--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You cannot locate Shakespeare in his own…" description: "\"“You cannot locate Shakespeare in his own works, not even in the sonnets. It is in this near invisibility that encourages the zealots who believe that ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fed/harold-bloom-3350_shakespeare_you-cannot-locate-shakespeare-in-his-own_557411.jpg" --- # You cannot locate Shakespeare in his own works, not even… ![“You cannot locate Shakespeare in his own works, not even in the sonnets. It is in this near invisibility that encourages the zealots who believe that almost anyone wrote Shakespeare, except Shakespeare himself.” quote by Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fed/harold-bloom-3350_shakespeare_you-cannot-locate-shakespeare-in-his-own_557411.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fed/harold-bloom-3350_shakespeare_you-cannot-locate-shakespeare-in-his-own_557411.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fed/harold-bloom-3350_shakespeare_you-cannot-locate-shakespeare-in-his-own_557411.jpg) > ““You cannot locate Shakespeare in his own works, not even in the sonnets. It is in this near invisibility that encourages the zealots who believe that almost anyone wrote Shakespeare, except Shakespeare himself.”” [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Shakespeare's own texts hide his identity, fueling theories that deny his authorship. **In simple terms:** Shakespeare's works hide his identity, sparking doubt. Key Takeaway Question authorship claims critically. Themes authorship literary theory skepticism Mood curious skeptical Type analytical critical When to use this quote - academic debate - literary criticism - historical research Key Concepts canon formation authorial identity textual analysis Questions to Reflect On - What evidence would convince you? - How does anonymity affect literary value? A Different Perspective Some argue external evidence supports Shakespeare's authorship. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare/) ## Related quotes > [It doesn't seem Shakespeare works if you turn him into a religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-rees/it-doesn-t-seem-shakespeare-works-if-you-turn-him-into-a-religion/) [Roger Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-rees/) > [The most charming of theories holds that someone other than Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare's plays -- that he was of too low a state, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-most-charming-of-theories-holds-that-someone-other-than/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Whoever wrote Shakespeare is a working class hero be he an aristocrat or a peasant. Shakespeare is a great leveler. We're presented with kings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/whoever-wrote-shakespeare-is-a-working-class-hero-be-he-an-aristocrat/) [Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/) > [Shakespeare is universal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/shakespeare-is-universal/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Personality, in our sense, is a Shakespearean invention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/personality-in-our-sense-is-a-shakespearean-invention/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“No one has yet managed to be post-Shakespearean.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/no-one-has-yet-managed-to-be-post-shakespearean/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Shakespeare will not make us better, and he will not make us worse, but he may teach us how to overhear ourselves when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/shakespeare-will-not-make-us-better-and-he-will-not-make-us-worse-but/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-robinson/shakespeare-s-hamlet-there-is-nothing-either-good-or-bad-but-thinking/) [Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-robinson/) > [The difficulty with poetry is that it doesn't have the life that Shakespeare or Jane Austen have beyond the page. You can't make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/the-difficulty-with-poetry-is-that-it-doesn-t-have-the-life-that/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [“It was wonderful flirting with him, all the razor-edged literary banter, like Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. A battle of wit,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/it-was-wonderful-flirting-with-him-all-the-razor-edged-literary/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) > [Anything well written with good language and clarity and honesty is worth doing. It comes out of the same tradition as Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moriarty/anything-well-written-with-good-language-and-clarity-and-honesty-is/) [Michael Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moriarty/) > [Its extremely dangerous to compare anyone else to Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/its-extremely-dangerous-to-compare-anyone-else-to-shakespeare/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [“This was going to be worse than the time I table danced in the diner in high school!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bryson/this-was-going-to-be-worse-than-the-time-i-table-danced-in-the-diner/) [Kathy Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bryson/) > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) ## More by Harold Bloom > [I realized early on that the academy and the literary world alike - and I don't think there really is a distinction between the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/i-realized-early-on-that-the-academy-and-the-literary-world-alike-and/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [I would say that there is no future for literary studies as such in the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/i-would-say-that-there-is-no-future-for-literary-studies-as-such-in/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“Brecht was a cynical bohemian bogey of the middle classes, but also much more than a mere provocateur. He developed and dramatized his political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/brecht-was-a-cynical-bohemian-bogey-of-the-middle-classes-but-also/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [The morality of scholarship, as currently practiced, is to encourage everyone to replace difficult pleasures by pleasures universally accessible precisely because they are easier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/the-morality-of-scholarship-as-currently-practiced-is-to-encourage/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Dark influences from the American past congregate among us still. If we are a democracy, what are we to make of the palpable elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/dark-influences-from-the-american-past-congregate-among-us-still-if/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“We read frequently if unknowingly, in quest of a mind more original than our own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/we-read-frequently-if-unknowingly-in-quest-of-a-mind-more-original/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“You can read merely to pass the time, or you can read with an overt urgency, but eventually you will read against the clock.