4. The Name Marlowe is Hidden in As You Like It:
In As You Like It, the word “children” is associated with text that hides the name Marlowe.
The word “child” or some variation of the word (e.g., childish, childishness, children) appears in the play As You Like It eight times.
The word “children” appears twice (as the 6th and 7th appearance of “child” or some variation of the word). The words and lines around the two appearances of the word children conceal the name Marlowe (i.e., the poet Christopher Marlowe) and information alluding to the circumstances of his death. Two excerpts from As You Like It, each showing an appearance of the word “children,” are provided below. Discussion of the etymology of key words is provided after each excerpt, along with conjectures concerning the implications and possible allusions being made from the words.
The first appearance of the word “children” is at the beginning of Act 3, Scene 3, just before the “Tapster” lines around line 1740. In this scene Rosalind complains to Celia of Orlando’s fickleness in love:
Enter Rosalind & Celia.
1710 Ros. Neuer talke to me, I wil weepe.
Cel. Do I prethee, but yet haue the grace to consider,
that teares do not become a man.
Ros. But haue I not cause to weepe?
Cel. As good cause as one would desire,
1715 Therefore weepe.
Ros. His very haire
Is of the dissembling colour.
Cel. Something browner then Iudasses:
Marrie his kisses are Iudasses owne children.
1720 Ros. I'faith his haire is of a good colour.
Cel. An excellent colour:
Your Chessenut was euer the onely colour:
Rosalind states that Orlando’s “very haire / Is of the dissembling colour,” and Celia responds, “Something browner than Judasses...An excellent colour: / Your Chessenut was euer the onely colour.” So, Celia’s response expressly mentions the color of chestnut brown.
The English word “brown” can be translated into French as marron (“[b]orrowed from Italian marrone”), meaning “chestnut brown.”50 According to Wikipedia, “[t]he name chestnut derives from the color of the nut of the chestnut tree. The first recorded use of chestnut as a color term in English was in 1555. [Citing Mish, Frederic C., Editor in Chief Webster's Tenth New Collegiate Dictionary Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.A.:1994--Merriam-Webster Page 197.] The color maroon is also named after the chestnut (via French marron).”51 Clearly, Shakespeare (i.e. Edward de Vere) knew of the color chestnut brown, and he apparently knew of the French term coulour marron (chestnut brown). (Interestingly, 1791 is the first recorded use of English word “maroon” [spelled “marone”], meaning "‘very dark red or crimson color,’...from French couleur marron, the color of a marron ‘chestnut’”; however, Shakespeare (de Vere) seems to have been aware of the French word much earlier.)
If the final two letters, “on,” of marron are considered separately, the French word on means “a man” or “an indefinite someone (one) or somebody.” It is “Inherited from Old French hom, om (nominative form), from Latin homō (“human being”) (compare homme from the Old French oblique form home, from the Latin accusative form hominem).”52 Also, the French phrase au bord de means “on, by, beside” or “(figuratively) on the verge of, on the brink of.”53 (See discussion below of Rosalind being on the verge of tears.)
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50 marron - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/marron
51 Wikipedia contributors. (2005, June 2). Chestnut (color). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chestnut_(color)#cite_ref-3
52 on - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/on
53 au bord de - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/au_bord_de
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The word “verge” is a wordplay on the concept of being within the “Verge” of the court. (“The Verge was a special 12-mile radius jurisdiction surrounding Queen Elizabeth I's court, where royal law superseded local law.” See discussion above and Was Marlowe’s inquest void? (n.d.). https://marloweshakespeare.info/farey/inquest.html.)
There is only one documented signature of Marlowe, and it shows that he spelled his last name “Marley.” However, other documented versions of Marlowe’s last name are: “Marlow,” “Marloe,” “Marlo,” “Marley,” and “Morley” (see e.g., inquest above).54
If the name “Morley” is considered, which is appropriate since Marlowe is referred to as “Christopher Morley” in the coroner’s inquest, then it may be possible to transform [F.] marron (chestnut brown) into the word “moron.” Although the word “moron” had not entered English in Shakespeare's time, the Ancient Greek root of the word was known. In “Ancient Greek μωρόν (mōrón), [is] the neuter form of μωρός (mōrós),” meaning “foolishness; folly; lack of foresight.”55 The meaning “lack of foresight” seems an especially pointed allusion since Marlowe was killed by being stabbed above his right eye.
