Shakespeare: The Evidence: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Man and His Work

The Right Stuff

The 498-page "Shakespeare: The Evidence" by Ian Wilson is for lovers and otherwise obsessive Shakespeare aficionados out there who really get into the minutia of hard facts that support the existence of the author William Shakespeare.

This is not a quick read! Wilson takes great care to present any and all of his evidence to back up the belief that William Shakespeare was not only a real person, but through Wilson's copious research shows that Shakespeare had a large share of legal and personal problems as anyone of his stature would.

The author Ian Wilson several years ago wrote "Jesus: The Evidence", and it is with the same fervor and determination that he tackles the overwhelming task of proposing the proof for Shakespeare's existence.

There are many great points of entry to the tale that this book lays out before us concerning the history, and interpersonal activities of the Elizabethans and the period before that time, when William Shakespeare was growing up.

One area of interest in regards to the religious political fabric of the period is the fact that there was in Queen Elizabeth's time harsh treatment of Catholics and those who practiced Catholic rites.

In Chapter 4 "A Curious Testament" Wilson puts forth evidence that William Shakespeare's father John Shakespeare was a Catholic and that William himself had specific Catholic-leaning tendencies. In the Shakespeare birth house a hand-written religious statement by John Shakespeare leads to the understanding that William himself was raised a Catholic.

This is a very important fact when Wilson shows how Shakespeare's plays exhibit certain streams of catholic thought, but he was writing under a Protestant Queen, Elizabeth. In fact many Catholics were being publicly executed for their Catholic practices.

Hunker down and prepare yourself to hang in for the long haul because this book will not only give you answers but will also point you in the direction to do your own research, although most of Wilson's research has been done on-site actually going to the local record-keeping facilities that house certain documents that shed light on the true identity of William Shakespeare, and his background.

Wilson points out in Chapter 7 "Found-The Mystery Patron" how many Shakespeare plays, in particular "King John" were written to actually reflect the reigning Queen Elizabeth's rule and thus show here and her lineage in a positive Protestant light.

Wilson goes further to purport that a member of Elizabeth's Court, Ferdinando Stanley was to gain much "public relations value" from the scene in "Richard III" when Thomas Stanley sets the found crown of Richard on Henry Tudor's head making him King Henry VII. Ferdinando Stanley was the patron for Richard Burbage's acting troop, Lord Strange's Men, and ultimately influenced the writing of Shakespeare's plays to reflect certain protestant beliefs.

So there is strong evidence that Shakespeare was not only censored in what he was to write but was further instructed and paid to write certain kinds of material for the stage, material that bolstered the positive aspects of the current power, Queen Elizabeth's protestant rule. This early patronage for what is tantamount to dramatic propagandizing insured Shakespeare's writing career.

Later Shakespeare wrote many of his plays still under patronage but also with earnings from his place in the acting troop Lord Strange's Men, so he was freer to write other themes beside political history. Wilson points to a continuing mystery in Chapter 15 "Most Excellent... for the Stage", of the lost play "Loves Labours Won" which is believed by many scholars, because of the documents of the day, to have been the sister play to "Loves Labours Lost".

In Chapter 16 "This Wooden 'O'", Wilson sheds light on the creation and financial involvement of Shakespeare with the Globe Theatre, and how the actual legal papers are documented in the London Public Record Office. Wilson also shows how "Catholic attitude laced through Hamlet, specifically how Hamlet's Ghost has become suspended in limbo, and it is suggested that to "pray" will help relieve the situation.

Throughout the entire book Wilson refers to the Religious and political stress in the country under Elizabeth's rule, and suggests that this atmosphere is in part the rationale behind a man with such a stature as William Shakespeare content to seemingly stay in the background, and out of the limelight, so to speak.

The book contains an extensive and well-documented chronology in Appendix B that not only illuminates the historical landmarks coinciding with Shakespeare's literary output, but also covers some of the legal changes in England.