Shakespeare/Christopher Marlowe

Final Jeopardy answer was Christopher Marlowe

I was surprised upon browsing the web with his name now that the news that [possibly] prompted the clue is that certain scholars are convinced Marlowe helped write at least one play - enough to have a project called the "New Oxford Shakespeare" list Marlowe "co-writer of the three Henry VI plays."

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/oct/23/christopher-marlowe-credited-as-one-of-shakespeares-co-writers

I've thought about starting a thread about the real identity of the author of the Shakespeare plays. Now I'd have to change that to "authors?"

I'm not sure the thread would go anywhere. If it did, I might regret starting it! just check out the Wikipedia pages to get an idea whether "that way madness lies" to quote King Lear

The idea that Shakespeare did not write the plays normally attributed to Shakespeare began to surface at least a century after his death. Basically as he became more and more famous, the idea that a "country bumpkin" could be the foremost writer in the English language began to bother some critics.

The movie "Shakespeare in Love" makes fun of the authorship question by having Viola ask her new lover "Answer me only this: Are you the author of the plays of William Shakespeare?" instead of the simpler "Are you William Shakespeare?". Anti-Stratfordians is the term for anyone who believes Shakespeare's plays were not written by William Shakespeare.

Christopher Marlowe, also known as Kit Marlowe, was the first candidate. He and Shakespeare were about the same age, but Christopher was famous in his early 20's. Marlowe was very involved in political espionage, and was also a homosexual, so he may have had a lot of enemies. Kit died in a bar room brawl at the age of 29 over a simple card game. His life was the subject of a number of conspiracy theories, and one of them was that he faked his own death and used Will Shakespeare as a front to keep on writing. It works out perfectly because all of Shakespeare's famous plays are attributed to after the age of 30 (if they can be dated at all).

Once the authorship question got going, there were dozens of candidates including Queen Elizabeth. But the generally accepted candidate today is Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (born 12 April 1550 – died 24 June 1604) who wrote the works of Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564 - Died 23 April 1616).

Personally, I am not an anti-stratfordian, but if you talk to a true believer, they sound like evangelicals. I am inherently skeptical of any theory that developed centuries after the events.

The authorship question is well enshrined into popular culture, and on 25 September 1987 three justices of the Supreme Court of the United States convened a one-day moot court to make a ruling. The movie "Shakespeare in Love" used the authorship question as a primary plot device.

Quote: Pacomartin

The idea that Shakespeare did not write the plays normally attributed to Shakespeare began to surface at least a century after his death. Basically as he became more and more famous, the idea that a "country bumpkin" could be the foremost writer in the English language began to bother some critics.

The movie "Shakespeare in Love" makes fun of the authorship question by having Viola ask her new lover "Answer me only this: Are you the author of the plays of William Shakespeare?" instead of the simpler "Are you William Shakespeare?". Anti-Stratfordians is the term for anyone who believes Shakespeare's plays were not written by William Shakespeare.

Christopher Marlowe, also known as Kit Marlowe, was the first candidate. He and Shakespeare were about the same age, but Christopher was famous in his early 20's. Marlowe was very involved in political espionage, and was also a homosexual, so he may have had a lot of enemies. Kit died in a bar room brawl at the age of 29 over a simple card game. His life was the subject of a number of conspiracy theories, and one of them was that he faked his own death and used Will Shakespeare as a front to keep on writing. It works out perfectly because all of Shakespeare's famous plays are attributed to after the age of 30 (if they can be dated at all).

Once the authorship question got going, there were dozens of candidates including Queen Elizabeth. But the generally accepted candidate today is Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (born 12 April 1550 – died 24 June 1604) who wrote the works of Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564 - Died 23 April 1616).

Personally, I am not an anti-stratfordian, but if you talk to a true believer, they sound like evangelicals. I am inherently skeptical of any theory that developed centuries after the events.

The authorship question is well enshrined into popular culture, and on 25 September 1987 three justices of the Supreme Court of the United States convened a one-day moot court to make a ruling. The movie "Shakespeare in Love" used the authorship question as a primary plot device.

I think it was his last Will that made people question if he was the author
He did not have much to hand down

Quote: terapined

I think it was his last Will that made people question if he was the author
He did not have much to hand down

including no books at all; that can be explained away as being already given to someone, but that's about it

his family, before him, was basically illiterate, though it is known where he went to school. It's very unusual to go from a background of family illiteracy to a 'man of letters'. British culture, the snobbery of the upper classes, has never been too friendly to lower class upstarts either, though the theater, disreputable then, was conducive to an exception. *

he had extensive knowledge of foreign countries, especially Italy, but never left England.

now through the use of modern methods a certain group prominent enough to get published has been convinced 3 plays were co-written at least by Marlowe. It seems the direction this is going is to suspect a lot of other co-authors.

I guess I am an anti-Stratfordian class B [not of the evangelical stripe].

*Can I fit another comma in there?

There is a theory that Shakespeare wrote the Kings James translation of the bible. As evidence, he would have been about 46 at the time. In Psalm 46, the 46th word is Shake and the 46th word from the end is Spear.

Quote: Wizard

There is a theory that Shakespeare wrote the Kings James translation of the bible. .

Although I think you're joking, nobody
wrote it in the 15th century, they
translated it from Greek. Although
Shakespeare did use the Bible
extensively, he used the Geneva
translation.

An interesting side note, most
priests in those days were not taught
to read because they were forbidden
to own a Bible. The Vatican had
altered and added so much to
the text that they didn't want
even their own priests to know
how much. There were heavy
penalties for priests owning
Bibles. The only scripture they
knew were what they were
taught to memorize.

Since some popes were illiterate, we can be sure it was rampant amongst priests generally. The Protestant idea that people generally should be able to read [so they could read the Bible] was quite a shock indeed. "The Reformation was a triumph of literacy and the new printing press. Luther's translation of the Bible into German was a decisive moment in the spread of literacy" - from Wikipedia page.

Quote: Evenbob

Although I think you're joking, nobody
wrote it in the 15th century, they
translated it from Greek.

You're right, I should have said "translate," although there is a great deal of sway the translator has in how things turn out. Some Christians believe the King James was a divinely inspired translation and all others are straight from the pit of hell.

Quote: Wizard

There is a theory that Shakespeare wrote the Kings James translation of the bible. As evidence, he would have been about 46 at the time. In Psalm 46, the 46th word is Shake and the 46th word from the end is Spear.

That blew my mind

Quote: Wizard

although there is a great deal of sway the translator has in how things turn out. .

At the time the KJ version was
the most accurate. They had
overseer's minding the overseer's
minding the translators. They
would ask for a ruling if anything
came into doubt. It wasn't
until the New International
Version came along 50 years
ago that it was translated more
accurately.