Shakespeare’s ‘Henry VI’ Plays Have a Co-Writer, According to Oxford

Oxford University Press’ complete works of William Shakespeare to credit Christopher Marlowe

william shakespeare

William Shakespeare will have to share authorship on three of his plays in the Oxford University Press’ new compilation of his work.

The new Oxford edition, which will be released in November, will credit “Doctor Faustus” writer Christopher Marlowe as co-author, the publisher said.

According to the Associated Press, the decision was made by the new edition’s four editors and Shakespeare scholars following years of research and analysis into the authorship of Shakespeare’s work.

Florida State University’s Gary Taylor, one of the editors, cited a 2009 study of the vocabulary in “Henry VI” by Hugh Craig and Arthur Kinney, as well as John Nance’s 2015 article analyzing the prose of Part 2 of “Henry VI.”

“Shakespeare, like other geniuses, recognized the value of other people,” Taylor told the Associated Press. “What is Shakespeare famous for? Writing dialogue — interactions between two people. You would expect in his life there would be dialogue with other people.”

A contemporary of Shakespeare, Marlowe was a spy for the English government in addition to being a poet and playwright. His work include the plays “Tamburlaine” and “Dido, Queen of Carthage.”

Comments