FREE ESSAY ON SHAKESPEARE: FACT OR FICTION?

SHAKESPEARE: FACT OR FICTION?

Shakespeare: Fact Or Fiction? 
Was the man we know as Shakespeare really the author of the Shakespearean Works? We know
little about the man called Shakespeare, Did he really write the plays, or is he just a
man that got confused within history? (Sobran 44) There is not even a correct spelling of
this mans name, Some of the spellings include Shakspere, Shakespeare, And Shaxpere.
Shakespeare, Is it the man, Or is it another? (Hayes 1D) Shakespeare is both fact and
fiction, he was no concern until nearly two hundred years after he perished, and there is
still no definite or probably will there ever be a conclusion to this mystery. (Sobran
44) There is another man that can be attributed with the works of Shakespeare, His name
is Edward DeVere, the 17th Earl of Oxford. (Bethell 47) The man known as Shakespeare does
not fit perfectly into the necessary criteria to determine the author of these works.
Thomas Looney invented a series of criteria that had to be filled, in order to be a
possible candidate for the authorship of the Shakespearean works. To have all the
knowledge that is portrayed in the works, the author must have accomplished many things.
These including a superior education, from what we know of Shakespeare, this was not a
possibility.(Bethell 46) We do not even know if Shakespeare has ever written anything in
his life, Nor do we know that he was paid for writing these works. The man Shakespeare
does not even make a claim that he is the author.(Bethell 50) He may not have been able
to write the simplest thing of all, His own name.(Hayes 1D) Last Name 2 Its not how
little we know about Shakespeare that causes confusion and difficulty, Its the things
that we do know about this man that cause the confusion and difficulty. We know
Shakespears father, a glover, could not write. When he signed documents, he simply made
an X , This is why it is beleived that Shakespeare could not write also, Because he
probably did not attend school therefore his education was passed down from his father.
(Bethell 48) We do know much more about the man Edward DeVere. We know that because
deVere was a nobleman, he could not have his name written upon his writings because he
would be considered of a lower class. The plays contain a sense of hate towards some of
the noblemen of that time period, which also point the authorship towards DeVere. (Hayes
1D) When DeVere was a young man, he spent a lot of time in Italy and Europe, This could
explain the great detail used in the Shakespearean plays of Venice, and other European
locations.(Sobran 45) The sonnets have never been able to fit into Shakespears life, On
the other hand they fit into DeVere's life well. (Sobran 45) There are facts that lean
both ways in this age old mystery of authorship, Though the Strafordian man does not fit
into the story very well, He may have some advantages that the Oxfordian man may not.
DeVere on the other hand, has mostly every fact pointing towards him as the valid author
for the Shakespearean works, From his education, to his experiences, to his travel. The
Oxfordian seems to come out on top. Shakespeare: Stratforidan, or DeVere?