But Soft... Real Soft Summary

The essay begins by questioning the authenticity of Shakespeare's works, citing that many modern critics attribute his writing to other authors. The book of one such critic, the essay reveals, makes a strong argument that Shakespeare and Marlowe were the same person. The essay then descends into speculative chaos, positing that perhaps Anne Hathaway married Marlowe, not Shakespeare, and that she took up Marlowe's pen after his untimely death. From there, the essay marches through a series of wild theories and speculations regarding the identities and contributions of Sir Francis Bacon and Alexander Pope (who is actually Pope Alexander). It does its best to confuse the identities of Samuel Pepys, Samuel Johnson, Raleigh, and John Milton. The whole mess, the essay asserts, is caricatured in the tea party of Lewis Caroll's Alice in Wonderland.

But Soft... Real Soft Analysis