Francis Bacon Myth-busting

Before we get onto the common myths let’s see what orthodox (non ‘Baconian’) scholars say about Bacon’s early writings:

“These writings can be classified into four categories: first, texts that Bacon wrote but not for public consumption; second, texts Bacon wrote to be circulated with his name; third, texts Bacon intended to circulate anonymously; and fourth, texts that were intended to circulate under another’s name.”
Alan Stewart with Harriet Knight, eds., The Oxford Francis Bacon: Early Writings 1584-1596 (Oxford Clarendon Press, 2012), p. xxviii

Myth 1: Bacon was not a Poet or a Dramatist

There are many examples of opinions to the contrary from poets and literary people down the centuries including Bacon’s friend, poet and dramatist Ben Jonson

“So desiring you to be good to concealed poets.”
Postscript in a Letter from Francis Bacon to the poet John Davies 28th March 1603, James Spedding, Letters & Life, III, p. 65

“In short, within his view, and about his times, were all the wits born that could honor a language or help study. Now things daily fall, wits grow downward, and eloquence grows backward; so that he may be named and stand as the mark and acme of our language.’
Ben Jonson, Timber & Discoveries  (1637)

“Lord Bacon was a poet. His language has a sweet and majestic rhythm, which satisfies the sense, no less than the almost superhuman wisdom of his philosophy satisfies the intellect.”
The Poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, A Defence of Poetry, (1821)

“It is as an inspired seer, the prose-poet of modern science, that I reverence Lord Bacon.”
Historian Sir Alexander Grant, The Ethics of Aristotle: Illustrated with Essays and Notes, (1885)

“His [Bacon’s] style...flows...with the strength, fulness and swelling of a majestic river and the rude harmony of the mountain stream. His images are replete with poetry and thought;”
 Professor of English and lexicographer Alexander Spiers (1807-1869)

“Bacon had all the natural faculties which a poet wants; a fine ear for metre, a fine feeling for imaginative effect in words, and a vein of poetic passion....Truth is that Bacon was not without the fine phrensy of a poet.”
James Spedding, Works, VII, p.267-8 Bacon’s biographer whose assessment was based entirely upon his lifetime study of the prose works written under Bacon’s name

“His style is also the reflection of a poetical mind which adorns its logic with an imagery, picturesque, piquant, and full of metaphors, similes and analogies, sometimes strained, always suggestive.”
Thomas Case In the World Classic edition of Bacon's Advancement of Learning

“Poetry pervaded and permeated [his] thoughts and style in the majestic sentences of
[this] wisest of mankind.”
English novelist Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton

“a great luminous intellect. . .naturally disposed to clothe his ideas in the most splendid dress. . .He thinks in the manner of artists and poets, and he speaks after the manner of prophets and seers.”
H.A. Taine, History of English Literature (1871)

“One does not know which to admire most in his writings, the strength of reason, force of style, or brightness of imagination.”
Playwright, Poet & Politician Joseph Addison

Myth 2: Bacon was not Interested in the Stage

Whether he was writing a letter, a law tract or a scientific observation Bacon would often use theatrical metaphors and terminology. Just a few of numerous examples:

“calls me now to retire from the stage of civil action and betake myself to letters, and to the instruction of the actors themselves, and the service of Posterity.”
Letter from Francis Bacon to Count Gondomar dated 6 June 1621

“Love is the argument alwaies of Comedies, and many times of Tragedies.”
Francis Bacon, Of Love; Spedding, Works, VI, p. 557

“. . .so among the poets (heroic, satiric, tragic, comic) are everywhere interspersed representations of characters, though generally exaggerated and surpassing the truth.”
Francis Bacon, De Augmentis Scientiarum; Spedding, Works, V, p. 21

“it is of excellent use. I mean stage-playing: an art which strengthens the memory, regulates the tone and effect of the voice and pronunciation, teaches a decent carriage of the countenance and gesture, gives not a little assurance and accustoms  young men to bear being looked at.”
Francis Bacon, De Augmentis Scientiarum; Spedding, Works, IV, p. 496

“And in the plays of this philosophical theatre you may observe the same thing which is found in the theatre of the poets, that stories invented for the stage are more compact and elegant, and more as one would wish them to be, than true stories out of history.”
Francis Bacon, Novum Organum; Spedding, Works, IV, p. 63

