(93) "There is not one shred of evidence that puts a pen in the hand of Shakespeare,”

There is not one shred of evidence that puts a pen in the hand of William,”

                                                                                              Derek Jacobi 

The stage legends (Sir Derek Jakobi) conclusion on Shakespear

One can assume that few people have so thoroughly dealt with  texts and contents of Shakspereare's plays such as the famous British actor and stage legend Sir Derek Jacobi , who has played the lead in countless Shakespeare productions – performing nearly 400 times as Hamlet alone.

He said that he has become convinced that there is “an authorship problem”, despite being branded a “lunatic” for his views by some. During a discussion about his life before a Hampstead audience on January 23, 2014,  he opened up about his controversial views 

The Hempstead and Highgate Express quoted Jakobi as saying:

“There is not one shred of evidence that puts a pen in the hand of William,”

(...)“I would challenge anyone to give one solid piece of evidence that connects him [Shakespere from Stratford] to writing.”.(..... )

"Let’s hope that in the next few years we can have a worthwhile, no-holds-barred debate about it.

How could it happen that after a long life a wise man probably more  experienced with Shakespeare's texts and contents compared to an academic expert let alone an average intellectual came to the conclusion that  the man of Stratford cannot have been identical with the author who wrote Hamlet....

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British Legends Sir Derek Jacobi Clip

Derek Jacobi in conversation                 

An audience with Sir Derek Jacobi part o

(91) Hammerschmidt-Hummel:"... the untenable, reckless speculations of the Anti-Shakespeareans

Hildegard Hammerschmidt-Hummel,  "orthodox" Shakespeare expert, 

intended  to put the complex Shakespeare Authorship matter to bed  with 2 unexplained image copies?

                     Hildegard Hammerschmidt-Hummel                                                                                Ludger Fittkau

Dr. Ludger Fittkau broadcasted in "Bayern2 Kulturwelt" Febr.13th 2014 about Prof. Hildegard Hammerschmidt-Hummels discoveries. (a retired  academic Shakespeare expert of the University of Mainz)  

She had presented at a press conference Febr.12,  2014  (see  -1-, 2 , 3-) two portraits of Shakespeare to the public, which enables her to rejct once and for all the speculations  on another contemporary author [Earl of Oxford? ,  Marlowe?], having written Shakespeares works.
--> Listen (click-->)   Original Soundtrack  Hammerschmidt-Hummel  :<---

English Translation:.... todays  presented recent findings to his [Shakespeare's] impressive appearance and its immense appreciation by his contemporaries are likely to reject the reckless speculations as absolutely baseless of those  who want to make us believe, not Shakespeare but one of his contemporaries [e.g.Earl of Oxford, Marlowe ] has created the brilliant work ...

Original (german) text "…die heute vorgestellten jüngsten Erkenntnisse zu seinem [Shakespeare's] beeindruckenden Erscheinungsbild und seiner immensen Wertschätzung durch seine Zeitgenossen sind dazu angetan, die leichtfertigen Spekulationen derjenigen als absolut haltlos  zurückzuweisen, die uns glauben machen  wollen , nicht Shakespeare sondern einer seiner Zeitgenossen [z.B.Marlowe] habe das geniale Werk geschaffen…

Is it really conceivable that  Hildegard Hammerschmidt-Hummel,  "orthodox" Shakespeare expert, assumed, that she would be able to put the complex Shakespeare authorship matter to bed  with 2 unexplained image copies?

(90) Prof.Hammerschmidt-Hummel's interpretation of Boadens illustration (1824) as the true Shakespeare....Why now?

A singular picture of Shakespeare received a certificate of authenticity ?

                                                                          Prof.Hildegard Hammerschmidt-Hummel

                                                                             
Prof. Hammerschmidt-Hummel, a former Academic  Shakespeare Expert of the Univ.of Mainz, presented at a press conference ( 1,  2   ,3 , ) Febr. 12, 2014 an engraving reproducing a lost painting of Shakespeare, which  James Boaden had published almost 200 years ago (1824) at the end of his book: James Boaden 

 Click -->"An Inquiry into the authenticity of various Pictures and Prints,which, from the decease of the Poet to our own times, have benn offered to the public as Portraits of Shakespeare


Why, almost 200 years after the publication of Boadens book, Mrs. Hammerschmidt-Hummel felt the need  to give a proof that especially this picture (s.large figure)  has to recieve a certificate of authenticity for the shown author  but not one of the other pictured Shakespeares...?

