Shakespeare

[zorkan]

Greatest writer in the English language.
Strange how we don't know much that is certain about him.

He was either born in a house described as the birthplace in Henley Street, Stratford, or he was not.
His father was John and his mother was Mary and he was born and died on St Georges Day, or he was not.
Father was successful businessman but was fined for leaving a dung heap outside the house.

He was educated at the local free school, or he might have been illiterate.
He was either an atheist, Anglican or even a Catholic.
He married Anne Hathaway because she was pregnant, but he might have married Anne Whateley.
The wedding took place at either Temple Grafton, Billesley, or Luddington.

He is the author of 36 plays, or could it be 37, 38 or 39.
He wrote 154 sonnets which confuse his sexuality.
He was in perfect health just before he died and was buried inside Stratford parish church, but his head is missing.
In his will why did he leave Hathaway only his 2nd best bed?

But was the real author someone else?

[Tank]

Honestly I don't get the hype and never have.

[zorkan]

Can you identify any author that better explains the human condition?
He is difficult to understand because of the different levels of interpretation in his works.
Whoever he was he must have been a genius.
Was someone writing under the pen name of Shakespeare?

A guy called Looney identified him as the Earl of Oxford.
https://archive.org/details/shakespeareident00looniala/page/n7/mode/2up

Other contenders include the Earl of Derby, Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe.
I think the true author was Fulke Greville, Lord Willoughby de Broke from nearby Alcester.
He was one of Queen Elizabeth's spies and had every reason to ramain anonymous.

[Tank]

Terry Pratchett?