AI technology: Many believe that Shakespeare received considerable help to complete at least some of his works, but we will never know to what extent? Or perhaps we will learn?
AI may have an answer. Czech researcher Petr Plecháč has developed a machine learning that determines which parts of Henry VIII were most likely written by Shakespeare’s contemporary and longtime collaborator, John Fletcher. The approach trained an algorithm to recognize the word choices and rhythms of both Shakespeare and Fletcher, and used a “rolling window” technique to study these styles without worrying about the introduction and conclusion of the scenes. The results were both predictable and surprising.
The AI found that Fletcher wrote slightly less than half of the work. However, the astonishing part of the case is the discovery of the point from which we now encounter only Fletcher's writing. If the AI's results are true, Fletcher did not merely take the beginning of a new scene but completed some of them. There are also parts where there is a mixed authorship. Apparently, Shakespeare and his friend spent quite a long time together.
The process also excludes the involvement of another playwright, Philip Massinger.
This discovery does not mean that it can definitively resolve authorship differences in the future. It is possible that Shakespeare or Fletcher imitated each other, for example. Further extensive studies and tests are still needed before it proves useful. It is certainly worth noting that besides answering historical questions, it could help in detecting plagiarism by recognizing an author's writing style.
