|THE DEN|
'Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them', quoth William Shakespeare - or did he? Some people question whether he wrote the works that bear his name or whether he even existed at all. They speculate that Shakespeare was a pseudonym for another writer or a group of writers.
Theory; Sir Francis Bacon was the Shakespeare
There are lots of small and large similarities between Bacon’s published works and Shakespeare’s plays. He was well educated, head of a literary society, and traveled often – all subjects that are in Shakespeare plays. He knew the science of ciphers, and experts believe they deciphered clues in the works and elsewhere that point to Bacon as the true author.
Edward De Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford was the Shakespeare
Oxford was known to others for its beautiful poetry. He traveled often, encountered pirates, and had wild adventures, many of which are described in the works of Shakespeare. Moreover, all of the royals and elite audiences invited to see Shakespeare's plays were all close friends of the Earl.
Christopher Marlowe was the Shakespeare
The Marlowe theory is very popular but not as widely accepted as the others as he was Shakespeare's greatest rival. However, the theory suggests that the style and even frequency of certain words and phrases are mirrored in the works of Shakespeare and Marlowe. Also, he died right when Shakespeare’s works began to gain traction where Marlovians argue that he faked his death and went on to be the greatest writer of all time – in secret.
The Group theory
This is the multiple writer theory. There is strong evidence that Shakespeare collaborated with others to write some of his greatest works, but there are also group theories that believe Shakespeare never wrote alone. Was it a group of writers including Marlowe, Bacon, or even some prominent women, but not Shakespeare himself? Could it be true that the greatest writer in the English language was as fictional as his plays? Maybe yes or maybe not!
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