Period+3+Edward+de+Vere,+Earl+of+Oxford

This is where you will construct your presentation -- your persuasive argument for the debate to support Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford as the writer of the works currently attributed to William Shakespeare.

Based on the evidence provided in the essay, it is proven that Edward de Vere wrote the poetry and plays of William Shakespeare.

Reasons to believe why Edward De Vere wrote Shakespeare's plays: Pro
 * Since De Vere was an aristocrat, it would have been a disgrace to his family name to be an author of plays or poetry. This is why he used William Shakespeare's name on his works.
 * Throughout some of the plays, De Vere hints that he is the writer. For example, is a sonnet it says, "That every word doth almost tell my name." The letters of "every word" are rearranged to EYWORD VER, which looks like Edward de Vere
 * De Vere was much older than Shakespeare and events were written in the plays that Shakespeare was to young know, such as an eclipse or political event.
 * Edward De Vere traveled to Italy in the 1570's, which many people believe is how the writer of "The Merchant of Venice" and "Othello" had so much knowledge about it.
 * The author of the many sonnets knew a lot about court life. How would Shakespeare know so much about that since he grew up in poor family. On the other hand, De Vere grew up an aristocrat and had a lot of first hand knowledge on court life.
 * Modern research shows that none of Shakespeare's plays have been proven that they were written after 1604, when Edward de Vere died.
 * None of Shakespeare's relatives ever claimed that he was a writer and you would think that he would want them to know about his writings.

Shakespeare Debate Pro 1 Based on evidence found, it can be proven that Edward De Vere was the author of Shakespeare’s plays. Throughout this essay are reasons to support this hypothesis. Many people believe that the Shakespearean plays were actually written between 1576 and 1590, much earlier than what it was believed to have been written. This explains how the plays were completed before De Vere died in 1604. Oxfordians believe it was written earlier because of historical references in the plays, such as an eclipse or political event. Since De Vere was so much older than Shakespeare, he would be able to explain in detail an event. How could Shakespeare write about it if he was too young to understand what happen? Secondly, the author of //Merchant of Venice// expressed a lot of knowledge about the scenery and the city of Venice. Shakespeare had never been to Italy prior to the writing of the play. On the other hand, De Vere traveled to Italy in the 1570’s, about fifteen years before the //Merchant of Venice// was written. This would give him much more knowledge than Shakespeare on the city where the book took place. This is why many people believe that De Vere was the author of not only //Merchant of Venice//, but all of Shakespeare’s plays. Lastly, the author of the sonnets expressed first hand knowledge on court life and aristocracy. De Vere was part of the highest class of aristocracy, which would give him not only knowledge on court life, but real life experiences. Shakespeare grew up in a poor family, which would not give him any knowledge on aristocracy or court life. How could Shakespeare write so much about court life if he had no idea what it was like? Also, it was known as a disgrace to the family name if an aristocrat was an author of poetry. De Vere would have used Shakespeare’s name on his works so he could still enjoy doing what he loved, but not be a disgrace to his family. Based on evidence found, it can be proven that Edward De Vere was the author of Shakespeare’s plays. Some believe it was Shakespeare, some believe it was De Vere, and others believe it was a completely different person, but one thing is the same, it will forever remain a mystery.

Pro 2

On the evidence found, it can be proven that Edward de Vere wrote the poetry and plays of William Shakespeare. Edward de Vere was a high aristocrat and classically educated. He was cultivated and of pronounced literary tastes, and a notable lyrical poet. For an aristocrat to be a poet and write plays it was a disgrace towards the family name. Instead of using his names and disgracing the family name, he used William Shakespeare’s name for cover on the plays and poetry. He also used another way to cover up his name in the poetry and plays. Edward de Vere hints that he is the writer throughout some of the plays. Such as, in a sonnet is says, “ That every word doth almost tell my name.” The letters of “every word”, in the sonnet, are rearranged to Eyword Ver, which looks like Edward de Vere. Shakespeare never claimed to be a writer. None of his children, or grandchildren or their families ever claimed that he was an author. If Shakespeare were such a great writer wouldn't he want his own children to learn to read and write like him? As you can see there are many reasons to believe that Edward de Vere was the author of Shakespeare's famous plays and poetry.

Reasons to believe why Edward De Vere is not the author of Shakespeare's plays: Con 1

Based on all of the evidence collected, it can be proved that Edward De Vere did not write the works of William Shakespeare. In my research, I found a quote from an article that states, “Furthermore, the sonnets are believed to have been written in 1590, and made public in 1598. If this is true, de Vere would have been forty and Shakespeare twenty-six. Sonnets 62, 73, and 138 depict an older author of the sonnets.” I don’t believe that this is a legitimate reason to claim that De Vere is the author. Different people have different intelligence levels, causing some peoples’ writing to sound more mature than others. But in actuality, the writer is younger, and just very intelligent. Some people have come to believe that Edward De Vere hinted at his name in the sonnets. For example, Sonnet 76 states, "That every word doth almost tell my name." When the letters of "every word" are rearranged to EYWORD VER, they resemble EDWARD DE VERE. I don’t believe that this is a legitimate argument either. It is nothing more than a strange coincidence. Edward De Vere is known to have been part of the highest class of aristocracy. Because of this, he would have had an extremely busy lifestyle. It is highly unlikely that he would have had the time or energy to write such wonderful works such as the Shakespeare writings.

Con 2 Based on the evidence I have found, Edward De Vere did not write Shakespeare plays or sonnets. Throughout my essay are several reasons why. One reason Edward De Vere could not have written such works is Edward died in 1604. Yet many of Shakespeare’s work was not published until after that. How could he be writing plays if he was dead? Another reason he could not have written them is for almost 100 years after he died, no one questioned Shakespeare wrote them. They would of known who wrote them when they were published, so why now are we questioning it? If Edward had written it, he would have received credit when they were published not over 500 years later. One other reason Edward De Vere did not write Shakespeare’s works is since Edward was part of royalty, he never would have had time to write such masterpieces. “Prof Wells said de Vere had led a "busy life" and he found it hard to believe the earl had managed to write so many "masterpieces" at the same time.” This quote clearly shows that. As you can see there are many reasons to believe that Edward De Vere did not write the works of Shakespeare, he was too busy, died too early, and was not mentioned until 100 years later. In conclusion, I believe that Edward De Vere did not write the Shakespeare plays.