“And though in modern states play-acting is esteemed but as a toy, except when it is too satirical and biting; yet among the ancients it was used as a means of educating men's minds to virtue.”
Francis Bacon, De Augmentis Scientiarum; Spedding, Works, IV, p. 316

“. . .and none could hold the book so well to prompt and instruct this stage-play, as she could.”
Francis Bacon, The History of King Henry VII; Spedding, Works, VI, p.46

“The stage is more beholding to Love, than the life of man. For as to the stage, love is ever matter of comedies, and now and then of tragedies. . .”
Francis Bacon, Of Love; Spedding, Works, VI, p. 397

“I have given the rule, where a man cannot fitly play his own part; if he hath not a friend,
he may quit the stage.”
Francis Bacon, Of Friendship; Spedding, Works, VI, p. 443

Myth 3: Bacon's Style was Nothing Like That of Shakespeare

An often-repeated myth is about the difference in writing style presumably based on a complete unfamiliarity with Bacon’s works.

“Of Wit and Language. . the incomparable Lord Bacon”
T. Culpeper, Essayes or Moral Discourses on several Subjects (1671)

“He seems to have written his essays with the pen of Shakespeare.”
Poet & Essayist Alexander Smith

“In his style there is the same remarkable quality that is applauded in Shakespeare—a combination of the intellectual and the imaginative, the closest reasoning in the boldest metaphor.”
T. B. Shaw, Outlines of English Literature (1849)

“How well combinest thou merry wit with silent gravity!”
Thomas Campion, Epigrammatvm libri II (1619)

“The want of ability to take an historical survey of the world is to be found alike in Bacon and Shakespeare, together with many excellencies likewise common to them both.. . .Bacon desires nothing less than a natural history of the passions-the very thing that Shakespeare has produced.”
Kuno Fischer, Shakespeare und die Bacon-Mythen (1895)

“Bacon’s style varied almost as much as his handwriting; but it was influenced more by the subject-matter than by youth or old age. Few men have shown equal versatility in adapting their language to the slightest shade of circumstance and purpose. His style depended upon whether he was addressing a king, or a great nobleman, or a philosopher, or a friend; whether he was composing a State paper, pleading in a State trial, magnifying the Prerogative, extolling Truth, discussing studies, exhorting a judge, sending a New Year’s present, or sounding a trumpet to prepare the way for the Kingdom of Man over Nature. . .In the early devices he uses a rich exuberant style and poetic rhythm.”
E. A. Abbott, Francis Bacon (1885)

“In both a similar combination of different mental powers was at work; and as Shakespeare was often involuntary philosophical in his profoundness, Bacon was not seldom surprised into the imagination of a poet…In Bacon’s works we find a multitude of moral sayings and maxims of experience, from which the most striking mottoes might be drawn for every Shakespearian play, aye, for every one of his principal characters. . .”
G. G. Gervinus, Shakespeare’s Commentaries (1903)

Myth 4: Bacon Was Not Interested in Theatrical Pursuits

During his time at Gray’s Inn Bacon was effectively Master of the Revels writing and producing masques, entertainments and plays, several of which have survived.

  • 1588 The Misfortunes of Arthur, a political allegory concerning Queen Elizabeth and Mary, Queen of Scots, was staged by Gray’s Inn members for Queen Elizabeth at Greenwich on 28 February 1588, marking the start of the Shakespearean era
  • 1592 Of Tribute; or, Giving that which is due to be presented by the Earl of Essex to Queen Elizabeth I
  • 1594/5 The Christmas Gray’s Inn Revels which saw the premier of The Comedy of Errors
  • 1595 November 17th Of Love; and Self-Love presented by the Earl of Essex as part of the celebrations for Elizabeth’s anniversary day
  • 1613 February 20th The Wedding Masque for Count Palatine and Princess Elizabeth daughter of James I.
  • 1614 The Masque of Flowers ‘The Attorney’s Masque’ to celebrate the marriage of Royal favourite Robert Carr and Frances Howard

Myth 5: If Bacon was Shakespeare he Would Have Said So

Another myth based on a complete misunderstanding of poetry and drama in these times. It is well known that anybody who aimed at high office in law and politics could not be openly associated with poetry and especially stage plays.

For his plays and poems Bacon’s chosen pen name was Shake-speare from his muse Pallas Athena the goddess of knowledge, Shaker of the Spear.

Ben Jonson knew that Shakespeare was a pseudonym or literary mask for his longtime close friend Francis Bacon and describes him in the same terms that he describes Shakespeare in the First Folio dedication.

