Ewriting Format by Carl Peterson © 2002

How many of you have heard of Edward DeVere,
the 17th Earl of Oxford?

How many of you are convinced
that William Shakespeare wrote
all the works attributed to William Shakespeare?

Well,
actually,
I think the evidence indicates that
"William Shakespeare"
was never the original name of a person,
but that it was a pseudonym
for Edward DeVere as an author,
and that Devere and later his widow
paid Wilielmus Shakspere
to let people believe that he was William Shakespeare,
and
to keep quiet on the matter.

Now,
let's look at the complete works
of Wilielmus Shakspere:

The only thing the man from Stratford
(Shakspere)
is ever known
to have written
for sure are six signatures
in the last four years of his life,
several on his last will and testament
and the rest on affidavits,
etc.

Here is what they look like:

(See photocopy)
And let's look at his engraved portrait
as it first appeared on the First Folio in 1623,
7 years after he died.

Do you notice anything unusual about it?

The line from below the left ear
to the chin suggests that this picture is a mask,
implying that Shakspere is a mask
for the real author.

The artist,
Droeshout,
was 15 years old when Shakspere died
in 1616 and never met him.

How I got interested:

I read the usual 4 or 5 Shakespeare plays
in high school.

And I minored in English in college,
taking an outstanding course in Shakespeare
by a leading Shakespeare scholar,
Maynard Mack,
who often read excerpts
of the plays so convincingly
that it was apparent to me
the author must almost
have experienced these scenes personally.

However,
my knowledge of Shakspere of Stratford
made me doubt that his knowledge
could have been authentic
and my interest faded.

Then many years later in 1991
I read about Charlton Ogburn's 900 page book
The Mysterious William Shakespeare
presenting extensive information
supporting DeVere as the author.

I read the book carefully
and became quite convinced
that here was a man who was,
so
to speak,
at the heart of the scenes
presented in Shakespeare's plays,
as well as the poems.

And it enabled me
to understand so much better
the meaning of Shakespeare's poems and plays.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT
WHO WROTE SHAKESPEARE'S WORKS?

CAN'T WE JUST ENJOY
THE PLAYS AND POEMS?

Better understanding of the plays and poems
Understanding the author
Understanding the creative process
Understanding human nature and psychology
The natural and healthy inclination
to search
for the truth and
to avoid falsehood Justice
(however late,

is it fair that the true author
of such great literature
should be forever denied credit?)

GREAT WRITERS GENERALLY WRITE
FROM EXPERIENCE
Dickens,
Dostoevsky,
Tolstoy,
Emerson,
Melville,
Faulkner,
Twain,
etc.,
etc.

SHAKESPEARE -
THE BEST WRITER IN ANY LANGUAGE
The 1980 Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
has 85 pages devoted
to Shakespeare vs.

47 to the Bible,
9 to Milton, etc.).

Use of different words:

17,700 vs. 7,000 by John Milton;
4,000 average by the learned man.

Prominent experts in many fields
find Shakespeare to have
extraordinary and accurate knowledge
of many fields:

law,
medicine,
botany,
biology,
psychology,
zoology,
politics,
Italy,
etc.

(We will see later that DeVere had access
to the best in each of these fields)

Someone once said that God may be first,
but Shakespeare is in second place

WHILE I GIVE MUCH MORE WEIGHT
to THE EVIDENCE THAN
to THE OPINIONS OF AUTHORITATIVE PERSONS,
NONETHELESS LET'S LOOK AT SOME
OF THE DOUBTERS
ABOUT THE STRATFORD MAN'S AUTHORSHIP
Doubters:

Ralph Waldo Emerson,
Henry James,
Otto von Bismarck,
Walt Whitman,
Sigmund Freud,
Mark Twain,
Benjamin Disraeli,
John Galsworthy,
Charles DeGaulle,
John Greenleaf Whittier,
Charlie Chaplin,
Orson Welles,
John Gielgud,
Clifton Fadiman
(NY Times book reviewer)

Emerson considered the identity of Shakespeare
"the first of all literary problems"
Henry James: (he is) "sort of haunted
by the conviction that the divine William
is the biggest and most successful fraud
ever practiced on a patient world".

