There is something incomprehensible about genius.
Shakespeare was superhuman."
~Samuel Schoenbaum, a Shakespeare biographer
The most important fact for the Stratfordian side is that the seventeenth Earl of Oxford died in 1604. However, all scholars agree there were many plays produced after this year, including King Lear in 1605-6, Macbeth in 1606-7, Antony and Cleopatrain 1606-7, Coriolanus in 1608, Cymbeline in 1608-10, The Winter's Tale in 1609-11, The Tempest in 1611, and Henry VIII in 1613.
Many Oxfordians believe Shakespeare's plays had to have been written by an aristocrat who knew the inner workings of the Elizabethan government. However, none of Shakespeare's contemporaries or anyone from centuries following thought his plays were an accurate portrayal of royal courts. Modern social historians familiar with 16th-century court life have also agreed with this. Oxfordians have also accused Stratford, Shakespeare's hometown, of being ignorant and uncultured. However, in an essay by David Kathman, he illustrates that Shakespeare's closest friends were actually quite cultured and the town of Stratford was rather different than the depiction of the Oxfordians.
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Many Oxfordians believe Shakespeare's plays had to have been written by an aristocrat who knew the inner workings of the Elizabethan government. However, none of Shakespeare's contemporaries or anyone from centuries following thought his plays were an accurate portrayal of royal courts. Modern social historians familiar with 16th-century court life have also agreed with this. Oxfordians have also accused Stratford, Shakespeare's hometown, of being ignorant and uncultured. However, in an essay by David Kathman, he illustrates that Shakespeare's closest friends were actually quite cultured and the town of Stratford was rather different than the depiction of the Oxfordians.
Works Cited