British Academy: The UK's National Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences
What's in a name?
Shakespeare mystery unravelled by new plagiarism technology
Leading English literature scholar and Fellow of the British Academy, Sir Brian Vickers, has solved a 400-year-old theatrical mystery with the help of state-of-the-art technology, normally used to identify student plagiarism.
The software, developed at the University of Maastricht, has enabled Sir Brian to uncover the true authorship of a play initially attributed to Shakespeare in the 18th century, but much debated ever since. The findings will be revealed for the first time at an event during the British Academy’s Literature Week (19-22 October).
Ever since Edward Capell reprinted it in 1760, as 'thought to be writ by Shakespeare', the anonymously published play, The Reign of King Edward III (1596) has hovered on the edge of Shakespeare's canon, with the bard being judged as sole author, co-author, or even having had no part in its creation.
By using two modern software systems*, together with traditional linguistic and stylistic analysis, Sir Brian was able to identify repeated phrases (sequences of three or more words) characteristic of the two dramatists who collaborated on the play. One or two such parallels might be dismissed as coincidence, imitation or plagiarism, but since Edward III contains over 200 identical collocations found elsewhere in other works by the two co-authors, the attribution is strong.
In the close world of the Elizabethan theatre, demand for new material was so great that the companies often commissioned a play from two or more dramatists, who sold them their text and the copyright. When companies allowed a play book to be printed, either to raise cash or advertise a forthcoming revival, they felt no obligation to name the authors. As a result, many plays remain unassigned.
Sir Brian Vickers, Fellow of the British Academy, said:
'In earlier authorship attribution studies, the use of verbal parallels was often criticised as subjective, far-fetched, and not tested against the work of other writers. Now, thanks to modern software programs, one can easily create a database of all the 64 plays performed in the public theatres before 1596, and then apply search methods which rapidly and automatically identify unique recurring patterns.
'This method is fully replicable, so fulfilling a key criterion for scientific research. With its help we will surely solve other long-standing authorship problems.'
Sir Brian will be in conversation with Laurie Maguire at the event 'The Authors of King Edward III' on Monday 19 October at 5.00pm at The British Academy. The event is free and part of the British Academy’s Literature Week (19-22 October 2009).
* Software programmes: Pl@giarism (see www.personeel.unimaas.nl/georges.span/Plagiarism) and data mining program, InfoRapid Search & Replace (see www.inforapid.de)
NOTES TO EDITORS
Published:
10 October 2009
- For further information, please contact: Kate Turnbull, Press and PR Manager, 0207 969 5263/k.turnbull@britac.ac.uk
- British Academy Literature Week runs from 19-22 October 2009. Each day features a pair of linked events, starting at 5.00pm with an hour-long discussion or series of readings, followed by a short tea break, then a lecture or panel discussion at 6.30pm. Each evening ends with a reception at around 7.45pm.
- All the events are free and take place either at the British Academy (10 Carlton House Terrace) or at the Royal Society (6-9 Carlton House Terrace). Doors open at 4.30pm. The event is being run in association with the Institute of English Studies.
- To register attendance to any of the events in Literature Week, please visit www.britac.ac.uk/literatureweek and fill out the online registration form. All events are free and pre-registration is the best way to secure a place.
- Sir Brian Vickers, FBA is a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the School of Advanced Study, London University. He has published extensively on Greek tragedy, classical rhetoric and its influence, Shakespeare, Francis Bacon, and early modern science and is the General Editor of The Complete Works of John Ford. His recent authorship studies include: ‘Counterfeiting’ Shakespeare. Evidence, Authorship, and John Ford’s Funerall Elegye (2002); Shakespeare, Co-Author. A Historical Study of Five Collaborative Plays (2002); and Shakespeare, A Lover’s Complaint, and John Davies of Hereford (2007).
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