Why Doubt Shakespeare?
For those of you who do not know me, I am a guy who has watched Four Weddings and a Funeral six times. Why? Because something bothered me the first time. I wanted to know what Charles, the character played by Hugh Grant, did for a living. Feel free to ask my wife. She could …. Read More
The Droeshout Portrait of Shakespeare
Above is the famous Droeshout portrait of Shakespeare. I got to thinking about this and came up with this idea: Ever think about what might be missing from the famous portrait? Answer: Shakespeare’s coat of arms. Would not his famous coat of arms not safely secure his name forever as the ‘real’ author? Why is …. Read More
Shakespeare’s Birthright
“What is the difference between a violin and a fiddle?” Answer: “A violin has never had a beer in it.” The two musical instruments may look alike, but people normally associate folks belonging to a higher class of society with a violin than a fiddle. Likewise, when people debate the authorship issue of William Shakespeare …. Read More
Sir Thomas North
Lately there has been a lot of ink spilled about Sir Thomas North. In fact, a new book out, North by Shakespeare by Michael Blanding claims that William Shakespeare wrote every single word, but he plagiarized giant sections from the works of Sir Thomas North. If so, how does this relate to Edward de Vere’s …. Read More
The year 1604 & Sylvia Plath
Those who oppose Edward de Vere’s authorship of the Shakespeare canon will sometimes gleefully point to the year 1604 and say something like, “Edward de Vere cannot be the true author of Shakespeare because he died in 1604 and several of his plays were written after 1604.” Or “Edward de Vere died in 1604 and …. Read More
Confirmation Bias
What is confirmation bias? Confirmation bias is our tendency to cherry-pick information that confirms our existing beliefs or ideas. Confirmation bias explains why two people with opposing views on a topic can see the same evidence and come away feeling validated by it. This cognitive bias is most pronounced in the case of ingrained, ideological, …. Read More
Neil Simon & Oxenford
On the surface, playwright Neil Simon and Edward de Vere (aka: “Edward Oxenford”) might seem to have little in common. Simon was born on the 4th of July 1927 in New York City and passed away in 2018 while Oxenford was born April 12, 1550 at Hedingham Castle, England and died in 1604. Oxenford was …. Read More
Marlowe or Shakespeare?
Someone recently asked me, who was a better writer, Marlowe or Shakespeare? To me, Shakespeare was a better writer. Why? Not only did he speak of the human condition but he would dive into the psychological aspects of a character. He deftly moved beyond the stereotyping of characters which is a problem with Marlowe. If …. Read More
Nothing is Truer than True
For years, many people have wondered how Shakespeare (possibly illiterate and at best an average student) could write the plays attributed to him and without ever leaving England. (Many plays take place in Italy.) Unless, someone else wrote the plays! If so, who? Cheryl Eagen-Donovon is the producer/director of a documentary film I watched on …. Read More