4-6 'William Shakespeare' was Edward de Vere, 17th Lord Oxford

Final part of the talk - "the pamphlets of the writers of the time, they state two things: again and again they say there is a man going round masquerading as an author that he isn't. Robert Greene calls him the upstart crow; Ben Jonson calls him the Poet-Ape. ... they talk of a great giant of literature, a man who is unrecognised: [John] Marston describes him thus in 1599: in referring to Shakespeare, he says

... Far fly thy fame,
Most most of me beloved, whose silent name
One letter bounds [Edward de Vere] Thy true judicial style
I ever honour. And if my love beguile
Not much my hopes, then thy unvalu.d worth
Shall mount fair place when Apes are turned forth.'

... a quote from Ben Jonson, who knew Edward de Vere, and he knew Shaksper. And again and again in his tribute, his moving tribute to Shakespeare, the Preface of the First Folio, at the end of it he takes cognisance of the badge of the de Veres, the five-pointed star, and he ends his tribute by saying: But wait, I see thee in the hemisphere advanced, and made a constellation there. Shine forth, thou star of poets."

Then Question and Answer Session.
Q1: Why no direct evidence? For de Vere (& Shaxper)
Q2: King James' treatment of de Vere; Charles & Shakespeare
Q3: Secret grant £1,000 to de Vere 1586 - theatrical activities
Q4: History plays and propaganda; and 'secular Bible', erudition

Brilliant 50 minute talk - overview of why de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, was the real Shakespeare, not the Stratford man. Delivered in 1995. The speaker's opinions and researches have continued to develop and deepen since then.

Followed by question and answer session, also about 50 minutes. Some of the questioners are hostile; listen to the brilliantly-informed replies. (The questions are not very audible, presumably for recording reasons).

Much of the material is to be found in the original 1920s book on de Vere, the first to identify him as Shakespeare. And much of it appears in the film 'Anonymous'.

250,000 people - I guesstimate 30 million secondary school students in the US/Canada, UK, ANZ. I've guessed Eng Lit students and teachers etc at a fairly advanced level make about 1% of that figure.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Shakespeare
• Oxford
• Edward de Vere
• 17th Earl of Oxford
• authorship
• England
• Elizabeth I
• Elizabethan
• Stratford