Shakespeare Essay -- Writers Authors History William Shakespeare Essay

Shakespeare Who was Shakespeare? Was he a man from Stratford-Upon-Avon who started with little and became the greatest English author to ever so live or was he a privileged Earl who was a favorite at Queen Elizabeths court? That is the great mystery. This particular mystery is operose to solve because of the lack of documentary evidence. The Elizabethans did not believe in getting everything in writing as people do today. Therefore, the truth may neer be known with certainty. However, evidence does exist to support at least two theories about the Shakespearean authorship one that the man from Stratford wrote the works, the other that Edward de Vere the Earl of Oxford was the author. The headway then becomes, which argument does the majority of the evidence support? Could a writer as prolific, insightful, and universal as Shakespeare have been an actor with only a base grammar school education? Other examples of genius from meager beginnings do exist. For instance, Alb ert Einstein got poor grades in high school, yet he turned the scientific company on its ear with his groundbreaking theory of relativity. Abraham Lincoln had little or no formal schooling, and he became the president of the United States and wrote the moving and eloquent Gettysburg Address. possibly education and social standing are overrated when it comes to intellectual virtuosity. Though the evidence for Oxford as the author of the Shakespearean canon is impressive, the lowly man from Stratford remains the veritable Bard. In an article for the New York Times, William Niederkorn, a playwright and editor, notes that Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford was first nominated as a candidate for the Shakespearean authorship in 1920 by J. doubting Thomas L... ...thman and Terry Ross. 7 April 2004. 15 March 2004 .Kathman, David and Terry Ross. Barksted and Shakespeare. The ShakespeareAuthorship Page. Eds. David Kathman and Terry Ross. 7 April 2004. 15 March 2004 .Matus, Irvin. T he Case for Shakespeare. The Shakespeare Mystery. 1996. PBS. 15 March 2004 .Niederkorn, William S. A past Whodunit If Shakespeare Didnt, Who Did?The New York Times. 10 February 2002. 1 April 2004 .Ogburn, Charlton. The Man Who Shakespeare Was Not (and Who He Was).The Shakespeare Mystery. 1996. PBS. 15 March 2004 .