Who was Shakespeare?

Everyone loves a good conspiracy, especially when it involves such a beloved topic as the great poet and playwright William Shakespeare. For the majority of people, Shakespeare was simply an obscure man who wrote and performed in myriad plays in London, England back in Elizabethan times. But for those scholars and amateur sleuths who chose to delve a little deeper, a puzzle arises. Could the man we know as Shakespeare truly have written such complex and masterful works?

For anyone visiting London, the home of William Shakespeare at Stratford-on-Avon is a must see tourist stop, along with the Globe Theatre and Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey. But, could it be that these historical markers could all be incorrect?

What if there really was no author by the name of William Shakespeare? What if someone else wrote the dramatic and comedic works and was forced into using a pseudonym to protect his, or their, true identity?

The late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries were turbulent, primarily due to politics and religious persecution. Queen Elizabeth I was born in 1533 to Henry VIII and Ann Boleyn, his second wife. When Elizabeth was only about three, her mother was executed, leaving her to be raised with tutors and handmaids. She learned quickly how important it was to remain secretive and to watch every word and every step. She was imprisoned in the Tower of London, where some speculate that she met a fellow prisoner named Robert Dudley, rumored by some to be her future husband and lover.

Armed with this information, some groups believe that Queen Elizabeth gave birth to two sons, one of whom became known as Sir Francis Bacon, the great philosopher and statesman. If such a child existed, remaining hidden and disguised from the public, provided a top education by the secret generosity of the Queen herself, couldn't he have written plays centered about political and courtly intrigue? Bacon had earned a reputation as a great writer, schooled in law and languages, and had many friends in high positions.

Bacon can easily be considered a likely candidate, but, on the other hand, so could Christopher Marlowe, or any number of other exceptional writers. Or the pseudonym of Shakespeare could have been taken as a collaborative effort of all or several of these writers, just as the Greek poet Homer is thought by some to be a name taken by several authors, Shakespeare could be, too.

In the quest to find the truth, it turns out that an actual man with a similar name, William Shaksper, was indeed living and acting in London. This man, however, was likely an uneducated and illiterate man who would have found it next to impossible to draft such works as Love's Labour's Lost or Hamlet. Whoever wrote the plays and sonnets knew the comings and goings of court life. There's also the matter of possible ciphers and cryptic symbolism in the sonnets and plays. If we go back to Francis Bacon, we can find evidence that he was a Rosicrucian and Freemason, highly secretive societies where only select individuals were invited as candidates. These groups relied on hidden messages disguised by ciphers, to convey information to one another. The plays also reference Masonic and Rosicrucian ideals, further 'evidence' that the true author had knowledge of the societies. While the truth may never be fully known, the speculation has caused many interesting arguments and debates over the years.