In Shakespeare's time, no one disputed that William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon wrote the plays and sonnets credited to him. They were published: "Mr William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies" and "Shake-speare's Sonnets." William Shakespeare of Stratford never protested that he didn't write them. Not one person claimed instead to be their author. All contemporary evidence correlates with William Shakespeare being their author. There is not one bit of evidence of anyone else being their author instead.

Despite this, since the 19th Century there are those who have believed that someone else must have written them instead. Not that there's a

"Shakespeare was an enthusiast in the world of drama." (Shakespeare Oxford Society) Oxford is had written, produced and acted in plays. He was owner of the Blackfriars Theatre, and perated his own theatrical company, Oxford's Boys. About 1600 the Earl of Oxford's servants performed two plays. In 1602 the Earls of Oxford and Worcester joined their companies and were licensed to play at the Boar's Head. (Austin, Ogburn)

He was most likely meticulous with money and hated thriftiness. Edward de Vere gave many of his estates to his father-in-law, William Cecil, Lord Burghley, which historians have criticized him for doing. (Ogburn)

Upon Oxford's death in 1604 King James had eight Shakespeare plays produced at court as a final tribute. When Oxford's widow died nine years later 14 of Shakespeare plays were produced in tribute. (Smithsonian)

The sheer number of candidates proposed for the position of "William Shakespeare" is definitely amazing. Acutally, of the more than eighty Elizabethans put forward since the middle of the eighteenth century as the "true Shakespeare," only four (other than the man William Shakespeare) have deserved serious consideration. (Austin; Schuessler, 16; Shakespeare Oxford Society) They are Sir Francis Bacon (Lord Verulam), Christopher Marlow, William Stanley (Sixth Earl of Derby), and Edward de Vere (17th Earl of Oxford). (Shakespeare Oxford Society; Austin; Schuessler, 16)

Bacon: Though he was learned and highly intelligent, Francis Bacon expressed these traits in a manner different than Shakespeare's, whose work has great "imagination, passion and idealism." (Shakespeare Oxford Society) Though both of the authors had great knowledge of the law and the legal system, Shakespeare's style was different than Bacon's. (Schuessler, 16) "The known verse that has come down to us of Francis Bacon's, e.g., the metrical settings of the Psalms, is stilted and as unlike Shakespeare's as is possible." (Shakespeare Oxford Society) Those who believe that it was Bacon also rely on the use of cryptograms to prove that Bacon is the true Shakespeare. (Reedy, Kathman) One example comes from the long word 'honorificabilitudinitatibus' found in Loves Labour's Lost. (Reedy, Kathman) The letters of this word can be rearranged to form the sentence 'hi ludi F. Baconis nati tuiti orbi' which is translated as 'these plays F. Bacon's offspring are preserved for the world.' (Reedy, Kathman) But it is still difficult to believe that Bacon would have written these works by the great William Shakespeare. It just doesn't logically fit into the scheme of his life. (Schuessler, 16)

Some common words found in the essay are:
Oxford Society, William Shakespeare, Reedy Kathman, Shakespeare Stratford, William Stanley, shakespeare oxford, Shakespeare Oxford, shakespeare oxford society, oxford society, Earl Oxford, Society Schuessler, Folio Shakespeare's, Elizabethan Hunting, william shakespeare, reedy kathman, de vere, edward de, edward de vere, shakespeare stratford, earl oxford, william shakespeare stratford, 17th earl, vere 17th earl, shakespeare's plays, reedy kathman shakespeare,
Approximate Word count = 3120
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)