Shakespeare and Me: The Man or the Myth?

Sir Francis Bacon

The first suspicions about the true authorship of the works of Shakespeare arise as early as 1709 where Nicholas Rowe begins to question Shakespeare as the true author of his works based on the bard's background, education and upbringing (see previous chapter). The mantle of 'principle protagonist' was later supposedly taken up by the Reverend James Wilmott, who presided over a parish in a small village just outside of Stratford. He noticed the huge rift between Shakespeare's humble life and the works of literary genius he purportedly produced and did not believe a man of Shakespeare's standing in society could produce them. What's more, he picked up on the many legal references and subtle principles within the plays which would imply a more distinguished, well educated upbringing than that of the William Shakespeare with whom we are familiar. (Some people believe that Shakespeare worked as a lawyer's clerk in his youth but there is not direct, clear evidence to support this assumption).

Having made these observations, Reverend Wilmott came to the conclusion that Shakespeare could not have been the author of the folio. Extensive research led him to what is considered to be the most prominent candidate for authorship: Sir Francis Bacon.

Son of Queen Elizabeth I's Lord Keeper and nephew of her First Minister, Bacon had the perfect background to support the knowledge of law, nobility and royalty as presented in the plays along with the distinguished education to support a literary genius! An example where this knowledge comes into its own is in the play 'Love's Labour's Lost' in which the author has placed numeral characters to present the 'Court of Navarre'. The names of the characters within this court (Dumaine, Longaville, Berowne) are all variations of the names of ministers in the court of King Henry IV. Wilmott attained that Bacon had the international knowledge to base characters on foreign, diplomatic officials where Shakespeare did not!

The exact reason why, at the age of eighty, the Reverend James Wilmott burnt all of his research papers on Francis Bacon and William Shakespeare is a bit of mystery. It is presumed by historians that because the tourist industry at Stratford upon Avon was growing at this time, Wilmott did not want to upset his friends and contemporaries who celebrated Shakespeare as the true author of his works. How do we know what he thought and theorised then? Well a part from hearsay very little! Until the early 20th century we had a lecture written by Wilmott, delivered by his friend Cowell but many historians doubted its authenticity. In 2010 these papers were exposed as forgeries due to the quality of the paper which, in the 1700s, would have been used for drawing, not writing a full lecture. Therefore, we know very little about Wilmott's theories or in fact whether they belong to him (a little like the argument we are pursuing in this book).

Nevertheless, the American Delia Bacon later continued submitted much of Wilmott's work and his theory of Shakespeare authorship along with, fellow countryman, Ignatius Donnelly. Donnelley became obsessive over the fact that he believed Bacon had contained a cypher within the plays that would lead the person who cracked it to the evidence of his true authorship. Some years later, Donnelley and a number of his followers was reportedly searching the countryside for sixty six iron boxes which 'held the secret' - we do not know whether he found them but I am somewhat doubtful!!