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William Shakespeare was a well-known playwright/poet that wrote thirty-seven plays and one hundred and fifty-four sonnets. Often, especially more recently, a certain question has been arising in the people, "Did Shakespeare really write all these works of literature?"

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While there are many theories one single person may have written all these works under a nom de plum of "Shakespeare", it is possible that multiple authors worked together to create "Shakespeare". One of the first candidates for the authorship of Shakespeare's works is Sir Francis Bacon. (via www.shakespeareauthorship.org)

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The second candidate for the credit of William Shakespeare's works is Edward de Vere. One of the main arguments is the close similarity to de Vere's life and the life of the character Hamlet. However, it is possible that de Vere couldn't have done all these works because he died at an early age. (www.absoluteshakespeare.org)

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The final candidate for the authorship of Shakespeare's works is Queen Elizabeth I. Arguments for her being "Shakespeare" describe a governess that worked with the queen who was fluent in several languages, including English, French, Latin, Italian, and Greek, which are some of the languages Shakespeare's work was translated into. The film Last Will and Testament also describes how women at the time were not supposed to be educated, so like Francis Bacon, she used the nom de plume "Shakespeare" to conceal her identity. (screen cap from www.shakespeareauthorship.org)

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In the end, the truth cannot be certain. There is no evident proof to this day that proves that any of the candidates mentioned are in fact the author of Shakespeare's famous works. And in the end, who's to say that Shakespeare was a real person and actually wrote the works of thirty-seven plays and one hundred and fifty-four sonnets on his own?

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http://www.shakespeareauthorship.org/authors/bacon.html
http://absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/authorship/authorship_de_vere.htm
http://www.shakespeareauthorship.org/authors/queen.html
and also, the film Last Will and Testament