The Skeptics Society Skeptic magazine. About a month ago, my phone suggested that I might want to read a Newsweek article called The Campaign to Prove Shakespeare Didnt Exist by Robert Gore Langton. I was somewhat disturbed that my phone knew I had an interest in the manufactured controversy over Shakespeares authorship of the works attributed to him. I was also a little irritated that my phone, which has apparently progressed from snooping through my email to acquiring some form of telepathy, didnt know that I was getting tired of the subject. Ive written about Shakespeare denialism many times before most comprehensively here, and Ive started to feel like Im running around in circles while simultaneously banging my head against a wall do not try this. Reason And Argument Feldman Pdf To Jpg' title='Reason And Argument Feldman Pdf To Jpg' />The Newsweek headline, though, seemed to offer a new twist Shakespeare didnt exist at all Wow, thats taking Shakespeare denialism as far as humanly possible. Its as if someone not only claimed that the moon landing was a hoax but also said that there is no moon to land on. Wait, what Someone actually claimed thatWell, it turns out that Newsweek and my phone had tricked me with that headline. No one is saying that William Shakespeare, whose baptism and burial are recorded, didnt exist. Instead someone is saying yet again that he was not the primary author of the plays and poems attributed to him. Specifically, the article discusses Alexander Waugh grandson of novelist Evelyn Waugh, his new book Shakespeare in Court, and his and the Shakespeare Authorship Coalitions SAC grandstanding challenge to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust SBT. The SAC raised 4. SBT if the latter could prove beyond doubt that Shakespeare, the actor from Stratford upon Avon, really was Shakespeare the poet in a mock trial before a panel of neutral judges the letter can be viewed here the SAC ran the letter in a full page ad in the Times Literary Supplement. And of course we all know that Greenland is actually very near its peak ice in 8000 years httpss19. GreenlandIceSheetBriner. Archives and past articles from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly. Preparing Preparing and Running Make. To prepare to use make, you must write a file called the makefile that describes the relationships among files in your program. UAH Global Temperature Update for April, 2017 0. C May 1st, 2017 by Roy W. Spencer, Ph. D. 1 I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. I loafe and invite my soul. The SBT turned the offer down. In the Newsweek article, Waugh claims he is considering legal action against the SBT Can you believe it A registered charity turned down the opportunity of 4. We are now considering a formal complaint to the Charities Commission and appealing to anyone who would like to join a class action suit against the Trust for all the money theyve taken under false pretences. I am publicly accusing them of that and I am waiting for my writ. In 2004, few Americans had ever heard of Obama, let alone considered voting for him. Yet, within four years he had been elected president. Did Shakespeare write Shakespeare Eve Siebert explains that the answer is still yes, despite the false balance media outlets sometimes give to a fringe theory. One reason I have read that Christianity spread rapidly in the Roman world was the people referred to as righteous Gentiles or proselytes at the gate. Where is it There have actually been moot court hearings on the authorship question before. On September 2. 5, 1. US Supreme Court justicesWilliam Brennan, Harry Blackmun, and John Paul Stevensheard arguments supporting the claims of Edward de Vere, the 1. Earl of Oxford. The justices ruled in Shakespeares favor. The proceedings were filmed for posterity. Ordinarily, Supreme Court rulings cant be appealed, but Oxfordians are persistent and had the case retried on November 2. British law lords. The British judges upheld the American verdict. Those decisions didnt change anyones opinion, of course. The Oxfordians didnt bow to the wisdom of some of the greatest legal minds of the English speaking world. Backwards Compatible on this page. Instead, they continued their campaign to sway the hearts and minds of the general public. Eventually, they even swayed some Supreme Court justices. For instance, former Justice Stevens later became convinced that Oxford had written Shakespeare based on depressingly fallacious reasoning. A mock trial is not the right venue to decide a matter of scholarship. As Stanley Wells, honorary president of the SBT noted in the Newsweek article, Public debates are an exercise of forensic skill rather than an intellectual scholarly exercise. So no, we are not going to debate or take their money. I would hope we have more dignity. Scholarly questions in any field are generally decided or not decided by people who have a great deal of expertise in the field, not neutral panels of judges. Ideally, a scrupulously researched and evidenced paper goes through a rigorous peer review process. Once the paper is printed, it may well provoke lively response, debate, and criticism. Those responses will also undergo peer review before being published. In literary studies, many questions are not absolutely decided one way or another. There is not, for instance, a single right way to interpret Hamlet. But this question, the question of the primary authorship of Shakespeares works, has been decided. The evidence in favor of Shakespeares authorship and the lack of evidence for anyone elses primary authorship is so compelling that the question isnt even really a question worth considering. Imagine if the validity of climate change or evolution were to be decided in a mock trial before a panel of neutral judges. If the SBT were to participate in the mock trial, they would give undeserved legitimacy to a fringe theory. And that, of course, is what the SAC wants. In their letter, they describe their view by saying that there is reasonable doubt about Shakespeares authorship, andthe authorship issue should therefore be regarded as legitimate. When the media use false balance in stories about the authorship question, they also bestow undue legitimacy on a discredited notion. Shakespeare deniers have received sympathetic treatment in surprising places for a long time. PBSs Frontline has run three episodes that questioned Shakespeares authorship The Shakespeare Mystery 1. Oxford Uncovering Shakespeare 1. Much Ado about Something 2. Christopher Marlowe wrote Shakespeares work. A Teachers Guide is available for the Marlowe program. Similarly, NPRs Morning Edition ran a story called The Real Shakespeare Evidence Points to Earl 2. William S. Niederkorn wrote many ostensibly balanced, teach the controversy pieces for the New York Times. In the Newsweek article, Gore Langton doesnt take a position on the authorship question, and he interviewed Stanley Wells to get his side of the story. The article is, however, an example of false balance. More space is given to the Shakespeare deniers, and the article begins and ends by casting doubts. Indeed, it begins with some very misleading statements The greatest ongoing investigation in literary history has been caused entirely by William Shakespeares thoughtlessness. He left no paper trail. Not a single poem or letter or play has ever been found in his own hand. We have just six shaky signatures. His will mentions no books, plays or anything else to suggest the balding Stratford businessman was also a writer. His personality, love interests, movements are all a total mysery sic. The documents relating to his life are all of a legal nature. Nobody ever recognised Shakespeare as a writer during his lifetime and when he died, in 1. Not a single letter refers to the great authors passing at the time. CLICK TO ENLARGE Facsimile of a page written by Hand Da possible example of Shakespeares handwriting. Via Wikimedia Commons. First of all, Id hardly call the authorship manufacturversy the greatest ongoing investigation in literary history. Second, the description of Shakespeare as a Stratford businessman suggests that he had a full time job some distance from London that wouldnt allow him the time to write plays. More importantly, what Gore Langton says about the lack of documentary evidence is inaccurate. It is true that Shakespeare doesnt mention plays or books in his will, but he entailed the bulk of his estate, including his primary residence, New Place, and its contents. He didnt need to mention plays or poems. It might be true that no poem or play survives in Shakespeares hand, but that is not unusual among ElizabethanJacobean poets. Moreover, Hand D of the play Sir Thomas More may be in his handwriting see image, right. Most crucially, Shakespeare absolutely was recognized as an author during his lifetime. About half of Shakespeares plays were printed during his lifetime. Many of those list his name as author on the title page.