Another word related to “moron,” and which entered English through Latin and Greek is “oxymoron.” In rhetoric, an oxymoron is a “figure of speech in which two words or phrases with opposing meanings are used together intentionally for effect.”56 Although “oxymoron” was not in use in Shakespeare’s time, the Ancient Greek word ὀξύμωρος (oxúmōros) (“[f]rom ὀξῠ́ς (oxŭ́s, “sharp, keen, pointed”) + μωρός (mōrós, “dull, stupid, foolish”)) was known. Oxúmōros means “pointedly foolish; oxymoronic.” The Ancient Greek word ὀξῠ́ς (oxŭ́s) means “sharp; pointed (especially of swords, axes, etc.),” “(of the senses) sharp,” “(of sight) dazzling; bright,” “quick; hasty; swift,” and “sharp; clever.”57 If an allusion to the Ancient Greek word ὀξύμωρος (oxúmōros) is intended, then ὀξῠ́ς (oxŭ́s) would be a pun on the title “Oxford,” and the concept of oxymoronic would allude to the starkly contrasting intellectual ability of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, and Christopher Marlowe. This allusion to an ox will become stronger when we discuss the reference in the dialogue to Judas Iscariot.
The dialogue between Rosalind and Celia also includes the word “Marrie.” This word includes the letters “marr,” and if the final two letters, “ie” are changed into the letter they sound like (“e”), then the word “marrie” becomes “marre,” which is the obsolete spelling of “mar” (“to spoil; to ruin; to scathe; to damage).
So, the textual references to the color marron (brown) and the word “marrie” (which can be transformed into “marre,” suggest that the word “mar” is being alluded to, and perhaps the concept of “marring (or killing) someone.”
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54 The spelling of Marlowe’s name. (n.d.). https://marloweshakespeare.info/farey/names.html
55 μωρόν - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CE%BC%CF%89%CF%81%CF%8C%CE%BD#Ancient_Greek
56 oxymoron - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/oxymoron
57 ὀξύς - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E1%BD%80%CE%BE%CF%8D%CF%82#Ancient_Greek
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Significantly, in Act 4, Scene 3, Orlando’s brother, Oliver, uses the words “brown” and “low” to describe Celia. This is the second and last time the word “brown” is mentioned in the play.
Oli. If that an eye may profit by a tongue,
Then should I know you by description,
2235 Such garments, and such yeeres: the boy is faire,
Of femall fauour, and bestowes himselfe
Like a ripe sister: the woman low
And browner then her brother: are not you
The owner of the house I did enquire for?
2240 Cel. It is no boast, being ask'd, to say we are.
If “brown” is read as [F.] marron and then combined it the word “low,” the result is “on (i.e., (French indefinite pronoun “one”) marr-low" or “one marre-low" or “one Marlowe” (as in “one [Christopher] Marlowe”). It’s also significant that Celia says that it is “no boast” to admit who she is. The implication is that representing Marlowe, in a hidden way, was not something to be proud of.
The dialogue includes mentions of shedding tears and weeping. Actually, Rosalind is only on the verge of tears. The French phrase verser les armes means to shed tears or to weep. “Il était au bord des larmes” means “He was on the verge of tears.” As discussed above, the word “verge” is a wordplay on the concept of being within the Verge of the Court. (“The Verge was a special 12-mile radius jurisdiction surrounding Queen Elizabeth I's Court, where royal law superseded local law.” See discussion above and Was Marlowe’s inquest void? (n.d.). https://marloweshakespeare.info/farey/inquest.html.) Furthermore, if verser or “verge” is intended wordplay, it would be a pun on the name Vere, or the word “verse.” (The figurative concept “tears of blood ‘heartfelt tears of compassion’ is by c. 1300. "Tears of blood" would be an allusion to the effect of a fatal stab wound to the eye.)58 Also, a heteronym of “tear” (pronounced tîr) ("to weep") is “tear” (pronounced târ), which means “rend, pull apart by force,” which would allude to the manner of Marlowe’s death.59
The next appearance of the word “children” is in Act 3, Scene 5, at line 1826 (of the Internet Shakespeare Editions line count). This is the scene in which Rosalind, disguised as a young man, Ganymede, chides Phebe, the proud shepherdess:
Ros. And why I pray you? who might be your mother
That you insult, exult, and all at once
1810 Ouer the wretched? what though you hau no beauty
As by my faith, I see no more in you
Then without Candle may goe darke to bed:
Must you be therefore prowd and pittilesse?
