Relative contributions of Shakespeare and Fletcher in Henry VIII: An Analysis Based on Most Frequent Words and Most Frequent Rhythmic Patterns

TL;DR

This study uses machine learning analysis of vocabulary and rhythmic patterns to determine the contributions of Shakespeare and Fletcher in Henry VIII, supporting and refining previous authorship attributions.

Contribution

It introduces a rolling attribution method analyzing entire texts without scene boundaries, providing new evidence on authorship proportions in Henry VIII.

Findings

Supports the division between Shakespeare and Fletcher's contributions

Provides evidence aligning with Spedding's attribution

Refines authorship proportions supporting Merriam's modifications

Abstract

The versified play Henry VIII is nowadays widely recognized to be a collaborative work not written solely by William Shakespeare. We employ combined analysis of vocabulary and versification together with machine learning techniques to determine which authors also took part in the writing of the play and what were their relative contributions. Unlike most previous studies, we go beyond the attribution of particular scenes and use the rolling attribution approach to determine the probabilities of authorship of pieces of texts, without respecting the scene boundaries. Our results highly support the canonical division of the play between William Shakespeare and John Fletcher proposed by James Spedding, but also bring new evidence supporting the modifications proposed later by Thomas Merriam.