Oberon Shakespeare Study Group

London guest correspondent Heward Wilkinson comments below on the nature of the human. Wilkinson makes the point that human nature has indeed changed, but he argues that change occurred long before the nineteenth century. Linda Theil Changes in Consciousness and Changes in Human Nature: Shapiro and the emergence of biographically slanted literature by Dr. Heward Wilkinson  In response to Linda Theil's comments on Shapiro's presentation, I think Shapiro's assumption is indeed that human nature changed around the time of Garrick's Shakespeare Festival (1769) or Boswell's Life of Johnson (1791). This is indeed problematical (though it is not wholly without merit, thinking of Romanticism!).  However, I do not think we should dismiss the idea that human nature itself changed. Leaving aside the huge theme of the emergence of consciousness from the bicameral mind around 1000 BCE [ http://www.julianjaynes.org/ pdf/jaynes_consciousness- voices-mind.pdf ], one of ...

As Tom Hunter said in his August 17 post here, a group of anti-Stratfordians attended Contested Will author James Shapiro’s lecture at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival on August 13, 2011. Oberon members Tom Hunter, Richard Joyrich, Sue Width, Tom and Joy Townsend, and I were joined by Lynne Kositsky , her husband Michael, and Roger Stritmatter to swell the ranks of approximately 220 spectators at The Studio Theater in downtown Stratford, Ontario. Shapiro appeared scruffy chic in his bagged-out black T-shirt, wrinkled gray jacket, jeans, and black oxfords. His tossled hair was cut long on the top in the manner of mid-life men everywhere. A slim, good-looking man with an engaging manner and a gentle, raspy voice, Shapiro charmed the audience as he praised the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. “This is an extraordinary place,” he said. “I've never been here before and I'll be back as a theater-goer. You're all fortunate." He read expressively from a prepa...

Dear Oberon,   Come to meetin' this Thursday, August 25, usual time 7 p.m. at the usual place, the Farmington Library on 12 Mile Rd.   We will hear updates on the latest  Anonymous  film developments, including a possible screening locally thanks to the efforts of Ray Perez and Linda Theil.   We will also hear the latest about James Shapiro who  appeared at the Stratford Ontario Shakespeare Festival this past Saturday.  Some of the details are not to be believed, but we have eye witnesses who heard and saw it all.   Also, our discussion of  The Merchant of Venice  will be driving toward a conclusion, including the solution to one of the most bothersome mysteries presented by the play to audiences for 400 years.  Plus we will take a look at a part of the play that has been omitted by past productions due to lack of understanding of its key importance and its essential role in conveying the purpose of the play. ...

A new Anonymous trailer has been released and is up on Facebook . Rob Frappier at the online movie site ScreenRant reported the release of the "international" trailer in an article titled "Anonymous international trailer" on August 16, 2011. Frappier said: If you love the works of Shakespeare, would you still love them if you learned that Shakespeare himself was a fraud? That's just one of the questions director Roland Emmerich is tackling in his new film, Anonymous, an interesting period drama which unravels the conspiracy behind who really wrote Shakespeare's greatest works. Mark Anderson comments about this new trailer on his Facebook page, Fans of the Book: Shakespeare by Another Name : For the record, John Orloff -- ANONYMOUS's screenwriter -- recently emailed to say that the movie has Rober Cecil tell Oxford that Oxford is the son of the queen. But even Oxford doesn't believe it! So initial worries about the movie's portrayal ...

James Shapiro appeared at the Stratford Festival in Canada this past Saturday morning to a packed Studio Theater. His message was the very same message he gave to a packed house for his Folger talk in April, 2010. The problem with the message is that it is full of error and misleading statements about Oxfordians and the work we are doing. Even worse than that, it became clear Saturday that Shapiro is interested in nothing less than the dumbing down of Shakespeare. He encouraged his audience to read the plays and to ignore the centuries of scholarship and research which have brought great insight into those plays. For example, in maintaining steadfastly that there are absolutely no allusions in Shakespeare, he denied the work of scholars, traditional and Oxfordian alike, who have determined six specific references in Hamlet that, taken together, demonstrate that the character Polonius is a fictional representation of Lord Burghley. Instead of embracing the work Oxfordians are ...

A second film trailer for Roland Emmerich's film, Anonymous , was posted on YouTube August 5, 2011. Emmerich's historical thriller about the Shakespeare authorship controversy is scheduled for wide-release in the U.S. October 28, 2011. A preview will be screened on Sept. 7, 2011 in downtown Portland, Oregon as part of the Shakespeare Authorship Research Centre 's annual  conference September 6-9, 2011 .  Anonymous will also be featured at the Toronto International Film Festival to be held September 8-18, 2011. Emmerich's film has Stratfordians aflutter, fearing examination of the traditional attribution of Shakespeare's plays may damage the brand. Instead of welcoming interest in Shakespeare's life and times, they are boarding up the windows against a flood of inquiry. The previously taboo topic of Shakespeare authorship is now allowed in the hallowed halls of Stratford-on-Avon so that a rear guard action against apostasy can be mounted. Paul Edmo...