‘Marlowe cowrote three Shakespeare plays’
LONDON: A collection of plays by William Shakespeare to be issued later this month will have an unusual credit line after years of research: Christopher Marlowe, a contemporary of the Bard, will be mentioned as co-writer of three of his Henry VI plays.
A group of Shakespeare scholars have come to the conclusion that the famed playwright collaborated with others, and they believe Marlowe’s contribution to the three plays was more than just rumour.
The New Oxford Shakespeare is to be published by Oxford University Press later this month with the new credit line for Parts One, Two and Three of Henry VI. As many as 17 Shakespeare plays contain writings by others, the scholars told The Guardian.
Marlowe’s hand in parts of the Henry VI plays has been suspected since the 18th century, but this marks the first prominent billing in an edition of Shakespeare’s collected works, according to research conducted by 23 academics from five countries.
The research was headed by four professors – Gary Taylor (Florida State University, US) John Jowett (Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham), Terri Bourus (Indiana University, Indianapolis, US) and Gabriel Egan (De Montfort University, Leicester).
Taylor told the newspaper: “The orthodox view was that Shakespeare didn’t collaborate at all. When the Oxford Shakespeare in 1986 proposed that eight plays of Shakespeare contained writing by other writers, some people were outraged.
“What has happened since 1986 is that the accumulation of new scholarship, techniques and resources has made it clear that, in 1986, we underestimated the amount of Shakespeare’s work that’s collaborative.”