 An alternative approach has been to claim that the portrait depicts William Shakespeare , but does so in a way designed to ridicule him by making him look ugly , or to suggest that he is a mask for a hidden author . The double line created by the gap between the modelling shadow and the jawline has been used to suggest that it is a mask , as has the shape of the doublet , which is claimed to represent both the back and front of the body . Thus Edwin Durning @-@ Lawrence asserts that " there is no question – there can be no possible question – that in fact it is a cunningly drawn cryptographic picture , shewing two left arms and a mask ... Especially note that the ear is a mask ear and stands out curiously ; note also how distinct the line shewing the edge of the mask appears . " 