(89) Gregory Eckert's German premiere of Keir Cutler's theater version of Mark Twain: "Is Shakespeare Dead?"

German stage version of Mark Twain's 

autobiography, "Is Shakespeare Dead?" 

Mark Twain                                                               Gregor Eckert

                                                    

On Saturday, March 8, 2014, on the "Hinterbühne" , Hannover the actor Gregor Eckert staged  a German premiere, the Canadian actor Keir Cutler has performed in USA / Canada for years with success. (S.VIDEO) 

The template for the stage version is Mark Twain's autobiography, "Is Shakespeare Dead?" . - Mark Twain could never figure out how the world could come up with the idea that the merchant from Stratford could be identical with the playwright, who wrote "Hamlet" and "Romeo and Juliet".

Mark Twain's "Is Shakespeare Dead?" with Keir Cutler, PhD

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(88) Dame Antonia Susan circumvents the Shakespeare authorship debate...?

Dame Antonia Susan circumvents  the Shakespeare authorship debate

                                                           Matthias Hanselmann        A.S.Byatt

                  Does Dame Antonia Byatt knows what she is talking about?.

                                                                                     
The British Council at the end of January 2014 in Berlin invited seven English writers to a Seminar entitled:  Shakespeare-Our-Contemporary?.  German broadcast stations (Deutschlandfunk /  Deutschlandradio Kultur)  interviewed some of the writers: You may listen to
          (click-->) Matthias Hanselmann (Deutschlandfunk)    Dame Antonia Susan Byatt

Matthias Hanselmann raised the following question to Dame A.Susan relating to the Shakespeare authorship Problem  :[Translation]You talk of  Shakespeare always as a person. You know the speculations, you know the considerations as to whether Shakespeare was perhaps not one person, but several, perhaps an entire clan. What comes to mind when you talk about Shakespeare, about an individual human being?   

Read the interview
https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/interview-shakespeare-ist-der-beste-autor-den-die-englische.954.de.html?dram:article_id=276302

Does Dame Antonia knows what she is talking about?. A collaboration between Shakespeare and Ford / Middleton has been postulated solely on the basis of content and style matches of their texts.  Could the alleged collaboration between Shakespeare, Ford and Middleton also be a misinterpretation ?                                          ________________________________________________________________________________

Behind Mrs. Byatt's answer hides the true dilemma of the authorship debate !If this incredible " millennium Genius"  was not a single person, but represented  many, then it would be necessary that at the same time many literary geniuses à la Mozart must have existed around him (such as John Ford, Thomas Middleton , etc ) . This may not be regarded as plausible. -

A plausible alternative should be considered : There was only one and always the same genius who was forced for the longest time of his life  , "writing" under a great variety of initials or pseudonyms (including the initial masking by a lively W.Shakspere). 

Essential  questions can only be answered under the concept  of such a historical and literary overall situation of the time ( the Skeptics  may test this model of an explanation , at least as a useful working hypothesis )

 The proposed solution to the authorship question was argumentatively developed in 2011 in a book ( 2nd edition 2013), but ignored by the academic presence to this day "mercilessly " 

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(87) we do not want to open the debate wether Shakespeare was one ore more personalities....

There existed only a german version of the  blog 87 . 

(86) "There is not a grain of moralizing in Shakespeare" ...what a weird statement?

                                     

                                                                                                           Howard Jacobson

  

Howard Jacobsens weird statement : 

There is not a grain of moralizing in Shakespeare!

The British Council at the end of January 2014 in Berlin invited seven English writers to a seminar entitled: Shakespeare- Our Contemporary?

German broadcast stations (Deutschlandfunk/Deutschlandradio Kultur) interviewed some of the writers: You may listen to

Matthias Hanselmann (Deutschlandfunk) Dame Antonia Susan Byatt

Barbara Wahlster ( Deutschlandradio Kultur) Naomi Aldermann und M. Ravenhill

Also Louise Brown (Deutschlandfunk) summarized key points of the meeting in a short broadcast resumé. She let Howard Jacobson quote his core statement : 

Listen "There is not a grain of moralizing in him? "[Shakespeare] 



I suppose and hope that most people will oppose this wrong statement !

