The anonymous historical play "Edward the Third", published in 1596, should be included in the work of William Shakespeare, with the main text being his, and significant parts probably being written in collaboration with Christopher Marlowe. This is the conclusion reached by new research by Dr. Rory Lochnan of the University of Kent and Brett Greatley-Hirsch of the University of Leeds.
The two scientists used several forms of computer linguistic analysis and compared the play with works that have been found to be the work of ten playwrights working between the late 1580s and mid-1590s. The results show that Shakespeare is the author of the “lion's share” of the text.
“The computer analysis concludes beyond reasonable doubt that the Stratford-born playwright is the primary author”, Loughnan told the “Guardian”.
One of the tests identified 23 passages as Shakespeare's, while nine were attributed to Marlowe. The analysis did not identify specific lines as belonging entirely to one author or another. Instead, the researchers tracked linguistic features, the frequency of certain words and the distribution of characteristic verbal markers.
Among the examples cited is the word martial, which means “military” or “battle” and occurs more frequently in Marlowe's plays than in the works of other playwrights. According to Greatley-Hirsch, the persuasiveness of the results comes from combining different methods, rather than from a single statistical test or verbal parallel.
“Different forms of analysis of different features of language repeatedly distinguish Marlowe's writing from Shakespeare's within the play,“ notes Greatley-Hirsch.
Scholars have long assumed that Shakespeare wrote at least a few scenes from “Edward the Third“. The new study extends that argument to include Marlowe. According to Lochnan, the two worked on the play around 1592, when they were between 25 and 30 years old.
“The new discovery is that not only Shakespeare but also Marlowe worked on the play. Therefore, the work represents a newfound collaboration between the two,“ the researcher said.
The conclusion is placed in the context of a 2016 study that established Marlowe's participation in parts of Shakespeare's trilogy “Henry VI“. Until now, the two have most often been presented as literary rivals, born a few weeks apart and established themselves in the same theatrical world. The new results suggest a more complex relationship between them.
Christopher Marlowe died in 1593 at the age of 29 after a fight in an inn. The study of “Edward the Third“ is due to be published in the Shakespeare Quarterly journal later in 2026.