"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," said Juliet.
"I don't believe a rose would be as nice if it were called a thistle or a skunk cabbage!" said Anne (of Green Gables).
"I don't believe a rose would be as nice if it were called a thistle or a skunk cabbage!" said Anne (of Green Gables).
Shakspere the Actor
It was Will the actor who was of humble origin and who came from Stratford upon Avon. It is said that this man signed his name as 'William Shakspere'.
Shakspere's parents were illiterate. Shakspere's daughter, Judith, was unable to write.
The most famous role that Will Shakspere played on the stage was the Ghost in Hamlet. He also worked as a moneylender.
It is odd that Will Shakspere, who once sued a man for an unpaid loan of two shillings, was never compensated for his plays during his lifetime and never seemed to have complained about it.
It's also said that, unlike most artists, Will Shakspere enjoyed prosperity during his lifetime. The only surviving letter to Shakspere is a letter from a neighbour asking for a loan of thirty pounds.
In his last will and testament, Will mentions a "second best bed" and a "silver gilt bowl" but makes no mention of his valuable literary works or who is to benefit from them.
It is therefore surmised that the actor 'Will Shakspere' and the author 'William Shakespeare' were two different people.
What's in a Name?
Shakespeare or "Spear Shaker" is believed to be a reference to the spear shakers of mythology: Apollo, Athena and Hercules, the mortal who became a god.
Will Shakspere had never travelled and knew little Latin or Greek so many theorists believe that he would have been unable to produce literary works that required an indepth knowledge of law, Platonic philosophy, Rosicrucian symbolism, the culture of royal courts and several languages.
The authorship of Shakespeare's plays is usually attributed to men such as Sir Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe or Edward De Vere.
Manly P. Hall writes: "A sentimental world, however, dislikes to give up a traditional hero, either to solve a controversy or to right a wrong."
However the real author of the plays must have had his or her reasons for keeping their identity a secret. Besides 'The Complete Works of Bacon' doesn't have quite the same ring to it.
All the World's a Stage
Most people today still believe that the moneylending actor from Stratford upon Avon is the authentic author of the Elizabethan literary masterpieces.
So either Will Shakspere was truly one of the greatest writers of all time. Or he was one of the greatest actors, convincing the world at large during his lifetime and beyond his death, that he was a literary genius and the author of some of the most celebrated masterpieces in English literature.
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