Entry 1655 — Back to the SAQ
I’m hoping to get some worthwhile work done today, so am going to take care of this entry quickly with a comment I just wrote in answer to a comment by Robert A. Leff on a book about the SAQ (i.e., “Shake- speare Authorship Question”) by Richard M. Waugaman, M.D.
Leff: “I’m surprised there have been only three reviews of Dr. Waugaman’s book. I guess his many fans are busy writing their own books and articles, so they don’t have the time to post the usual five star Oxfordian reviews. On the other hand, perhaps his friends haven’t bought the book because the essays have been previously published. I have no problem with Dr. Waugaman gathering some of his many essays into one collection.
“Knowing how touchy Oxfordians are, I should start by saying I did not buy Dr. Waugaman’s book; I read the essays before. I decided to save my money.
“I’m aware of the long standing Oxfordian practice of declaring Edward de Vere wrote works scholars have said other authors wrote. Dr. Waugaman’s claim that Edward de Vere wrote The Art of English Poesy. It is true that when the book was published in 1589, the author’s name does not appear on the title page. Dr. Waugaman is free to propose any candidate of his choice as the author, so he selects Edward de Vere. The majority of English literary scholars and English professors say The Art of English Poesy was written by George Puttenham. Being a good Oxfordian, Dr. Waugaman hisses when the word orthodox is spoken or written.
“I’m sure Dr. Waugaman has read The Art of English Poesy many times, so it is a surprise he missed or overlooked the eighteen words that render his claim that Edward de Vere wrote the book nonsense. In Book 3 Chapter 13, the author writes,”Also in our ecologue entitled “Elpine, which we made being but eighteen years old to King Edward VI…” “Elpine” is a lost work. What is not lost are some important dates.
“George Puttenham was born in 1529 and died in 1590.
Edward VI was born in 1537, became King in 1547 and died in 1553.
If you subtract 1529 from 1547, the answer is 18. Refer back to the quote above and it is clear that 18 year old George Puttenham wrote an ecologue for the new king.
“But wait, you ask, what about Edward de Vere? In 1547, Edward de Vere wasn’t even a gleam in his parents’ eyes. Edward de Vere was born in 1550. When King Edward IV died in 1553, little Eddie was 3 years old!
“Dr. Waugaman and his fellow Oxfordians would have a difficult time convincing themselves and anyone that 3 comes close to 18 no matter how hard they spin things.
“Sorry, Richard M. Waugaman M.D., Edward de Vere did not write The Art of English Poesy.”
* * *
Grumman: “Good argument, Robert, but it has a flaw, I think: why need whoever wrote the eclogue to Edward have written it at any particularly time? Why couldn’t Oxford have written it when 18 in homage to the dead king whose name he shared?
“For me the only flaw in Dr. Waughaman’s book is its failing to give more to the True Shakespeare than he rather timidly does; indeed, I can’t understand how it is that even the best Shakespeare scholars (i.e., those able to read past mere title-page names and such rubbish) cannot see that whoever wrote the plays of Shakespeare had to have written more than just the great literature in all European languages that he clearly did, but all the great music, starting with Campion’s. And painted all the masterpieces of the age. I fear I’m not well-versed enough in the history of science to say which works of science and philosophy he was responsible for, aside from Bacon’s.
“In conclusion, I commend Dr. Waugaman for a fine beginning to a list of Oxford’s works, but hope even more energetic experts will come to the fore and complete our knowledge of his achievements. I would myself, but–alas–am too tied up with my work on Oxford’s invention of the English language, and the way his friends made it seem it had existed before he was born because they didn’t want his family embarrassed by the number of obscenities he included in his new language, to be able to do so.”
Amusing Aside: I am frequently characterized by those clever enough to see through the authorship hoax to back Willie because I am the kind of person who takes what he was taught in school as gospel! Ah, if only it were not quite so completely untrue! I might have gotten somewhere socioeconomically in my poor life.
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