SPECULATIONS/CONTROVERCIES

ABOUT W. SHAKESPEARE

By Lucius & Noah

 AUTHORSHIP

• The Shakespeare authorship question is the argument that someone other than William
Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon wrote the works attributed to him. 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. 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.
 • 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. Shakespeare's biography,
particularly his humble origins and obscure life, seemed
incompatible with his poetic eminence and his reputation for
genius, arousing suspicion that Shakespeare might not have
written the works attributed to him. The controversy has since
spawned a vast body of literature, and more than 80 authorship
candidates have been proposed

Sir Francis Bacon; Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford; Christopher Marlowe William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby.
• Supporters of alternative candidates argue that theirs is the
more plausible author, and that William Shakespeare lacked
the education, aristocratic sensibility, or familiarity with the
royal court that they say is apparent in the works.
 RELIGION

• The religious views of William Shakespeare are the subject

of an ongoing scholarly debate dating back more than 150
years. The general assumption about William Shakespeare's
religious affiliation is that he was a conforming member of
the established Church of England. However, many scholars
have speculated about his personal religious beliefs, based
on analysis of the historical record and of his published
work, with claims that Shakespeare's family may have had
Catholic sympathies and that he himself was a secret
Catholic.
• Shakespeare's will uses a Protestant formula, and he
was a confirmed member of the Church of England,
where he was married, his children were baptised, and
where he is buried. Some scholars claim that members
of Shakespeare's family were Catholics, at a time
when practising Catholicism in England was against
the law. Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden, certainly
came from a pious Catholic family. The strongest
evidence might be a Catholic statement of faith signed
by his father, John Shakespeare, found in 1757 in the
rafters of his former house in Henley Street. However,
the document is now lost and scholars differ as to its
authenticity.
• In 1591, the authorities reported that John
Shakespeare had missed church "for fear of process
for debt", a common Catholic excuse. In 1606, the
name of William's daughter Susanna appears on a
list of those who failed to attend Easter communion
in Stratford. Other authors argue that there is a lack
of evidence about Shakespeare's religious beliefs.
Scholars find evidence both for and against
Shakespeare's Catholicism, Protestantism, or lack
of belief in his plays, but the truth may be
impossible to prove.
Sexuality

The sexuality of William Shakespeare has been the subject of

recurring debate. It is known from public records that he
married Anne Hathaway and had three children together;
scholars have analysed their relationship through these
documents, and particularly through the bequests to her in his
will. Some historians have speculated Shakespeare had affairs
with other women, based on contemporaries' written anecdotes
of such affairs and sometimes on the "Dark Lady" figure in his
sonnets. Some scholars have argued he was bisexual, based on
analysis of the sonnets; many, including Sonnet 18 are love
poems addressed to a man (the "Fair Youth"), and contain puns
relating to homosexuality.
Possible affairs with
women
Shakespeare probably initially loved Hathaway,
supporting this by referring to the theory that a passage
in one of his sonnets (Sonnet 145) plays off Anne
Hathaway's name, saying she saved his life (writing "I
hate from hate away she threw/And saved my life, saying
'not you.'"). Nevertheless, after only three years of
marriage Shakespeare left his family and moved to
London. While in London, Shakespeare may have had
affairs with different women.
Possible
Shakespeare's sonnets are cited as evidence of
attraction to his bisexuality. The poems were initially
published, perhaps without his approval, in 1609.
men 126 of them appear to be love poems addressed
to a young man known as the 'Fair Lord' or 'Fair
Youth'; this is often assumed to be the same
person as the 'Mr W.H.' to whom the sonnets are
dedicated. The identity of this figure (if he is
indeed based on a real person) is unclear; the
most popular candidates are Shakespeare's
patrons, Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of
Southampton and William Herbert, 3rd Earl of
Pembroke, both of whom were considered
handsome in their youth.
 PORTRAITURE

• No written contemporary description of Shakespeare's physical appearance

survives, and no evidence suggests that he ever commissioned a portrait, so the
Droeshout engraving, which Ben Jonson approved of as a good likeness, and
his Stratford monument provide perhaps the best evidence of his appearance.
From the 18th century, the desire for authentic Shakespeare portraits fuelled
claims that various surviving pictures depicted Shakespeare. That demand also
led to the production of several fake portraits, as well as misattributions,
repaintings, and relabelling of portraits of other people.
There are only two portraits that definitively
portray William Shakespeare, both of which are
posthumous. One is the engraving that appears on
the title-page of the First Folio, published in 1623,
and the other is the sculpture that adorns his
memorial in Stratford upon Avon, which dates
from before 1623. Experts and critics have argued
that several other paintings from the period may
represent him, and more than 60 portraits
purporting to be of Shakespeare were offered for
sale to the National Portrait Gallery within four
decades of its foundation in 1856, but in none of
them has Shakespeare's identity been proven.
There are several portraits dated to the
17th century that have been claimed to
represent Shakespeare, although in
each the sitter is either unidentified or
the identification with Shakespeare is
debatable:
Probably made during
Shakespeare's lifetime: The Chandos
portrait; The Chess Players; The
Cobbe portrait; The Grafton Portrait; A
Man Clasping a Hand from a Cloud;
The Sanders Portrait; The Zuccari
portrait; Reputed portrait in John
Gerard's Herball
Probably made within living
memory of Shakespeare: The Soest
portrait; The Chesterfield portrait; The
Marshall portrait
• There are two representations of Shakespeare that
are unambiguously identified as him, although both
may be posthumous.
• The Droeshout portrait. An engraving by Martin
Droeshout as title-page to the collected works of
Shakespeare (the First Folio), printed in 1622 and
published in 1623. An introductory poem in the First
Folio, by Ben Jonson, implies that it is a very good
likeness.
• The bust in Shakespeare's funerary monument, in
the choir of Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-
Avon. This half-length statue on his memorial must
have been erected within six years after
Shakespeare’s death in 1616. It is believed to have
been commissioned by the poet’s son-in-law, Dr
John Hall, and must have been seen by
Shakespeare's widow Anne. It is believed that the
bust was made by the Flemish artist Gerard Johnson.