Scholar claims he has found real Shakespeare
A German scholar claims that the works attributed to William Shakespeare were actually written by Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford. Photo: Getty Images
Tuesday November 24 2009
A GERMAN academic claims to have uncovered the most conclusive evidence to date that the works of William Shakespeare were in fact written by Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford.
Kurt Kreiler's 595-page book, 'The Man who Invented Shakespeare', has been published in Germany to some critical acclaim and an English translation is planned for next year.
Over 22 chapters, Mr Kreiler, an established Shakespeare scholar, builds a mountain of circumstantial evidence in support of the idea that the world has been honouring the wrong man for centuries.
He claims de Vere's known works and letters show a strong Shakespearean style and also points to the earl's nickname at court: "Spear-shaker". Mr Kreiler says the earl graduated from Cambridge aged just 14; mastered law and Italian; and would have had a wide-ranging knowledge of the upper classes -- in contrast to the lowly born William Shakespeare. All this, he concludes, means de Vere was well placed to write works such as 'The Merchant of Venice', and 'Romeo and Juliet'.
Mr Kreiler also believes 'Hamlet' was an almost autobiographical play about the earl's life. De Vere's father-in-law, William Cecil, Lord Burghley, is said to be have been parodied as the character Polonius.
"It is interesting to note that his nickname at court was Spear-shaker, due to his ability both at tournaments and because his coat of arms featured a lion brandishing spear."
"Edward De Vere also lived in the same area as Shakespeare and scrutiny of specific stanzas he wrote show their style was not copied anywhere else at the time, except in what we call Shakespearean poems."
Critics of the theory argue that de Vere's death in 1604 means he would not have been aware of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 and the wreck of the 'Sea Venture' in Bermuda in 1609, which are thought to be alluded to in 'Macbeth' and 'The Tempest' respectively. (© Daily Telegraph, London)
- Allan Hall in Berlin
Irish Independent
