(63) indispensible prerequisite for a Shakespeare authorship debate: a spelling convention !

Any debate on the Shakespeare authorship 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

 b) the person from Stratford, [Shakspere]

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.

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