Ricardian Funtimes

Besides, no argument could ever possibly sway the Oxfordian crowd. They are the prophets of truthiness. “It couldn’t have been Shakespeare,” they say. “How could a semiliterate country boy have composed works of such power?” Their snobbery is the surest sign of their ignorance. Many of the greatest English writers emerged from the middle or lower classes. Dickens worked in a shoe-polish factory as a child. Keats was attacked for belonging to the “cockney school.” Snobbery mingles with paranoia, particularly about the supposedly nefarious intrigues of Shakespeare professors to keep the identity secret. Let me assure everybody that Shakespeare professors are absolutely incapable of operating a conspiracy of any size whatsoever. They can’t agree on who gets which parking spot. That’s what they spend most of their time intriguing about.

lareinenoire

the_alchemist

nineweaving

The 17th Earl of Oxford was Queen Elizabeth’s bastard son.
The 17th Earl of Oxford was Queen Elizabeth’s lover.
The Earl of Southampton was their bastard son.
The 17th Earl of Oxford was the Earl of Southampton’s lover.
If it were ever revealed that Oxford wrote Shakespeare’s plays, all four of the above facts would come out.
The plays of Shakespeare were written by John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford (1442–1513)
The Earl of Southampton, being fond of cross-dressing, used to hang around the theatres hoping to play female roles. He was given a few such parts and was apparently quite convincing as a girl. You can tell all this by the fact he has very long hair in one portrait.

I fear we will actually have to engage with what they consider evidence; we will have to explain, in venues and formats as popular and widely available as those used by the anti-Stratfordians, why their claims don’t make sense; and we will have to be much more robust in our presentation of the facts. I don’t find this an intellectually stimulating (let alone rewarding) prospect, nor do I think there are many constructive conversations to be had. I also don’t relish the thought of having to spend any of my time in the company of Charles Beauclerk’s writings. But if we don’t take part in the public discussion, if we don’t carefully detail our own position and debunk the supposedly skeptical point of view in as accessible a language and manner as the other side, we risk losing by default. Silence will be interpreted as defeat or, worse yet, consent. I’ve read Much Ado About Nothing. I don’t want to be Hero.

mithrigil

So, no, Anonymous is NOT just a movie: it is a huge propaganda machine that wants desperately to sway viewers and students. Oh, and I know that this is nitpicky, but I don’t get the title. Perhaps I’ll understand after I (cringe) see the damned thing, but surely it should be Pseudonymous. I want to make the sequel, Anonymous 2. This blood-and-guts, sexy action romp will argue that Anonymous was not the real author of Beowulf.

Replying that "this Oxfordian business has always strained my pretty elastic credulity," now Hunt summarized, unambiguously, thus:

"No, absolutely no competent student of the period, historical or literary, has ever taken this theory seriously. First of all, the founding premise is false -- there is nothing especially mysterious about William Shakespeare, who is as well documented as one could expect of a man of his time. None of his contemporaries or associates expressed any doubt about the authorship of his poems and plays. Nothing about De Vere (Oxford) suggests he had any great talent, and there is no reason to suppose he would have suppressed any talents he possessed."