SHAKESPEARE's A U T H O R S H I P DEBATE
definitely requires a distinction
To consider, discuss and research the Shake-speare author-ship problem at all, first and foremost requires a distinction between
a) the author of the Plays [Shakespeare]
and
a) the author of the Plays [Shakespeare]
and
b) the person from Stratford, [Shakspere]
whom the plays are usually attributed, in order to avoid wordiness, misunder-standings or repetitive qualifiers.
whom the plays are usually attributed, in order to avoid wordiness, misunder-standings or repetitive qualifiers.
a) and b) are said to be one and the same man, but in order to explore and debate the theory at all, confusion must be avoided.
Shakspere is the spelling recorded on William of Stratford’s baptismal certificate and all "familiar" documents directly associated with him. The vagaries of Elizabethan spelling are acknowledged; arguments derived from variations in spelling are not dealt here.
