1.What is the Shakespeare authorship problem?

“It is highly unlikely that Shakespeare's works could have been composed by the person to whom they are traditionally assigned.”

This would be a perfect example of composition. This is because they say it is not possible that Shakespeare could have written all the plays meaning that, that part is false meaning it is false that he is traditionally given assigned credit.

 

People feel that Shakespeare didn’t write the all of his plays this is a statement of ignorance.

2. What literary, cultural, and political figures doubt that Shakespeare was the sole author of the work?
All the societys believing people like Marlowe or de vere had written Shakespeare. There claims are possible but with so little information on cant ay for sure. Some use Shakespeare’s small schooling background as an excuse.

 

3. Make a chronological history of the doubts that surround the authorship of the Shakespearean canon.
1564-1616: There is no reference during the lifetime of Shakespeare of Stratford which either speaks of the author of the Shakespearean works as having come from Stratford or speaks of the Stratford man as being an author.

1585: There is no evidence supporting William Shakespeare’s move to London.

1604: His death voids him from writing several plays they believe they cant prove it though, them being written later.

1612: The only specimens of William Shakespeare's handwriting to come down to us are six almost illegible signatures, each formed differently.

1616: William Camden in his book Remains had praised the author "Shakespeare", but in his Annals Camden omit mention of the Stratford man's death.

1623: The first indication that the author of Shakespeare's plays came from Stratford appears, ambiguously, in the prefatory materials of the First Folio.

 

4. Now do the same for the doubts surrounding the Stratfordian attribution.

 

1564-1616 which either speaks of the author of the Shakespearean works as having come from Stratford or speaks of the Stratford man as being an author. In an age of copious eulogies, none was forthcoming when William Shakespeare died in Stratford. There is no mention in the documents of the time of a Shakespeare's, or a Shakespeare's, intimate acquaintance with the inner court circles as has been implied by such contemporaries as Ben Jonson, later seventeenth-century commentators such as John Ward, the author's dedications to the Earl of Southampton of two poems, and internal evidence from Shakespeare's works. The author of Shakespeare's works had to be familiar with a wide body of knowledge for his time. Despite evidence of Shakespeare’s unspecified connection with the theater, documentation of any career as an actor is conspicuously absent. In the Stratford man's will, noteworthy for its detailed disposition of household furniture, there is no mention of books, library, manuscripts, or of any literary interest. The only specimens of William Shakespeare’s handwriting to come down to us are six almost illegible signatures, each formed differently from the others, and each from the latter period of his life. There is no evidence that William Shakespeare had left Stratford for London before 1585.

 

5. Consider the logic/illogic of each position and evaluate the effectiveness of each argument.
The argument goes back and forth. Some say Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare and some say he didn’t. There seems to be more logic in the claim of Shakespeare writing due to the fact that all other cases seemed to be well so and so writing is similar to Shakespeare’s so it may be an immature play of his. Well I think that’s a horrible argument since anyone’s writing can some how be related to another’s. Also no other plays besides the Shakespeare ones have his voice meaning the others couldn’t have written it.

 

6. Make a list of the six contenders for the authorship question. Then add to each as much significant evidence that is presented.

Marlowe – He was a contender for the Shakespeare Cannons and was said to have a fake death in 1593 du to his involvement with the Britisj government. It is said he went to Italy after this fake death and that he continued to write poems there.

Queen Elizabeth I- She is not really considered to be a possible writer of Shakespeare anymore, but once was.

Ben Johnson- he contributed to the first folio in 1623 he praised and criticized Shakespeare.

William Stanley Earl of Derby – he was said to have written some plays in the 1580s that have signs of a immature Shakespeare. He was the patron of his own company of actors.

Edward De Vere - De Vere was a well-educated he was an established play writer in the time of Shakespeare. As he was considered the writer of Shakespeare more evidence began to show he is not like his different writing style.

Francis bacon was a writer considered a possibility for Shakespeare’s work.