(85) Give a reason!: the Marlowe/Shakespeare thesis systematically supressed?

   The fatal "Academe Shakespeare Establishment" acts like 

a "hermetic" gang 

In 33 figures of 18 Shakespeare Plays the figure is  supposedly dead, not less than seven deliberately staged deaths take place, three of which were feigned in order to escape a deadly threat .

Shakespeare's  obsessive referrals in his plays

a) to a false death ,

b) to a permanent loss of name and identity

c) to banishment  and   exile

d) to a life in darkness and concealment

exhibit strong autobiographic aspects and are  compatible with Marlowe's life motif and trauma and should be a legitimate base for a plausible working hypothesis in the Shakespeare authorship debate and research.-

Why to this day such  concepts or ways of thinking had no consequences for literary science?  

Why the fertile concept of a scientific working hypothesis ("... let's assume  Marlowe's death  had to be faked to rescue the poetic genius life with all the consequences of unknown lasting, changing identities and names") was not used to tackle the Shakespeare authorship question?
Why the basic assumption of the authorship of Shakespeare as Marlowe,  bodily masked by Will (Stratford) , has never been systematically examined?

Almost all of   seemingly unsolvable  questions  related to Shakspere's authorship  can  be answered on the basis of the MARLOWE working hypothesis....

(84) Rubbo's first documentary on the Marlowe/Shakespeare Thesis (2001)

Mike Rubbo deserves  credit...  

...for having  kept alive  the ideas of influential personalities, such as Dolly Walker-Wright who further developed the Calvin-Hoffman Thesis .

______________________

                                            Michael Rubbo                  Dolly Walker-Wraight

Mike Rubbo, an  australian filmmaker, heavily influenced by  Calvin Hoffmans book  "The murder of the man who was Shakespeare" produced  2001 a first documentary  on the Marlowe-Shakespeare Thesis : Much Ado about Something (still available on DVD)

He deserves  credit  for having  kept alive  the ideas of influential personalities, who further developed the Calvin-Hoffman Thesis .(klick-->Dolly Walker Wraight, <--klick) Peter Farey und John Baker)

______________________________

                                                   . Rubbos Documentary: "Much ado about something".

(83) Good and bad evidence of Shakespeare's authorship! How to distinguish?

Prof.Walter Hurst:....

         about Shakespeare Authorship reconstruction and                                                           interpretation.

Robert D. Hume
Reconstructing Contexts 1999

If you are interested in any serious and practical research how to distinguish good evidence and bad evidence of Shakespeare authorship research methods listen to this  basic lecture of  Prof. Walter Hurst , Louisburg College in North Carolina

In particular he gives detailed insights into the book of Robert Hume: "Reconstructing contexts". This book attempts to define methods by which scholars can reconstruct past context in order to apply it to the interpretation of works and events of that time.

Hurst offers examples of good and bad historicist Shakespeare authorship reconstruction and interpretation.

Walter Hurst - "What's Your Authority For That Statement?"

(82) Who wrote the B-Version of Dr.Faustus in the year of Shakespeares death ,1616?

Who else than Marlowe could have written the "B-version" of Doctor Faustus in 1616?

If a student wants to know, how it happened that  after the A-Version (first printend 1604) of Marlowes Dr.Faustus 12 years later a second  B-Version was printed (1616), but now enlarged  by a third of its volume in the middle part of Dr.Faustus. -  He would ask:

a) Who could have written the B-Version?  

b) Did the B-version already exist  24 years earlier in 1593, the official death of Marlowe?

c) What could it mean  that 1616 ( the death year of Shakspere from Stratford!) Faustus is exclaiming:


 »Knew you not, traitors, I was limited  
For four and twenty years to breathe on earth?
 And had you cut my body with your swords,
 Or hewed this flesh and bones as small as sand,
 Yet in a minute had my spirit returned,
 And I had breathed a man made free from harm.«

Is this metaphoricall or autobiographical?

(81) Lifestream of The British Council Shakespeare Literature Seminar in Berlin, ....

The Shakespeare authorship question does not exist for the "British Council"...

_________________

From the 30th January - 1st February 2014  The British Council hold in Berlin  a Shake-speare Literature Seminar on the topic 

Shakespeare our contemporary ?

