Marlowe: Budding controversial writer who died a mysterious death

On 23 April, the world celebrates one of the greatest playwrights whose works still resonate with readers across boundaries, William Shakespeare.

- AAKRITI AGARWALA

Referred to as the Bard, Shakespeare gave the world around 39 plays and 154 sonnets. Despite it being ages since his works commanded the stage, readers continue to quote, analyse, and flip through his works. While Shakespeare is a well-known writer, his contemporary, Christopher Marlowe does not find space in common knowledge. However, despite the two being almost like rivals, a theory exists that the two might be the same person.

Over the years, several critics have believed that Shakespeare was not one person, but a group of writers collaborating under a common nom de plume. Some also suggest that the name attributed to some of the greatest plays ever penned belonged to an actor and not the plays' writer. They suggest that the actor allowed patron Thomas Walsingham to use the name for authorship. Another theory that has attracted much scholarship and controversy is the Marlovian Shakespeare theory.

The Marlovian Shakespeare theory: Challenging authorship