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{{cquote|Good Friend For Jesus Sake Forbeare, To Digg The Dust Enclosed Heare. Blese Be Ye Man Spares Thes Stones, And Curst Be He Moves My Bones.}}

{{cquote|Good Friend For Jesus Sake Forbeare, To Digg The Dust Enclosed Heare. Blese Be Ye Man Spares Thes Stones, And Curst Be He Moves My Bones.}}

==Posthumous reputation and authorship controversy==

==Authorship controversy==

[[File:Shakespeare f. Reuters.jpg|thumb]]

[[File:Shakespeare f. Reuters.jpg|thumb]]

Several writers who knew Shakespeare, including Ben Jonson, attest to his authorship in the ''First Folio'', a collection of his plays published in 1623. There is no indication that this claim was controversial, either at the time or for another 200 years.<ref>Shapiro, James, ''[https://books.google.ca/books/about/Contested_Will.html?id=4j4UqFnb4AoC Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare?]'' (2011)</ref> Shakespeare and the other Elizabethan writers were gradually eclipsed by a new generation of playwrights led by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. After Samuel Johnson reissued Shakespeare's plays in 1765, there was renewed interest in the bard, a phenomenon called "bardology."

Several writers who knew Shakespeare, including Ben Jonson, attest to his authorship in the ''First Folio'', a collection of his plays published in 1623. There is no indication that this claim was controversial, either at the time or for another 200 years.<ref>Shapiro, James, ''[https://books.google.ca/books/about/Contested_Will.html?id=4j4UqFnb4AoC Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare?]'' (2011)</ref> Shakespeare and the other Elizabethan writers were gradually eclipsed by a new generation of playwrights led by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. After Samuel Johnson reissued Shakespeare's plays in 1765, there was renewed interest in the bard, a phenomenon called "bardology."

Although researchers discovered Shakespeare's will and several other personal documents, popular biographies published in the early 19th century stressed the contrast between Shakespeare's fame and how little biographical information was known.<ref>McCarter, Jeremy, "[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9406E6DB113EF931A35756C0A9669D8B63 A Question of Authorship]", ''New York Times, May 2, 2010</ref> Alternative theories of authorship concerning Homer and the Gospels also emerged at around this time. In 1857, American author Delia Bacon wrote a book arguing that Shakespeare was a fraud and the real author of his work was Sir Francis Bacon (no relation). This book kicked off the "Shakespeare authorship controversy," which continues to this day. Various late 19th century figures took up Bacon's cause, including Ignatius Donnelly, Mark Twain, Sigmund Freud, and Helen Keller.

Although researchers discovered Shakespeare's will and several other personal documents, popular biographies published in the early 19th century stressed the contrast between Shakespeare's fame and how little biographical information was known.<ref>McCarter, Jeremy, "[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9406E6DB113EF931A35756C0A9669D8B63 A Question of Authorship]", ''New York Times, May 2, 2010</ref> Alternative theories of authorship concerning Homer and the Gospels also emerged at around this time. In 1857, American author Delia Bacon wrote a book arguing that Shakespeare was a fraud and that the real author of his work was Sir Francis Bacon (no relation). This book kicked off the "Shakespeare authorship controversy," which continues to this day. Various late 19th century figures took up Bacon's cause, including Ignatius Donnelly, Mark Twain, Sigmund Freud, and Helen Keller.

In 1895, a book by Wilbur G. Zeigler argued that English playwright [[Christopher Marlowe]] was the author of Shakespeare's plays.<ref>Zeigler, Wilbur G., ''It Was Marlowe'' (1895)</ref> While Marlowe's style is closer to Shakespeare's than that of almost all other suggested candidates,<ref>Shakespeare's ''Henry VI'' is written in a style similar to that of Marlowe's, so the two authors may have collaborated. See "[http://www.jstor.org/stable/30200393?&Search=yes&searchText=Marlowe&searchText=Christopher&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DChristopher%2BMarlowe%26fromHomePage%3Dtrue%26acc%3Don%26wc%3Don%26fc%3Doff&prevSearch=&item=1&ttl=5330&returnArticleService=showFullText&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents Tamburlaine Stalks ''Henry VI'']" by Thomas Merriam.</ref> he suffers the disadvantage of having died in 1593 when Shakespeare's writing career was just beginning.<ref>Marlowe worked as an intelligence agent for Thomas Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth's spymaster. Walsingham may have had Marlowe murdered for fear that his involvement with atheism would make both of them notorious.[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3647398/Who-killed-Christopher-Marlowe.html] The murderer was later pardoned by the queen. See the [http://marlowe-shakespeare.blogspot.com/ The Marlowe-Shakespeare Connection] for various wildly implausible faked death theories.</ref> In 1920, English author J. Thomas Looney suggested that the Earl of Oxford wrote the plays. Looney argued that Oxford's travels in Europe and aristocratic life at the English court made him a more plausible author than an untitled glover's son. Since the 1920s, Looney's theory has been dominate among Shakespeare skeptics.<ref>[http://oxford-shakespeare.com/ The Oxford Authorship Site]</ref>

In 1895, a book by Wilbur G. Zeigler argued that English playwright [[Christopher Marlowe]] was the author of Shakespeare's plays.<ref>Zeigler, Wilbur G., ''It Was Marlowe'' (1895)</ref> While Marlowe's style is closer to Shakespeare's than that of almost all other suggested candidates,<ref>Shakespeare's ''Henry VI'' is written in a style similar to that of Marlowe's, so the two authors may have collaborated. See "[http://www.jstor.org/stable/30200393?&Search=yes&searchText=Marlowe&searchText=Christopher&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DChristopher%2BMarlowe%26fromHomePage%3Dtrue%26acc%3Don%26wc%3Don%26fc%3Doff&prevSearch=&item=1&ttl=5330&returnArticleService=showFullText&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents Tamburlaine Stalks ''Henry VI'']" by Thomas Merriam.</ref> he suffers the disadvantage of having died in 1593 when Shakespeare's writing career was just beginning.<ref>Marlowe worked as an intelligence agent for Thomas Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth's spymaster. Walsingham may have had Marlowe murdered for fear that his involvement with atheism would make both of them notorious.[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3647398/Who-killed-Christopher-Marlowe.html] The murderer was later pardoned by the queen. See the [http://marlowe-shakespeare.blogspot.com/ The Marlowe-Shakespeare Connection] for various wildly implausible faked death theories.</ref> In 1920, English author J. Thomas Looney suggested that the Earl of Oxford wrote the plays. Looney argued that Oxford's travels in Europe and aristocratic life at the English court made him a more plausible author than an untitled glover's son. Since the 1920s, Looney's theory has been dominate among Shakespeare skeptics.<ref>[http://oxford-shakespeare.com/ The Oxford Authorship Site]</ref>