It was possible to watch the event via Web Streaming  on   Live Webcast (Live Stream)  

Infortunately the issue  of the Seminar  didn't touch the basic theme of this website (the Authorship question of Shakspeare) most likely because the question does not exist for the "Britsh Council"...

("there is no sin but ignorance" ,

 Marlowe)

(80) Shakespeare expert Gelfert rejects Marlowe's authorship theory - Argument 5

Gelferts unfair conclusion:  

Only an approach or view of blind art [as that of Conrad] can recognize the handwriting of  Marlowe in Shakespeare's works 

Anglist and Shakespeare expert Professor [Emeritus] Hans -Dieter Gelfert, Berlin   wrote in his prologue "Who created the works of Shakespeare?" of his new  book "William Shakespeare in his time " (Jan.2014 Beck Verlag) that he felt compelled, to counteract  the ongoing global  authorship debates, e.g.  of the Marlowe Thesis of   B.Conrad "The true Shakespeare: Christopher Marlowe " (2nd Edition , December 2013 )  ..he shortly summarized  five arguments against the Thesis. To this end he used consistently  his own prejudice. For none of his five arguments it would have been necessary to open and tackle the arguments of the book.

Argument 5 (free Translation )
Only a blind art approach [as that of Conrad] can recognize the handwriting of  Marlowe in Shakespeare's works ... [Nur eine kunstblinde Betrachtungsweise [wie die von Conrad] kann in Shakespeares Werken die Handschrift  Marlowes erkennen... “. ]

Conversely this  means either: Shakespeare lived the art, but not Marlowe. . .. or the author of the  book knows nothing about art, as myself, Hans-Dieter . At this point you have to actually fall silent. (... There is no sin but ignorance Marlowe).

  ...in the appendix of the Marlowe book 60 pages of significant text parallels between Marlowe and Shakespeare are  printed:  If not here (!) -where . in the true sense of the word - one should find a common handwriting ....   the whole book actually tries to identify  the identical handwriting of both. 

Otherwise it would not have been necessary to write the book.
  …

(79) Gelferts shabby arguments(3+4) to reject the Marlowe / Shakespeare thesis

Gelferts shabby arguments(3+4) to reject  the Marlowe / Shakespeare thesis     

Gelferts judgment reflects not only the size of his prejudice, but  also his marginal knowledge of Marlowe  

Anglist and Shakespeare expert Professor [Emeritus] Hans -Dieter Gelfert, Berlin   wrote in his prologue "Who created the works of Shakespeare?" of his new  book 

"William Shakespeare in his time " (Jan.2014 Beck Verlag) 

B.Conrad The true Shakespeare:
Chrsitopher Matloer  5th Ed 1616
S.Video below  (engl Summary)

that he felt compelled, to counteract  the ongoing global  authorship debates, e.g.  of the Marlowe Thesis of   B.Conrad "The true Shakespeare: Christopher Marlowe " (2nd Edition , December 2013 )  ..he shortly summarized  five arguments against the Thesis. To this end he used consistently  his own prejudice. For none of his five arguments it would have been necessary to open and tackle the arguments of the book.

Argument 3
Nowhere in Marlowe's work, there is a touch of humor, while Shakespeare ..... .. among the Great in this field ..

 ....that's pure 19th century,  , it would be easy, to show Gelfert as many humorous or comic places in Marlowe's works, .. ..especially his hilarious verse-games;

 R.H.Fletcher (1918 Historie of Engl Literature ' Marlowe.2 .., in almost all his plays, and following the Elizabethan custom, does attempt scenes of Humor"),  see also Robert Logans „Shakespeare's Marlowe“ (2007) .

Argument 4
".. Even with female figures nothing  can be found in Marlowe  that can stand the comparison with Shakespeare.

___________________

Gelfert judgment reflects not only the size of his prejudice, but probably also his marginal knowledge of Marlowe, when you consider just Marlowes female figures such as "Dido" oder "Hero & Leander " in his much smaller work. 

Gelfert cannot have opened the book even once.

