Yes, he was real, and yes, he wrote all those plays and poems. Denial is stupid.

A real as a heart attack ! !

“What seest thou else, in the dark backward and abysm of time?”

I think he was real – that is, there was one man who wrote all the plays and sonnets back in the late 1500s. It wasn’t a group of people or anything like that.

The question, to me: Was William Shakespeare a real name or a pseudonym. Did some with a different name actually choose the pen name William Shakespeare.

There isn’t definitive evidence on that, although it leans towards being really W.S.

But 415 years later, does it matter?

I’m interested in how you came to the conclusion there was not enough evidence that he was real?

There are numerous documents from the time from multiple reputable sources at the time that he both existed, wrote the plays and sonets, acted and owned theatres.

I know who was living in my house when Shakespeare was alive. Do you not think that we also have records of who performed for the King in the royal court?

The whole Shakespeare didn’t exist thing comes from an American who was trying to convince her self that her ancestor was someone important.

Well, the Bible was written by “someone” who wasn’t real. That may be where this is coming from.
Shakespeare was real though. There is mention of him in other historical documents outside of his work. Unlike Jesus.

@Lightlyseared…could you expound?

@amarsoni25 So are you a Baconist?

The issue falls apart when one attributes the plays to some other figure, and then has to decide who wrote the Sonnets? Analysis shows the Sonnets to have been written by the same mind as the plays. But Bacon couldn’t write nearly as well or prolifically as Shakespeare.

Yes, @amarsoni25, please explain your reasoning. It’s not like Shakespeare was a mythical figure from humankind’s early forays into religious thought, but instead a well-documented person from recent (in the development of civilization) history.

So what more evidence would you need as to his actual existence?

Undeniably real. Baptised and buried at Church of the Holy Trinity, Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire.

There are tax records, church documents, legal documents, payment records, a marriage record, even his will.

There are contemporary commentators who mention him and associate him with his works.

There are claims that he just translated the works of an alien he met. To quote a famous diplomat: ”You have not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon. taH pagh taHbe’.”

There definitely was a person from that time named William Shakespeare, becuase a copy of his will has been found.

There was a Shakespeare, but he did not write all the works attributed to him.

^And down the conspiracy rabbit hole we go…

Not sure how you would ever prove it one way or the other. Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe and Edward de Vere have all been suggested that they were the actual authors. Why do people say Shakespeare didn’t write these plays? Because records of the time were spotty and it didn’t seem like he had the basis in his life to write them. That is why people believe he didn’t write them.

I have to wonder if these same people believe someone else came up with the Theory of Relativity. After all, Einstein was a patent clerk. Yes, he had schooling in the sciences, but never really held a job in the field. And it is likely that we know more of him that Shakespeare only because records are more accurate and plentiful

Real.
https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4280

Take it from an ancestry point of view. While William had 3 children, his line stopped in 1639.
Hamnet died at age 11. Susanna had one child, Elizabeth. Elizabeth never had children. Judith (Hamnet’s twin) had three sons. One died in infancy while the other 2 sons died unmarried with no offspring.
Williams sister Joan has descendants living today Sheila Tuckey, 98 who has received official recognition.
Here is an ancestry chart of it

I wouldn’t besmirch that.

I guess the part I don’t understand is why someone would write all these plays and not take credit for them. Why put Shakespeare’s name on them if he had nothing to do with them? It makes no sense.

@seawulf575 Because there are always people wanting to believe in conspiracy theories.

For over two hundred years after Shakespeare’s death, it did not occur to anyone to challenge his authorship.
Not a single reputable scholar has the least doubt that William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon wrote the plays and poems ascribed to him.

“I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it.”
― THE William Shakespeare