Why what meanes this? why do you looke on me?
1815 I see no more in you then in the ordinary
Of Natures sale-worke? 'ods my little life,
I thinke she meanes to tangle my eies too:
No faith proud Mistresse, hope not after it,
'Tis not your inkie browes, your blacke silke haire,
1820 Your bugle eye-balls, nor your cheeke of creame
That can entame my spirits to your worship:
You foolish Shepheard, wherefore do you follow her
Like foggy South, puffing with winde and raine,
You are a thousand times a properer man
1825 Then she a woman. 'Tis such fooles as you
That makes the world full of ill-fauourd children:
'Tis not her glasse, but you that flatters her,
And out of you she sees her selfe more proper
Then any of her lineaments can show her:
1830 But Mistris, know your selfe, downe on your knees
And thanke heauen, fasting, for a good mans loue;
For I must tell you friendly in your eare,
Sell when you can, you are not for all markets:
Cry the man mercy, loue him, take his offer,
1835 Foule is most foule, being foule to be a scoffer.
So take her to thee Shepheard, fare you well.
“Ill-favored” means “[u]nattractive or offensive to the eye; ugly.”60 “Ill-favored” can be translated into French as laid, which means “physically ugly; morally corrupt.”61 The English word “laid” is “simple past and past participle of lie (‘to be oriented in a horizontal position, situated’).” Id. This alludes to the reported facts of Marlowe’s death—he was lying in bed just before a fight broke out over the bill. “Lie” also alludes to falsehood and implies that the reported facts of the killing are false.
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58 Search “tear” on etymonline. (n.d.). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=tear
59 Search “tear” on etymonline. (n.d.-b). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=tear
60 ill-favored - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.-b). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ill-favored
61 laid - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/laid
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5. A Clue Leading to a Diversion into Doctor Faustus:
The Latin word for “ill-favored” is infaustus, and is pronounced like “in Faustus.”62
Coincidentally (probably not), one of Christopher Marlowe’s most well-known plays is The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus. Doctor Faustus was published in quarto in 1604 and 1616. Each version is slightly different. See for reference--
The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe. (2023, November 18). Project Gutenberg. https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/779
The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe. (2013, January 18). Project Gutenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/811
The character of Faustus may be modeled after John Dee:
JOHN DEE, the 16th-century mathematician and occultist at the centre of Queen Elizabeth I’s court, has inspired some of the world’s greatest minds. Shakespeare evoked him as the enigmatic conjuror Prospero in The Tempest, while Christopher Marlowe created the power-hungry Doctor Faustus, who sold his soul to the devil for greater knowledge.63
Returning to the analysis of the phrase “ill-favored children” (i.e. “ugly children”), there are places in Doctor Faustus where the word “ugly” is mentioned and where Doctor Faustus’ childhood is described.64
The prologue of Doctor Faustus describes Faustus’ childhood as follows:
To patient judgments we appeal our plaud,
And speak for Faustus in his infancy.
