The persona of Edward de Vere represents a contrast to the canonical, Stratfordian image of Shakespeare. His adulterous affair with a teenage girl half his age, his complicity in acts of treason against Queen Elizabeth, and the bankruptcy of his earldom due to his lavish spending all combine to paint a picture of a man contrary to the Stratfordian ideal.
However, it is this unattractive portrayal of him that supports the argument that de Vere wrote the sonnets, since the sonnets themselves offer up underlying messages of ridicule, deception, avarice, and sexual obsession that doggedly champion the author’s own best interests above others. This work presents an Oxfordian reading of the sonnets and the problematic life of Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford.

Dennis Hirsch has worked in a laboratory setting developing bio-pharmaceuticals using recombinant DNA technology, and in sales and marketing in the clinical diagnostics industry.

Dennis Hirsch
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 219
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2024
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9217-3
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5057-9
Imprint: McFarland

Preface 1
Introduction 3
1. Procreation Sonnets 7
2. Southampton Sonnets 23
3. Dark Lady Sonnets 36
4. Will Sonnets 51
5. Friend Sonnets 65
6. Friend/Dark Lady Sonnets 83
7. Reconciliation Sonnets 95
8. Queen Sonnets 110
9. Rival Poet Sonnets 132
10. Commentary Sonnets 154
11. Climacteric Sonnets 179
12. Conclusion 197
Chapter Notes 203
Bibliography 207
Index 209