Bismarck:

"I could not understand
how it were possible that a man,
however gifted
with the intuition of genius,
could have written what was attributed
to Shakespeare,
unless he had been in touch
with the great affairs of state,
behind the scenes of political life,
and also intimate
with all the social courtesies,
and refinements of thought,
which in Shakespeare's time were only
to be met
with in the highest circles."

WHAT REASONS ARE THERE
for DOUBT?

Shakspere was Christened
"Wilielmus Shakspere".

His name was Shakspere or Shaxpere,
not Shakespeare.

Born April 23,
1564 and died in 1616.

The pronunciation of
"Shakspere"
with a short
"a"
(rhymes
with shack)
is different from Shakespeare
with a long
"a."

The only things ever written by him
for sure are 6 signatures-
on his will and in affidavits,
in the last 4 years of his life.

His handwriting suggests
someone who is illiterate.

Shakspere's parents,
siblings and children were illiterate;
his daughter could only sign her name.

His personality does not fit the author;
he was a petty merchant and harsh creditor.

He never claimed
to have written anything.

The name of the author was hyphenated
"Shake-speare"
when it first appeared in 1592,
which suggests a pseudonym.

Shakspere moved from London to Stratford
right after DeVere died in 1604
and apparently did nothing from 1604
to his death in 1616.

He also apparently did nothing
in literature a few poems and plays
with the name
"Shakespeare"
on them
occasionally appeared starting in 1592.

There was no funeral
or other event honoring him as Shakespeare
when he died.

His will left no books
or writings of any kind.

The original
Shakespeare Monument in Stratford
showed him with a sack of flour.

Droeshout's famous engraving of Shakespeare
for the First Folio in 1623
subtly raises doubt because it appears
to be a mask.

A bibliography of articles and books
challenging Shakespeare's authorship
fills 6 volumes and contains 4,500 items.

DeVERE WAS FIRST DISCOVERED
AND IDENTIFIED
BY THOMAS LOONEY IN 1920

Looney's book,
Shakespeare Identified as Edward DeVere,
the 17th Earl of Oxford,
was published in 1920
(500 pp.)

(Compared
to Origin of Species in quality)
John Galsworthy called it the:
"best detective story I have ever read"

He was a long time teacher and schoolmaster
(a"sage" with broad interests)

He taught Shakespeare
for many years
and became convinced
that the Stratford man or Shakspere
could not have written the plays.

So he decided
to conduct a systematic and scientific investigation
through the Elizabethan age
for the true author.

Looney then constructed
a detective's profile of the author,
drawn from plays and poeMs.

He had no one in mind at the outset,
and did not know of DeVere.

There were 17 characteristics
in the profile
(Ogburn,
pp.

145-147;
379-380).

During Looney's search he discovered Edward DeVere
and found that he completely met
all 17 of the characteristics
he had developed.

The 17 characteristics were as follows:

General characteristics:

Of recognized genius,
and mysterious;
then disappears,
giving the appearance of
"wasted genius"

Apparent eccentricity
A man apart,and unconventional
Apparent inadequacy

Of pronounced and known literary tastes
Enthusiasm for the drama
A lyric poet of recognized talent
Of superior education and an associate of learned men
Special characteristics:

A man
with feudal connections
A member of the higher aristocracy/

Connectedwith Lancastrian supporters
An enthusiastfor Italy
A follower of sport
(including falconry)
A lover of music
Loose and improvident in money matters
Doubtful and somewhat conflicting
in his attitude to women
Of probably Catholic leanings,
but touched
with skepticism

SO WHO IS DeVERE,
AND WHAT EVIDENCE IS THERE
THAT HE WAS SHAKESPEARE?

