Half of Shakespeare’s ‘Henry VIII’ was written by another playwright, a new analysis shows
It’s widely accepted that Shakespeare worked with an uncredited author to complete “Henry VIII.” Now, a new algorithm provides further proof that credit for the play should be evenly split between the Bard and his contemporary, John Fletcher.
The five-act recounting of the British monarch’s life marks a stylistic departure from the master playwright’s earlier works, but historians haven’t agreed on whom partial credit belongs.
The 19th-century British scholar James Spedding was the first to formally posit that John Fletcher, Shakespeare’s peer in the prestigious King’s Men drama troupe, wrote several scenes throughout the “Henry VIII” based on the rhythm of the verses.
Other historians suggest Philip Messinger, Fletcher’s frequent collaborator, might’ve had a hand in the play, too.
In an attempt to finally give credit where credit is due, Petr Plecháč of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague trained an algorithm to identify patterns in language and rhythm in all three playwrights’ works written during the same time period as Henry VIII.
Fletcher and Shakespeare share credit evenly
Plecháč got granular, outlining the frequency with which the authors used certain words to how often they used contractions.
The findings almost definitively rule out Messinger’s involvement. But the analysis suggests Fletcher wrote almost half of the play.
The first two scenes of Act 1 are unmistakably the work of Shakespeare based on the rhythm of the verses, but the next four scenes in the first and second act are Fletcher’s. The two share credit for a scene in the third act, and most of the fifth act suggests Fletcher’s flair, he found.
Oddly, the fourth act might be owed to a different, unknown author.
Plecháč wrote he “did not so well know what to think” of the scenes, written in a less ornate, descriptive style in the vein of Fletcher and lacked the Bard’s “freshness and originality.”
If accepted by Shakespeare fans, the findings will mark a definitive end to a centuries-long debate. But just why the two celebrated playwrights collaborated without sharing credit might forever be lost to time — until we design an algorithm to take us back.
