In a surprising turn of events, Oxford University Press announced that its new edition of the complete works of William Shakespeare will credit Christopher Marlowe as a co-author on the three Henry VI plays. This interesting news came to us from NPR in their story, “Christopher Marlowe Officially Credited As Co-Author Of 3 Shakespeare Plays.”
This is the first time a major publishing house has formally named Marlowe as a co-author despite much chatter and speculation. For many years, mainstream academics had mostly derided efforts of independent scholars who challenged the authorship of plays attributed to Shakespeare.
Old and new research worked together to make the co-authorship determination. The analysis process involves analyzing every word of entire plays, looking for patterns and clues.
Considering Marlowe is a 16th century British poet and playwright, it reminds us that copyright issues and the need for authentication never expire.
Melody K. Smith
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