This is an awesome question and deserves an awesome answer -- this isn't to discourage further coverage of this question, but while you're waiting you might be interested in past threads about Shakespeare authorship and 19th-century bardolatry.
"Why is Shakespeare considered to be one of the best writers of all time? Has he always been taught about? If not, when and why did he become a staple of high school curriculum?" feat. /u/OwlOfDerision and /u/SunAgainstGold
"The origin an reasoning of Bardolatry" feat. /u/nhnhnh
"When did Shakespeare become so culturally important? Was he so revered in his time?" by /u/Texspeare
"How old is the Shakespeare Authorship Question?" feat. /u/Harmania (their rec of Contested Will might be relevant to your interests)
"Recently a lot of theories have been suggesting that William Shakespeare could have been the name of a group of writers working anonymously. Are informations about Shakespeare's life unsure? What lead to this debate and what is the most likely scenario?" feat. /u/Mikedash and others
"Shakespeare did not write his plays -- crazy conspiracy or not?"