The Authorship Debate

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There are enough conspiracy theories out there regarding the works of Shakespeare (or attributed to Shakespeare, if you prefer) that entire careers have been built upon positing alternate candidates for the true authorship of the works. Whether or not the claim of Shakespeare is legitimate, the burden of proof would seem to lie on those who wish to discredit the Bard. On the other hand, it's only fair to give attention to this debate as it has been ongoing for quite some time and shows no signs of waning anytime soon.

Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford: The Earl of Oxford has been advanced since the 1930s as the true author of Shakespeare's plays. A well-educated and well-traveled nobleman of Queen Elizabeth I's court, de Vere was championed by the late author Charlton Ogburn. He used parallels of the Earl's life with material from the plays—most notaby drawing similarities between Polonius of Hamlet and the Earl's guardian, William Cecil. The Earl of Oxford apparently stopped his literary pursuits at an early age—unless, as Ogburn postulates, the Earl continued writing under the pen name of William Shakespeare. PBS aired a 1996 "Frontline" special on the subject.

Francis Bacon, Philosopher and Writer: Bacon has been a traditional favorite of the anti-Stratford camp, and retains a high place on the list of potential candidates. Bacon proponents point toward Bacon's learning, his correspondences and memoirs (most notably, his notebook, Promus), as well as ciphers and other coincidences. Although Bacon was an undisputed man of letters, his style and expression vary greatly from that of Shakespeare's works. Bacon also produced such a voluminous output of his own, it's hard to conceive of him finding spare time enough to produce the quality output of work attributed to the Bard.

Christopher Marlowe, Playwright: Marlowe would be the ultimate ghost writer, as he was stabbed to death in a tavern brawl in 1593. However, there are those that say Marlowe really didn't die; according to some, he was actually an occasional spy in the employ of the Crown. This eventually necessitated a fake death, after which Marlowe went on for an undetermined number of years penning poetry and plays under the nom de plume of Shakespeare. PBS also aired a January 2003 "Frontline" episode about Marlowe.

Other Candidates

Other notable candidates have included Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke; Ben Jonson; Thomas Middleton; Sir Henry Neville; Sir Thomas North; Sir Walter Raleigh (with or without collaboration by Francis Bacon); William Stanley, Earl of Derby; and even Queen Elizabeth I herself. There have been dozens of other such nominations since the Bard's death, and none have yet presented proof enough to discredit our old friend Will. The links below provide a mix of Shakespeare's defenders and the most prominent dissident voices.

Authorship Links

Favorite Alternate Shakespeare Candidates: Since the 1700s, people have been voicing doubts about whether or not William Shakespeare actually wrote the works attributed to him. Now it's all the rage.
The Simple Case for Shakespeare: The issue is complex, fraught with logic pitfalls even for those who defend the orthodoxy, but Shakespeare remains the easiest of any authorship candidate to defend.

Shakespearean

The Case for Shakespeare: Irving Matus examines the authorship debate in a classic article from The Atlantic.
The Man Who Wasn't Hamlet: The site, which boldly states its thesis in its URL (oxfraud.com), starts with 100 reasons why Edward de Vere couldn't have written or contributed to Shakespeare's canon. It then elaborates on that theme in great detail.
The Ongoing Obsession with Shakespeare’s True Identity: This is a published excerpt from Shakespeare's Library: Unlocking the Greatest Mystery in Literature by Stuart Kells.
Shakespeare Authorship Question: Dedicated to the proposition that Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare.
SBT: The Shakespeare Authorship Question: In this video, Professor Jonathan Bate joins Jennifer Reid to discuss the question of who wrote the plays of William Shakespeare.
Shakespeare, Oxford, and Verbal Parallels: An excellent rebuttal to a Joseph Sobran article titled "'Shakespeare' Revealed in Oxford's Poetry." David Kathman refutes Sobran's premise on a point-by-point basis.
Shakespeare Was Shakespeare: Isaac Butler writes in Slate that it's time to retire the search for the "real" Shakespeare.
Yes, Shakespeare Really Did Write Shakespeare: Alex Knapp in Forbes presents "five excellent reasons why we can rest assured that Shakespeare was written by Shakespeare."
Yes, Shakespeare Really Was Shakespeare: Professor Shiladitya Sen discusses the elitism behind the authorship question.

Others

The De Vere Society: A British-based website dedicated to the proposition that the works of Shakespeare were written by de Vere.
The Francis Bacon Society: The Francis Bacon Society engages in the collective effort to understand the unique power and resonance of Elizabethan literature and life.
The International Marlowe-Shakespeare Society: Our belief is that Christopher Marlowe--in his day England's greatest playwright--did not die in 1593 but survived to write most of what is now assumed to be the work of William Shakespeare.
Is Shakespeare Dead?: This page is a reprint of text from Mark Twain's autobiography, in which one of my favorite authors entertains serious doubts about the authenticity of Mr. Shakespeare's work.
The Mary Sidney Society: The Mary Sidney Society is a literary organization founded on the premise that Mary Sidney Herbert, the Countess of Pembroke, wrote the works attributed to the man named William Shakespeare.
The Oxfreudian: Dr. Richard M. Waugaman presents a series of articles examining the case for de Vere from a psychoanalytic perspective.
Politicworm: Stephanie Hughes, former editor of The Oxfordian, presents a scholarly blog on the authorship question examining the case for de Vere as the writer of the works of Shakespeare.
Shakespeare Authorship Coalition: Home of the Declaration of Reasonable Doubt. The Shakespeare Authorship Coalition strives to legitimize the Shakespeare authorship issue by increasing awareness of reasonable doubt about the identity of William Shakespeare.
Shakespeare Authorship Page: Jonathan Star presents a case for Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke, as the primary author of the Shakespeare plays.
Shakespeare Authorship Roundtable: The Shakespeare Authorship Roundtable is dedicated to the study of the Elizabethan theatre, the social and political life of the Elizabethan period, and open-minded exploration of the authorship of the Shakespeare canon.
Shakespearean Authorship Trust: Our objective is the advancement of learning with particular reference to the social, political, and literary history of England in the 16th and 17th centuries and the authorship of the literary works that appeared under the name of William Shakespeare.
Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship: The Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship is a non-profit, educational organization dedicated to investigating the Shakespeare authorship question and disseminating the evidence that Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, is the true author of the poems and plays published under the pseudonym "William Shakespeare."
Sir Francis Bacon's New Advancement of Learning: A page dedicated to Sir Francis that includes a comprehensive list of Bacon links on the Web.
The URL of Derby: A site dedicated to exploring the hypothesis that the literary works attributed to William Shakespeare were written by William Stanley, the sixth earl of Derby.