Oberon Shakespeare Study Group

by Richard Waugaman, MD I appreciate Oberon’s invitation to tell you about my presentation on Edward de Vere at the Kreeger Museum in Washington, DC on January 24, 2013. The full title of the program was “Shakespeare: Oxfordian and (Ox)Freudian Perspectives—Exploring Psychological Dimensions of the Authorship Question.” It was videotaped and may be available from the Kreeger Museum. My fellow presenter was Peter Kline, and the moderator was his wife Syril Kline. They have been Oxfordians for many years. Syril has written a novel on the topic, and Peter has completed a manuscript outlining his theory that Shakspere served as de Vere’s research assistant for his history plays. Syril was exemplary in serving as a neutral moderator. She explained to the sold-out audience that we Oxfordians do not always agree with one another. I admitted, for example, that I would personally be surprised if Shakspere knew how to read and write. I’m in a small minority of Oxfordians

David Tennant in 2012 National Theatre production of Hamlet by James Norwood The final program of the PBS series  Shakespeare Uncovered  explores the thesis that  Hamlet  and  The Tempest   are Shakespeare’s most personal plays.   British actor David Tennant, who played Hamlet in a recent modern dress RSC production, asks why it is that  Hamlet  is so “unique.” But the program fails to locate the play in context in the Elizabethan age in order to identify why this play was special from the outset.  There was no discussion of the political world of the era and no mention of the court, including the key figure of William Cecil. The program never mentions the numerous resemblances of the character of Polonius to Cecil, which have been identified by such famous scholars as E. K. Chambers, A. L. Rowse, and Dover Wilson. The program’s narrative unfolds in a complete vacuum, relying on routine plot synopsis, as opposed to careful research and thoughtful critical analysis. Unlike the ot

Richard Whalen announced the second edition of his Oxfordian edition of Macbeth has been issued by Llumina Press. The book is available from Llumina and Amazon. Whalen said:  I hope you'll be intrigued . . . by this new interpretation. The introduction is entirely new, the line notes are much expanded and other sections incorporate new material. . . .  The new interpretation refers to Macbeth's ambition or lack of it. His tragic flaw is not his "overweening ambition" as the Stratfordians would have it. That's not in the play. To the contrary, he exhibits a surprising lack of ambition. This interpretation of Macbeth's character reveals different reactions to what is going on around him and explains his actions, some of which Stratfordian commentators find puzzling. This is the principal difference from the first edition. Whalen said he is looking into the possibility of producing an electronic verson of the book, but is running into difficulty with formatti

Sir Derek Jacobi in PBS series Shakespeare Uncovered, Richard II episode by Linda Theil In a new six-part PBS series, Shakespeare Uncovered, elucidating the glories of the Bard’s plays, Sir Derek Jacobi “ . . . sets the fur flying”, as he says in his one-hour segment on the play, Richard II , by advocating Edward de Vere  as the author of the work known under the pseudonym William Shakespeare. The Richard II segment aired February 1, 2013 on PBS stations and is available on DVD and for viewing online from the Shakespeare Uncovered site at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/shakespeare-uncovered/video/richard-ii-with-derek-jacobi/ Retired humanities professor James Norwood of St. Paul, Minnesota has given Oberon permission to publish his commentary on the Shakespeare Uncovered series that Norwood originally posted to the late Robert Brazil’s private authorship discussion list, Elizaforum. Professor Norwood taught a course on the topic of Shakespeare authorship at the University of