Shakespeare's authorship was first questioned in the middle of the 19th century, when adulation of Shakespeare as the greatest writer of all time had become widespread. Although the idea has attracted much public interest, all but a few Shakespeare scholars and literary historians consider it a fringe theory, and for the most part acknowledge it only to rebut or disparage the claims. Anti-Stratfordians-a collective term for adherents of the various alternative-authorship theories-believe that Shakespeare of Stratford was a front to shield the identity of the real author or authors, who for some reason-usually social rank, state security, or gender-did not want or could not accept public credit. The Shakespeare authorship question is the argument that someone other than William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon wrote the works attributed to him. Oxford, Bacon, Derby, and Marlowe (clockwise from top left, Shakespeare centre) have each been proposed as the true author.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |