BETWEEN FRANCIS BACON AND WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE INTERROGATING THE SHAKESPEARIAN LITERARY CANON

Abstract

Several historians and literary experts have doubted Shakespeare’s knowledge in general and literary skill in particular. This study highlights the issue of authorship of the controversial literary works accredited to Shakespeare. In order to discover the actual brain behind the great literary works, this study explores contribution of other English authors of Shakespeare’s time such as Francis Bacon and Edward de Vere. The study adopts Qualitative Method; thus it obtains data from written sources, which include historical and literary writings by reliable authors. The study finds that the Shakespearean canon is a product of collaborations by many literary experts, such as Francis Bacon, Edward de Vere, Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser and Robert Greene.