What difference does it make who wrote Shakespeare? Heres the way I see it: Attributed for the past 400 years (give or take a few) to William Shakespeare of Stratford-on-Avon, a gentleman rising from humble roots as a glovers son, we have not been encumbered with an excess of biographical details from his life intruding themselves into our consciousness. This frees us to read the plays as speaking for our own times, or for our own lives - or simply enjoy them as phenomenal works of art. Attributed (by theory) since 1920 to Edward, Earl of Oxford, Lord Great Chamberlain of England and son-in-law of Elizabeths most trusted counselor, Lord Burghley, we do have a frightful excess of biographical details, details which seem to parallel scenes and situations that fascinated Shakespeare. Therefore, instead of being the work of an impersonal observer of his times, Shakespeares plays and poems become the private property of the earls consciousness, in reaction to his own unique, tumultuous life. Attribution to gentle William allows us, ever so gently, to forget the author; attribution to Edward absorbs us into the maelstrom of his troubled soul.
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 02:11:53 +0000
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