How to Read Shakespeare Like an Oxfordian! References to Edward de Vere's Life & Times Part I

In this video, I offer numerous examples of references to Edward de Vere's life and times in Shakespeare's plays. Shakespeare's "problem plays" are instantly brought into focus by analyzing them through an Oxfordian lens. Remember: The plays aren't the problem; Stratfordianism is the problem!
Here, I focus on The Merchant of Venice, Troilus and Cressida, Twelfth Night, and A Midsummer Night's Dream... Stay tuned for a Part II!

Thanks to Earl Showerman, Mark Anderson, and Michael Delahoyde's research for this video.

Though some call it a conspiracy, notable thinkers from Mark Twain to Sigmund Freud have been convinced that the real Shakespeare was not the man from Stratford-Upon-Avon. Future videos will continue to present evidence suggesting that "William Shakespeare" was actually the pen name of Edward De Vere, a notorious courtier who served Queen Elizabeth and was said by his contemporaries to have been the greatest living writer of comedies.

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[michellemelinger]

When you put on the Oxfordian glasses everything is so much clearer. Terrific presentation!

[vincentsmith]

What I love about Phoebe is that she never blocks hostile comments. I admire this. She clearly has faith in the evidence she presents, and is able to handle criticism with perfect equanimity.

Excellent presentation Phoebe. You keep on with you courageous determination never to block people presenting alternative evidence. You are one of the few Oxfordian commentators who don't censor everyone they disagree with.

[rosezingleman]

I love that you have Infinite Jest on your bookshelf.

[donaldwhittaker]

Good stuff. Ages ago I read ogburn then looney and was convinced about de vere. This analysis is very helpful. Thanks.

[shazman]

Great video! Highly informative and very well researched.

[patricksullivan]

Yet another excellent presentation by Phoebe. You can't get all the jokes if you don't realize who Shakespeare really was. For instance; when Hamlet calls Polonius a 'fishmonger'. Unless one knows what 'Cecil's Fast' was that will go over one's head. Or, in Henry V, when the Dauphin admits he's written a sonnet to his horse (Sidney, who died in 1586, is clearly being mocked).

[sonofculloden]

Brilliant work - facts - de Vere was amazing - and he was Shakespeare.

[Northcountry]

Yes Please, Looking forward to a Part Two

[karlgant]

Phoebe have you seen over at the Shakespeare Authorship Roundtable channel Bob Prechter's talk? Apparently de Vere was going around not just being Shakespeare but other writers too. Apparently Elizabeth kind of gave de Vere permission to go around the country and write and perform using other people's names as pen names. I am just now getting interested in this Elizabethan history. For sure Edward de Vere was Shakespeare but also apparently some other writers too.

[katbrown]

Hey WELL DONE 👏 You captured me.
After the behavior of her father no wonder she feared marriage and the level of trust it would have taken considering how much more power men had.

[EndoftheTownProductions]

John Heminges, Henry Condell, and Richard Burbage, three actors of The Lord Chamberlain's Men, a famous acting company that included William Shakespeare, were given money by William Shakespeare of Stratford in his Last Will and Testament in 1616. Two of these actors, John Heminges and Henry Condell, were responsible for having 36 of Shakespeare's plays published in the First Folio in 1623.

[tomditto]

How to read Hamlet as an Oxfordian is an essential analysis.

[johnwarner]

This was so enlightening! Re-reading Shakespeare’s plays with Edward de Vere as the author in light of his biography makes much more sense & explains many of the convoluted conundrums & enigmas. Thank you for these excellent videos! How long can the Stratfordians hang on to their money making delusions? 🙏

[EndoftheTownProductions]

Shakespeare refers to the Gunpowder Plot in Macbeth. He mentions "equivocation" and "equivocator" and this refers to the Catholic Priest Henry Garnet who was associated with the plot. There are also other allusions to the plot in the play. The date of the Gunpowder Plot was November 5, 1605. Therefore, the play Macbeth must have been completed after this date and most likely finished in mid to late 1606. Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, died on June 24, 1604, which obviously makes it impossible for him to have written the play Macbeth which has been attributed to Shakespeare and later published in the 1623 First Folio. It is difficult to write a play after you have died and there is obviously no way for Edward to have known of the Gunpowder Plot and the trial of Henry Garnet before his death.

[Icha]

Love it, Phoebe! So glad to have you onboard the Oxfordian train! We need millennials like you in our train! (I'm assuming that you're millennial, hope it's okay!)

[josephdevere]

It’s so fun to imagine James Looney running around screaming his head off in excitement as he unearthed facts about De Vere.

[ronroffel]

Thanks for another insightful video. I like the metaphor of bringing the plays and poems home. Knowing where these works really "live" makes the author more human and less of an impersonal demigod whose "natural genius" enabled him to do no wrong. Oxfordians know better.

Many Oxfordians use the painting of John de Vere as a portrait of his son Edward (see the "People mentioned" sidebar). His hair and beard are darker than the man in the Welbeck painting known to be of Edward, and he wears a doublet from the 1560s that has a high narrow collar which was out of fashion when his son was in his thirties. True, the picture is titled "Edward de Vere", but this is a simple misidentification added to the painting after it was completed. Why is the painting still identified as Edward? Just a minor quibble that Stratfordians could use to discredit what doubters say.

[JaneHallstrom]

Brilliant, Sophie! Don’t you wish you could meet Edward Devere?! SNL Renaissance style!

[properitum]

Wow, that was impressive.

bookmarked for a revisit!

KP

[wynnsimpson]

Devere and Vasavour. Who knew? Great job, well researched.