Born April 22, 1550,
died 1604.

The 17th Earl of Oxford
The DeVeres were the most notable noble family
in England next to royalty.

They had great wealth
and held high positions.

They came in with William the Conquerer.

Edward entered Cambridge University
at the age of 8.

His tutor,
a distinguished scholar,
resigned when DeVere was 13
because he said his services
were no longer required,
implying that DeVere
had learned all he had to teach.

See DeVere's letter written in French at age 13
that shows excellent French and penmanship
for such a young person.

He knew French,
Spanish,
German,
Italian,
Latin,
Greek.

At age 14 received bachelor's degree
from Cambridge Univ.
with Queen Elizabeth presiding.

At age 15 he lived with
and was tutored by his Uncle Arthur Golding.

Soon after
Golding's English translation
of Ovid's Metamorphoses was published.

Ogburn and others believe DeVere
may have done much of the translation;
the exuberant style is very out of character
for Golding, whose other best known work
was a translation of the sermons of John Calvin.

At age 16,
he received a master's degree from Oxford University.

Then he studied law at the Inns of Court.

He was involved in many lawsuits during his life.

The plays reflect a mastery of intricate points of law.

Queen Elizabeth stayed
with the DeVeres
for a week when he was 11
(1561)
and she was almost 28,
and had been Queen
for two years.

His father
(John DeVere,
16th Earl of Oxford)
ran play acting companies and was very wealthy.

Edward also owned acting companies.

Edward's father died when Edward was 12.

His mother was remarried 3 months later
to a man DeVere disliked
(cf.

Hamlet's mother Gertrude and King Claudius).

Edward's legitimacy was challenged
the same year by his half sister,
and as a result the Earl of Leicester
took over management of his property.

Also when Devere was 12
his mother turned him over
to become a
"royal" ward of Lord Burleigh
(William Cecil),
Queen Elizabeth's most trusted advisor
for 40 years.

"The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet"
1562,
a poem said
to be by Arthur Brooke,
whom Ogburn believes was DeVere.

A
"childish" poem
(Marchette Chute)
by a
"Babe" (George Turberville).

The only other thing
"Brooke" did was drown in 1563.

This poem contained elements
used in Romeo and Juliet.

("RomEO")
EO = Earl of Oxford.

As a young man DeVere was known as the best
for dramatic comedy in England
though none of his plays survived
under his name
("Shakespeare" was not mentioned);
and as the best courtier poet during Elizabeth's reign.

In 1578 Gabriel Harvey
a distinguished Cambridge U.scholar
gave a speech before the Queen
lavishly praising DeVere
and apparently urging his promotion
to a military post.

He said
"thy countenance shakes spears".

And he said:

"Thy splendid fame,
demands even more
than in the case of others
the services of a poet possessing lofty eloquence ...

For a long time past Phoebus Apollo
has cultivated thy mind in the arts....

Let that Courtly Epistle
[that DeVere wrote in Latin
to the reader of Castiglione's The Courtier] -
more polished even than the writings
of Castiglione himself -
witness how greatly thou dost excel in letters.
(N)either in France,
Italy,
nor Germany are any such cultivated and polished men."

(Ogburn,
pp.

596-597).

DeVere was the Queen's favorite
and apparent lover when he was 21.

She was 17 years older than DeVere
but they had many things in common.

She was known
to seduce young men,
and then spy on them.

(Carolly Erickson in The First Elizabeth,
1983)

He married Lord Burleigh's daughter Anne Cecil
when he was 21 and she was 15
(cf.

Merry Wives;
Romeo and Juliet).

DeVere had a difficult marriage
to Anne and a sometimes difficult relationship
with Burleigh.

He won Queen's jousting,
tournament 3 times,
each time he entered
(age 21 thru 31,
even beating the pro John Lee
who organized the contest).

