WHO WROTE EDWARD III?—WHAT’S MY OPINION? I had read Edward III before going to see it, and I missed some of the things that good actors and a good director will find in the text. Notably, I missed the success of the scenes in which the French warriors disparage the chances of the English soldiers in mock French accents. I then thought of the comparable scenes in Henry V. Did Shakespeare go back to the success of these scenes in Edward III when he was writing the later play? By the same token, the scenes in which the English exchange insults with the French brought me memories of the Montagues and Capulets exchanging insults in Romeo and Juliet.
I think I have already given away my opinion. When I read Edward III and when I watched it, I always thought that I was watching a play by Shakespeare. Based on my experience of it, I think Shakespeare wrote all of Edward III.
On the way home I asked Mary Jane what she thought. She pointed out that she hadn’t read the play, but had only seen it. She then said: “Shakespeare wrote all of it.”