From the article: Shakespeare Authorship Debate
Could Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, really be the genius behind Shakespeare's plays and sonnets? Or perhaps Francis Bacon? We gather your opinions and ask "who wrote Shakespeare?" Share Your Theory
edward de vere
- De Vere wrote those plays because back then plays were looked at as sins . So De Vere kept his plays to himself but then he decided he wanted another man to take credit for his plays only because he wanted them to be acknowledged. & the man who took credit for them was Shakespeare because De Vere paid him to. & De Vere did die in 1604 but he had already written several plays in which he gave to his friend to publish(in Shakepeare's name) after he had died.
- —Guest destiny
The Chronology Issue
- They are chronologically far apart, but they benolg to a series, which runs from Richard II, via Henry IV (both parts), Henry V, Henry VI (all three parts) to Richard III, so there is some gain in understanding if you read Richard III last and the two other plays in the sequence suggested by their numbering. It doesn't make very much difference. If you read the whole series, it would help to do it in the proper order. You would also understand Richard III a lot better than you will by just reading the three plays indicated.
- —Guest DdZoiswxgzqOsJNEsY
Earl of Rutland
- Why do american (and others) scholars especially love the Earl of Oxford? I think, because he fits best to modern mass culture (a thriller "Anonymous" is a good example). But the truth lies in the other place: one should read the book of Ilya Gililov "The Shakespeare Game, or the Mystery of the Great Phoenix" (Algora Publishing) and the book of Marina Litvinova (in russian). The author of the Sonnets - the Earl of Rutland.
- —Guest Leon
Your bias on Shakespeare authorship
- You wrote as follows: "These theories have sprung up because the evidence surrounding Shakespeare’s life is insufficient – not necessarily contradictory. The following reasons are often cited as evidence that Shakespeare didn’t write Shakespeare (despite a distinct lack of evidence)" HERE YOU ARE LYING TO YOUR READERS TO POISON THE WELL. The lack of evidence describes the Stratfordian position, not that of those who doubt whether William Shakspere of Stratford was the same man as the famous author. Evidence has been destroyed about the Stratford Grammar School, so we don't know whether Shakspere (his preferred spelling) ever attended it. We don't know whether the Stratford businessman ever read a book, let alone the classics that the authorWe DO KNOW about the education of Edward de Vere, Ben Jonson, Edmund Spencer and other Renaissance poets. If you are going to discuss the authorship question, please be fair to those who hold an unorthodox position, and be HONEST with readers.
- —Guest Sleuth93111
Opinions on who wrote Shakespeare
- The movie "Anonymous" was not a documentary, but a fabulous and exciting drama. The basic premise is that Oxford and Elizabeth had a love child who was kept secret and raised as the Third Earl of Southampton. The sonnets make sense when seen as a legacy to the author's son. The poem "Venus and Adonis" tells the love story. See the reviews online at Amazon or Barnes and Noble for the book THE SECRET LOVE STORY IN SHAKESPEARE'S SONNETS [2008] for a refreshing set of interpretations and an explanation of the mysterious Dedication to the 1609 edition of the Sonnets.
- —Guest Sleuth93111
Sonnet 76
- Since the text box will not accept JPEG, to go the link below to see a graphic/pictorial representation of Sonnet 76 (original spelling). As for me, I am the first to find the encryption in Sonnet 76 (see above), which reads: "My name's DEVERE". A more lengthy treatment of this find has been done by David L. Roper in his recent book, Proving Shakespeare, where he states this find is conclusive proof Edward de Vere is the author of the Shakespeare sonnets. Roper's website also contains information on this letter-string, as well as calculated probabilities, and can be found by clicking on the following link (Proof Four): http://www.dlropershakespearians.com/ in which he states (referring to my find): "It should therefore be understood that this ‘autographed’ sonnet proves conclusively that Edward de Vere was the poet who wrote Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Once chance has been rejected, there is no other explanation." "My name's DEV
- —Guest Dr. James S. Ferris
Nothing truer than truth
- I consider the Authorship Question to be fascinating, and a great mental exercise. Although there is some logic existing in the Stratfordian position, I have found after spending about 1500 hours reading and re-reading virtually all of the material relating to Shake-speare's true identity, that Edward de Vere is unquestionably the voice we hear when we read the WS canon. The sonnets fall perfectly into place. REMEMBER the 1609 Sonnets had NO AUTHOR DEDICATION, and they were quickly suppressed, as only 15 copies exist today. De Vere's relationship with Southampton as potential son-in-law allow for the "procreation sonnets" to make perfect sense. It amazes me that when I read the flowery speech of WS, that one would assume it was a person from Warwickshire who just made it all up, and knew how to speak like the most educated Courtier in the Realm. We are gullible to think Shakespeare was not highly educated by the best scholars in England. Doesn't it show in the work?
