Shakespeare Conspiracy Synthesis Question

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Shakespeare Conspiracy Synthesis Question

Reading Shakespeare in the Twenty-First Century The Shakespeare Conspiracy Question 1 Directions: The following prompt is based on the accompanying six sources. The question requires you to synthesize a variety of sources into a coherent, well-written essay. Synthesis refers to combining the sources and your position to form a cohesive, supported argument and accurately citing sources. Your argument should be central; the sources should support this argument. Avoid merely summarizing sources. Remember to attribute both direct and indirect citations. Introduction It wasn’t until 1785, 170 years after Shakespeare’s death, that the theory arose claiming that the man from Stratford-upon-Avon had not written the plays attributed to him. The Reverend James Wilmot suggested that Francis Bacon was the true author, and James Cowell presented the idea at a philosophical society. The debate lay dormant until 1848, when a New York lawyer, Colonel Joseph C. Hart, mentioned it in passing in The Romance of Yachting. But it wasn’t until Delia Bacon (1811 to 1859), an American, wrote an article, “Shakespeare and His Plays: An Inquiry Concerning Them” and a 672- page book, The Philosophy of the Plays of Shakspere Unfolded, that the real conspiracy theories began. Bacon (no relation to Sir Francis, although in her latter years she claimed she was) presented an enormously incoherent and confused presentation of her beliefs, that it was Bacon and other Elizabethan poets who wrote the plays. She believed that she was doing God’s work in revealing the true authors of Shakespeare’s works. Shortly after the publication of her book, she was committed to a mental institution (LoMonico 26-27). Assignment Conspiracy theories retain a strong hold on the popular imagination. Write a carefully reasoned essay in which you develop a position on the theory of the authorship of William Shakespeare’s plays. Synthesize at least three of the sources to support your position. You may refer to the sources by their titles (Source A, Source B, etc.) or by the descriptions in parentheses. Source A (Definitions) Source B (Film Poster) Source C (Film Trailer) Source D (LoMonico) Source E (McDonald) Source F (Marche) .

