Prolific Playwright of All Time. William Shakespeare

¶ … prolific playwright of all time. William Shakespeare wrote some of the most widely performed and adapted plays in England in the early 1600's, or did he? The idea that William Shakespeare never existed was introduced in the mid-1700's and there are many theories that support the idea that he never did exist. When examining these theories, it seems as though William Shakespeare was a fictional character himself.

William Shakespeare grew up in Stratford-Upon-Avon in the 16th and 17th Centuries as a child in a large, poor family. The town he grew up in was one of the most illiterate towns in all of England, as evidenced by the fact that 90% of the people who governed the town could not even write their own name. Furthermore, records show that Shakespeare himself received only a brief grammar school education. Many of Shakespeare's plays are set in Italy and/or revolve around the Monarchy. As a poor commoner with no means to travel or learn about the inner-workings of the Monarchy, how could Shakespeare write on these subjects in such great detail?

The person William Shakespeare did in fact exist. There are records of his baptism and marriage as well as some credits as a performer. His parents and children are in the town registry and records of Stratford. However, his writing credits and overall life timeline have many holes. There have been many questions raised about the authenticity of Shakespeare's writings. Some deduce that the content of Shakespeare's plays may have gotten the true writer in trouble at the time, so he had to create a pseudonym. Some even say that a member of the royal family or possibly a woman, people for whom it would have been taboo to write plays at the time, may have been the writer. Whether Shakespeare actually wrote the plays or not may be debatable. However, the genius of his work is unquestioned.