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Some people wondered if a commoner, such as Wm. Shakespeare, would have the education required to write the plays attributed to him. One theory is that a prominent nobleman or university educated man wrote the plays under Shakespeare's name, but did not think it was appropriate for someone of his stature and position to be associated with such low entertainment for the masses. Various names have been proposed as this mystery ghost writer, with no evidence to support any of them.
Shakespeare's identity is well-established by hard evidence: records of his baptism, marriage and death, his grave and monument, legal documents pertaining to the purchase of land and the obtaining of a grant of arms, his will, in which he leaves money to Richard Burbage, John Heminges and Henry Condell, records of the playing company The Lord Chamberlain's Men in which Shakespeare is named along with the said Burbage, Heminges and Condell and others, numerous publications of works over a period of more than 15 years during Shakespeare's lifetime by a number of publishers which are attributed to him, many of which are plays known to be performed exclusively by the said Lord Chamberlain's Men, and finally the publication by the same Heminges and Condell of an omnibus volume of plays including most of those published during Shakespeare's lifetime, in which Shakespeare is praised fulsomely as the author.
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What was the dispute over the authorship of Shakespeare's plays?
Some people think that others wrote Shakespeare's plays such as Francis Bacon.
Who supposedly wrote Shakespeare's plays?
It was William Shakespeare. Some people argue that some of his works should be attributed to other writers, but there is little to justify this.
When people hear the word Shakespeare what do they think of?
Depends who they are. Some people think of plays. Some people think of fishing equipment.
Why have some people raised doubts about Shakespeare's identity?
Belief in conspiracy theories and other off-the-wall claims is a peculiar phenomenon. All of the information we have about the plays attributed to William Shakespeare suggests that it was written by William Shakespeare, gent. of Stratford-upon-Avon, who was an actor, poet and member of the theatre company The King's Men, famous for being the only one that put on Shakespeare plays. All of it. There is no evidence whatsoever that anyone else wrote them. Nobody even considered such a thing until 1850. Nevertheless there are some people, most of whom ought to know better, who claim that there is a serious doubt that someone other that W. Shakespeare of Stratford wrote the works of W. Shakespeare. The idea is that someone else wrote the plays but for some reason couldn't claim them as their own, and so passed them off as Shakespeare's, with the connivance not only of Shakespeare but just about everybody in the London theatre community of the day. One of the reasons why people do this is wishful thinking. What we know about Shakespeare suggests that he was perhaps not as exciting a figure as we would like him to be. That is why people made up stories about him being a poacher. Intellectual snobs were offended at his grammar school education. Aristocratic snobs were offended by his descent from a country glover. It would be so much better if he were a university man, or a nobleman of some kind. Likewise, the truth is that we have found out about as much about Shakespeare's life as we are likely to, and it is not much. If only he were some better-documented person, there would be some interesting research. For some reason, the phrase "if only he were" easily becomes "he must have been" in the minds of some people. Another problem that arises in the heads of all kinds of conspiracy theorists is the inability to understand that lack of evidence is not evidence for anything. I am not talking about evidence for a negative proposition: there is plenty of evidence for the proposition that the river Nile does not flow through Morocco. No, these are arguments along the lines of: there are no records that Philip II passed water in the year 1588, so therefore there is at least some doubt that Philip II urinated in 1588. Sorry, there's no doubt at all. The fact that there is no evidence of William Shakespeare owning books is not evidence for anything: it does not prove that he had no books, that he had read no books, or that he could read no books. The fact that the only authenticated examples of Shakespeare's handwriting are his signature does not prove that he couldn't write anything else. When you take away arguments of this kind, there is really nothing at all behind the so-called authorship controversy.
Do people still live in boxcars?
Some people, without doubt, live in boxcars. There are some that are even worse off.
Where did Shakespeare get the name Caliban from?
Some people think that it's an anagram of "cannibal".
What scandalous relationship happened in Shakespeare 's life?
Anne Hathaway was pregnant when Shakespeare married her. Some people would consider that to be scandalous.
Who is one poet who was influenced by Shakespeare?
His father who supplied him with lots of money for college? Well, no, since Shakespeare did not in fact have any postsecondary education (college), and some people doubt that he finished grammar school (high school). His father, although he was rich when Shakespeare was young, seems to have fallen on hard times and may have had trouble paying school fees. This is not to say that Shakespeare's father did not influence him. He may have done, but he didn't influence him by sending him to university.
What were some of the shakespearian actors called?
Your question is vague. Do you mean by "shakespearian actors" actors who have acted on stage in Shakespeare's plays, or do you mean actors who acted on the same stage as William Shakespeare, or do you mean actors who were alive when Shakespeare was? And are you asking for their names (Richard Burbage, David Garrick, Edmund Kean, Sir Henry Irving, Kenneth Branagh are actors who played Shakespeare; Richard Burbage, Will Kempe, Augustine Phillips and Nathan Field were actors who acted with Shakespeare; Richard Burbage, Edward Alleyn and Richard Tarleton were actors when Shakespeare was alive)? Or perhaps you want to know what people called them ("no-good lazy bums" no doubt).
Did some people want to ban plays in shakespeare s time?
yes, the puritans
What day and year did shakespeare die and why is this an interesting date?
He died on April 23, 1616. This is an interesting date because it is St. George's day and St. George is the patron saint of England. It also may have been Shakespeare's 52nd birthday, but there is some doubt as to whether he was born on April 23.
When William shakespeare was at school did you have to pay for education?
Yes. Some people think that Shakespeare didn't finish school because his father couldn't afford the fees.