Now is he born, his parents base of stock,
In Germany, within a town call’d Rhodes...65
The word “base” ([F.] bas) can mean “(archaic) of low social standing or rank; vulgar, common; morally reprehensible, immoral; cowardly.” See English definition of base (n.) at etymology 2, at 4 and 5.66 If the idea of being “low” is combined with the line in As You Like It about Judas’ kisses and children, Orland’s chestnut brown ([F.] marron) hair color, and Celia being described as “brown” and “low,” then it’s an easy step to find another allusion to the name Marlowe. Also, the concept of being of low morals ([L.] mores), or “mor-all-ly low,” is a pun on “all” (meaning “every” -- a pun on the name E. Vere), and “mor-ly” (i.e., Christopher Morley – a pun on the way Marlowe’s last name is spelled in the coroner’s inquest. Thus, the wordplay again links Edward de Vere with Christopher Marlowe.
“Base” can also have the obsolete meaning “an apron.” See English definition of base (n.) at etymology 1. at 29.67 Freemasons are known to wear aprons as part of their regalia. Keep this in mind, as we will come back to it.
The word “ugly” (i.e. ill-favored) is also mentioned in Doctor Faustus. When Doctor Faustus summons Mephistopheles from hell, Faustus states:
I charge thee to return, and change thy shape;
Thou art too ugly to attend on me:
Go, and return an old Franciscan friar;
That holy shape becomes a devil best.68
An analysis of these lines reveals interesting results. We are going to primarily use Latin for this analysis because Latin was the scholarly language of someone like Doctor Faustus.
The word “ugly” meant "very unpleasant to look at, unsightly, repulsive in appearance" by late the late 14th century.69 Obviously, Faustus is “seeing” the unpleasantness of Mephistopheles’ physical appearance. Furthermore, the extended sense of “ugly” as "morally offensive" ([L.] mores; [E.] morals), so there is an allusion to the concept of “see mores,” which is wordplay on the name Seymour and the morally offensive Thomas Seymour.
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62 infaustus - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/infaustus
63Mythologizing John Dee. (2011, July 4). The Renaissance Mathematicus. (quoting the New Scientist). https://thonyc.wordpress.com/2011/07/04/mythologizing-john-dee/
64 Wikipedia contributors. (2026h, March 17). Doctor Faustus (play). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Faustus_(play)
65The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe. (2023, November 18). Project Gutenberg. https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/779
66 base - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/base
67 base - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.-b). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/base
68The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe. (2023, November 18). Project Gutenberg. https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/779
69 Search “ugly” on etymonline. (n.d.). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=ugly
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The physical appearance of Mephistopheles is clearly monstrous, which suggests the Latin words monstrum (“a monster, monstrosity, whether in size or character; a thing that evokes fear and wonder) and monstro (“to show, point out, indicate, demonstrate; to advise, teach”).70 . (The word “fear; revere” in Latin is vereor, and is more wordplay on the name de Vere (“re-vere” meaning “again, twice, two; [F.] deux-[Vere]).71
Because of the circumstances of Edward de Vere’s birth, being the son of Thomas Seymour and Princess Elizabeth, he was figuratively monstrous in nature and a threat to Queen Elizabeth I’s reign. Therefore, his true origin had to be concealed – he had to change shape into another form. The Latin word monstro alludes to the fact that his true origin is being revealed in the hidden meaning of the text. One of the meanings of monstro is “to teach,” which can be translated as tutor and is wordplay on the name Tudor.72 So, the word monstro alludes to Edward de Vere’s identity being revealed or “demonstrated” (i.e. “de-monstered”) to show he is a Seymour-Tudor. (See discussion below).
The word “shape” (from "holy shape" in the excerpt above) can be translated into Latin as formo (present infinitive fōrmāre) is also wordplay on the name Seymour. In the Middle Ages English, the word “mo” (which can be found in the letters of [L.] formo) was an acceptable variant form of “more,” with roots in Old English.73 . Furthermore, the English word “for” (again found in the letters of [L.] formo) is nam in Latin, and is wordplay on the word “name,” and the Latin word mare (found in the letters of [L.] formare) means “sea.” So, the word “shape” is additional wordplay on the name Seymour (“name Sea-more").
The name Seymour alludes to Edward de Vere’s real identity as a Tudor-Seymour, as he was the son of Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, Lord High Admiral, and Princess Elizabeth Tudor, later Queen Elizabeth I. We have discussed this in other papers and blog posts.
