In a new book about William Shakespeare, Dr. W. Nicholas Knight, chair of English at the University of Missouri-Rolla, pieces together evidence from the bard's legal documents and from his family life to strengthen the case that Shakespeare was indeed the author of his plays.
In the book, "Autobiography in Shakespeare's Plays," just released by Peter Lang Publishing, Knight identifies autobiographical elements in passages from several of Shakespeare's works. He also cites numerous examples of how Shakespeare's experiences with legal matters -- including his loss of an inheritance -- influenced the plots and texts of many Shakespearean plays.
Based on an investigation of Shakespeare's legal documents from Stratford and London courts, and building on prior research on Shakespeare's life, Knight, who is chair and professor of English at UMR, connects several legal events from Shakespeare's life with the contents of his plays. He points out how Shakespeare's loss of an inheritance near the beginning of his writing career influenced a variety of plays, from early works (such as "Taming of the Shrew") to later ones (such as "King Lear").
In addition, Knight uses information about Shakespeare's family to draw parallels between the bard's life and his writings. Knight points out references to Shakespeare's mother in "As You Like It" and "Coriolanus," his twins in "Comedy of Errors" and "Twelfth Night," and the loss of his son in "Merchant of Venice" and "Macbeth." Shakespeare's daughters -- the recipients of his accumulated wealth -- figure prominently in both "King Lear" and "The Tempest," Knight says.
Shakespeare's knowledge of the law served as a firsthand source for the legal content of his plays, Knight adds.
"He used his own family life, personal documents and legal problems to give impetus to his version of borrowed characters, plots, plays and history," Knight says. "These personal events, from the placement of the references, give his plays ... an autobiographical initial compulsion."
Knight has written extensively on the life of Shakespeare. He is the author of "Shakespeare's Hidden Life: Shakespeare at the Law" (Mason and Lipscomb, 1973) as well as numerous articles on Shakespeare. He also is credited with authenticating three of the nine known Shakespeare signatures in existence. His most recent discovery occurred in 1996, when he authenticated two signatures on the inside covers of two separate copies of a 1603 English translation of Montaigne, the French essayist. One copy was at the British Museum in London and the other was in the Folger Library in Washington, D.C. His earlier authentication occurred in 1971, when he offered evidence of a signature discovered 30 years earlier in an old English law book in the Folger Library.
"Autobiography in Shakespeare's Plays" is the sixth volume in Peter Lang Publishing's "Studies in Shakespeare" series. The series is edited by Dr. Robert F. Willson Jr., a professor of English at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
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