SOURCE: "Ten Arguments against Him," in The Alternative Shakespeare: A Modern Introduction, The Book Guild Ltd, 1996, pp. 48-64.

In the following essay, Challinor surveys ten arguments against the man from Stratford being the Shakespeare who wrote the plays and poems.

. . . Since this book does not aim to supplant the efforts of others in attacking the Shakespeare of orthodoxy, the anti-Stratfordian arguments may .. . be dealt with reasonably briefly. Below they are condensed into ten key points. These are essentially a personal choice. They are meant to be illustrative areas for starting investigation for oneself rather than a comprehensive statement. Thus each is presented only in very concise form, to give its flavour.

1 It Is Clear That the Shakespear, Shaxpere, Shakespeare, Shaxberd (or Whatever of the Several Other Variant Spellings You Wish) of Stratford and His Immediate Family Lacked Both Learning and Opportunities to Learn

We know that William may...