Summary:
Shakespeare's life and documentation supports the evidence that he was what he's credited for. Critics and rivals, the queen and his first poems - the evidence clearly shows that he was indeed a playwright, poet, and actor.
Did you ever wonder if the stories told in history books are a mere shadow of the truth? A conspiracy to throw off any unwanted investigation? Scholars have debated the true identity of the beloved poet William Shakespeare, and whether or not he was just a front for the actual writer's genius. Recent studies show that Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, was the true rhymester and writer of the plays and sonnets of Shakespeare. However, anecdotes and criticisms by his rivals also speak of the famous playwright and suggest that he was indeed a playwright, poet, and actor.
Very little is known about the man known as William Shakespeare, despite the fact that he is recognized as one of literature's greatest influences. On April 26th, 1564 William Shakespeare was born into what would be a family with seven children (only five survived to adulthood). His father, John, was said to be a town official of Stratford and a businessman as well. Later he helped form a town council and was one of fourteen burgesses to do so. The family lived one hundred miles northwest of London and Shakespeare most likely attended the King's New Grammar School, which taught young boys basic reading and writing, and it's said that he never attended any kind of other higher education. Shakespeare's first poem, Venus and Adoni, suggests and some say confirms his place as a poet, and was published in the Stationers' Registrar in 1593. Later on, in 1609, some of his plays were published without his permission, which suggests and supports the evidence that he is indeed a playwright and poet.
Hard evidence that indeed Shakespeare was what he is said to be can be results from documents derived from his time. Robert Greene's criticism of the Bard in his Groatsworth of Wit, Bought with a Million of Repentance attacked Shakespeare for competing with him and the other playwrights of 1592. There is no arguing whether or not he is an actor, for Queen Elizabeth herself witnessed his performances by the Lord Chamberlain's Company. Shakespeare's reputation as a poet is again confirmed in 1598, when "Francis Meres attacked him as being "mellifluous" and described his work as honey-tongued, "sugared sonnets among his private friends" in his own Palladis Tamia of 1598." The proof most often cited that Shakespeare authored his plays however, was the First Folio of 1623, where Henry Condell and John Hemminges, actors in Shakespeare's theatre company, claim in an honoring verse within the Folio that they recorded and collected his plays as a memorial to the then deceased actor, playwright, and poet.
These pieces of evidence suggest that Shakespeare did indeed write what he was credited. It is hard to believe that such a conspiracy could arise in the 16th century and without technologies that exist today it would be near impossible.
However, lack of the technology we have today also suggests that a conspiracy could be easier kept secret - less media coverage, less publicity, etc.
Shakespeare's life and documentation supports the evidence that he was what he's credited for. Critics and rivals, the queen and his first poems - the evidence clearly shows that he was indeed a playwright, poet, and actor.
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