Actually, that's a very common topic of conversation. We've been learning about him in class and many historians believe he may have not been real it may have just been a pen name.

Well is he?

Sorry for the many commas^^ I'm german and we use them way more often :D

I feel it's necessary to ask: Were you arguing for or against his existence.

Okay, others have said it. I have said it. We have birth records, not only for William Shakespeare himself, but also for his three children. We have records of his marriage, his death, where he went to school. He most certainly was real. We actually know a great deal more about him that we do a number of historic figures accepted as real (for example Alexander the Great), though there is a seven year period of no reliable records. Regarding authorship, there are a number of historians, some very well respected, who toy with the theory that various individuals were the REAL authors of the plays (and sometimes the sonnets). The problem is, while it isn't hard to explain why an English lord or an unknown playwright might want to use Shakespeare's name, all these theories seem to depend on the assumption that Shakespeare COULDN'T be the author: the man was a commoner who didn't attend university and didn't attend court. There is no direct evidence of other authorship. During the time, in which the scandal would have made delicious gossip, no one disputed the authorship of his works: that became a pastime rather recently with people suddenly trying to attribute the work in contradictory fashion to 80 some contenders. In contradiction, all the supporting evidence, from title pages to the accounts of contemporaries, identify the works as those of William Shakespeare.

Technically both sides are correct. They're not sure if William Shakespeare was a pen name or his real name or if he was even one person. The only proof of his existence are his works.

He's using correct punctuation.

Some people aren't sure if Shakespeare was a real person or a pen name for several authors.

There actually some debate as to whether he was a real person. I personally have never been curious enough to look these up but if u have time I would suggest doing so.