William Shakespeare's mystery: the theories about his existence

Abstract

[eng] William Shakespeare is known for being one of the most relevant writers in the history of English literature. His ability to write, his vocabulary and his knowledge of the world, among others, have made of his plays a treasure in the world’s literature of all times. His perfection in writing is precisely the reason why critics have questioned over time whether William Shakespeare was the real author of the plays attributed to him. Who was William Shakespeare? Or who was the author writing behind the name of William Shakespeare? Several Anti-Stratfordians, those who deny Shakespeare’s authorship, have suggested their candidates and have explained the reasons why they are totally plausible Shakespeares. Nonetheless, there are critics who remain faithful to the theory that William Shakespeare did exist and that the only real author of the plays attributed to him was Shakespeare himself. This paper focuses on these two points of view about William Shakespeare’s existence, trying to approach the truth about the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays.

[cat] William Shakespeare és conegut per ser un dels autors més rellevants de la història de la literatura anglesa. La seva habilitat en l’escriptura, el seu vocabulari i el seu coneixement del món, entre d’altres, han fet de les seves obres un tresor de la literatura universal de tots els temps. És, de fet, la genialitat de les seves obres la raó per la qual crítics s’han anat qüestionant si realment William Shakespeare va escriure les obres que se li han atribuït. Qui va ser William Shakespeare? O qui va ser l’autor que va escriure darrera el nom de William Shakespeare? Alguns Anti-Stratfordians, que neguen l’autoria de Shakespeare, ja han suggerit els seus candidats i han explicat les raons per les quals aquests podrien ser perfectament Shakespeare. No obstant, hi ha crítics que segueixen fidels a la teoria de que William Shakespeare sí que va existir i que l’únic autor de les obres que se l’hi atribueixen és ell mateix. Aquest treball es centra en aquests dos punts de vista sobre l’existència de William Shakespeare, tractant d’aproximar-se a la veritat sobre l’autoria de les seves obres.