Shakespeare Is a Fraud

One cannot write thirty-six plays, one hundred and fifty-four sonnets and two long narrative poems if they were ordinary. But unbelievably, William Shakespeare did just that from 1564 – 1616. People have questioning how Shakespeare achieved writing such great pieces of literature, when the behind the scenes story does not add up. There are no records to prove he wrote anything and there is proof someone else did what he took credit for. In my opinion, Macbeth and Titus Andronicus, two of Shakespeare’s plays are strong examples of pieces of literature that was not actually created by Shakespeare. I believe William Shakespeare, the man with many outstanding accomplishments, is not the man who he is known to be.

To start, Shakespeare’s personal life does not reflect upon the man he is known to be. He grew up in a small town called Stratford, had a wife and kids. He lived away from them during the height of his career. Documents found show that his children were uneducated and illiterate. Shakespeare is one of the greatest writers in history, yet his kids did not know how to read or write. If their father really were the creator of the “greatest literature” of all time, why wont he want his kids to grow up being able to read and understand his works? (Emmerich, Page 67) I believe this shows Shakespeare is a fraud because no father with the ability, talent and amount of money he had would not be willing or want to pay to give a child a thorough education. In addition, Shakespeare’s handwriting is exquisite in his plays and poem, but after largest literary hunt in history, not one hand written note or letter was found. (Emmerich, Page 89)

This suggests that Shakespeare never did write the literature and explains why his kids did not know how to read or write. Another reason his personal life does not reflect upon the man he is known to be is because Shakespeare is seen to be a different man than he really is. He makes fun of his own peers. The director of Anonymous quotes: “Shakespeare was not a high-class man, yet he speaks as if so in his literature and mocks his own peers in the class level in which he is in”. (Ten reason) Shakespeare is seen to be a fraud, because how can one know so much detail about the high-class life style if you have never been exposed to it. He wrote in so much detail about something he had never experienced, leading people to believe someone else many have written his novels. To conclude Shakespeare is a fraud because his personal life does not match with the real creator of the literature.

Secondly, evidence suggests that some one else is the creator of the work. In the novel Anonymous the author suggests that Shakespeare did exist, but he simply took credit for these plays. In Anonymous, Shakespeare is an actor at the Globe Theater and knows the play scripts are being given to the theater anonymously. One day a show was very successful and the audience was chanting repeatedly: “Play wright”. (Emmerich, Page 50) Since the author of these plays obviously was not there, when no one was coming on stage, Shakespeare decided to act selfishly and take credit for the play. The audience is cheering him on because they have know reason to even consider he did not write these play, whereas those who work at the theater know the plays are giving anonymously and Shakespeare is a fraud.

Another reason this literature belongs to some one else is because of Shakespeare’s writing. The only handwriting we have of Shakespeare’s is twelve inconsistent signatures. However when you compare Shakespeare’s signatures to his collogues, Kit Marlowe, Francis Baker, and Ben Johnson you can tell something is not right. Throughout twelve different plays, Shakespeare has twelve different signatures (Ten reasons). In addition writing from the heart. Shakespeare pour’s his heart out throughout his sonnets, but never once mentions the death of his eleven year old son, whereas Ben Johnson wrote an amazing and beautiful poem when his son died (Ten reasons). This suggests the man who is writing these plays is not the real Shakespeare because he never mentioned his son’s tragic death in his work and had inconsistent handwriting.

Lastly, The director of Anonymous states that there are no educational records or any other records connecting to Shakespeare. It is nearly impossible to gain the amount of knowledge Shakespeare had with out going to school. There are no records to prove that Shakespeare ever attended the Stratford grammar school, yet the work of who really wrote these plays shows extensive knowledge about medicine, astronomy, art, music, military, law, philosophy, and activities such as royal tennis and falconry (Ten reason). It is unbelievable for one to know all that without even a trace of school. This suggests that some one else wrote the plays because Shakespeare does not have the education and knowledge to do so. Likewise, it is strange how one knows so much about foreign countries without ever leaving their country. Shakespeare’s records show that he has never left the borders of England, his home city, yet he references Italian city’s in great detail as well as French court life and educate and nobility of foreign lands (Emmerich, Page 127)

This suggests Shakespeare did not write these plays because he has never been to where he is writing about. Also without being there in person there is no way he could have wrote about it in such detail and understanding. In addition if one spent his life creating many outstanding pieces of literature, it would be hard to all of a sudden stop and never write one more thing. The author of Anonymous states that Shakespeare retired at age forty to move back to Stratford. From then on not one piece of literature was ever found (Emmerich, Page 130). This suggests that something might have happened to real creator of the literature, for example, it is possible that the real creator died. Another reason why Shakespeare is not the real creator of the literature is because in his last will it did not once mention anything about his plays or poems (Ten reasons). This shows Shakespeare does not care about what will happen to his life’s work after his death. Therefore Shakespeare is a fraud because not one record has been found to prove that he wrote any of this literature.

To conclude, Shakespeare’s achievements are beyond normal and are not being credited to the right person. There is many proof that shows s lack of records, personal life, and proof he took credit of what someone else has done, proves that Shakespeare is a fraud. Macbeth and Titus Andronicus, are examples of work that Shakespeare took credit for. The novel Anonymous explains how that happened. There is no doubt that the one who really wrote these pieces of literature are beyond average. Therefore, a conclusion can be drawn that Shakespeare is a fraud.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. USA, Caliban, 1971
Shakespeare, William. Titus Andronicus. USA, Caliban, 1970
Emmerich, Roland. Anonymous. Canada, Harpercollins, 2011
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/14/roland-emmerichs-anonymou_n_1011381.html. Online. Internet. December 7th 2011. (url http:://)