- —Guest Boswell
Circumstantial evidence is evidence.
- Almost certainly the man from Stratford did not write this corpus. The fact that so much more is known about the lives of his contemporaries than about him strains credulity. I thought so in high school and I thought so in college--lo, these many years ago after having been a lawyer (very used to assessing and weighing evidence.) Such an issue deserves broad and deep consideration. I suggest that serious learners consult the Shakespeare Reasonable Doubt website.
- —tbyrnesshaw_yahoocom
who wrote Shakespeare
- It's all very well saying De Vere wrote Shakespeare. However, he died in 1604, so who 'wrote' Shakespeare then?
- —Guest robert williams
Occam's Razor
- I have read a wealth of information on this topic over the last several days. I do not need to be an authority or read everyone's printed works on the subject to get a feel for the Anti-Stratfordian arguments. I am a lover of Shakespeare and to those that would deny him his legacy I would say that even your strongest arguments leave their blood upon Occam's Razor.
- —Guest dlsteed
BTW, The Story of Hamlet was well known
- Hamlet or Abeth was mentioned in the Irish Annals of the Four Masters. Saxo the Grammarian wrote of Hamlet (Amlet) as well. The tale was well known. I say that anyone familiar with Celtic lore will recognize that Gertrude, mother of Hamlet, was a Sovereignty Goddess.
- —SusanSiobhan
Some Folks Just Hate Individuals
- I learned of the "Anti-Avonian" theories in college. I thought there are people who can not credit the individual. I read the ridiculous book by Charles Beauclerk, a De Vere descendant, which seems to have inspired the film "Anonymous." I am now reading Jonathan Bate's fine but speculative scholarship. Bate looks at the curriculum offered by Elizabethan grammar schools and traces it through the plays. He also traces the leading playwrights of Will's era: half of them were university boys and half, including Ben Jonson, were not. BTW, why does it matter what Twain and Dickens surmised? We have no record of their scholarship!
- —SusanSiobhan
We will never know
- The author of the plays was a well born and well educated nobleman, welcome in the great houses of his time. The writing is too consistent to be from more than one hand. He was a propaganda writer welcome at the royal courts of Queen Elizabeth and King James. His contemporaries would have known his ruse. Lord Burley would have cleaned the record of all but a few scraps as to who he was. We will never know for sure. Enjoy the plays. Like the Gun Powder Plot and the KIng James Bible, myth and legend endure.
- —Guest PKB
A Liitle Learning
- These comments prove Pope's maxim: a little learning is a dangerous thing. Spend a couple of years actually studying the authorship controversy; read a couple of dozen books on the subject - encompassing all points of view; and keep an open mind. Do this and you will find it is very doubtful that William Shakespeare of Stratford ever wrote anything, and de Vere was certainly not the author. Far and away the best candidate is Christopher Marlowe. If proof is ever found that he did indeed live past 1593, this argument will be settled.
- —Guest Daver852
Shakspere
- His father was illiterate. His children were illiterate. He does not seem to have owned a book. Nor he sent nor received he letters from anyone. And this is why we have an authorship controversy: Because the most famous author in English history seems to have not existed (unless one conclude without evidence that references to Shake-speare automatically refer to Shakspere. At the same time, the famous and accomplished Earl of Oxford seems to have been erased from history. The whole situation smacks of political intrigue. The Cecil's had every reason and every opportunity to erase the name de Vere, and to set-up an educated out-of-towner named Shakspere as being the author. The most successful cover-up in history (until the Warren Commission).
- —Guest Just Steve
1-15 of 56Next
