Quote family: The works Shakespeare were not written by Shakspeare but by another man of the same name

[Jonathan Lighter]

Just last night we watched a TV documentary (on "American Heroes Channel")
arguing that Christopher Columbus was actually a different man with the
same name.

JL


On Tue, Aug 19, 2014 at 8:43 AM, ADSGarson O'Toole <
adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Quote family: The works Shakespeare were not written by
>               Shakspeare but by another man of the same name
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> An entry on this topic is now available on the QI website. The
> acknowledgement mentions Stephen Goranson, JL, and other discussion
> participants.
>
> The Plays of Shakespeare Were Not Written by Shakespeare but by
> Another Man of the Same Name
> http://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/08/19/same-name/
>
> Feedback welcome. Thanks,
> Garson
>
>
> On Sun, Aug 17, 2014 at 11:26 AM, Stephen Goranson <goranson at duke.edu>
> wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Stephen Goranson <goranson at DUKE.EDU>
> > Subject:      Re: Quote family: The works Shakespeare were not written by
> >               Shakspeare but by another man of the same name
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Interesting! Here's an apparent use in 1860:=0A=
> > "This [argument about a planet discovery] rivals the new discovery about
> Sh=
> > akespeare--that the well know plays and poems were not by William
> Shakespea=
> > re, but by another person of the same name!"=0A=
> > The Spectator, January 14, 1860 p. 38 col. 1 GoogleB=0A=
> >
> http://books.google.com/books?id=3DQi8_AQAAIAAJ&pg=3DPA38&dq=3D%22but+by+an=
> >
> other+*+of+the+same+name%22&hl=3Den&sa=3DX&ei=3DscfwU-CGLciI8gH3xoGYDA&ved=
> >
> =3D0CCIQuwUwATgK#v=3Donepage&q=3D%22but%20by%20another%20*%20of%20the%20sam=
> > e%20name%22&f=3Dfalse=0A=
> > =0A=
> > Stephen Goranson=0A=
> > http://people.duke.edu/~goranson/=0A=
> > =0A=
> > ________________=0A=
> > =0A=
> > =0A=
> > Garson:=0A=
> > =0A=
> > Jonathan Lighter wrote:=0A=
> >> "Shakespeare" means many things besides "wanker." That's why=0A=
> >> his works are acclaimed. (Or, as seems likely, works written by=0A=
> >> someone else of the same name.)=0A=
> > =0A=
> > JL alludes to an old joke that has been applied to Homer and=0A=
> > Shakespeare. Here are two exemplars:=0A=
> > =0A=
> > 1) The Homeric Poems were not written by Homer, but by another person=0A=
> > of the same name.=0A=
> > =0A=
> > 2) The plays of Shakespeare were not written by Shakspeare but by=0A=
> > another man of the same name.=0A=
> > =0A=
> > I was asked to explore the history of this family of quips which has=0A=
> > been connected to Mark Twain, G. K. Chesterton, Lewis Carroll, Israel=0A=
> > Zangwill, Jerome K. Jerome, Aldous Huxley and others.=0A=
> > =0A=
> > Here are the earliest citations I've found at this point.=0A=
> > =0A=
>
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