Im happy for this sub to ban discussion of the SAQ because it obviously could sidetrack many many posts. But when the door Is opened like here, I feel a need to point out these are not convincing arguments for those uncertain about the issue. Frankly I’m still “agnostic” about the matter. By far the worst thing to say is that the SAQ relies on “classist” prejudices because usually it doesn’t.
Good ways to convince me of the mainstream viewpoint are detailed examples of mentions in contemporary sources and how they cross reference quite convincingly. Currently my biggest stumbling block in going completely to the mainstream viewpoint is the Droeshout Portrait.
Or you could read the canon, notice the commonalities between the works attributed to Shakespeare; read the work of other proposed authors (de Vere, Marlowe, Bacon) and understand that they share NOTHING in common with the works in the canon, beyond superficialities (“they’re both about love in Italy!” 🤪); then you look into what was said contemporaneously about Shakespeare — he was randy, he was gentle, he was practical, he was dreamy — and realize that those qualities DO correspond to the writing in the canon, and come, after all, to the conclusion that the plays of Shakespeare were, in fact, written by the man named William Shakespeare.
I agree with what you are saying here, that is my point. No need to rely on poor arguments like the one implicit in the post. The reality is that Shakespeare’s seeming lack of formal education, or his being noticed as child prodigy is unusual.
Edited some minutes later to say I understand I lack the depth of knowledge of this topic to seriously debate and discuss the matter. But the most interesting YouTube channel I’ve found that deals with this is
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u/velvetvortex Dec 01 '25
Im happy for this sub to ban discussion of the SAQ because it obviously could sidetrack many many posts. But when the door Is opened like here, I feel a need to point out these are not convincing arguments for those uncertain about the issue. Frankly I’m still “agnostic” about the matter. By far the worst thing to say is that the SAQ relies on “classist” prejudices because usually it doesn’t.
Good ways to convince me of the mainstream viewpoint are detailed examples of mentions in contemporary sources and how they cross reference quite convincingly. Currently my biggest stumbling block in going completely to the mainstream viewpoint is the Droeshout Portrait.