His uncle Henry Howard,
the Earl of Surrey,
originated the form
of the Shakespearean sonnet.

DeVere's sonnets are indistinguishable
from Shakespeare's
(Benezet of Dartmouth set up a 70 line test
(35 lines each by DeVere and Shakespeare)
in which leading Elizabethan scholars
including William Lyons Phelps of Yale
all failed to distinguish one from the other.

(Ogburn,
pp.

393-396)
He traveled
to France,
Germany,
Italy,
Greece in 1574-75,
gathering much experience
that is reflected in the plays,
in Verona,
Venice,
Rome,
etc.

During his travels he was paid handsomely by England
as an agent of the secret service
for Burleigh, and Walsingham,
who headed the secret service.

He visited the distinguished scholar Sturmius in Germany.

He commanded troops in Netherlands vs.
Charles V of Spain.

He was led to believe
he had been cuckolded in 1574
(reflected in Othello),
when his wife delivered a child a few months
after he thought he had last been intimate
with her;
later he learned that Burleigh had arranged
for Anne to lie with him in disguise I
n order to get Anne pregnant by DeVere.

This so-called
"bed trick"
is reflected in Measure for Measure.

He was estranged from his wife Anne
for five years after that,
then reconciled,
though she died not long after.

Castiglione's
"The Courtier"
(published by Oxford)
(plays a role in Hamlet).

(The Latin Preface by DeVere
is considered better Latin than
the author's Latin.

Cardanus Comfort
(published in Latin by Oxford)
(also plays a role in Hamlet)
Polonius in Hamlet is clearly identifiable
as Lord Burleigh.

In an earlier version of Hamlet Polonius'
name was
"Corambis",
a jab at Burleigh's motto
(corum unum,
or
"one heart".

DeVere received an unprecedented allowance of 1000£/yr.
from Queen Eliz for 18 yr.

Until he died.

In 1640
Rev.John Ward said that Shakespeare
received an allowance enabling him
to spend at 1000£ per year.
[= $1 million today])

In 1580 he fathered a child by Ann Vavasor,
a poet and Maid of Honor
for Queen Elizabeth.

Elizabeth put them both in the Tower of London
for several months.

She was probably the "dark lady"
of the sonnets,
as the Queen may also have been
to some extent.

Devere was dangerously wounded
in a sword fight
with Thomas Knyvet in 1582
which may be why he says he is
"lame" in the Sonnets.

(cf.

feud in Romeo and Juliet).

Knyvet was Catholic and the uncle of Ann Vavasor,
and claimed to be defending her honor.

DeVre owned acting companies,
and acted in plays.

His companies performed before the Queen,
who is said
to have loved Shakespeare's plays.

He was Lord Great Chamberlain
in which role he sometimes escorted the Queen.

Thus the words
"I bore the canopy"
in the sonnets
finally make some sense.

Briefly commanded an English ship during Spanish Armada.

(1888)
A staged robbery by DeVere's men on the road from Rochester
to Gravesend is reflected in a similar event involving Prince Hal in Henry IV,
Part 1;
and the earlier anonymous version called
"The Famous Victories of Henry Fift".

He served on the Privy Council and held other high offices
for the Queen.

He was Involved in affairs of state on numerous occasions.

He lost £3000 invested in a new world voyage
(like Antonio in Merchant of Venice).

DeVere's daughters figure prominently
in the publication of the First Folio in 1923,
when 16 of his plays appear
for the first time.

He probably fathered a child by Queen Elizabeth
(Eliz and DeVere very similar)
The child was probably the youth
to whom some of the sonnets are addressed,
Henry Wriothesley,
3rd Earl of Southampton.

Some of Shakespeare's poems ae dedicated
to the Earl of Southhampton.

As a musician he was as good as a professional
(Elizabeth was very proficient also).

He married Elizabeth Trentham in 1592,
(Countess of Oxford)
a former Queen's Maid of Honor.