“he who hath filled up all numbers, and performed that in our tongue which may be compared or preferred either to insolent Greece or haughty Rome. ”
Ben Jonson on Francis Bacon , Timber & Discoveries (1637)

In the First Folio verse, Ben Jonson says of the author, “Leaue thee alone, for the comparison/Of all, that insolent Greece, or haughtie Rome/sent forth, or since did from their ashes come.”
Ben Jonson on Shakespeare in the 1623 First Folio Dedication

In 1626 a rare collection of Latin verses entitled Memoriae dedicated to Francis Bacon describes Bacon as a writer of comedies and tragedies, Quirinus [Spear/Spearman: i.e., Shakespeare], Minerva [Pallas Athena the Shaker of the Spear who wore an invisibility helmet] and as another Apollo [leader of the Nine Muses presiding over the different kinds of poetry and liberal arts]

Myth 6: Bacon Was Too Busy

Another common myth that bears no relation to the facts of Bacon’s life. Here is his C.V.

  • 1579 THE LAW
    From 1579 FB studied law at Gray’s Inn. During the next decade he was admitted Utter-Barrister in June 1582, made a Bencher in 1586 and elected Reader at Gary’s Inn in 1587 but did not practice the law. Bacon was tasked with the organising of masques, devises and entertainments.
  • 1581 MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT
    Bacon started his parliamentary career in 1581 as the MP for Bossiney in Cornwall, later serving Melcombe Regis in 1584, Taunton in 1586, and Liverpool in 1589. He was involved in several parliamentary committees, though these positions were usually brief and infrequent. With Parliament meeting only 13 times in Elizabeth’s 45-year reign, Bacon had ample free time.
  • 1596 QUEEN’S COUNSEL
    He was granted the honorific title of Queen’s Counsel Extraordinary in 1596 by Queen Elizabeth I. It involved no formal duties beyond providing the Queen with occasional private advice on matters of law, state, and intelligence. Again, not at all taxing for a man of his abilities and industry.
  • 1607 FIRST PERMANENT POSITION AGED 46
    King James acknowledged Bacon’s talents as a skilled writer and respected Parliamentarian. In 1607, he appointed Bacon as Solicitor-General, followed by Attorney-General in 1613, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal in 1617, and Lord Chancellor on 12 July 1618.
  • LITERARY OUTPUT
    Prior to the publication of the first small edition of his Essays in 1597 from 1584 to 1596 FB wrote in manuscript around twenty pieces of writings mainly comprising religious and political tracts, dramatic devices, masques and entertainments. The bulk of his works for which he is famous were published during the last six years of his life from 1620 to 1626, including the Shakespeare First Folio in 1623.
  • SHAKESPEARE OUTPUT
    Shakespeare’s plays were composed, revised, and expanded over about four decades, from roughly 1580 to 1623. Some scholars suggest he could write a play in about a month. If we take a conservative estimate of four decades for his 39 plays, that averages around one play per year. Thus, it’s clear that over three or four decades, Bacon could have easily written one Shakespeare play each year.

Myth 7: There's No Evidence for Bacon

Those unfamiliar with Baconian research often mistakenly think that the evidence linking Francis Bacon to the works of Shakespeare relies solely on complex ciphers and codes.
This is not the case.

Here are nine contemporary pieces of documentary evidence that clearly connect Francis Bacon to the Shakespeare works:

  • c. 1594-96 The Promus Notebook– Bacon’s notebook the source of several hundred parallels found throughout the Shakespeare poems and plays
  • c. 1596-97 The Northumberland Manuscript-Bacon’s Manuscript once holding Richard II & Richard III with Bacon and Shakespeare scribbled on its cover as well as additional references to several other Shakespeare plays
  • 1587 edition Holinshed’s Chronicles Shakespeare’s annotated copy with Bacon’s handwriting in the marginalia
  • c. 1596 The Dering Manuscript– A manuscript of Henry IV corrected in the hand of its author Bacon the earliest known extant copy of a Shakespeare play
  • c. 1588-1605 The Manuscript of the Shakespeare play Sir Thomas More written by Bacon
  • 1590-1600 In 1909 a rare copy of the third quarto of Titus Andronicus was found among eight Shakespeare quartos at the Bacon family estate at Gorhambury most likely transferred from Bacon’s personal library in the old Gorhambury House, which were transferred for safe-keeping into the care of Bodleian Library, where they still remain to the present day.
  • c. 1600 The Shakespeare Mural In 1985 a mural of 20ft x 10ft was discovered over one wall known as the Venus and Adonis Mural depicting the death of Adonis killed by a Boar dating around or before 1600, around the time or shortly after the publication of Shakespeare poem Venus and Adonis. Clive Rouse, a leading art expert and historian, and a specialist in panel paintings, says, “this large painting is a major national treasure. It is priceless. I cannot overestimate the importance of this startling find. There is no Elizabethan wall painting of better artistic quality outside the great houses like Hampton Court.”
  • 1623 The Shakespeare First Folio – numerous links with Bacon including his close relationship with Ben Jonson
  • 1626 The Memoriae Verses – Latin verses commemorating Bacon as Shakespeare

