Prompt Cast
The Debate Over Shakespeare's Authorship
TLDR The debate over whether William Shakespeare actually wrote the works attributed to him continues, with doubts raised due to his illiterate family, lack of education, and absence of written documents. Possible alternative authors include Sir Roger Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, and Edward Devere, but there is no hard evidence to support any theory and the true author remains unknown.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Many people have questioned whether William Shakespeare actually wrote the works attributed to him, and this episode explores the evidence surrounding this debate.
01:44
The idea that Shakespeare didn't write the works attributed to him is not as crazy as it sounds, as there have been many instances of authors using pen names, and for 150 years after Shakespeare's death, he wasn't considered the greatest English playwright.
03:17
Shakespeare's illiterate family, lack of education, and absence of documents written by him raise doubts about whether he actually wrote his works.
04:47
There is a lack of evidence, such as written works, business claims, and mentions in his will, to support the theory that Shakespeare wrote the works attributed to him.
06:26
There are three main candidates who have been given serious attention as possible authors of Shakespeare's works: Sir Roger Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, and the 17th Earl of Oxford, Edward Devere.
07:58
Edward Devere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, has a strong case for being the author of Shakespeare's works due to his education, court connections, ownership of a theater company, extensive travel, and the correlation between the underlined passages in his Bible and the biblical references in Shakespeare's work, despite the lack of surviving plays under his name.
09:28
The theory is that Edward Devere was the real author of Shakespeare's works, with William Shakespeare of Stratford serving as a frontman, but there is no hard evidence for this or any other authorship theory, and ultimately the true author remains unknown.
