Internet Resources
- 17th-Century LegaciesShakespeare died 400 years ago, but today more people than ever know his name, and his plays are among the best-selling works of all time. Shakespeare’s enduring fame was predicted by one of his playwriting friends, Ben Jonson. After Shakespeare’s death, Ben Jonson described him as “a monument without a tomb” and proclaimed that “he was not of an age but for all time!” The first edition of his collected plays in 1623, known as the First Folio, solidified this legacy, and original copies are considered to be some of the most valuable books in the world.
- The Controversy of Shakespeare and MarloweAny celebrity can tell you that with a great deal of fame and respect comes something else: controversy. William Shakespeare is no exception, and speculation continually follows the playwright, especially since we know so little about him. Only a few certain facts are known, and even fewer documents survive regarding Shakespeare. But Shakespeare isn’t the only playwright during his time period to be surrounded by speculation. His contemporary, Christopher Marlowe, is a victim of the same circumstances. Rumors about Marlowe range from espionage to collaboration. Who exactly was Marlowe and what connections does he have to Shakespeare? Join us as we take a closer look into both of these mysterious playwrights.
- Did Shakespeare Really Write His Own Plays?Nothing has been found documenting the composition of the more than 36 plays and 154 sonnets attributed to the Bard.
- The Shakespeare Authorship Controversy ContinuesCould William Shakespeare, the country bumpkin from Stratford-upon-Avon, really be the man behind the World’s greatest ever literary texts?
- To Be or Not to Be ShakespeareWhile skeptics continue to question the authorship of his plays, a new exhibition raises doubts about the authenticity of his portraits.
Streaming Media
- Did Shakespeare Write His Plays?Some people question whether Shakespeare really wrote the works that bear his name – or whether he even existed at all. Could it be true that the greatest writer in the English language was as fictional as his plays? Natalya St. Clair and Aaron Williams show how a linguistic tool called stylometry might shed light on the answer.
- The Shakespeare ConspiracyFeaturing Sir Derek Jacobi, Tony Award Winner & Veteran of the London Stage. Who was the man who wrote these plays and poems? Was the author a grain-dealer named William Shakespeare born in Stratford-upon-Avon or Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford? Why there was a 400 year-old conspiracy to hide the true author? This program provides a stimulating and controversial point of view that is bound to provoke classroom discussion and independent study of the Authorship issue. Drawing on original 16th century documents and the Oxford Bible, this film makes a full investigation into the lives of both Edward de Vere and William Shakspere of Stratford-upon-Avon.
- Shakespeare Was a Fake (...and I Can Prove It)By deciphering early edition encryptions, tracing hidden geometries and decoding grid patterns, Alexander Waugh says he can prove Shakespeare was not only a myth, he was actually Edward De Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford and he’s currently buried in Westminster Abbey. If true, the spirited scholar (who happens to be the grandson of novelist Evelyn Waugh) has lifted the lid on one of the most enduring mysteries of our time.
Perspectives
Contested Will
For more than two hundred years after William Shakespeare's death, no one doubted that he had written hi plays. Since then, however, dozens of candidates have been proposed for the authorship of what's generally agreed to be the finest body of work any playwrite in the English language. In this remarkable book, Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro explains when and why so many people began to question whether Shakespeare wrote his plays. Among the doubters have been such writers and thinkers as Sigmund Freud, Henry James Mark Twain, and Helen Keller It's a fascinating story, replete with forgeries, deception, false claimants ciphers and code, conspiracy theories—and a stunning failure to grasp the power of the imagination.AsContested Willmakes clear, much more than proper attribution of Shakespeare's plays is at stake in this authorship controversy. Underlying the arguments over whether Christopher Marlowe, Francis Bacon, or the Earl of Oxford wrote Shakespeare’s plays are fundamental questions about literary genius specifically a out the relationship of life and art. Are the plays (and poems) of Shakespeare a sort of hidden autobiography? DoHamlet , Macbeth ,and the other great plays somehow reveal who wrote them?Shapiro is the first Shakespeare scholar to examine the authorship controversy and its history in this way, explaining what it means, why it matters, and how it has persisted despite abundant evidence that William Shakespeare of Stratford wrote the plays attributed to him. This is a brilliant historical investigation that will delight anyone interested in Shakespeare and the literary imagination.