Who Wrote Shakespeare? Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, Earl of Oxford, or maybe William Shakespeare himself (doubt it ) I Just read Calvin Hoffman’s book on Marlowe, he makes a good argument. I’m reading Twain now, he was Baconian.

Assuming it wasn't Will, I have been intrigued by the argument proposed by some academics that it was not a single author, but a circle of collaborators. Also, aren't there a few scholars out there arguing it was Mary Herbert? That would be fun, although unlikely. The Marlowe evidence is intriguing, as you suggest.

I loved reading Rodney Bolt's History Play, a ficticious biography claiming that Marlowe is the culprit.

I do not know who came up with the idea (of ficticious biographies on Shakespeare) first, Stephen Greenblatt (writer of Will In The World) or Rodney Bolt, but Bolt's book is a lovely read.

Stax said:

I found this website http://www.shakespeareide...erbert.htm

Candidates for Shakespeare
Mary Sidney Herbert
Mary Sidney Herbert, 2nd Countess of Pembroke (1561-1621) was aged 60 when she died). From around 1580 she worked to make her home Wilton House in Wiltshire a leading cultural centre, which when flourishing reminded one visiting poet “of the Court of Urbino in Italy”.

She doesn't sound as convincing, but anything is possible.

I did, quite obviouslyz.

I don't want to believe Francis Bacon did anything good after he said

"Think of doing science my way as forcing apart with your knees the slender thighs of an unwilling woman, pinning her under the weight of your body as she kicks and screams in your ears, grabbing her poor little jaw roughly with your fist to shut her mouth, and trying to thrust your penis into her dry vagina; that, boys, is what the experimental method is all about."

lilgish said:

Now what'z this all about? Is this person suggesting other authors were ghost-writing under William Shakespeare? What were his arguements, and how did he come up with these?

lilgish said:

Yep. I agree, a longshot at best. Thanks for the info, however.

lilgish said:

I believe it was the merchant of Venice

sweetserene said:

Whoa, that Francis was a charmer.

I'm told, even if a book states who the author is,
you can never really be sure.

But here is some interesting info from a historical
site:

Q. Is it true that the Supreme Court of the United States actually heard arguments regarding the Shakespearean authorship debate?

A. Yes. In 1987, a mock trial was held in Washington, D.C. to ascertain the true identity of the author of the works ascribed to William Shakespeare. The ruling was unanimous amongst the Supreme Court justices: William Shakespeare indeed wrote the poems and plays attributed to him.

Eternaldragon said:

Just think, 400 years from now people will be asking, "Who wrote Prince?" Was it really just one guy?

Myself, I studied Shakespeare and love most everything he wrote. The man was a literary genius, and I can't really see anyone else writing all of these except for one man. We all know what fools these mortals be! Only one man could do what he had done, and it wasn't somebody else. Why do they always think that there's somebody else? By any other name, Shakespeare would smell just as sweet.