Speculation That Edward De Vere Was the Real Shakespeare

Speculation That Edward De Vere Was the Real Shakespeare Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, was a contemporary of Shakespeare and a patron of the arts. A poet and dramatist in his own right, Edward de Vere has since become the strongest candidate in the Shakespeare authorship debate. Edward de Vere: A Biography De Vere was born in 1550 (14 years before Shakespeare  in Stratford-upon-Avon) and  inherited the title of 17th Earl of Oxford before his teenage years. Despite receiving a privileged education at Queen’s College and Saint John’s College, De Vere found himself in financial dire straights by the early 1580s – which led to Queen Elizabeth granting him an annuity of  £1,000. It is suggested that De Vere  spent the later part of his life producing literary works but disguised his authorship to uphold his reputation in court. Many believe that these manuscripts have since become credited to William Shakespeare. De Vere died in 1604 in Middlesex, 12 years before Shakespeare’s death in Stratford-upon-Avon. Edward de Vere: The Real Shakespeare? Could De Vere really be the author of Shakespeare’s plays? The theory was first proposed by J. Thomas Looney in 1920. Since then the theory has gained momentum and has received support from some high-profile figures including Orson Wells and Sigmund Freud. Although all the evidence is circumstantial, it is none-the-less compelling. The key points in the case for De Vere are as follows: â€Å"Thy countenance shakes spears† is how De Vere was once described in royal court. Could this have been a codified reference to De Vere’s literary activities? In print, Shakespeare’s name appeared as â€Å"Shake-speare.†Many of the plays parallel events from De Vere’s life. In particular, supporters consider Hamlet to be a deeply biographical character.De Vere had the right education and social standing to write in detail about the classics, law, foreign countries, and language. William Shakespeare, a country bumpkin from Stratford-upon-Avon, would simply have been unequipped to write about such things.Some of De Vere’s early poetry appeared in print under his own name. However, this stopped soon after texts were printed under Shakespeare’s name. So,  its been suggested that De Vere took on his pseudonym when Shakespeare’s earliest works were first published: The Rape of Lucrece (1593) and Venus and Adonis (1594). Both poe ms were dedicated to Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, who was considering marrying De Vere’s daughter. De Vere was well traveled and spent most of 1575 in Italy. 14 of Shakespeare’s plays have Italian settings.Shakespeare was heavily influenced by Arthur Golding’s translation of Ovids Metamorphoses. There is some evidence to suggest Golding lived in the same household as De Vere at this time. Despite this compelling circumstantial evidence, there is no concrete proof that Edward de Vere was the real author of Shakespeare’s plays. Indeed, it is conventionally accepted that 14 of Shakespeare’s plays were written after 1604 – the year of De Vere’s death. The debate goes on.

Most Popular World Religions

Most Popular World Religions While there are and have been hundreds of religions and spiritual beliefs across the globe the major faiths practiced by the majority of people on Earth can be broken down into a few major groups. Even within these groups different sects and types of religious  practices exist. Southern Baptists  and Roman Catholics are both considered Christian even though their  religious practices differ greatly.   Abrahamic  Religions Three of the worlds most dominant religions are considered to be the Abrahamic religions. They are named such because of each claiming descent from the ancient Israelites  and follow the God of Abraham. In order of founding the Abrahamic religions are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.   Most Popular Religious   Christianity:  with 2,116,909,552  members (which includes 1,117,759,185 Roman Catholics, 372,586,395 Protestants, 221,746,920 Orthodox, and 81,865,869 Anglicans). Christians make up almost thirty percent of the global population. The religion arose from Judaism in the first century. Its followers believe Jesus Christ was the son of God and the Messhia for told of in the Old Testament. There are three major sects of Christianity: Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism.  Islam:  with 1,282,780,149 members worldwide believers of Islam are referred to as Muslims. While Islam is very popular in the Middle East one does not need to be Arabic to be Muslim. The largest Muslim nation is actually Indonesia. Followers of Islam believe that there is only one God (Allah) and Mohamed is his last messenger. Contrary to media portrayals Islam is not a violent religion. There are two primary sects of Islam, Sunni, and Shia.  Ã‚  Hinduism: There are 856,690,863 Hindus in th e world. It is one of the oldest religions and is practiced mostly in India and South East Asia. Some consider Hinduism to be a religion while others view it as a spiritual practice or way of life. A prominent belief in Hinduism is the belief in Purusartha  or the object of human pursuit. The four  Purusarthas  are dharma (righteousness), Artha (prosperity), kama (love) and moksa (liberation).   Buddism: Has 381,610,979 followers worldwide. Like Hinduism, Buddhism is another religion that can also be a spiritual practice. It also originates from India. Buddism shares the Hindu believe in dharma. There are three branches of Buddism: Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. Many Buddist seeks enlightenment or liberation from suffering.  Sikh: this Indian religion has 25,139,912 which is impressive because it doesnt generally seek converts. A seek is defined as one who any human being who faithfully believes in One Immortal Being; ten Gurus, from Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh; Guru Granth Sahib; the teachings of the ten Gurus and the baptism bequeathed by the tenth Guru. Because this religion has strong ethnic ties, some see it as more of an ethnicity than simply a religion.  Judaism:  is the smallest of the Abrahamic religions with  14,826,102 members. Like Sikhs, they are also an ethnoreligious group. Followers of Judaism are known as Jews. There are many different branc hes of Judaism, but the most popular ones are currently: Orthodox, Reform, and Conservative.   Other Beliefs:  While most of the world follows one of the several religions 814,146,396 people believe in smaller religions. 801,898,746 consider themselves to be non-religious and 152,128,701 are an atheist who does not believe in any form of Higher being.