Plagiarism-Detection Software Confirms Shakespeare Play

mi tips us that software intended to help essay graders detect plagiarism has been used to attribute to Shakespeare — with high probability — a hitherto unattributed play, 'The Reign of Edward III.' It seems that the work was co-authored by Shakespeare and another playwright of the time, Thomas Kyd. "With a program called Pl@giarism, Vickers detected 200 strings of three or more words in 'Edward III' that matched phrases in Shakespeare's other works. Usually, works by two different authors will only have about 20 matching strings."

Comments

Or...

[Tubal-Cain]

It seems that the work was co-authored by Shakespeare and another playwright of the time, Thomas Kyd.

Or Thomas Kyd plagiarized Shakespeare's work.

Re:So what they're saying is that...

[Plunky]

So actually I think Shakespeare's plays were never copyrighted in the first place.

Sir, I must point out inconsistencies in your argument. It seems that we have two choices:

• His works were in fact copyrighted and he lived well from the proceeds.
• His works were not copyrighted and he starved to death at an early age.

But records exist that indicate otherwise in both cases. So, my contention is that the records are clearly falsified and we should err on the side of caution. I myself am owner of a corporation that is willing to step up and maintain the legacy of Shakespeare by collecting the royalties for when he returns(1) to claim them. I myself would take no salary for this, only a small(2) annual dividend(3) in order to ensure that the corporation can continue to protect this valuable intellectual property for the forseeable(4) future.

1. religious freedom cannot deny reincarnation
2. to maintain myself in the minimum style that the guardian of such a legacy deserves
3. no income tax to be paid on dividends naturally
4. lets just call it forever less a day to simplify the accounting