Plagiarism-Detection Software Confirms Shakespeare Play

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday October 20, 2009 @06:05PM from the our-doubts-are-traitors dept.

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."

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Christopher Marlowe write it! by BayaWeaver · 2009-10-20 19:35 · Score: 0, Troll

Shakespeare was the conduit through which Marlowe published his works after he (Marlowe) had to "disappear" through a faked death. Marlowe was a wanted man because of his outspokenness and involvement in the plots and intrigues of the Elizabethan age. The facts about Shakespeare's life that can be determined with absolute certainty make it unlikely that he could be the writer of the great plays, sonnets, and poems that are ascribed to him.