Ms. A's Advanced English Book Discussions discussion

Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?

Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"
I don't think that Shakespeare did write the plays. I think that he was a real person and that he was alive during the time but didn't write these works. How would he have been fluent in many different languages need to write the works he did. All he would have gone to is the local village school and would have learned a little Latin and Greek. He also writes about being at sea, but was never at sea. There is evidence of him as an actor, but not as a paid writer. Plus it is not even known how he spelled his name since the only evidence of his writing is six illegible signatures.

I also don't think that Shakespeare wrote the plays. While I reading the articles, I noticed the thing about the signatures, and that really attributes to what I think.

I don't think Shakespeare really wore his plays. I think that he was a real person, but I think William Shakespeare is a pseudonym for somebody else. The education that the real William Shakespeare would have had would have made writing these plays impossible. These plays have things in them that he would've had no access to.

Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"

I do not believe William Shakespeare really wrote all of the plays. I do believe he was a real person, but I find it impossible for him to have written all those plays it says he did. I think he is getting credit for someone else's work. This is not fair in my opinion because Shakespeare's name is well known and all this 'his' works, but if he didn't actually write all of these plays, then he is getting all this fame for nothing and instead it should be going to someone else who actually contributed in these plays.

BradR5595 wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"
I don't think that Shakespeare did write the plays. I think that he wa..."

I agree with Brad, because some of his works consist of places he has never been to, such as the sea. How could he write something about that if he has never been there and experienced it?

Aric wrote: "I don't think Shakespeare really wore his plays. I think that he was a real person, but I think William Shakespeare is a pseudonym for somebody else. The education that the real William Shakespeare..."

Aric has a good point when he says that Shakespeare is a pseudonym for someone else. He is getting credit for things he didn't even do.

Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"
I believe that William Shakespeare was alive during the time of the writings, but is not the author of any of the work he is known for. I think the person who actually wrote them was afraid of what the people would say and just published them in Shakespeare's name. Shakespeare was not educated to the level of the work that is supposedly his. Also, if he was such great writer I don;t think he would have failed to educate his daughters like he did.

Jadync4 wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"

I do not believe William Shakespeare really wrote all of the plays. I..."
Jadyn makes a very good point. Shakespeare should not get any credit because it is not fair to the person who has actually wrote them. The person who is responsible for writing everything should get the credit.

I agree with Kennedy. There was a person by the name of William Shakespeare, but I do not believe he was the of author of all of the books. His imagination may have helped propel some of the ideas that went on to become the writings, but none of them were his direct work. I think there was another writer that just wanted to express himself and was nervous when he started, so he decided to take none of the credit in case people weren't a fan.

Jadync4 wrote: "BradR5595 wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"
I don't think that Shakespeare did write the plays. ..."
Jadyn and Brad both have very good points in this argument. There are too many opposing factors when trying to say he wrote them, the sea is a great example.

Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"

I do not believe that William Shakespeare wrote all the works in which it claims. I think that he was alive at the time being, but he could not have written these works, at least not by himself. He did not have the proper education needed to write these plays. There is evidence that he was an actor, but no proof that he was a paid writer. Plus every time in which his signature was written, it was either spelled differently or illegible. So I don't believe Shakespeare's works were his own.

BradR5595 wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"
I don't think that Shakespeare did write the plays. I think that he wa..."

I also do not think he wrote these plays. I read the article about the signatures, and I think if he were to have written the plays himself, then the signatures would have been very similar every time.

Kennedy wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"
I believe that William Shakespeare was alive during the time of the wr..."

I agree. I think Shakespeare was alive at the time, but I think someone else wrote the plays. I think Kennedy makes a good point, it might have been someone who was scared to publish his own work, so they let William Shakespeare take the credit.

Aric wrote: "I don't think Shakespeare really wore his plays. I think that he was a real person, but I think William Shakespeare is a pseudonym for somebody else. The education that the real William Shakespeare..."

