The Shakespeare Authorship Debate
Oxfordians believe the man from Stratford couldn't possibly have had the knowledge shown in Shakespeare's plays. Shakespeare of Stratford was the sone of an illiterate tradesman and there is no record of any schooling. There are no mentions of his writings in his will and no evidence he even owned a book. On the other hand, Edward de Vere was a poet, a highly educated courtier, an adventurer, and England's highest-ranking earl. His life fits that of a writer who could have as much knowledge as reflected in Shakespeare's works.
Charlton Ogburn first spearheaded the Oxfordian movement in the 1960s. His book The Mysterious William Shakespeare was one of the most complete arguments ever that de Vere was in fact the true author. Ogburn's book set the stage for various debates and mock trials, including one on September 25, 1987 brought before three U.S. Supreme Court justices, in law professor Peter Jaszi gave these arguments:
Consel Peter Jaszi argued that Shakespeare's works were full of references to a life that only a hightly-educated man of noble birth would know. There is little evidence Shakespeare of Stratford even went to school and he certainly didn't have the life experience to allow him to develop the literary qualities reflected in his plays. There are also links between the life of the Earl of Oxford and the plot of Hamlet. He also argued that while many other Elizabethan playwrights left so much literary material, Shakespeare left none. His death went virtually unnoticed, as there were no obituaries, public mourning, or eulogies.
History of Doubt - A Timeline of Doubts Surrounding the Mystery of Shakespeare
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