William Stanley as Shakespeare

Evidence of Authorship by the Sixth Earl of Derby

John M. Rollett (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

212 Seiten

2015
McFarland & Co Inc (Verlag)
978-0-7864-9660-0 (ISBN)

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Presenting striking new evidence, this book shows that "William Shakespeare" was the pen name of William Stanley, son of the Earl of Derby. Born in 1561, he was educated at Oxford, travelled for three years abroad, and studied law in London, mixing with poets and playwrights. In 1592 Spenser recorded that Stanley had written several plays. In 1594 he unexpectedly inherited the earldom--hence the pen name. He became a Knight of the Garter in 1601, eligible to help bear the canopy over King James at his coronation, likely prompting Sonnet 125's "Wer't ought to me I bore the canopy?"--he is the only authorship candidate ever in a position to "bear the canopy" (which was only ever borne over royalty).

Love's Labour's Lost parodies an obscure poem by Stanley's tutor, which few others would have read. Hamlet's situation closely mirrors Stanley's in 1602. His name is concealed in the list of actors' names in the First Folio. His writing habits match Shakespeare's as deduced from the early printed plays. He was a patron of players who performed several times at court, and financed the troupe known as Paul's Boys. No other member of the upper class was so thoroughly immersed in the theatrical world.

Retired research scientist John M. Rollett’s interest in the Shakespeare Authorship Question dates from the 1960s, and he has published several papers on Shakespeare in Notes & Queries, a leading academic journal dealing with literature.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Prologue

Introduction

Part I: Fundamentals

1. Basic Knowledge

2. Shakespeare’s Impossible Doublet

3. Shakspere a Stand-In

4. Shakspere Eliminated

5. Who Bore the Canopy?

6. Spenser’s Two Gentle Poets

7. Nashe’s Gentle Poet

8. Plays: Expanded or Contracted?

9. The Lancashire Connection

10. William Stanley’s Early Years

11. Retrospective 1

12. Interlude: Word Games, Acrostics and Ciphers

Part II: The Sonnets

13. The Sonnets Considered

14. The Fair Youth Royal?

15. The Fair Youth’s Lineage

16. The Queen’s Children?

17. The Queen’s Child

18. Southampton the Fair Youth

19. The Cipher Solutions Assessed

20. Henry Wriothesley, Third Earl of Southampton

21. Henry Wriothesley: Early Years and Last Days

22. Retrospective 2

Part III: Discoveries

23. The Hidden Name

24. William Stanley, Sixth Earl of Derby

25. The Poet and the Fair Youth

26. The Rival Poet

27. Plays Linked with Stanley

28. Pointers to Stanley

29. Derby’s Letters

Conclusion

Appendix A: Oxford Eliminated

Appendix B: Portrait of William Stanley (Portrait of Shakespeare?). Nashe’s Epistle to “Strange News”

Appendix C: The Odds That Chance Produced “Henry Wr-ioth-esley”

Appendix D: More Letters by Derby

Appendix E: Postscript: Henry Heir?

Chapter Notes

Bibliography

Index

Erscheint lt. Verlag	30.5.2015
Zusatzinfo	33 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Verlagsort	Jefferson, NC
Sprache	englisch
Maße	178 x 254 mm
Gewicht	376 g
Themenwelt	Literatur ► Lyrik / Dramatik ► Dramatik / Theater
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Anglistik / Amerikanistik
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Literaturgeschichte
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Literaturwissenschaft
ISBN-10	0-7864-9660-6 / 0786496606
ISBN-13	978-0-7864-9660-0 / 9780786496600
Zustand	Neuware