The most dramatic fact may be that William Shakespeare didn't write William Shakespeare's plays! Today there are very serious teachers who believe that the man called Shakespeare could not have written plays, sonnets or even a single letter.

1. William Shakespeare's father could not read or write, nor could Shakespeare's children. His daughter, Judith, could only manage to write an X on her marriage certificate.

2. The few signature's of Shakespeare's that remain show a very poor scrawl.

3. William Shakespeare was known in Stratford as a businessman, not a writer.

4.There are no manuscripts of Shakespeare's plays in the man's own handwriting--there are lots from other writers of the time.

5. He left no manuscripts in his will and no copies of his plays are mentioned as being in his house.

6. A monument put in Stratford church 15 years after he died show his hands resting on a sack (a sign of a tradesman) not a pen.

7. There is no evidence, apart from the name, to link the Stratford actor/businessman with the playwright.

SirBacon.org - Sir Francis Bacon's New Advancement of Learning