Did Christopher Marlowe write the works of Shakespeare?Did Christopher Marlowe write the works of Shakespeare?Did Christopher Marlowe write the works of Shakespeare?
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Jonathan Bate
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- (as Prof. Jonathan Bate)
Calvin Hoffman
- Self
- (archive footage)
Stanley Wells
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- (as Prof. Stanley Wells)
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- ConnectionsFeatures Romeo and Juliet (1968)
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Some interesting scenes, but a failure as a documentary
I looked forward to this documentary, since I am convinced that Marlowe was at least the primary author of the "Shakespeare" plays. But this documentary was a failure -- a real mess. It should have been a straightforward point-of-view documentary. Instead it flitted back and forth between dueling arguments, with none of then made coherently. The director had people trying to talk when they were driving, or riding in a noisy car, or shoveling dirt in the garden. This was pointless.
The most articulate person interviewed was Dolly Walker Wraight, author of In Search of Christopher Marlowe and other books arguing that Marlowe wrote the "Shakespeare" plays. Most of the time she was allowed to just sit in a chair and talk.
In this controversy, I am convinced of two things: 1) William Shakespeare, from Stratford on Avon, could not possibly have written the plays attributed to him. 2) Marlowe's death in Deptford was faked; he was smuggled out of England, probably to France and then Italy. I think that there was group authorship of the "Shakespeare" plays, but Marlowe was the central genius.
For someone new to this controversy, I recommend reading Calvin Hoffman's book, The Man Who Was Shakespeare, which can still be found used or in libraries.
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- john-lauritsen
- Sep 7, 2018
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