Engl Video- Summary of the german Non-fiction book

The true Shakespeare:    Christopher Marlowe

(78) Gelfert shabby argument (2) to invalidate the Marlowe/Shakespeare Thesis -

Gelfert poor argument (nr2)  to  invalidate  the Marlowe/Shakespeare  Thesis - 

Hans-Dieter Gelfert                                                                  Beethoven / Mozart
                                                                                                    and Goethe / Schiller

Shakespeare, of the same age than Marlowe, only began to exist after Marlowe was stabbed. 

Both overlapped in their literary activity not a single day! 

Anglist and Shakespeare expert Professor [Emeritus] Hans -Dieter Gelfert, Berlin   wrote in his prologue "Who created the works of Shakespeare?" of his new  book "William Shakespeare in his time " (Jan.2014 Beck Verlag) that he felt compelled, to counteract  the ongoing global  authorship debate, e.g.  of the Marlowe Thesis of   B.Conrad "The true Shakespeare: Christopher Marlowe " (2nd Edition , December 2013 )  ..he shortly summarized  five arguments against the Thesis. To this end he used consistently  his own prejudice. For none of his five arguments it would have been necessary to open and tackle the arguments of the book.

Argument 2 (Gelfert: straightforward translation)

   "Stylistically, the two [Shakespeare and Marlowe] are as far apart as Beethoven and Mozart in music and like Schiller and Goethe in the German literature"

This assessment is problematic. Did  Gelfert  ever estimated the range of Beethoven's music ? (between his op.1 and op 135)?  - Op.1 is still in great proximity to Mozart. According to Gelferts arguments Shakespeare's work such as "Titus Andronicus" in terms of both style and content  is much further removed from Shakespeare's  "Macbeth" than the virtually congruent pieces of Edward II (Marlowe) and Richard III (Shakespeare).

The thesis of the book of Conrad is: 

Marlowe's plays and poems are early works of the poet genius (not yet attributed,to W.S.)    Shakespeare's plays and poems are Marlowes late works under the pseudonyme Shake-speare of a real masking person with that name. --

Shakespeare, of the same age than Marlowe, only began to exist after Marlowe was stabbed. Both overlapped in their literary activity not a single day!

It has been encouraging that Gelfert seems at least to put Marlowe on the same level as Shakespeare's Genius. That's a viable starting-point,  which would not have been possible a few decades ago.

(77) Gelferts shabby argument (1) against the "Marlowe-equals-Shakespeare" thesis

For  Gelferts  appaling  prejudice and arguments 1 to 5  against the "Marlowe book"

 it wouldn't have been necessary to open / read   the book.

Anglist and Shakespeare expert Professor (Emeritus) Hans -Dieter Gelfert, Berlin   wrote in his prologue
                              

 "Who created the works of Shakespeare?" 

                                                     of his new  book 
                                          "William Shakespeare in his time" 

(Jan.2014 Beck Verlag) that he felt compelled, to counteract  the ongoing global  authorship debates, e.g.  of the Marlowe Thesis of B.Conrad "The true Shakespeare: Christopher Marlowe " (2nd Edition , December 2013 )  ...he shortly summarized  five arguments against the Thesis. To this end he used consistently  his own prejudice. 

For none of his five arguments it would have been necessary to open and tackle  the arguments of the book.

Argument 1 (Straightforward translation of Gelfert)

"When you compare the works circulating under Shakespeare's name with those that had appeared to Marlowe's times under his name,  the conspiracy theory [of Conrad] collapses like a house of Cards

Gelfert  starts with his best prejudice. He obviously is not aware that none of Marlowes works were published during his lifetime under his Name....

He also must have thought about the fact that when using the word conspiracy theory you are always poisoning any real historic conspiracy situation.  A conspiracy is real, a conspiracy theory is fictitious. 

During the lifetime of Shakspeare there was an excess of real conspiracies ("plots"), e.g.  Ridolfi (1575), Throckmorton (1583), Babington (1586), Lopez (1594)., Main (1603), Bye (1603) Gunpowder (1605), 

But this is no argument for Gelfert. That Marlowe wrote under the pseudonym Shakespeare  is a conspiracy theory. Full stop!

In Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure",  would Gelfert call the order of the Duke, to save Claudio's life by pretending his death with a false corpse, a conspiracy theory? Why could Shakespeare (alias Marlowe)  represent this situation in great detail on stage, .....

but  personally  could never have experienced  a similar (autobiographical) situation ?