Vol.4:no.2 "Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments..." Winter 2005 Who wrote Fellowship’s 3rd The Spanish annual meeting Tragedy? held in Baltimore By C. V. Berney he Spanish Tragedy was one of the ixty members gathered most popular and important plays of in Baltimore, Mary- Tthe Elizabethan era. If you ask an Sland, in early October academic who wrote it, the reply will be for the third annual confer- “Thomas Kyd, of course,” and it will be ence of the Shakespeare Fel- given in a voice ringing with authority and lowship. The program was certitude. varied, with over 20 speak- But it may not be quite that simple. In ers, a debate, and several the- their introduction to the play, Brooke and atrical performances, includ- Paradise note that ing productions of Julius Caesar by the Baltimore The early editions of The Spanish Tragedy are all anonymous, and none of Shakespeare Festival, “De- the theatrical notices of the play mentions throning a Deity” by Michael Kyd. We owe our knowledge of his Dunn in the persona of authorship to Thomas Heywood, who Among the activities at the 3rd Annual Shakespeare Fellowship Charles Dickens, and Shake- Conference in Baltimore was the awards banquet, where special quotes three lines (IV.i.86-88) in his Speare, a show about Oxford Apology for Actors, 1612, with the words: recognition was bestowed on Dr. Gordon Cyr (left) for Lifetime “Therefore, M[aster] Kid, in his Spanish Achievement and Tom Regnier (right) for Scholarship. Outgoing as the bard, by Kinetic En- Tragedy, upon occasion thus presenting Fellowship President Alex McNeil (center) presented the awards. ergy of Australia. Keynote itself, thus writes.” 1 speaker Tom Regnier and Dr. Gordon Cyr received confer- So Kyd was identified as the author by a ence awards for outstanding single arcane allusion published at least scholarship and contribu- two decades after the play was written. tions to the Oxfordian move- But surely, a lot is known about his life, ment. his education, his writing habits. Actually, Regnier, a lawyer and no. The Encyclopedia Britannica tells us author of the 2000 Miami he was baptized 6 November 1558 in Law Review article, “Could London. It then discusses The Spanish Shakespeare Think Like a Tragedy, and skips to his final months. He Lawyer?” instructed and en- was rooming with Christopher Marlowe in tertained his audience with a 1593 when he was arrested for atheism and questioned under torture. After this ordeal fascinating paper titled he wrote a letter to the authorities stating “Shakespeare’s Law.” He Playing Oxfordian Jeopardy (or, as billed in the conference cited instances from several that the heretical material found in his program, JEOpardy) over the weekend are (from left) Hank apartment was Marlowe’s. He died the next Whittemore, Michael Dunn, and Ron Hess. Adapting the popular plays, including Hamlet, year. The Britannica states “That letter is game show format to an Oxfordian-Shakespeare venue came Merchant of Venice, Measure the source for almost everything that is about courtesy of Alex McNeil—himself once a contestant on the for Measure and Merry Wives (Continued on page 19) real Jeopardy show—who also presided over the questioning. (Continued on page 8) page 2 Shakespeare Matters Winter 2005 dvoryanstvo (nobility), with a recent lineage Far from being an afterthought in this Letters: that included his maternal grandmother, argument about literary claimants both Baroness Maria von Korff, and paternal common and royal, Vladimir Nabokov grandfather Dmitri Nikolaevich Nabokov, ought to be the poster boy of aristocratic To the Editor: who was Minister of Justice under two legitimacy. The notion that because most Czars and who turned down the offer of an geniuses do not spring from nobility, It doesn’t seem six years since I began earldom from Alexander III in favor of a therefore no geniuses may spring from to perceive The Sonnets from a new angle monetary stipend. nobility, is ridiculous on its face, and there and the picture started to change. After a Exiled to Europe after the Russian is no more palpable proof of this than the long gestation it all happened quickly and Revolution, Vladimir Nabokov achieved rife and writings of Vladimir Nabokov. I thought it was so simple that everyone fame there as the Russian-language poet would see it right away, even to the point and novelist “Sirin,” then came to America Jack Wennerstrom of worrying it might be stolen out from to produce masterworks in English, his Randallstown, Maryland under me. Of course, that’s a laugher—a second language (he was also fluent in 3 November 2004 transformation of this size is not always French), among them Lolita, Pale Fire, welcome or easy. There are those who and Ada. He was an amateur lepidopterist think “out of the box,” and to them I’m of the first rank, describing a