Two traditionalist Perpetual Birders (yes, Chris and Conrad, this means you) have posted thoughtful comments on my previous post about the Shakespeare authorship controversy. Everyone with an interest in the subject should follow their links and compare the extent and quality of their evidence with the evidence for Edward de Vere (the 17th Earl of Oxford) as the true author the works we know as Shakespeare’s (links here). In the meantime, here’s a statement in favor of something quite simple: doubt. Doubt about Will.
"I feel mostly amusement when someone whose intellect I respect turns out to believe in such things."<br /><br />I wonder if this qualifies you as a snob, Chris. See <a href="http://perpetualbird.blogspot.com/2010/12/on-snobbery.html" rel="nofollow">today's PB post</a>….<br /><br />:-)
I don't know that I'm the one to make the case for Shakespeare as Shakespeare. Like many things, I rely on a combination of my own assessment and the judgement of betters I trust. I'm pretty convinced by the evidence given at the link I posted, included those that address points brought up in this comment thread. Whatever doubt I might have is quelled almost entirely by the judgement
Thanks for that link, Kent. I intend to do something more than "mention" your book, but to be honest (a) I'm swamped with work at the moment, and (b) I am getting caught up with your other books so I can (maybe) place your book in its proper context. You're right, though, that the much broader context is the one that includes the Shakespeare controversy. I wouldn't echo
I signed the Declaration about six months ago. I just did this interview about another case of authorial Reasonable Doubt (albeit one quite a bit more modest in scale!), the book related to which Joseph has kindly remarked on at PB. I mention the Shakespeare controversy in the interview:<br /><br />http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/external/Mary/winter2011/reviews/interview-pb.html
I can't speak for every doubter, but for me the authorship of Shakespeare's work is an open question because nothing that we know about the man from Stratford accords with the highly specialized knowledge shown in the plays, from sophisticated legal concepts to details of Italian geography. The notion that he simply stole from other writers is false—the facts show it—and there is no
Joseph,<br /><br />the "weak link" point is very good. Very Derridean. I agree that every type of orthodoxy, (and certainly Shakespeare counts as one: I'll even add the names of Milton, Chaucer, Cervantes, Dante etc to the list of great canonical fitures) can always reveal the cracks that have perhaps always been there. But I don't think authorship is what's at stake here at
I object to the term "real Shakespeare studies," Conrad. Nobody I've read on either side of the issue denies the facts; the dispute is over the interpretation of those facts—which leads to a dispute over the direction research ought to take. All orthodoxies, I'm sure you'll agree, are hostile to rival interpretations; typically they denounce rival views as "unreal,"
Hi Joseph,<br /><br />I'm glad you've decided to revisit the Shakespeare authorship question here. I hope Chris, who's much better qualified to make the "prostratfordian" case than I can, joins in soon.<br /><br />But I'd just like to remark on the irony of the "Doubt about Will" title to your post, Joseph. I choose to read "Will" (even capitalized)