4. MYTH: Elizabeth was educated, literary – and even wrote Shakespeare’s plays but let the Bard take the credit
From the mid-19th century onward, certain literary – and some not-so-literary – critics have argued that William Shakespeare didn’t actually write most of the works attributed to the Bard. That is, it’s thought that he could have taken credit for another writer’s work. Among the names most commonly put forward as the ‘real Bard’ are Christopher ‘Kit’ Marlowe, Francis Bacon and Edward De Vere. However, the argument for Queen Elizabeth writing plays such as Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing has also been put forward – and it’s a theory that, whatever the evidence presented to the contrary, refuses to go away.
Much of the doubt surrounding the authenticity surrounding Shakespeare’s plays may be down to simple snobbery. After all, he was from a relatively lowly family from small town Stratford-upon-Avon. In comparison, Queen Elizabeth was well-educated, well-read and, according to her tutors as well as to the many diplomats and dignitaries she corresponded with over the years, she was an excellent writer. However, there is zero evidence that the literary monarch actually wrote plays or fictions of her own, let alone allowed Shakespeare to take credit for her work. What’s more, several of Shakespeare’s plays were released in he months and years after Elizabeth’s death in 1603.