The word “charge” (from "I charge thee" in the excerpt above) can be translated into Latin as custodia (“custody; guardianship; having charge of something or someone”). Another Latin word for “guardian” is tutor, a pun on the name Tudor. The word “thee” (you) in Latin is tu. The Latin word for “to return; to turn back, turn around” is revertor. The letters in the word revertor can be rearranged to get “vere-r-tor," and since the letter “r” is the 17th letter of the Elizabethan alphabet, the result can be changed to “Vere 17 –tor." When the letters of [L.] tu ([E.] you) are added, the result is transformed into “Vere 17, tutor” or “Vere 17th [Earl of Oxford], Tudor.”
The word “change” (from "change thy shape" in the excerpt above) can be translated into Latin as verto (“to change, alter, transform”), and it is a pun on the name Vere. Verto can also mean “(of literary productions) to translate, turn into another language,” and translation is the method we are using to reveal these messages.
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70 monstrum - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/monstrum#Latin;%20https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/monstro
71 vereor - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vereor
72 Search “tutor” on etymonline. (n.d.). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=tutor
73 More - Etymology, origin & meaning. (n.d.). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/word/more
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As can be seen, the first line of the excerpt from Doctor Faustus contains clues pointing to Edward de Vere. Now let’s examine the remaining lines of text to find out what they reveal.
When Faustus sees Mephistopheles, he orders him to leave and return in the form of a “old Franciscan friar / That holy shape becomes a devil best.” The Franciscans were founded by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi, so the name Francis is clearly being suggested.
The word “old” suggests the Northern Middle English auld, ald (from Northumbrian Old English ald, variant of Old English eald (“old, mature, venerable; antique, ancient, primeval”). Auld is a cognate of the Latin word altus, which means “nourished, having been nourished; fed, having been fed, maintained, having been maintained, developed, having been developed; kept, having been kept, supplied with necessities, having been supplied with necessities, supported financially, having been supported financially.”74 Therefore, the word “old,” leads to [L.] altus, which implies something or someone being fed, or fattened-up (like a hog), by being supported financially. So far, there are clues about someone named Francis, who is being fattened up like a hog by being supported financially. See where this is going?
The word “devil” suggests the near Latin homonym divellere (“to rend or tear apart”), and divellere is yet more wordplay on the name de Vere. In Italian divellere means “to uproot or to pull up." In English word “root” can mean “to turn up or dig with the snout, 1530’s, wroot, of swine, from Middle English wroten ‘dig with the snout,’ from Old English wrotan "to root up."75 The Middle English word for “root,” wroten can also mean “(rare) to crawl or slither as a worm,” and “worm” is ver in French and vermis in Latin (more wordplay on the name Vere). Wroten is also an (archaic) past participle of write; written.76 So, now there are clues about someone named Francis, who is being fattened up like a hog by being supported financially, who figuratively roots around like a boar or hog. The picture is becoming clearer.
The word “best” is also found in the text – “That holy shape becomes a devil best.” The word beste is the Old English spelling of “best.” Furthermore, “beste” has another meaning “borrowed from Old French beste, from Latin bēstia” — “[a] (landborne and mammalian) quadruped; A creature used as livestock; a domesticated animal,” or “An evil being; a demon or monster.” So, now there are clues about someone named Francis, who is being fattened up like a hog (for bacon) by being supported financially (probably by Edward de Vere), and who figuratively walks like a quadruped and roots around like a boar or hog. I think that it is abundantly clear who is being alluded to—Francis Bacon.
