(Poul Anderson's A Midsummer Tempest.)
(ii) Shakespeare was the Great Dramatist.
(Neil Gaiman's The Sandman.)
(iii) Shakespeare did not write the plays.
(Clifford Simak's The Goblin Reservation.)
Are we living in (ii) or (iii)?
See:
Shakespeare authorship question
The Shakespearean Authorship Coalition
to be or not to be
"Is Shakespeare Dead?"
Any other fantasy or sf versions of Shakespeare?
Asimov has a story where Shakespeare time travels to the present and fails an exam in his plays.
Someone else wrote a story where future explorers of Earth were cursed because they dug up his grave.
23 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
All I can think of for this blog piece is how Poul Anderson gave us a "quote" from a futuristic version of HAMLET in THE LONG WAY HOME.
Sean
Sean,
The question of who wrote the plays is more interesting than I had expected. More work for the Time Patrol, of course.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I skimmed thru that too! But, I'm inclined to think that what real evidence we have favors William Shakespeare of Stratford-Upon-Avon as the author of the plays and poems.
Sean
"You've not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon."
Kaor, DAVID!
Ha, ha!!! I thought the archaic dialect Shakespeare used IS Klingon!
More seriously, I think Shakespeare's plays and poems will need to be translated into whatever English has become in another century or so. Hmmm, Anglic?
Sean
Sean,
But the guy in Stratford was called Shakspere. Nor is that all.
Paul.
Sean!
With words like 'I skimmed thru that' and I'm inclined to think' ...You let me down. Have you actually looked at the facts... the only known facts about the man from Avon...
Do skim a little deeper.
Try this, all the way through mind...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpc5A-14tmw&t=2280s
Hi Paul, I like the photograph you've used to show That Avon man.
Originally sculpted sitting on a bag of corn with no quill... until it was 'refurbished' many years after Mr S's death of course.
Kaor, Nygel!
Thanks for writing! But, I don't claim to be an expert on the life and times of William Shakespeare or the major rival candidates proposed as alternatives to the Shakespeare of Stratford-Upon-Avon. It seems to have boiled down to most advocates favoring either Shakespeare of Avon or Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford.
Ad astra! Sean
Kaor, Paul!
I belatedly saw your comment to me. Not sure I understand your point. Do you have doubts the William Shakespeare of Stratford authored the plays and poems attributed to him?
And there were variant spellings of Shakespeare's name because "modern" English had not yet gelled and stabilized.
Sean
I'm fairly sure that one of the contenders for having written at least one of Shakespeare's plays (or, at the very least, contributed to it) was Kit Marlowe.
Also, I believe Antony Burgess wrote a long short story or possibly a novella, where Shakespeare met and spoke with Jorge Luis Borges. The last time I came across this was many years ago and the memory isn't what it was so I've no more details, I'm afraid.
Sean,
Yes, spelling was not standardized yet. However, the Stratford man was consistently Shakspere whereas the author was consistently Shakespeare. Yes, I have signed the Declaration of Reasonable Doubt about Shakespeare authorship.
Paul.
Ketlan,
Marlowe is a contender but there are many with no evidence for any one in particular.
Paul.
Kaor, Ketlan and Paul!
Ketlan: I can see it being possible that some of the plays attributed to the Shakespeare of Stratford having multiple authors. Conventions about authorship were not as strictly defined then as they are now.
Paul: Do you mean the known signatures of the Shakespeare of Stratford differs from that of the name given on the title pages of the first printed folios? That alone would not seem conclusive. Shakespeare of Stratford died in 1616 and the first folios were printed three or four years later. I can see either the editors or printers deciding "Shakspere" looked inelegant and changing it to "Shakespeare."
Which alternative to the Shakespeare of Stratford do you favor as the author of the plays and poems?
Sean
Sean,
I have no idea who did write the plays.
That is what I meant about signatures. Of course that alone is not conclusive. I think that "Shake-speare," with a hyphen, was being applied to the author while the plays were being produced. This is all in the Shakespeare Authorship Coalition link.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I did skim thru the LONG Shakespeare Authorship link and now I don't what to think! The issue of the authorship of those plays and poems now seems hopelessly muddled.
Sean
Sean,
Continuing research needed even if only to prove that Shakspere is indeed after all Shakespeare. But the research continues. I think that the problem is that academic institutions do not want to acknowledge that there is a valid question here so students are not being given the full picture.
Paul.
Sean,
If you think that research on this issue should continue, then you can sign the Declaration of Reasonable Doubt and you will apparently receive email updates.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I certainly do not object to research and debate about the authorship of the plays and poems attributed to the Shakespeare of Stratford continuing! I agree that those who advocate the dominant view that Shakespeare of Stratford was the author should be more open to criticism of that view and work harder to defend it.
I might sign that Declaration of Reasonable Doubt.
Ad astra! Sean
Ketlan,
There is a conscious AI simulation of Borges in one of Anderson's novels.
Paul.
To All:
And my thought is wondering if it will ever be possible to settle the issue of the authorship of the plays and poems attributed to the Shakespeare of Stratford-Upon-Avon "beyond a reasonable doubt." I have my doubts that will happen unless some HARD, indisputable evidence is found. If not the question will always remain open and most people will probably settle to accepting Shakespeare of Stratford as the author, by default.
Ad astra! Sean
Kaor, Paul, Sean, and Ketlan!
I haven’t followed the link, and I am not remotely an authority on the subject, but I have read some articles arguing that the Earl of Oxford was the real author of Shakespeare’s plays. Those articles made some points, and, as someone put it, if the Earl of Oxford was not the author, then there some queer coincidences to be explained, but, IMHO, if the man from Stratford was not the author, there are more coincidences to be explained, not least the use of Warwickshire dialect. My own view is that I accept the consensus of the majority of the experts on a subject where I am a non-expert, barring compelling reason to believe that they are mistaken, or reason to think that the whole field of expertise is a scam or a system of nonsense. You may view the matter differently.
Best Regards,
Nicholas
Kaor, Nicholas!
And I agree with you, actually! If we don't accept Shakespeare of Stratford as the author of the plays and poems attributed to him, the only alternative candidate that makes the most sense seems to be Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford.
Ad astra and regards! Sean
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