I agree with Aric. The education level needed to write these plays would have been impossible for the real William Shakespeare. Without that education he could not have written the things claimed by him.

Aric wrote: "I don't think Shakespeare really wore his plays. I think that he was a real person, but I think William Shakespeare is a pseudonym for somebody else. The education that the real William Shakespeare..."
I agree with Aric, his education does not match up the the levels of his writings. It would be impossible for him to be able to write something like that.

I think he did write some of them, but had help with the others. How can you write about something if you don't expierence it for yourself? He didn't even have the proper education to be able to write all the works by himself. I think Shakespeare is taking credit for major works that somebody else worked really hard on.

Bridgeth wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"

I do not believe that William Shakespeare wrote all the works in whic..."
You had a good response. I think that the spelling of his name really left people on edge on whether he was real or not.

BradR5595 wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"
I don't think that Shakespeare did write the plays. I think that he wa..."
Brad makes many valid points that show Shakespeare is not the one who wrote all of what people think is his work. Bringing up his story about the sea with never being at sea is a great example to show he is not what people believe.

Jadync4 wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"

I do not believe William Shakespeare really wrote all of the plays. I..."
I kind of agree with your statement. Like if he was covering for somebody on the writings why wouldn't he at least give the actual writer the acknowledgements for them.

Bridgeth wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"

I do not believe that William Shakespeare wrote all the works in whic..."

I agree with Bridget. If he was a writer like he is acknowledge as, he should have at least been able to do his signature the correct way.

Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"

I do not believe William Shakespeare wrote the plays that he has credit for. All six of the article we read had pretty good reasons why. The one that stuck with me the most was Shakespeare's son-in-law had a very good, descriptive journal and never once mentioned Shakespeare's writing. If Shakespeare actually wrote the plays and sonnets you would think that something about him writing them might be in that journal. Shakespeare also didn't have the best education. I think his play are written pretty well and even with my high school education, I don't think I would be able to write something that well. The stories just don't really add up.

Jadync4 wrote: "Aric wrote: "I don't think Shakespeare really wore his plays. I think that he was a real person, but I think William Shakespeare is a pseudonym for somebody else. The education that the real Willia..."

I agree with Kennedy. Shakespeare education level did not match the work. His work was very well written for someone that dropped out young. I also think someone else wrote them and gave the credit to Shakespeare.

BradR5595 wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"
I don't think that Shakespeare did write the plays. I think that he wa..."

Brad makes some pretty good points about Shakespeare writing about experiences he had never experienced. I also agree he would have needed more education than he had. As Brad said, he didn't even know how to spell his name correctly.

Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"
I do not believe that William Shakespeare wrote all the works he was attributed to. I don't think he wrote them because he didn't have the proper education that was required for the works. He also wrote about many things that a small town man like himself would have no knowledge on. Another reason I don't think he wrote all the works is because they only found six signatures of his name, but they were shaky and very inconsistent. This is important because he couldn't have written all the works with this terrible hand writing. I think this all matters because people want to give credit to the person who wrote all the works. They don't want to give someone who didn't write the work credit for being one of the most important authors in literature history.

BradR5595 wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"
I don't think that Shakespeare did write the plays. I think that he wa..."
I agree with you that he didn't write all the works because he didn't have the proper education. I think this is a very important piece of evidence because without the proper education he couldn't put certain things in his works that were in there.

Kennedy wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"
I believe that William Shakespeare was alive during the time of the wr..."
I think that you are completely right about him being a real person. I think there was an actual William Shakespeare and that he was getting all the credit because the real author was scared of coming out with his works. So I think that they decided it was a win win because his work was getting published and Shakespeare started to become famous.

Bridgeth wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"
I do not believe that William Shakespeare wrote all the works in whic..."
I agree with you that he could not have written all the works on his own. I also thought that his shaky signatures was a huge piece of evidence on why he couldn't have wrote them alone. With his signatures being inconsistent and shaky there would be no way that he could have wrote all the works he was given credit for.

