William Shakespeare Research Paper

There are many mysteries in this world. William Shakespeare was certainly a man of many mysteries. He dazzled his audiences with play after play. It is believed that a man named William Shaxper is really William Shakespeare. There is an ongoing debate about who really wrote the plays, however, because the playwright only known as William Shakespeare never existed. William Shaxper should not be recognized as William Shakespeare because he did not write the plays. William Shaxper was not capable of writing the plays. He lacked many things that a playwright should have. “[William Shaxper] never went to college and as far as can be determined never had any schooling” (Cutler 17). Having an education is incredibly important for someone who wishes

The people and things Shaxper left behind paint the tale of a regular man. “[William Shaxper’s] children were illiterate, which would make Shaxper the only prominent writer in history whose children are known to have been illiterate” (Cutler 17). If Shaxper had been Shakespeare, one would think that he would have wanted his children to be able to read and write or that he would have at the very least hired someone to teach them the basics or better yet send them to the school that he went to. Shaxper does none of this, and his children remained completely illiterate. Another part of William Shaxper’s legacy that does not make sense is his will. “William Shaxper’s will is four pages long and handwritten by an attorney. In these four pages there is no indication that he was a writer. The will mentions not a single book, play, poem, or unfinished literary work, or scrap of manuscript of any kind” (Cutler 18). William Shaxper did not own a single book. If Shaxper was a famed writer who never traveled, his knowledge would have to come from somewhere, but he has no record of owning books. He also did not leave any unfinished plays behind in his will or the original copies of his work. There was no mention of anything to do with writing, and if he was Shakespeare he would have left something behind to show for it. Another thing that is odd about his death is that it was like he disappeared. “[No] one in England took

“[I have seen theories] that the author needed to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, but surely if Shakespeare's plays were on target enough to make such measures necessary, Elizabethan society would have been abuzz with speculation as to who the ‘real’ author was” (Dutch 1). The plays were controversial, and there were measures taken against them. The Earl of Essex was executed because he showed one of the plays to encourage a rebellion (Cutler 19). Society at the time was packed full of censorship. The idea that no one needed to hide is simply ludicrous. It is important to notice that while measures were taken against the Earl of Essex, there were no measures taken against William Shaxper. No one on record was even sent to question him about the play (Cutler). Some other claims that people make are that William Shaxper was capable of more than he is given credit for from those that say he is not Shakespeare. “What I find most disheartening about the claim that Shakespeare of Stratford lacked the life experiences to have written the plays is that it diminishes the very thing that makes him so exceptional: his imagination” (Hechinger 5). Imagination is a wonderful thing, but one cannot imagine an accurate command of several languages. One cannot imagine themselves literate and have it magically come to be. The simple truth is that