Hank Whittemore's Shakespeare Blog

Edward de Vere
17th Earl of Oxford

I’d like to thank all the readers who have contributed “customer reviews” of The Monument over at Amazon.com and to express my appreciation to the most recent reviewers.  What sparked my current gratitude was a review during February by “Yosemity” (a pen name, surely), along with one by Mark Lippstreueron in late December.  To my knowledge I’m not acquainted with either writer; I post their reviews here to encourage more Shakespeare lovers to explore the authorship question and, in particular, the Monument theory of the Sonnets as written by Edward  de Vere, Earl of Oxford.

By Yosemity — February 16, 2015

“This masterful literary detective work is brilliant. This interpretation of the Sonnets is the most coherent of all interpretations. It ties together the fair youth, the dark lady, and the rival poet with the underlying political context of the Essex Rebellion. It shows words and phrases cross references from early poems (i.e. Love Thy Choice) and plays to various sonnets most natural and sensible.

“For hundreds of years, the interpretation of a love triangle without the political context is twisting, awkward, and missed hundreds of double imagery in the sonnets sequence. What a remarkable discovery after 400 years. What a treasure and a gift to poetry lovers and to humanity…

“‘And thou in this shalt find thy monument’ (Sonnet 107, line 13).

“With the sonnets’ context based on Oxford’s life events, the double imagery in the sonnets can take both specific and more hidden meanings. The author wanted to hide the specific from plain sight. Readers can see it either way. Which way is more enjoyable? Which interpretation is more interesting? This depends on the reader. There are plenty of isolated lines that can be enjoyed without context. It’s like a rose by the side of the road, a summer day, etc.

“As an artist and a scientist, I find the Oxford context very interesting. It makes me appreciate the writer’s skill so much more, starting with the first two lines of Sonnet 1.  Here ‘beauty’s Rose’ can be a rose by the road, or the well-known Tudor Rose, Elizabeth I.  Based on personal experience, I know many artist, writers, actors often forgo more lucrative career paths to pursue their life’s calling. The most moving songs, poems, music, paintings, are drawn from life’s experience. Facts are much stranger than fiction. Art often imitates life more than we find life imitating art. Artists’ imaginations can’t go ‘outside the(ir) box’ unless they get help from outside (i.e. vision quest, or hallucinogens, or other muses). In short, Hank’s analysis compelled me to study the sonnets in greater depth.”

By Mark Lippstreueron — December 25, 2014:

“Very intriguing and well documented. This text give a solid argument for De Vere as the author of not just these poems, but all of the Shakespearean literature. Whether you are a Oxfordian or a pupil in the dark on this matter, the book is an excellent doorway to the Sonnets. The numeracy and historical support are quite powerful and worthy of note by any scholar. Enjoy and open your mind to the other side of the envelope and see the 154 sonnets as a single masterpiece.”