The Shakespeare Authorship Controversy
In October, 2011, a movie about Shakespeare was released amidst great controversy. This film, Anonymous, dramatizes the long-standing theory that Shakespeare's work was not in fact written by a man named William Shakespeare (or a variety of alternate spellings), but by someone else. Your paper will investigate this controversy by answering this question: What evidence is there that the man named William Shakespeare did not write the plays and poems attributed to him?
Research: All of your sources must come from the PGCC library databases. I recommend Proquest and the Literature Resource Center, but any databases our library subscribes to will be fine. Part of doing effective research is finding the right search terms; here are some suggested terms: "Shakespeare authorship"; "Shakespeare authorship debate"; "Shakespeare authorship controversy." I also recommend that you watch the film Anonymous for an entertaining look at the issues surrounding this controversy (and if you watch the film, be sure to cite it in your paper). You may not use any sources that do not come from the PGCC library databases; if you do not know how to access the databases, ask questions in the "Questions" forum.
Thesis: Your thesis in this paper does not need to make a specific argument for or against authorship; instead, you will make a statement that some evidence exists that William Shakespeare (sometimes called "The Man from Stratford" to distinguish him from the author of the poems and plays) was not the author of the works attributed to him. Your paper will examine this evidence. Note that it will examine only the evidence against his authorship and not for; evidence for Shakespeare's authorship can be discussed in your introduction or, if you wish, in one paragraph after the introduction. The majority of your paper will examine only the evidence against the idea that "William Shakespeare," the "Man from Stratford," wrote the poems and plays attributed to him.
Introduction: Your introduction will give historical background on Shakespeare (all of which must be cited) and will create a context for the discussion. The last sentence of the introduction should, as always, be your thesis statement.
Body: The body of your paper will examine the evidence that the man known as William Shakespeare did not write those poems and plays. One way to structure your argument would be to examine a different piece of evidence, reason, or theory in each paragraph.
Conclusion: In your conclusion, you will return to your thesis and finally weigh in on the controversy: are you persuaded by the evidence, or do you think it's not convincing enough? What is your final word on the Shakespeare authorship controversy? This final section of the paper will argue your position. Be sure to offer concrete evidence for your opinion.
Length: The paper must be at least five pages long (double-spaced in Times Roman 12).
All sources must be cited correctly in the text using MLA documentation and must include a Works Cited page. The information in the Works Cited page will include the names and access dates of the PGCC databases you used. Failure to cite sources correctly either in the text or in the Works Cited page may result in a zero on the assignment
Required minimum-5page