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Who was Shakespeare?
William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest English language playwright. He

was a literary genius whose works are still read and performed all over the world. Shakespeare,
the man, is something of an enigma, though, as very little is known about him. We do know
that a William Shakespeare was baptized on April 26, 1564, the third of eight children of John
and Mary Shakespeare. He lived in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon in England and when he
was eighteen, he married a twenty-six-year-old woman named Anne Hathaway. They had three
children, including one set of twins. For much of his life, he was employed as an actor in
London, and he died in 1616, at the age of fifty-two.
Beyond those basic facts, little else is known about the life of Shakespeare. Even his
birthday, April 23, is speculative and is based on the assumption that baptisms at the time took
place three days after a baby’s birth. In total, 154 sonnets and 37 plays, which are grouped into
comedies, tragedies and histories, are attributed to William Shakespeare. However, not one
original manuscript has survived; the plays and poems we know today come from a collection
known as the First Folio, published in 1623 after Shakespeare’s death. The only portrait of him
accepted as authentic appears on the title page of the First Folio.
This lack of historical data has caused some literary experts to question whether
William Shakespeare really wrote the works attributed to him. Skeptics cite a number of
arguments to support their belief that Shakespeare, the playwright, was really someone else.
First, fourteen plays have scenes that take place in Italy and demonstrate a detailed knowledge
of Italian society and politics. However, there is no record of Shakespeare’s ever traveling to
Italy. Skeptics also argue that the level of vocabulary and language used in Shakespeare’s works
reflects the writings of a highly educated person with good understanding of law, politics, and
history. Yet there is no record of Shakespeare’s ever attending university.
If William Shakespeare did not write the great plays and sonnets, then who did? The
two most plausible candidates are Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, a contemporary
poet and friend of Queen Elizabeth I, and Christopher Marlowe, also born in 1564, a Cambridge
graduate, playwright and – allegedly – Elizabethan spy.
Advocates for de Vere argue that his aristocratic background and travels throughout
Italy in 1575 make him a likely candidate. However, de Vere died in 1604 and many of the
greatest Shakespearean plays, including King Lear and The Tempest, appeared after this date.
Also, there is no convincing explanation as to why de Vere might prefer to write William
Shakespeare as his nom de plume.
As with the de Vere theory, a major flaw to Christopher Marlowe theory is the timing of
his death. Many historians believe that Marlowe was killed in a fight in a London pub in 1593.
However, conspiracy-minded Marlowe experts argue that this was a cover-up and that he was
secretly sent to Europe to work as a spy for Elizabeth I. Skeptics suggest that Marlowe
continued to write, but used William Shakespeare’s name to enable him to get his work
published in England.
Today, the majority of Shakespeare scholars believe that, in spite of his humble
beginnings, the man from Stratford-upon-Avon was the true author of the literary greats. They
argue that Shakespeare’s lack of formal university education does not mean he could not have
produced works of such genius. Until enough evidence is collected to firmly support any
argument, debate surrounding who the Bard of Stratford really was continues.
1. Encontre cinco exemplos de verbos no Presente Simples e cinco exemplos de verbos
no Passado Simples.
2. Decida se as frases abaixo são verdadeiras (v) ou falsas (f).
a. Os historiadores estão seguros quanto à data de nascimento de Shakespeare.
b. Apenas um dos manuscritos originais de Shakespeare sobreviveu até hoje.
c. O Primeiro Fólio contém a obra completa de Shakespeare.
d. O Primeiro Fólio contém o único retrato de Shakespeare aceito como
autêntico.
e. A autoria de Shakespeare é questionada devido às suas muitas viagens e ao
seu trabalho na universidade.
f. Os outros candidatos à autoria da obra são de Vere e Christopher Marlowe.
g. Edward de Vere e Christopher Marlowe tinham formação universitária.
h. Edward de Vere era um nobre, além de poeta e amigo pessoal de Elizabete I.
i. Marlowe foi um dramaturgo e, supostamente, um espião da rainha Elizabete.
j. Hoje, a maioria dos estudiosos acredita que o Marlowe é o autor das obras.
3. Corrija as sentenças que você considerou falsas.
4. Coloque os eventos abaixo em ordem. Escreva o ano ao lado de cada um.
( ) O Primeiro Fólio é publicado.__________________________________
( ) Shakespeare se casa._________________________________________
( ) Christopher Marlowe morre. __________________________________
( ) William Shakespeare nasce.___________________________________
( ) O conde de Oxford, Edward de Vere, viaja à Itália._________________
( ) Shakespeare morre.__________________________________________
( ) O dramaturgo Christopher Marlowe nasce._______________________
( ) Edward de Vere morre._______________________________________
5. Explique os argumentos favoráveis e contrários à autoria de Edward de Vere e
Christopher Marlowe.

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Who was Shakespeare?

William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest English language playwright. He

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