Much about the Bard is a mystery to even the most scholarly enthusiasts. The hard facts that are actually known about him could fill one neatly handwritten page, but what is speculated and complete legend could fill volumes of books. So, what is fact and what is fiction? According to the little documentation that chronicles his life, Shakespeare was not even a true 'Shakespeare' at all; he was born in April 1596 and entered in the baptismal record as "Gulielmus filius Johannis Shakspere." Even

The evidence supporting the Earl of Oxford is arguably strong. Whomever wrote the varied works of Shakespeare had to be familiar with a enormous body of knowledge for his time, including such subjects as law, music, foreign languages, the classics, sports and aristocratic manners. There is no documentation of Shakespeare of Stratford having access to such information (Shakespeare-Oxford). Also, when de Vere was a young man, he spent much time traveling, particularly in Italy, which could explain the great detail used in the Shakespearean plays of Venice, as well as other European locations outside of England. There are no records of the Queen ever granting passage to Shakespeare, or Shakspere, for travels abroad.

Contrasting the life of William Shakespeare, much is known about the life of Edward de Vere. He was born on April 12th, 1550 in Essex at Castle Hedingham as the 17th Earl of Oxford. As in Hamlet, his mother remarried in haste upon his father's untimely death, making him ward of the court, and subsequently placed into the care of William Cecil (Lord Burghley), Lord Treasurer of England. As a teenager a Latin scholar (whose English translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses is the second most influential work for Shakespeare, next to the bible), tutored him. By the age of twenty, de Vere had received two masters' degrees from Queen's College in Cambridge, and studied law for three years at Gray's Inn. Once Cecil could wield power over the young Earl of Oxford, he broke off a previous marriage contract and instead betrothed him to his daughter Anne for the political advancement of the Cecil clan. Although the marriage produced three surviving daughters, it was not a happy one; Anne died in 1588 (Shakespeare-Oxford).

Although the subject of the true authorship of Shakespeare's literature will probably never be laid to rest, it will always contribute to the enjoyment of studying his work. Students of the subject are compelled to read and re-read the plays and sonnets in an attempt to gain a better understanding of who was holding the pen. Debates involving fact and fiction keep the name Shakespeare in constant movement, reminding us that we have not outgrown him, not even after four hundred years. The writing of Shakespeare, whomever Shakespeare is, is a gift for us to continue unwrapping, and pass down to our children to appreciate as well. One must hope that the mystery will never be solved, so that it may never lose it's magic.

In 1920 Thomas Looney published a book titled Shakespeare Identified in Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, which was the first to identify the Earl of Oxford as the author of the works by William Shakespeare. From this book sparked a wildfire of debate surrounding the issue of authorship, creating passionate supporters on either side of the issue. "The Oxfordians," as de Vere's many supporters are known, have long ago established their own society and remain dedicate to the cause of proving his authorship. In 1975, the Encyclopedia Britannica (15th edition) commented that, "Edward de Vere became in the 20th century the strongest candidate proposed for the authorship of Shakespeare's plays" (Shakespeare-Oxford). This guy seems to be a contender.

The similarities also exist in the Shakespearean Sonnets as well. In Sonnet 37 and 66 he speaks of a frustrating lameness, not once, but several times. William Shakespeare might have been many things, but nowhere has it been documented that he was injured in a way that would have rendered him lame. On the other hand, de Vere was involved in a knife fight with a man named Knyvet who was seeking revenge on an illegitimately borne child by his cousin Ann Vavasour. The fight did produce a gaping wound on de Vere's leg, and the illegitimate child created a temporary fall from the Queen's grace and time served in the Tower of London.

There are also many similarities between the works of Shakespeare and the life of de Vere. For

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2764
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)