Researchers name Shakespeare as main author of Edward III play — The Guardian
Researchers have concluded that William Shakespeare was the main author of the historical play “Edward III,” which was also worked on by his contemporary Christopher Marlowe. A computer-based linguistic analysis of the text points to a collaboration between the two playwrights, The Guardian reports.
Analysis of the play’s authorship
“Edward III” was published anonymously in 1596. Researchers had previously suggested that Shakespeare wrote at least several scenes. Rory Loughnane, a co-author of the new study, said that the computer analysis gives grounds to consider Shakespeare the main author beyond reasonable doubt.
Loughnane, an early modern researcher at the University of Kent and general editor of the Oxford Marlowe editorial project, worked with Brett Greatley-Hirsch, professor of Renaissance literature and textual studies at the University of Leeds. They compared the linguistic features of “Edward III” with reliably established works by 10 playwrights active from the late 1580s to the mid-1590s.
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Distribution of segments
In one test, 23 segments of the play, meaning most of it, were classified as written by Shakespeare. Another nine segments were attributed to Marlowe, the author of “Doctor Faustus.” The researchers did not assign individual lines to a specific author, but analyzed a combination of linguistic features and the frequency of marker words.
Among such markers was the word martial, which often appears in Marlowe’s plays and is uncharacteristic of the works of other playwrights. The analysis also links to Shakespeare a speech at the beginning of Scene 13, where the French camp is frightened by a sudden darkening of the sky, and to Marlowe a speech from the final scene.
“Edward III” was not included in Shakespeare’s First Folio of 1623. Loughnane edited the text for the 2016 edition of New Oxford Shakespeare: Complete Works, at that time recognizing Shakespeare’s probable authorship only for several scenes. The new study is planned for publication in Shakespeare Quarterly later this year.
