinion of his or her own. In countries all over the globe the name William Shakespeare brings to mind literary genius, a feature so famed in eloquence and creativity that none other comes close to him in prestige. Yet for centuries scholars, students and readers have argued a very fundamental chief whether or not the plays and poems attribute to William... ...rpose-to designate a penname without confusion (Whalen 32). * Principal actors in the plays of Shakespeares First Folio included Jon Heminge,Henry Condell and Richard Burbage, the same three who were in the new-fangled edi tion to Shakesperes will (Whalen 51). * Oxford was said to be an excellent playwright, yet no plays written under his name were ever found (Whalen 127). Works Cited A Beginners make to the Shakespeare Authorship Problem. Online. 31 October 1999. Available http www.shakespeare-oxford.com/guide/htm. Kathman, Dave and Tom Reedy. How we know the Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare The Historical Facts. Online. 2 November 1999. Available http www.clark.net/pub/tross/ws/howdowe.html. Michell, John. Who Wrote Shakespeare? London Thames and Hudson, 1996. Whalen, Richard F. Shakespeare-Who Was He? WestportPraeger, 1994.