species new A notice to our readers grateful; others will need to reconfigure to science, and in his youth had excelled at the whole thing so they can handle it in both soccer and tennis. Our Winter 2005 issue is being their own way. Upon the publication of Ada, John sent to you later than normal, for Meanwhile I’d like to thank my Leonard of the New York Times wrote: “If which we apologize. colleagues Lynne Kositsky and Roger he doesn’t win the Nobel Prize, it’s only Please be assured that our next Stritmatter for their time and attention (“A because the Nobel Prize doesn’t deserve two issues (Spring 2005 and Sum- Critique of the ‘Monument’ Theory,” Fall him.” When the Nobel Prize went not to mer 2005) will both be coming out 2004 issue). Nabokov but to Solzhenitsyn in 1970, the soon and put us back on schedule. My reply is in The Monument, now latter wrote to Nabokov that he was much Expect your Spring 2005 Shake- published and available to all (see page 29 more deserving of the award, and later speare Matters in early June, and for details on ordering a copy). nominated Nabokov himself. Nabokov’s your Summer 2005 Shakespeare reputation as a literary genius continues to Matters in late July/early August. Hank Whittemore grow long after his death. Nyack, NY 15 January 2005 To the Editor: Shakespeare Matters Subscriptions to Shakespeare Matters are Published quarterly by the $40 per year ($20 for online issues only). The Shakespeare Fellowship Family or institution subscriptions are $45 per An important argument to refute is the year. Patrons of the Fellowship are $75 and up. Stratfordian claim that a person of noble Editorial Offices Send subscription requests to: P.O. Box 263 blood could not have written such The Shakespeare Fellowship masterworks as “Shakespeare’s” plays, and Somerville, MA 02143 P.O. Box 434 Marshfield Hills, MA 02051 that, to quote A.L. Rowse, such literary Editor: gems are “...never written by an Earl.” To William Boyle The purpose of the Shakespeare Fellowship this Oxfordians seem to tick off the same is to promote public awareness and acceptance boilerplate list of notable writers with Contributing Editors: of the authorship of the Shakespeare Canon by aristocratic blood, a stable that includes Mark Anderson, Dr. Charles Berney, Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (1550- Charles Boyle, Dr. Felicia Londre, 1604), and further to encourage a high level of Byron, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Conrad and Lynne Kositsky, Alex McNeil, scholarly research and publication into all others. Dr. Anne Pluto, Elisabeth Sears, aspects of Shakespeare studies, and also into Dr. Roger Stritmatter, Richard Whalen, the history and culture of the Elizabethan era. The name usually absent from the The Society was founded and incorporated Hank Whittemore, Dr. Daniel L. Wright roster is that of Vladimir Nabokov, who, as in 2001 in the State of Massachusetts and is biographer Brian Boyd has stated, “...was chartered under the membership corporation Phone (Somerville, MA): (617) 628-3411 laws of that state. It is a recognized 501(c)(3) often acclaimed the greatest writer alive, email: [email protected] nonprofit (Fed ID 04-3578550). the standard against which other writers All contents copyright ©2005 Dues, grants and contributions are tax- The Shakespeare Fellowship should be measured, the one certain choice deductible to the extent allowed by law. for a Nobel Prize.” Shakespeare Matters welcomes articles, essays, Believed to be a descendant of the l4th commentary, book reviews, letters and news items. Contributions should be reasonably concise and, when century Russianized Tatar prince, Nabok appropriate, validated by peer review. The views expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the Murza, he was distinctly of the Russian Fellowship as a literary and educational organization. Internet Ed. (©2005, The Shakespeare Fellowship - not for sale or distribution without written consent) Winter 2005 Shakespeare Matters page 3 President’s Letter From the Editor From Lynne Kositsky The Monument theory As I sit down to write this, snow is swirling past As our readers know, our last two issues presented a new theory my window and it’s absolutely freezing cold. I can on the Sonnets (Hank Whittemore’s Monument theory, Summer hardly believe that in six weeks we’ll all be at Dan’s 2004) firmly supported by some of us, followed in turn by a critique Shakespeare Authorship Conference in Portland, of that theory (Fall 2004) which just as firmly rejected it. One would with the trees blossoming and flowers in full bloom; expect in this issue to see a continuation of the dialogue, but the two weeks later I hope to see you at Harvard in truth is we did not receive a single letter or proposed article either Cambridge for the Oxford Dinner, and at the end of pro or con.