Function Words as Author Invariants:Periclesas Test Case
Thomas Merriam · Notes and Queries · 2015
IN 1987 Gary Taylor stated, in connection with one of the earliest attribution exercises with function words, that on the basis of ‘ten function words for which Shakespeare’s usage was most consistent’ it was clear that Shakespeare did not write parts of Pericles . 1 The contrasting figures for the two parts of Timon and Pericles cannot be reconciled with Shakespeare’s unassisted authorship of both plays. Even if we had no other evidence—and of course we have a great deal of other evidence—the function-word test in itself establishes that Shakespeare did not write parts of those two plays. 2