QuoteNew York Times
Books
New Oxford Shakespeare Edition Credits Christopher Marlowe as a Co-author
By CHRISTOPHER D. SHEA
OCT. 24, 2016
LONDON — Shakespeare may have had a little more help than previously suspected.
The New Oxford Shakespeare edition of the playwright's works — which will be published by Oxford University Press online ahead of a worldwide print release — lists Christopher Marlowe as Shakespeare's co-author on the three "Henry VI" plays, parts 1, 2 and 3.
It's the first time that a major edition of Shakespeare's works has listed Shakespeare's colleague and rival as a co-author on these works, the volume's general editor, Gary Taylor, said in a phone interview.
"No one has had the confidence to put the name actually on the title page," Mr. Taylor said. "Which is perfectly reasonable because the only reason that we can do it now is because Shakespeare has entered the world of big data."
The "Henry VI" plays have long been believed to be the work of more than one author. Names floated by scholars in addition to Marlowe's include Robert Greene and George Peele.
Speculation on whether Marlowe collaborated on the plays stretches back to the 18th century. About two dozen scholars contributed research for the new volume. They used the latest tools in text analysis to investigate the works.
For the New Oxford Shakespeare scholars ran tests to determine whether authors like Marlowe could be reliably identified by the ways they used language — like frequent use of certain articles, and certain words commonly occurring in a row, or being close to each other in the text. Once this was determined, researchers applied these patterns back to texts, to see if they suggested an author other than Shakespeare. If results came out positive, further tests were run.
Mr. Taylor said that the exact nature of the playwrights' collaboration cannot be certain, but that they did not necessarily work together in person. Scriptwriting at Shakespeare's time was often structured similarly to how movie writing happens now: One author would earn an advance for writing a plot outline, and theaters would hire other authors to write other scenes, according to their strengths.
It's possible that this is how the "Henry" plays were written, Mr. Taylor said, noting that some playwrights also collaborated by hashing through ideas in pubs.
Marlowe appears to have written most of "Henry VI, Part 1," while Shakespeare wrote the largest share of Part 3. Lead authorship on Part 2 is harder to identify.
Oxford University Press is known for bold interpretations of Shakespeare and authorship. In 2005 it attributed two plays with disputed authorship — "The Reign of Edward III" and "Sir Thomas More" — to Shakespeare. The New Oxford Shakespeare edition attributes "Arden of Faversham," which also has a disputed source, to the playwright and a co-author.
"We don't expect that this will be the end of the conversation," Mr. Taylor said of the findings being published in the new edition. "If we ever stop arguing about Shakespeare, then Shakespeare will be dead."
grumbler compliant link--
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/25/books/shakespeare-christopher-marlowe-henry-vi.html?_r=1
Quote from: CountDeMoney on October 25, 2016, 06:39:46 PM
QuoteNew York Times
Books
New Oxford Shakespeare Edition Credits Christopher Marlowe as a Co-author
By CHRISTOPHER D. SHEA
OCT. 24, 2016
LONDON — Shakespeare may have had a little more help than previously suspected.
The New Oxford Shakespeare edition of the playwright's works — which will be published by Oxford University Press online ahead of a worldwide print release — lists Christopher Marlowe as Shakespeare's co-author on the three "Henry VI" plays, parts 1, 2 and 3.
It's the first time that a major edition of Shakespeare's works has listed Shakespeare's colleague and rival as a co-author on these works, the volume's general editor, Gary Taylor, said in a phone interview.
"No one has had the confidence to put the name actually on the title page," Mr. Taylor said. "Which is perfectly reasonable because the only reason that we can do it now is because Shakespeare has entered the world of big data."
The "Henry VI" plays have long been believed to be the work of more than one author. Names floated by scholars in addition to Marlowe's include Robert Greene and George Peele.
Speculation on whether Marlowe collaborated on the plays stretches back to the 18th century. About two dozen scholars contributed research for the new volume. They used the latest tools in text analysis to investigate the works.
For the New Oxford Shakespeare scholars ran tests to determine whether authors like Marlowe could be reliably identified by the ways they used language — like frequent use of certain articles, and certain words commonly occurring in a row, or being close to each other in the text. Once this was determined, researchers applied these patterns back to texts, to see if they suggested an author other than Shakespeare. If results came out positive, further tests were run.
Mr. Taylor said that the exact nature of the playwrights' collaboration cannot be certain, but that they did not necessarily work together in person. Scriptwriting at Shakespeare's time was often structured similarly to how movie writing happens now: One author would earn an advance for writing a plot outline, and theaters would hire other authors to write other scenes, according to their strengths.
It's possible that this is how the "Henry" plays were written, Mr. Taylor said, noting that some playwrights also collaborated by hashing through ideas in pubs.
Marlowe appears to have written most of "Henry VI, Part 1," while Shakespeare wrote the largest share of Part 3. Lead authorship on Part 2 is harder to identify.
Oxford University Press is known for bold interpretations of Shakespeare and authorship. In 2005 it attributed two plays with disputed authorship — "The Reign of Edward III" and "Sir Thomas More" — to Shakespeare. The New Oxford Shakespeare edition attributes "Arden of Faversham," which also has a disputed source, to the playwright and a co-author.
"We don't expect that this will be the end of the conversation," Mr. Taylor said of the findings being published in the new edition. "If we ever stop arguing about Shakespeare, then Shakespeare will be dead."
grumbler compliant link--
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/25/books/shakespeare-christopher-marlowe-henry-vi.html?_r=1
Toffs claim ordinary men incapable of original work and artistry. :bowler:
Quote from: CountDeMoney on October 25, 2016, 06:39:46 PM
QuoteNew York Times
Books
"We don't expect that this will be the end of the conversation," Mr. Taylor said of the findings being published in the new edition. "If we ever stop arguing about Shakespeare, then Shakespeare will be dead."
grumbler compliant link--
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/25/books/shakespeare-christopher-marlowe-henry-vi.html?_r=1
:unsure: I always thought he was already dead... If not, whose funeral
was that that I attended?