William Shakespeare is undoubtedly the most famous playwright in history.
The Elizabethan author is credited with writing 37 plays and 154 sonnets, but how much real
evidence that they were actually written by him?
What if William Shakespeare is just one big conspiracy.
Hello and welcome back to Life’s Biggest Questions, I am your host Rebecca Felgate
and today I am asking Was William Shakespeare a Real Person…
now, this question may seem a little ridiculous, but as we delve deeper, it might not seem
so strange.
Stay tuned as we try and find out more about one of literatures biggest mysteries.
Before we do launch right into the heart of this video, why don’t you let me know whether
or not you think Shakespeare is real?
We know from church records that a Gulielmus Filius Johannes Shakespeare was baptized at
Holy Trinity Church in Stratford in the 26th April 1564, after a convenient birth on St
Georges Day, three days prior.
But, just because there was indeed A William Shakespeare in Stratford Upon Avon at the
time, does it mean that THE William Shakespeare we revere to this day was real?
Well, some people day no.
Indeed, some say that his name is just a rouse, a pseudonym used by more famous writers under
which to disguise their work.
These people are generally referred to as anti-Stratfordian’s
One of the first people to investigate the life of the publicly adored Shakespeare was
James Wilmot, a scholar who wished to write a biography of the famous playwright in 1781.
Quite the sleuth, Wilmot set out to find evidence of the icon in and around his home town, but
he found nothing!
No correspondences, no notes in his hand writing, nothing.
In fact, it seems that Shakespeare was a low born country boy who had a basic education,
although there is no evidence he actually attended the nearby Kings New School.
A lot of anti-Stratfordian’s believe there is no way that a boy from a working class
family could write in the way William Shakespeare did, especially considering his understanding
of Latin and Greek.
Instead, they think William Shakespeare was actually a disguise thought up by a highborn
writer or philosophical thinker, offering examples such as Francis Bacon, Christopher
Marlowe, Edward De Vere or even Queen Elizabeth!
Some people think that, as Shakespeare’s name has been spelled differently on a number
of different works signed by the so called author, this means that perhaps a group of
them were in it together!
As with many conspiracy theories, there are some holes in these suggestions and, pointing
to any one of these single authors anyway, means playing fast and loose with the timeline
during which the bard wrote his works.
For example, writer Christopher Marlowe suffered an untimely death when he was murdered in
1593, 13 years before Shakespeare died and long before many of the writers most famous
texts were produced.
Again, Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford, died in 1604, but Sir Francis Bacon hung on to
1626.
Indeed Francis Bacon seems like the most credible option, he frequently alluded to the stage
in his own writing but never officially wrote a play as it could have affected his status
as a philosopher and statesman.
Why he would focus on Stratford when he lived in London is one of the many reasons this
theory has some key holes.
While James Wilmot, and many after him, have struggled to find physical evidence that William
Shakespeare wrote a play, there are records of an actor by his name, as well as a number
of paintings.
Of course William Shakespeare was a real person, because we know what he looks like, right!
Well.. the Chandos portrait from the early 1600s is thought to be the only true depiction
of the time, although that seems reasonable as Shakespeare was not a member of the higher
classes.
If Shakespeare isn’t real, then who exactly is buried in his grave, a popular tourist
spot in Straford?
Well, that is a good question….nobody has officially excavated his bones as his Grave
is known to be inscribed with a curse that will affect all who disturb it.
Handy.
Historians and scholars alike have spent many years theorizing the legitimacy of William
Shakespeare, and admittedly, evidence for his authoring his entire body of work is somewhat
sketchy.
If a conclusive answer to the authorship question over the past few hundred years, its unlikely
we can crack the mystery in a few minutes on Youtube.
That being said, there IS evidence of a William Shakespeare existing in Stratford in the late
1500s and early 1600s, so yes, he was a real person.
Whether or not he is the true author of such a vast body of seminal literature is up for
debate, but most people see the anti-Stratford theory as simple classism – a lot of posh
snobs who don’t think a member of the lower class could have such a cultural impact.
In the modern day, we of course know that genius doesn’t always correlate to social
status.
Do you think Shakespeare was a real person?
Let me know in the comments section down below.
For now I am your host Rebecca Felgate, please do leave a thumbs up and stay subscribed for
more top 10 lists.
Ill catch you in the next video, but for now, stay curious, stay alert and never ever stop
questioning.