What clues do the sonnets offer about Shakespeare's identity?

The main argument surrounds the fictional or autobiographical nature of the sonnets. The reason that this is important is because it will determine whether the writer was Edward de Vere, the earl of Oxford, or William Shakspere. My paper argues that the true author was Edward de Vere by understanding the "sweet boy" and "dark lady" figures, by understanding how the sonnets depict a certain age, and by pointing out the presence of anagrams. The paper proves that Edward de Vere was the true author by showing that the sonnets are autobiographical in nature.

The paper starts off by making the connection of the sweet boy and dark lady to the life of de Vere. This connection serves to give a motive to the writing of the sonnets. The sweet boy and dark lady are depicted as actual figures in de Vere's life. The sweet boy is the Earl of Southampton and the dark lady is Anne Vavasor. de Vere was sexually attracted to the young earl and the sonnets were a way for him to express this affection. Vavasor had a child by de Vere, but because of a family rivalry he was not able to be with her. These strong emotions were the motive for writing the sonnets as opposed to them being just a figment of someone's imagination.

Next the issue of age is taken into account. There is a considerable age difference between de Vere and Shakspere. Evidence that the author was older points to de Vere as being the author. Sonnets 62 and 73 seem to refer to an older man who is noticing time taking its toll on him. At 40, de Vere would be feeling quite old indeed, as opposed to Shakspere, who was around 26.

Last of all the presence of anagrams finally shows that de Vere was the true author. de Vere often used the word "ever" to refer to himself. The introduction to the sonnets gives mention to "our ever living poet." For one there is the reference to de Vere in ever. The second point is that "ever living" refers to someone who is already dead (Henry IV, iv.3). The sonnets were obviously published after de Vere's death. This takes care of the skeptics who believe that the author could not have been de Vere. The sonnets were published after his death.

These facts were presented in my paper to prove that William Shakespeare was actually Edward de Vere.

--David B. Gouge

Sources:

Michell, John F. Who Wrote Shakespeare? New York: Thames & Hudson, 1996.

Ogburn, Charlton. The Mysterious William Shakespeare: The Myth and the Reality. McLean, VA: EPM Publications, 1992.

Schoenbaum, S. Shakespeare's Lives. New edition. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1991

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