For years there has been doubt about whether Shakespeare’s work is his alone, and in those discussions Christopher Marlowe has come up many times. In 1986 Oxford University Press made a suggestion that Marlowe should be credited on eight of Shakespeare’s plays but there was such uproar, the plan was dropped. Now the OUP is revisiting that idea, as after an analysis of Marlowe’s work, he will be credited as co-author on Henry VI.
It’s been long disputed whether Shakespeare wrote alone and the decision to credit Marlowe follows extensive research. A team of twenty-three academics from five countries have analysed the text, using the latest computer technology and have found empirical evidence that Marlowe contributes to Henry VI. In addition to this, the findings also indicate that another seventeen of Shakepeare’s forty-four plays were collaborated on by others.
The orthodox view was always that Shakespeare didn’t collaborate at all, but in recent times it’s become more clear that Shakespeare wasn’t just influenced, but actually collaborated with other others of the time. This may not be happy news to fans of the Bard, but there can be no denying now that Shakespeare was not responsible for all the work credited to him and while it’s unlikely to influence his position as the greatest playwright ever, it does show his work process in a different light.
The New Oxford Shakespeare will be published by Oxford University Press on 27th October with Marlowe cited as co-author on Henry VI, parts one, two and three.
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