I think he was a real person, but I do not believe the William Shakespeare wrote all of these works. Although all of the articles we read gave sufficient evidence, the fact that stood out the most to me was that scholars have no idea how or if this man actually received an education. There are many undocumented years (twenty-eight to be exact) which we know nothing about concerning Shakespeare's life. Since we do not know much about him, how can we just credit him as the author of these works? There is simply not enough evidence to tie him to the pieces of literature. He also was said to have dropped out of school at a young age and would not have had a proper education. This does not line up with the superb vocabulary used in the works he is accredited with.

BradR5595 wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"
I don't think that Shakespeare did write the plays. I think that he wa..."
I agree with Bradley. I think the mysterious signatures seem very fishy to me. I would have to also agree that he would have needed to acquire a proper education at some point in his life to learn to write the way he did.

Bridgeth wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"

I do not believe that William Shakespeare wrote all the works in whic..."

I also agree with Bridget. I think the only way he could have written these works was with the help of someone much more educated then him. I also think he could have been just taking the credit for someone else who had either passed away or was simply scared to take credit for the pieces.

Kennedy wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"
I believe that William Shakespeare was alive during the time of the wr..."

I agree that if Shakespeare truly was "all about literature", he would have properly educated his own children. I also think it is interesting to think about the possibility of Shakespeare taking credit for someone else's work. If he truly did take the credit for someone else, I bet the person that gave him the credit probably regrets it now!

Jaydan wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"

I do not believe William Shakespeare wrote the plays that he has cred..."

That is a very valid point, why would he not keep track of something that is so important. It is like he doesn't want people to know that he was the writer or take credit for his work.

Brockj wrote: "I think he was a real person, but I do not believe the William Shakespeare wrote all of these works. Although all of the articles we read gave sufficient evidence, the fact that stood out the most ..."

I agree with you that without a proper education how could he have written all the works that he did. It is not possible to learn many of the languages need to write the works that he did and he wouldn't have gotten that at the local school.

Kennedy wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"
I believe that William Shakespeare was alive during the time of the wr..."

I have to agree with you, the actually author might have been worried what others thought. Also I agree if someone is that skilled how is their daughter not educated. It just doesn't add up with all he is said to have written.

Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"

I think that Shakespeare did write the plays. Everyone's main argument is that there was all this time that no one knew what Shakespeare was doing, but why couldn't he have received an education? Shakespeare had a poor family and was a poor man, but he still was very wise and knew a lot of people that could have helped him. It would be easy to say that, but how could one man give another credit for some of the most popular plays in the history of the world? Shakespeare has almost 37 plays to his name. It's just hard to fathom that one man couldn't do a big part of the work for that many plays and over 150 sonnets! Walt Disney dropped out of school also. Does this mean that since he didn't finish school his works can't possibly be his own. No, we know that because Disney is the most popular movie company in the world and Shakespeare is the most popular author of all time.

Jadync4 wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"

I do not believe William Shakespeare really wrote all of the plays. I..."
I think that you made some great points, but it would be hard to look back at who actually wrote all the plays now. You'd just have to leave it as it is because we don't have enough information about the situation.

Brockj wrote: "I think he was a real person, but I do not believe the William Shakespeare wrote all of these works. Although all of the articles we read gave sufficient evidence, the fact that stood out the most ..."

There is hardly any evidence, but that can also help to prove that he could've wrote these books. We don't know where he was during this time. He might not have been in school, but he also could've been learning from others at the time. I think that William Shakespeare didn't take the traditional route to the top but he still ended up there.

BradR5595 wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"
I don't think that Shakespeare did write the plays. I think that he wa..."

It is interesting that the sea thing came up because almost every single author that writes about sea has never gone. And it is interesting to think that the signature has drawn so much because almost every time someone signs their name it's different, and that's even to today.

