Shakespeare and Marlowe may have co-written Edward III, new study suggests

Two of the greatest playwrights in English history may have written a play together. A new computer analysis of Edward III, a play printed anonymously in 1596, points to William Shakespeare as its main author and to Christopher Marlowe as a co-writer of several sections. If the study holds up, the two men often painted as rivals worked side by side.

A play with no name on it

Edward III appeared in print in 1596 with no author listed. It tells the story of the English king who claimed the French crown, and it includes scenes of war as well as a tense episode in which the king tries to seduce a married countess. For generations, scholars suspected that Shakespeare wrote at least a few scenes, but they never settled the question of how much was his, or who else took part.

Shakespeare and Marlowe were born within weeks of each other in 1564. Marlowe died at 29 after a brawl in a lodging house, so the years in which both men wrote for the London stage were few. A 2016 study had already found that Marlowe likely helped write Shakespeare’s three Henry VI plays, which made a link between the two men more plausible.

How the computer analysis worked

Researchers Rory Loughnane of the University of Kent and Brett Greatley-Hirsch of the University of Leeds compared Edward III with works by 10 playwrights from the same period. The software looked at how often certain words appear and how those words fit together in sentences. Every writer leaves habits of this kind, like a verbal fingerprint, and the method asks which author’s habits best match each part of the play.

What the study found

The analysis attributes 23 sections of the play to Shakespeare. These include the scenes in which King Edward pursues the countess, and she refuses him. It attributes nine sections to Marlowe, including parts of the battle scenes near the end, such as the French surrender at Calais. The study suggests the two wrote the play together around 1592.

Loughnane says the evidence puts Shakespeare’s authorship of most of the play beyond any reasonable doubt. On the question of Marlowe, he says the two men were not simply rivals or influences on one another. The findings point instead to real teamwork.

Why it matters

If correct, this adds to a growing picture of the Elizabethan theatre as a shared workshop rather than a contest of lone geniuses. Playwrights often wrote in pairs or groups to meet the demand for new plays. Seeing Shakespeare and Marlowe in that setting changes how we read their early careers, and it suggests that Shakespeare learned from a writer many people think of only as his competitor.

Caveats

Authorship studies of this kind rely on statistics, and different methods can reach different answers. The headline from the University of Kent says the research concludes that Shakespeare wrote the play with Marlowe, but the collaboration claim rests on a computer comparison, not on a signed manuscript or a contemporary record. The date of 1592 is also an estimate. The full study will appear in the journal Shakespeare Quarterly in November, and other scholars will get the chance to test its methods and conclusions.

For now, the study gives the strongest case yet that an anonymous play from 1596 carries the voices of two famous writers who may have been friends as much as rivals.

Readers who want to follow the debate should watch for responses once the paper appears. Authorship work often moves forward through exactly this kind of back and forth, with each team checking the other’s word lists, texts and assumptions.

Sources

• University of Kent press release, “Research concludes that Shakespeare wrote Edward III with Marlowe” (study due in Shakespeare Quarterly, November 2026): https://www.kent.ac.uk/news/creativity-culture-and-heritage/38520/research-concludes-that-shakespeare-wrote-edward-iii-with-marlowe
• Phys.org: https://phys.org/news/2026-10-shakespeare-wrote-edward-iii-marlowe.html
• ThePrint, 19 October 2026: https://theprint.in/feature/shakespeare-1596-play-edward-iii-new-study/3076245/