Even when Shakespeare was still alive, there were different conspiracy theories about who
actually wrote all those plays and they have just been getting more ridiculous ever since, even
if some of them might even sound reasonable until one looks into them further.
Most of those theories are rooted in the classist belief that William Shakespeare as a member
of a lower social class would not have been able to write anything with quality this high.
While it is true that the upper class had and still has access to better education, but that does
not mean that it would have been impossible for someone like Shakespeare to become a great
playwright anyways, especially because we know that he did receive some formal education
as a child.
Besides, if some nobleman was the actual author behind these plays, there would most likely
be at least some record of it. Playwriting and common theatre in general might have been
frowned upon in higher social circles, but poetry was not. Therefore, there would have been
no reason for some secretly artistic nobleman to publish his poetry under a pen name as well.
Another version of this theory is that Shakespeare´s works were actually written by a woman.
This completely ignores the question of education the previous theory is based on but at least
is based on the historical aspect of women having to publish under a male pen name.
However, most women who did that later came out as the actual author of their works and
those who didn´t were usually confirmed later, anyways.
In conclusion, while we might not be able to prove who really wrote all those plays and
sonnets, there is no real reason to believe that it wasn´t actually William Shakespeare.
von Lucie Brennberger, MSS13