I believe that he did write the plays and should still be given credit for his work. If he had help, he still wrote it. I can see where people are coming from when they say that he did not have enough education. I am not going to say that I do not believe them, but that it is not impossible that, with the education he had, he wrote the works he is credited for. Most of the geniuses we know today either dropped out of high school or college. They did not get the full potential that they could have, but the still are given credit for things we use today. So why can Shakespeare not get the credit he deserves. He may not have been the brightest crayon in the box, but he had an idea. He wrote what he imagined his ideas to be and we are now required to read Shakespeare as a high school student. If we question if he is even the author to these great works, then why are required to read them?

I don't believe that Shakespeare wrote his works. After researching some of the things that people said to say he didn't write his work, I think that their is to many factors to say that he did. I do believe that he was a real person though. There is evidence that he was a actor though. They never did find any books that he owned. Also they never found many signatures of his, and three of the ones he found were on his will. Also in his will, he never mentions his writing at all. He would have to be fluent in many different languages to be able to write all of his work.

Jadync4 wrote: "Bridgeth wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"

I do not believe that William Shakespeare wrote all ..."

You do not need an education to be a great writer, although it might help. If we question that he even wrote these plays and sonnets, than why are we, as high school students, required to read them every year.

Brockj wrote: "I think he was a real person, but I do not believe the William Shakespeare wrote all of these works. Although all of the articles we read gave sufficient evidence, the fact that stood out the most ..."

I agree with you in saying that shakespeare was a real person, but he didn't write his own work. We don't know much about him like you said. Also he didn't have a great education and dropped out at a young age. He would need some sort of education if he were to write all of his work.

Aric wrote: "I don't think Shakespeare really wore his plays. I think that he was a real person, but I think William Shakespeare is a pseudonym for somebody else. The education that the real William Shakespeare..."

It is true that he did not have a solid education, but neither did many of the geniuses we have today. They either dropped out of high school or college and look where they are today. You don't have to have a solid education, but it might help.

Liz wrote: "I believe that he did write the plays and should still be given credit for his work. If he had help, he still wrote it. I can see where people are coming from when they say that he did not have eno..."

I do see where you say that some geniuses now did drop out of high school. That's something to take into considersation. I feel like even if he didn't write his work, just knowing that "somoene" wrote all of the work and knowing that the work is very good is a reason why we still read them today.

Hunter wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"
I do not believe that William Shakespeare wrote all the works he was a..."

I think it's interesting that you talk about his handwriting. I think that someone with bad handwriting could still write great work. However, I do agree with you in saying he didn't write his work. Like you said, all of the reasons that people have found on why he didn't write his work is to great to believe that he did.

I do not think Shakespeare wrote his plays. Based on the article he did not have enough experience to write at the level he supposedly did. Some of his original plays were written in many languages, which he would not have had the opportunity to learn. It is also a little concerning that there was no record of him even being an author. Also, the fact that he left none of his works in his estate seems to throw a red flag. I would have thought that if he did write those plays and books and poems some of the other great authors of the time would have wrote something for him after he died, but they did not. I think it does matter that he did not write the plays because whoever did write them did a fantastic job, but they will never get credit because everyone knows them to be Shakespeare's work.

Hunter wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"
I do not believe that William Shakespeare wrote all the works he was a..."

That is a really good point about the signatures. That factor would make the idea of him writing the stories very hard to believe. I agree that he was not responsible for his works.

Jadync4 wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"

I do not believe William Shakespeare really wrote all of the plays. I..."

I also think that he is taking credit for somebody else's work. He shouldn't be getting the credit for it, and the person who actually wrote it, should b e getting the credit. It isn't right that he is getting the credit for somebody else's accomplishments.

Liz wrote: "I believe that he did write the plays and should still be given credit for his work. If he had help, he still wrote it. I can see where people are coming from when they say that he did not have eno..."

Why, if he did write them, was there no record of him being an author? If he did defy all odds against him one would have thought that he would have left some of his stories in his estate or that some of his fellow authors of the time would have written something about the genius that he was out of respect for him when he died, but they did not do that.