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/you-can-read-merely-to-pass-the-time-or-you-can-read-with-an-overt/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [In the finest critics one hears the full cry of the human. They tell one why it matters to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/in-the-finest-critics-one-hears-the-full-cry-of-the-human-they-tell/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [The idea of Herman Melville in a writing class is always distressing to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/the-idea-of-herman-melville-in-a-writing-class-is-always-distressing/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [If I were to sum up the negative reactions to my work, I think there are two primary causes: one is that if there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/if-i-were-to-sum-up-the-negative-reactions-to-my-work-i-think-there/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Aesthetic value emanates from the struggle between texts: in the reader, in language, in the classroom, in arguments within a society. Aesthetic value rises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/aesthetic-value-emanates-from-the-struggle-between-texts-in-the/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Shakespeare will not make us better, and he will not make us worse, but he may teach us how to overhear ourselves when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/shakespeare-will-not-make-us-better-and-he-will-not-make-us-worse-but/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Criticism starts - it has to start - with a real passion for reading. It can come in adolescence, even in your twenties, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/criticism-starts-it-has-to-start-with-a-real-passion-for-reading-it/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“No one has yet managed to be post-Shakespearean.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/no-one-has-yet-managed-to-be-post-shakespearean/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [What is supposed to be the very essence of Judaism - which is the notion that it is by study that you make yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/what-is-supposed-to-be-the-very-essence-of-judaism-which-is-the/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) [Explore all 127 Harold Bloom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) ## More Shakespeare quotes > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [“This was going to be worse than the time I table danced in the diner in high school!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bryson/this-was-going-to-be-worse-than-the-time-i-table-danced-in-the-diner/) [Kathy Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bryson/) > [Its extremely dangerous to compare anyone else to Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/its-extremely-dangerous-to-compare-anyone-else-to-shakespeare/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [Anything well written with good language and clarity and honesty is worth doing. It comes out of the same tradition as Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moriarty/anything-well-written-with-good-language-and-clarity-and-honesty-is/) [Michael Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moriarty/) > [“It was wonderful flirting with him, all the razor-edged literary banter, like Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. A battle of wit,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/it-was-wonderful-flirting-with-him-all-the-razor-edged-literary/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) > [The difficulty with poetry is that it doesn't have the life that Shakespeare or Jane Austen have beyond the page. You can't make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/the-difficulty-with-poetry-is-that-it-doesn-t-have-the-life-that/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [“Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-robinson/shakespeare-s-hamlet-there-is-nothing-either-good-or-bad-but-thinking/) [Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-robinson/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“Nernst was a great admirer of Shakespeare, and it is said that in a conference concerned with naming units after appropriate persons, he proposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-partington/nernst-was-a-great-admirer-of-shakespeare-and-it-is-said-that-in-a/) J.R. Partington > [Shakespeare put no children in his plays for a reason," Sir Godfrey muttered, glaring at Alf and Binnie. "You're forgetting the Little Prince," Polly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-willis/shakespeare-put-no-children-in-his-plays-for-a-reason-sir-godfrey/) [Connie Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-willis/) > [Juilliard is wonderful in that they don't pick just one way of working. They give you a palette. There is method acting. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-camargo/juilliard-is-wonderful-in-that-they-don-t-pick-just-one-way-of/) [Christian Camargo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-camargo/) > [This was Shakespeare's form ; Who walk'd in every path of human life, Felt every passion ; and to all mankind Doth now, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-akenside/this-was-shakespeare-s-form-who-walk-d-in-every-path-of-human-life/) [Mark Akenside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-akenside/) > [I've definitely learned that if you want to have power as a woman in Shakespeare's time, and it's still relevant today, that you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/i-ve-definitely-learned-that-if-you-want-to-have-power-as-a-woman-in/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [“I'm afraid I always find Shakespeare terribly dreary. All those long scenes where everybody is drunk and it's supposed to be funny.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/i-m-afraid-i-always-find-shakespeare-terribly-dreary-all-those-long/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [“Life... is a paradise to what we fear of death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/life-is-a-paradise-to-what-we-fear-of-death/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Browse all 1,516 Shakespeare quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You cannot locate Shakespeare in his own works, not even in the sonnets. 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