Calvin Hoffman

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Calvin Hoffman (died 1987) was an American theater press agent and writer who popularized the notion that playwright Christopher Marlowe was the actual author of the works attributed to William Shakespeare. His theory was detailed in his 1955 book, "The Murder of The Man Who Was Shakespeare", which is long out of print. The idea that someone other than the William Shakespeare of Stratford-on-Avon wrote the plays attributed to him did not originate with Hoffman (see Shakespearean authorship question) and Hoffman was not the first to suggest Marlowe. A recent film by Michael Rubbo, Much Ado About Something (released 2001) provides a relatively detailed outline of Hoffman's theory. Like other alternate Shakespearean authorship theories, Hoffman's claims have been largely dismissed by mainstream Shakespearean scholars.

Hoffman's basic Marlowe-as-Shakespeare theory can be outlined as follows:

1. Various details of the life of William Shakespeare of Stratford-on-Avon make it extremely unlikely that he was the author of the works attributed to him.
2. Shakespeare seems to suddenly appear on the scene with no prior works at approximately age 30 almost immediately after Christopher "Kit" Marlowe supposedly died.
3. Marlowe did not die at Deptford on 30 May 1593, but faked his death because the Privy council was planning to hand him over to Archbishop John Whitgift and his Star Chamber. The details of this alleged plot are outlined in the "Marlowe's death" section of the Christopher Marlowe article.
4. Marlowe escaped to France and Italy where he lived on for many years. He continued to write, sending plays and sonnets back to England where they were presented to the public by one William Shakespeare, who was merely a front man.

Hoffman listed hundreds of alleged similarities between the works of Marlowe and Shakespeare. Calling them "parallelisms", he claimed they were clear evidence that Marlowe and Shakespeare were one and the same.

Hoffman and his wife bequeathed funds for an annual prize, administered by King's School, Canterbury, for an essay on the subject of Marlowe and the Shakespearean authorship question.

Diagram illustrating the time spans of the best-known authorship candidates. Note that Marlovians do not believe that Marlowe died in 1593. Note also that the last Shakespeare publication was in fact The Two Noble Kinsmen in 1637.

[edit] External links

• The Marlowe Society
• John Baker's Marlowe/Shakespeare site

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