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Summer 2007 Shakespeare Matters Page 
Summer 2007 Shakespeare Matters page 6:4 “Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments...” Summer 2007 11th Annual Shake- speare Authorship Shakespeare—Who Studies Conference Convenes held the Pen? By Bonner Miller Cutting and Earl Showerman Insights Meets Research By Alan Stott oncordia Uni- versity hosted The man of letters is, in truth, ever writing his own biogra- Cits11th an- phy. — Anthony Trollope (1815–82). nual Shakespeare Authorship Studies The marvel of Shakespeare’s genius is that in his secular mir- Conference from ror the divine light also shines. April 12 to 15th, an — John Middleton Murry. occasion marked by many seminal very theatregoer and every reader can perceive the authentic papers, the launch voice, can sense the spirit, in and behind the work of the of the first graduate- Eworld’s leading dramatic poet, known as “William Shake- level programs in speare.” The First Folio (1623) of his collected plays, however, authorship studies, was only published years after his death. Of the actor, one Wil- and the signing of liam Shakespere (1564–1616) — the name never spelt as in the the “Declaration of First Folio — very little is known. Apparently neither manuscript Reasonable Doubt nor letter is extant. The many enigmas surrounding the whole about the Identity phenomenon comprise “the authorship question.” The identity of William Shake- of the Bard, according to Emerson (1803–1882), is “the first of speare.” While this all literary problems.” John Michell1 surveys the candidates with report will attempt a commendable fairness, outlining the history of the search for to summarize the the man who held the pen.
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Shakes Ch2-3/P39-88
2. Treacherous Doubts "Our doubts are traitors, And make us lose the good that we oft may win, By fearing to attempt" —Shakespeare: Measure for Measure Questioning the Shakespeare authorship is almost as sacrilegious as challenging Holy Writ. The general academic assumption is that no one in their right mind would do it. And, what is more, the madness is said to be a fairly recent phenomenon, having developed since the late 19th century and having no root in contemporary hearsay. Thus Jonathan Bate writes: "No one in Shakespeare's lifetime or the first two hundred years after his death expressed the slightest doubt about his authorship" (see The Genius of Shakespeare, 1997, p73; italics in original). But Bate is completely mistaken. In fact, the doubt existed from the very beginning, in the first known reference to Shakespeare. It persisted through several contemporary allusions and has been the subject of speculation, on and off, ever since. Groats-Worth Of Wit Robert Greene was a classical scholar and Cambridge graduate who wrote plays and pamphlets. His prose romance Pandosto, the Triumph of Time provided the main plot of The Winter's Tale. He regarded himself as a failure for which he blamed scheming rivals who robbed him of his works and fame. On his deathbed he purportedly wrote a pamphlet which was published by fellow playwright Henry Chettle, who gave it the title Greene's Groats-worth of Wit, bought with a Million of Repentance (1592). It ends with a personal letter addressed to three unnamed fellow scholars and dramatists, generally thought to be Nashe, Peele and Marlowe— fellow 'university wits'.
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Occulist Influence on the Authorship Controversy
©cculigt influence on tlje Sutljorsffjip Controbergp 3^oser iSple jParisiious; This monograph is dedicated with admiration to John Price, an honest and passionate Oxfordian It would be unprofitable and futile to engage any prominent public representative of the Tudor Rose (nee Royal Birth) theory in further debate. It is now merely symptomatic of a larger social malaise and belongs in a history of sociology, advertising, or conspiracy theories, not literary scholarship. The history of this Oxfordian sub-movement, since it is primarily a story of concepts derived from obsessive literary metaphor and personal emotion, must be told through the lives of its progenitors, as it has no other real life. Oxfordian critics have always maintained that the life becomes the work. And the lives of the original Tudor Rose proponents, Capt. B. M. Ward (son of Col. B. R. Ward), Percy Allen, and Dorothy Ogbum, explain their work on Tudor Rose theory, though both their writings and their lives offer us many finer hours. As these hours are too frequentiy unrecorded, the present author places himself in the difficult position of suddenly interjecting as defense counsel, while indicting friends to whom he owes much. We are scholars here, hopefully, dealing with documentary evidence, but documents are only part of the story that we will never see completely. Anyone is free to reject the memorial portion of this article. They do not affect the thrust of the argument. Capt. Ward was a very brave man and his published work is of a high standard, while the Tudor Rose theory was merely a private Freudian abena- tion.
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Vol. 4, No. 3 (1943, April)
,r-· ' . ,. UN,Jt'li<:.,i'/ news-o1.,;etter JLN 6 l'.145 THE SHAKESPEARE FELLOWSIIJP,WASHll,GTON -AMERICAN BRANCH 11,tShakespeore Fellowship was founded in London in 1922 under the presidency of Sir George Greenwood. IOI. IV APRIL, 1943 NO. 3 Look In the Chronicles Because he needs no praise, wilt thou be dumb? Excuse not silence so; for it lies in thee To make him much outlive a gilded tomb, And to be prais'd of agee yet to be. Sonnet Cl One of the most authentic and disinterested wit• for every night's performance; he enters the sums 1tSSeS in the whole group of those who can be in• that he is obliged to pay authors for "books." He t0ked to throw light upon the controversy over names the actors whom he hires and to whom he is liii true authorship of the works of "Shakespeare" constantly lending or advancing money. In dozens us been almost entirely ignored by Stratfordian of instances authors have signed in the book, re niters since the time of John Payne Collier, and ceipts for sums that he has paid them. Groups of only occasionally mentioned by the proponents of actors sign to serve Henslowe or acknowledge that F.olward de Vere. they have received money from him. He is Philip Henslowe, proprietor of several In 1591, when the diary's theatrical entries begin, London theatres and father-in-law of the successful Marlowe is aboard. He returns in the spring of idor,producer, Edward Alleyn. To be sure, Sir 1593, only to be promptly killed.
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Sir Francis Bacon, Baron Verulam, Viscount St Alban Dates: 1561 – 1626
Shakespearean Authorship Trust Sir Francis Bacon, Baron Verulam, Viscount St Alban Dates: 1561 – 1626 Background: • Educated privately and then at Cambridge University. • Entered Gray's Inn in 1579 as a student-lawyer, becoming a barrister, Bencher and Treasurer of Gray's Inn. • Spent three years with the French Court (1576-9), followed later by a year touring France, Italy and Spain, and possibly Germany and Denmark (1581-2), and made at least one visit to Scotland (1584). • Leader of a literary society and scrivenery that included poets such as Ben Jonson, John Lyly, John Florio, John Davies of Hereford, Sir John Davies and George Herbert. • Member of the Essex-Southampton-Sidney-Pembroke circle. • Member of the Elizabethan intelligence network. • Involved with writing and producing masques for the Inns of Court. • Wrote plays for the stage and speeches for court pageants. • Wrote in numerous different styles and successfully imitated other people's styles. Famous for: • Extraordinary public service as an MP and a legal adviser to the Crown, and later in life as a privy counsellor, Solicitor General, Attorney General and ultimately Lord Keeper of the Great Seal and Lord Chancellor. • A renowned philosopher, prolific writer, dedicated to developing the arts and sciences, and whose passion was for the poetic 'waters of Parnassus'. • Celebrated by Ben Jonson as the 'mark and acme' of the English language, who had 'filled up all numbers' and was 'one of the greatest men, and most worthy of admiration, that had been in many ages'. The Case: • Bacon's life experience, attitudes, interests, philosophy, wit, vocabulary and learning matches that to be found in the Shakespeare works.
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The Marlowe-Shakespeare Code
The Marlowe- Shal~espeare Code A Study in Literary Biography By SaIDuel L. BluIDenfeld This essay has been written and is being submitted for the 17th Calvin & Rose G. Hoffman Prize Samuel L. Blumenfeld August 10, 2006 Copyright c 2006 by Samuel L. Blumenfeld. 73 Bi.hops Fore.t Drive Waltham. MA 02452 781-899-6468 [email protected] The Marlowe-Shakespeare Code By Samuel L. Blumenfeld Speculation about Shakespeare's authorship has been the subject of discussion and many books for more than 150 years. But the burning question has always been: if Shakespeare did not write the works attributed to him who did? A number of candidates have been put forth, but each one of them has had a serious problem that prevents final acceptance. However, it was Calvin Hoffman, a writer and theatre critic, who first advanced the idea that it was Christopher Marlowe who wrote the works attributed to William Shakespeare. His book, The Murder ofthe Man Who Was Shakespeare, the first full-length exposition of his theory, was published by Julian Messner in 1955. In its first year the book went into three printings. Hoffman's thesis received some notice, and an article about it appeared in Esquire magazine. Hoffman had read aJJ of the plays and poems of both Marlowe and Shakespeare and had found so many echoes of the former jn the latter, that he began to suspect that both canons were written by one man: Marlowe. He wrote: "It seemed as though versification, vocabulary, imagery, and aJJusion stemmed from the same psychic root." But how could this be? Marlowe was supposed to have been murdered in 1593, before the 36 plays in the First Folio were written and published in 1623.
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