How Did Shakespeare Write His Work?

Who wrote Shakespeare's famous plays and poems? Perhaps it's a bit like asking who's buried in Grant's tomb. However, despite its decidedly absurd nature, this very question is one that many have pondered. For although the widely held scholarly view maintains that Shakespeare did indeed write his work, a small but rather vocal group have questioned this conventional belief and brought forth this important question; was Shakespeare truly the author of the work we've attributed to him?

In order to answer this question, it is important to first gain a basic understanding of what is currently known about Shakespeare. William Shakespeare, born and baptized sometime during the year of 1564 to John and Mary Shakespeare, was brought up in the English town of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. Although lacking official documentation or rosters to prove, it can be inferred that Shakespeare likely attended the King's New School, a grammar school found only a quarter mile or so from his home. Here, he would have been taught basic Latin and received an education on the rules of grammar; an average curriculum for grammar schools of the time.
However, it is know that, at the age of 18, he was married to Anne Hathaway, and shortly thereafter fathered three children; Sussana and twins Hamnet and Judith. Following the twins' birth, Shakespeare left little to no traces as to his whereabouts or occupation until 1592, where he is criticized by then popular playwright, Robert Greene, in a short book entitled “Groats-Worth of Wit”. Although Greene's exact meaning is met with some uncertainty by scholars, it is generally agreed that he believes Shakespeare to be overreaching and trying too hard to measure up to the great, university-educated writers of the