Myth 8: Philosophy Over Humanity?

A rather strange myth from the misinformed school of ‘Bacon always had his nose in a book and couldn’t be bothered with ‘real life’. Bacon’s whole philosophy & questioning of former thinkers was that knowledge and learning had to be a positive and practical force for the betterment of humankind.

“Love of mankind with Bacon is not merely the noblest feeling, but the highest reason;
a rich and mellow spirit of humanity.”
American Essayist & Critic E. P. Whipple

“Who is there that hearing the name of Bacon does not instantly recognise everything of genius the most profound, of literature the most extensive, of discovery the most penetrating, of observation of human life the most distinguished and refined.”
Philosopher Edmund Burke

“This extraordinary genius, when it was impossible to write a history of what men already knew, wrote one of that which they had to learn.”
French Philosopher Denis Diderot

Myth 9: Claim for Bacon Based on Snobbery

This is an old worn-out myth ironically based on a kind of inverted snobbery itself.

The vast learning and knowledge across many disciplines in the plays is often downplayed to ‘fit’ the ordinary man genius idea. It is an endearing myth is some ways, the lowly born literary hero and genius that conquered all the odds. Unfortunately, it bears no relation to the facts.

It is widely recognised that the Shakespeare Works contain amongst other subjects highly detailed knowledge of the following. These were all areas that Francis Bacon excelled at and was celebrated for:

  • Law
  • Philosophy
  • Science
  • Classical Mythology
  • Theology
  • Botany
  • Astronomy
  • Mathematics
  • Court Life
  • Politics
  • History

Myth 10: Bacon Lacked the Common Touch

Another myth and once again based on inverted snobbery.

Bacon served as both a lawyer and a Parliamentarian, roles well-suited to his exceptional reasoning and speaking abilities. A reformer with liberal views, he often clashed with Elizabeth I and the Privy Council due to his principled stance on social and moral issues.

He opposed royal subsidies and heavy taxation, arguing that such taxes were unjust and burdensome for citizens.

In a speech in the House of Commons on 26th February 1593, Bacon advocated for legal reform that would simplify laws and make them accessible to protect people’s rights.

“Laws are made to guard the rights of the people, not to feed the lawyers. The laws should be read by all, known to all. Put them into shape, inform them with philosophy, reduce them in bulk, give them into every man’s hand.” Francis Bacon

“Never was there a man who so loved equity, or so enthusiastically worked for the public good as he….All these good qualities made him the darling of the people and prized by the great ones of the State. He seems to have been born rather for the rest of mankind than himself. . .”
Pierre Amboise, Histoire Naturalle De Mre Francois Bacon (Paris, 1631)

“His [Bacon’s] friend [Francis] Osborne speaks in still more striking terms: “I have heard him entertain a country lord in the proper terms relating to hawks and dogs; and at another time out-cant a London chirurgeon [surgeon].”
David Mallet, Life of Bacon (1740)

No Myths but Facts

The philosophical, political and legal DNA of Francis Bacon runs through the very veins and arteries of the Shakespeare Poems and Plays

The Shakespeare First Folio appeared in 1623 with literally 1000s of revisions, amendments and enlargements and many plays never before printed.

In 1623 Shakspere of Stratford was long dead (d. 1616) the Earl of Oxford was even longer dead (d. 1604) and Christopher Marlowe (d. 1593) was thirty years in the grave.

The overwhelming and irrefutable evidence that Bacon is Shakespeare is based upon:

  • Primary manuscript evidence
  • Primary documentary evidence
  • Primary documentary images
  • Contemporaneous printed works
  • Historical evidence & facts
  • More than a 1000 parallels between the acknowledged works of Francis Bacon & the Shakespeare works
  • Comparative textual analysis