DeVere's widow Trentham
bequeathed a number of pounds
to be paid quarterly to
"my dombe
(dumb)
man"
after she died in 1612.

(Presumably so he'll remain dumb)
A portrait in the Folger Shakespeare Library
that was known
for many years as a portrait of
"Shakespeare"
had come from the Trentham family,
and turns out
to be a portrait of DeVere.

DeVere was a distant cousin of Shakspere,
and DeVere also had a home on the Avon.

DeVere may have been a closet
"Unitarian"
according
to one source,
who said he rejected the trinity,
divinity of Jesus,
and virgin birth.

He advocated tolerance
for Catholics.

Michael Servetus,
who is considered the founder of Unitarianism,
died in 1553.

Servetus discovered that the blood circulates
through the lungs and may be the source
of the fact that Hamlet knows
about the circulation of the blood,
although the play
is long before William Harvey
discovered the circulation of the blood.

Burleigh's gardener,
John Gerard,
was the best scholar of horticulture in England \
The plays show a mastery of hunting,
falconry,
and other noble sports,
etc.

DeVere's Geneva Bible
(in the Folger Shakespeare Library)
has many markings that are reflected in the plays
(Roger Strittmater,
1996).

The plays can all be much better understood
in light of their close connection
with DeVere;
e.g.

Hamlet,
Lear,
Othello,
Macbeth,
Romeo and Juliet,
The Merchant of Venice,
All's Well,
As You Like It,
Measure
for Measure,
The Tempest,
Two Gentlemen of Verona,
Titus Andronicus,
Timon of Athens,
etc.,
etc.

(i.e.

in the plays he generally combined
(1)
an old story;
(2)
a contemporary context;
(3)
personal experience and learning by DeVere.

The Sonnets are much better understood
if DeVere was the author;
otherwise scholars acknowledge
that they can make little sense of them
DeVere was a leading patron and mentor
to other Elizabethan writers,
Anthony Munday,
Robert Greene,
Thomas Nash,
John Lyly,
Christopher Marlowe.

Possibly wrote or associated
with the writing of the first novel in English.

WHY THE MASK OR PSEUDONYM?

Noblemen could not take credit
for their literary work
(his poems signed
"E.O.")
If it were known that DeVere was the author,
characters in the plays and poems could be identified,
which would embarrass
and possibly scandalize the Queen,
Burleigh,
and the British government.

Such a scandal might lead
to an attempt
to overthrow the government
by the Catholics
who throughout Elizabeth's reign were hoping
to regain power.

Burleigh controlled the press in England.

See the Droeshout engraving of
"Shakespeare"
for the 1623 First Folio,
which as mentioned earlier appears
to be a mask.

A comment on Shakespeare in 1640 says:

"Shake-speare,
we must be silent in thy praise,
Cause our encomiums
will but blast thy bays;
..."

PARTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Mysterious William Shakespeare,
Charlton Ogburn
(EPM Publications,
1984,
1992,
892 pp.)
The Man Who Was Shakespeare,
Charlton Ogburn
(a summary of
The Mysterious William Shakespeare,
1995,
96 pp.)

Discovering Shakespeare,
Edward Holmes
(Mycroft Books,
2001,
350 pp.)
Shakespeare Identified,
as Edward DeVere,
the 17th Earl of Oxford,
Thomas Looney,
1920
(500 pp.)
This Star of England,
Dorothy Ogburn and Charlton Ogburn,
Sr.,
1952,
Coward,
McCann
(1,300 pp.)
The Renaissance Man of England,
Charlton Ogburn,
Sr.,
(privately published,
1947,
5 printings)
Alias Shakespeare:

Solving the Greatest Literary Mystery of All Time,
Joseph Sobran,
311 pp.)
Websites:

Shakespeare Oxford Society:

www.shakespeare?oxford.com/
(with numerous links,
including a bookstore
with many other books and articles
on DeVere as Shakespeare)