Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford was Shakespeare

                                  These our actors

(As I foretold you) were all spirits, and

Are melted into air, into thin air,

And like the baseless fabric of this vision,

The cloud-capp'd tow'rs, the gorgeous palaces,

The solemn temples, the great globe itself,

Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,

And like this insubstantial pageant faded

Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff

As dreams are made on; and our little life

Is rounded with a sleep.

 

The Tempest IV.i

which it inherit - who occupy it

rack - wisp of cloud

The Shakespeare Oxford Society is the second oldest continuously operating organization (the Bacon Society dates back to 1886) involved in the two-centuries old Shakespeare authorship debate. The purpose of the Society is to document and establish Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (1550-1604), as the universally recognized author of the works of William Shakespeare.

We hope that you will look into what is undoubtedly one of the world's greatest mystery stories. While our Society is certainly committed to the proposition that Edward de Vere is the true Shakespeare, there is still much that remains to be learned about the whole secretive world of Elizabethan society, its literature and its politics, about how and why the Shakespeare authorship ruse came into being, and, even more importantly, about what resolving the Shakespeare authorship mystery could mean for us today, living as many of us are in an Anglo-American world that was created in large part during the Elizabethan era. As Charles Burford (Society President, 1995-1997) has said in his talks on the authorship, "If you get Shakespeare wrong, you get the whole Elizabethan era wrong." The Oxfordian theory that a court insider and lifelong confidante of Queen Elizabeth is the true Shakespeare transforms one's understanding of the works of Shakespeare, which in turn does transform one's understanding of the history of this critical period in world history.

The case for Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford as "Shakespeare"

Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford was a recognized poet and playwright of great talent, and although no play under Oxford's name has come down to us, his acknowledged early verse and his surviving letters contain forms, words, and phrases resembling those of Shakespeare.

The Shakespeare plays and poems show that the author had specific knowledge of certain works of literature, certain prominent persons in Elizabeth's court, and events connected with them.

Oxford's father-in-law and guardian, William Cecil, Lord Burghley, was satirized knowingly in Hamlet as Polonius. Many scholars concede this point. Some details in Hamlet's dialogue reveal knowledge of Burghley's career. A commoner such as Shakspere of Stratford could not have represented a figure such as Burghley on the stage. 

In the sonnets and the plays there are frequent references to events that are paralleled in Oxford's life. Oxford was the only possible candidate for "Shakespeare" who actually "bore the canopy" (as he said in sonnet 125) over Queen Elizabeth during the victory celebration following the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Oxford's poem "Anne Vavasor's Echo", written to his mistress Anne Vavasor, the most likely "Dark Lady" of the sonnets, bears a strong resemblance to the echo verses in Venus and Adonis and certain passages in Romeo and Juliet. The details of Hamlet, one of "Shakespeare's" greatest achievements, are so similar to those of Oxford's life that the play could be considered autobiographical.

In the Renaissance period in England no courtiers were allowed to publish plays --this was an unwritten code of the court. The need for a pseudonym by an author-courtier such as Oxford would have been essential. If the name "William Shakespeare" is a pseudonym, Oxford would have had many reasons for adopting this particular nom de plume. Oxford's coat of arms bears a lion shaking a spear.

Edward de Vere was quite accomplished in jousting and participated in tournaments. Some of his early verse has images drawn from falconry. His quarrel with Sir Philip Sidney over the rights to the tennis court is notorious.

Upon Oxford's death in 1604 King James had eight Shakespeare plays produced at court as a final tribute. When Oxford's widow died nine years later a group of Shakespeare plays (fourteen in this case) were produced in tribute.

A comparison of Edward de Vere with "William Shakespeare"

Characteristics matching Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford.

1) Mature man of recognized genius. A lyric poet of recognized talent.

2) Of pronounced and known literary taste.

3) An enthusiast in the world of drama.

4) Of superior education.

5) Of probable Catholic leanings but touched with skepticism.

6) A man with feudal connections, a member of the higher aristocracy, and connected with Lancastrian supporters.

7) An enthusiast for Italy.

8) Lover of music.

9) Improvident in money matters and contemptuous of thrift.

10) A follower of sport, including falconry.

 The language of A Course in Miracles is "Shakespearian."

Three Plays:   King Lear - outline notes     Merchant of Venice - Portia on "Mercy"     Othello - Iago as the ego
 Return to Disappearance of the Universe                  The Ego Demonstrated in a Contemporary Play