Shakespeare Didn't Work Alone, Says Computer

Thomas Middleton's literary fingerprint found on 'All's Well '

(NEWSER) - All's well that ... blends well? William Shakespeare worked with a co-author on All's Well That Ends Well, according to researchers who have analyzed the play line by line. The Oxford University experts say the most likely candidate for co-bard is celebrated playwright Thomas Middleton, judging from his distinctive vocabulary and rhyming style, the BBC reports. The stage directions are more in Middleton's style than Shakespeare's, and there are even places where one author appears to be handing off to the other, researchers say. Middleton is also believed to have collaborated with Shakespeare on Timon of Athens. More»

Double Falsehood is no hoax, experts say

(NEWSER) - A Shakespeare play dismissed as a hoax for nearly 300 years has now been accepted as the real thing. Double Falsehood, now under the name of writer Lewis Theobal, was—as its author always claimed—based on William Shakespeare's long-lost script for Cardenio, scholars say. Shakespeare publisher Arden has now published the play under the Bard's name and made it available in a fully annotated form for the first time in 250 years. More»

(NEWSER) - Dog-owners in the UK city of Bath can audition their pooches tomorrow for a spot in a Shakespeare play, the Telegraph reports. The role in The Taming of the Shrew is historically accurate, the director said: “In Shakespeare’s time … they had a troupe of dogs specially trained to perform and do tricks or a jig as part of Elizabethan entertainment.” And, no, “this is not an April Fool,” a spokesman adds. More»