8/14/2019 Some Alarming Facts about William Shakespeare

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Some Alarming Facts about William Shakespeare

William Shake-speare?:A Front Man with a name used as a moniker.

The most dramatic fact may be that William Shakespeare didn t write WilliamShakespeare s plays!

"ere are the facts

#. William Shakespeare s father could not read or write$ nor could Shakespeare s children.

%. The few si&nature s of Shakespeare s that remain show a 'ery poor scrawl. (ue to thearbritrary nature of phonetic spellin& back then his name is spelt as Shakspere $ Sha)pur$Shakpr$ and Sha&spere *as seen in the Marria&e +ond of #, % Shakspere s father isentered on the re&ister of Stratford$ on September /th$ #,0 $ bein& elected "i&h +ailiff as1Mr. 2ohn Shakysper.1

3. William Shakespeare was known in Stratford as a businessman$ not a writer.

/.There are no manuscripts of Shakespeare s plays in the man s own handwritin&--thereare lots from other writers of the time.

,. "e left no manuscripts in his will and no copies of his plays are mentioned as bein& inhis house.

0. A monument put in Stratford church #, years after he died show his hands restin& on asack *a si&n of a tradesman not a pen.

4. There is no e'idence$ apart from the name$ to link the Stratford actor5businessman withthe playwri&ht.

8/14/2019 Some Alarming Facts about William Shakespeare

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. The ma6ority of the plays were published as 7uarto pamphlets$ and in the first instanceanonymously. Some$ after the first or second edtions$ bore the name 1WilliamShakespeare$1-- and on by far the lar&er number$ down to the last edition$ that name is

printed with a hyphen--1William Shake-speare$1 which could only ha'e been pronouncedat that time$ as to su&&est the shakin& or brandishin& of a spear. The name 1Shake-

speare1 did con'ey the idea of Wisdom attackin& 8&norance$ and that it was notnecessarily the name of any li'in& person.+en 2onson s 'erses prefi)ed in the #0%3 First Folio of the plays:1 8n each of which he seems to shake a lanceAs brandished at the eye of i&norance.1

9. +y the year #0%3$ se'en years after the Stratford man s death $ many of the plays werere'ised and some new plays came into e)istence for the first time. Since # , $ people ha'e doubted that the Shakespeare plays were written by WilliamSha)per of Stratford upon A'on. Many books were written throu&h the #9th century$

most of which pointed to Francis +acon as the true author. Academicians$ howe'er$refused to yield o'er the years$ and the +irthplace Trust at Stratford has failed to addressthe considerable e'idence which continues to accumulate in +acon s fa'or. ;b6ecti'ehistory demands credit where it is due.

1"e is an ill disco'erer who thinks there is no land when he can see nothin& but sea.1 --Francis +acon