Notably, around the time Doctor Faustus was written (1588-1592) Francis Bacon was “elected a Reader [at Grays Inn] in 1587, delivering his first set of lectures in Lent the following year.”77 The Franciscans, who are mentioned in the excerpt from Doctor Faustus, are known as “grey/gray friars,” so the mention of an “old Franciscan friar” in Doctor Faustus is an allusion to Francis Bacon’s teaching duties at Grays Inn.78 The fact that Bacon began teaching (tutoring) during Lent is a curious coincidence (or maybe it’s not a coincidence):
Lent (Latin: Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christian religious observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, before beginning his public ministry.79
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74 altus - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/altus#Latin
75 Search “wroot; https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/root” on etymonline. (n.d.). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=wroot;%20https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/root#English
76 wroten - Wiktionary, the free dictionary. (n.d.). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wroten
77 Wikipedia contributors. (2026i, April 9). Francis Bacon. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Bacon
78 Wikipedia contributors. (2026j, April 12). Franciscans. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franciscans
79 Wikipedia contributors. (2026i, March 31). Lent. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent
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The late Alexander Waugh discovered that in the works of Shakespeare the number 1740 is repeatedly encoded. Furthermore, the numbers 17, 40, 57 (17 + 40 = 57), and 1740 are associated with Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. See Mr. Waugh's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@alexanderwaugh7036; and the video "The Incalculable Genius of John Dee" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-PWR7-0Hp4&t=4s. The use of a reference Lent to refer to Edward de Vere has been found in other decipherments. See Mystico, A. (n.d.). Some hidden messages in the rape of Lucrece. https://hiddenmessagesinshakespeare.blogspot.com/2026/03/some-hidden-messages-in-rape-of-lucrece.html.
The last word in the line “Go, and return old Franciscan friar / That holy shape becomes a devil best” is the word “friar,” which has as its root the Latin word frāter (“brother”). This could allude to Francis Bacon being the half-brother of Edward de Vere, or that he is a “brother” of Edward de Vere in some secret society like the Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross (the Rosicrucian Brotherhood) or the Freemasons, or it could imply both a blood relationship and brotherhood through membership is a secret society. Because the word “base” can have the obsolete meaning “an apron” (see above), and considering that an apron is part of the regalia of a Freemason and the many Rosy Cross message in Shakespeare’s First Folio, there is good evidence that Edward de Vere and Francis Bacon were members in the Brotherhood of the Rose Cross, at a minimum.
Now that I have completed my analysis of Doctor Faustus, I have some conclusions and questions before we continue.
First, I found that a hidden clue in As You Like It (i.e. the words “ill-favored children” led us parts of Doctor Faustus that allowed us to find the word “low” and thus reveal the name Marlowe again. I now have two examples of hidden clues in As You Like It leading to the name Christopher Marlowe. There are probably more, but I have made my point.
Second, I examined the clues in Doctor Faustus (a character possibly based on John Dee) and found more hidden messages pointing to Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (and a Tudor-Seymour) and Francis Bacon (possibly also a Tudor). Why are Oxford’s and Bacon’s names hidden in Doctor Faustus, a play purportedly written by Christopher Marlowe? This leads to several more questions. Did Christopher Marlowe actually write Doctor Faustus, or was he just a front man or straw man? If Marlowe contributed to Doctor Faustus, how much of it did he write? Perhaps he wrote it and just put hidden references to Oxford and Bacon because they were his patrons, or perhaps Marlowe did not write any of Doctor Faustus.
However, stylometric analysis indicates that the style of the writer of Marlowe’s works is distinct from the writer of Shakespeare, and Doctor Faustus is attributed to the writer, or writers (whoever they were), of Marlowe’s works.80
Thus, stylometric analysis would seem to discount the idea that same writer, or set of writers, wrote both Doctor Faustus and Shakespeare’s works. This would seem to indicate that Marlowe wrote Doctor Faustus alone, or that he worked with a group of writers in such a way that he, or they, left the imprint of a unique style of writing on the play. If Marlowe placed the clues about Edward de Vere and Francis Bacon in the play it can reasonably be concluded that he had knowledge of Edward de Vere’s true parentage, and that he was probably sworn to secrecy or subject to an edict to keep the information secret on pain of death.
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80 Segarra, S., Eisen, M., Egan, G., Ribeiro, A., Dept. of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA, & School of Humanities, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. (n.d.). Stylometric Analysis of Early Modern Period English Plays. https://www.seas.upenn.edu/~aribeiro/preprints/2015_segarra_etal_c.pdf
[END OF PART 3]
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