CBS News reports on the Falstaff (aka Henry Neville) theory. The only reason I’m linking to this one, since it’s actually an old theory that we’ve already discussed, is that the article seems to be making fun of the Falstaff argument and provides more evidence against than for it.
“Shakespeare had never been to Venice. So how could he write Merchant of Venice?”
I mean, honestly, is that a real question? Ray Bradbury’s never been to Mars but I liked his “Martian Chronicles.”
I like the rebuttal: “Shakespeare never once mentioned that there were any canals in Venice. That suggests to me that it was written by someone who had read books about Venice, but had never actually been there.”
Technorati Tags: Shakespeare
I enjoyed that link. It is good to see some early opposition to an alternative theory. Sometimes I think that such theories are ignored by scholars who are indifferent to the foolishness and lay people who are confused. Before long, the theory takes root like unwanted blackberries.