Notes & Queries
09 September 2011
My Hero Will Shaksper
by Martin Peake
Archaeologists in southern Israel say they've uncovered a young donkey that was carefully laid to rest on its side more than 3,500 years ago, complete with a copper bridle bit in its mouth and saddle bags on its back. Its accessories — and the lack of butchery marks on its bones — lead researchers to believe the venerated pack animal was sacrificed and buried as part of a Bronze Age ritual.
Napoleon said that history is a set of lies that
the majority of people are in agreement with. When in the course of time
certain facts are unearthed or mysteries explained we're often pleased to get
closer to the truth, but not always: For instance, Charles Darwin's “The Origin
of Species” wasn't greeted with open arms by everybody, neither were the Dead
Sea scrolls nor the gospels according to Timothy, Mary or Judas. Sometimes the
truth about our childhood heroes is a little hard to digest.
It would now appear that for the last 100 years scholars have been uncovering
facts that make it look as if Shakespeare was an impostor. This is more than
any red blooded Englishman is prepared to take.
Let it not be said that an admirer of William Shakespeare is afraid of the
truth. For a start I admire him as Will Shaksper (There's no offence meant by
this spelling of his name and I'm sure that none would be taken - that's how he
wrote it.) As an actor and theatre owner he brought high quality English
entertainment to the masses against daunting odds. When he and his friends were
forced to leave the theatre in Blackfriars they took it to pieces plank by
plank, carried it across London and rebuilt it as the “Globe” theatre. Apart
from performances in London, Shaksper’s troupe toured the provinces. Going on
tour is hard enough nowadays with lorries for the scenery and props. Take away
the lorries, trains and the hotels and you're looking at hard grind. In
recognition of his achievements he was invited to take part in the coronation
parade of King James.
Apart from the theatre, Shaksper made a good living as a money lender. Towards
the end of his life Will Shaksper settled in his native Stratford-on-Avon
speaking as a lay preacher in the church and (as we believe) often acting as a
benefactor to his neighbours. He bought “New Place” in Stratford-upon-Avon for
£ 60, a residence that would cost a little more on today's market. All in all -
Well done that man! He is a hero of the nation and anyone who wants to set a
finger on his statue will have to reckon with the wrath of a proud
nation.
This is where the story takes on a new character: Will Shaksper never claimed
to have written the Shakespearian works. After the death of Will Shaksper Ben
Jonson declared him to be the author William SHAKE-SPEARE.
Now the question is: who is doing a dirty trick on whom? By way of comparison:
I'm proud of my grandfather, he was highly decorated for fighting bravely in
World War I, he built up a flourishing business and he devoted a lot of time to
community service. If, after his death, someone had claimed that he had done
the paintings that we attribute to Claude Monet or that he wrote the body of
work that we attribute to Mervyn Peake then I would say “Hey, back off, will
you. I won't have you making a fraud of my grandfather.”
In order to re-evaluate Shaksper we have to ask ourselves four questions:
(1) Did he make false claims to have written the Shakespearian works?
(2) Why didn't Edward de Vere write under his own name?
(3) Why didn’t Edward de Vere's surviving relatives reveal that he had written
under the pseudonym SHAKE-SPEARE?
(4) Who declared Will Shaksper to be the author William SHAKE-SPEARE?
(1) The answer is :”No”.
(2) Edward de Vere was the Lord Great Chamberlain of England and as such the
first aristocrat of the nation. It was unthinkable in the Elizabethan social
and political climate for such a person to write plays for the entertainment of
the masses. It would have been as if our current monarch would open a chip
shop, or have a yard sale at Buckingham palace.
(3) The sonnets were originally intended to be a strictly private matter. They
were published under the name SHAKE-SPEARE. in 1609. These sonnets could have
been used to question the biological parenthood and thereby the legitimacy of
Henry de Vere, 18th Earl of Oxford, causing the family considerable
embarrassment and difficulties.
(4) In the employ of William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, Ben Jonson brought out
a second edition of his play Every Man in
His Humour in which Will Shaksper had acted (B. J., Workes, 1616). Although it was hitherto unheard of and, as time has
proven, an unnecessary practice, he entered a list of the names of the actors
who performed the play on its opening night. In this list he changed the
actor's name from Shaksper to SHAKESPEARE.