William Shakespeare Research Paper

In Shakespeare’s well-known play, Hamlet, the ghost of Hamlet’s father divulges, “But that I am forbid/To tell the secrets of my prison house/I could a tale unfold whose lightest word/Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood” (Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act I, scene v). The people who would interpret this as a hyperbolic autobiography of “Shakespeare” are the same people who are convinced that “William Shakespeare” is a pseudonym. There are hundreds of different theories about who really penned the plays attributed to Shakespeare, and though lots of money has been devoted to research this intricate problem, no conclusive evidence has been found. People from every walk of life have made cases for various people; prominent scholars such as Mark Twain strongly believe(d) that Francis Bacon was the true author, while others, including Sigmund Freud are strong advocates for Edward de Vere. And of course, there are many scholars who still firmly trust that William Shakespeare from Stratford-upon-Avon truly …show more content…
Sir Francis Bacon, Viscount St. Alban, was a very respected and prominent scholar from the Renaissance, was the designer of the scientific method that is still taught today, and was “a worldly courtier, a talented writer, a learned jurist, and a brilliant philosopher” (Shapiro, Contested Will). He had a vast range of literary and scientific achievements, and pursued basically everything except for playwrighting and poetry. If he had also compiled the one of the most distinguished portfolio of plays and poems in the world, combining two of the most genius minds in the Elizabethan Era, Bacon would indubitably be considered the greatest man of the Renaissance. Also, he cuts a figure much likelier to write the plays than Shakespeare from Stratford because of his higher education, intimacy with the law,