James Shapiro @ EIBF

 

James Shapiro is a Professor of English Literature at Columbia University in New York, and a Shakespeare scholar. His book 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare was widely acclaimed, but he was appearing to talk about his new book, Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare?, which examines the various claims that Shakespeare’s plays were written by others. These claims, which Shapiro stressed didn’t ever appear until 200 years after Shakespeare died, are generally ridiculous, and Shapiro showed this quite eloquently. The popular theory of the moment is that Edward De Vere, The Earl of Oxford, may have done so, despite dying in 1604, before several of the plays were first performed, and written. The argument goes that Oxford had three daughters, like King Lear, and experience of being on a ship boarded by pirates, like Hamlet. But, Shapiro said, one of the few other facts that (sadly) survive about Oxford is that he enjoyed sex with not only men and women, but also horses, which leads to a very odd interpretation of Richard III (i.e. My horse, my horse, my kingdom for…). The event proceeded in similar good humour, though Shapiro was clearly wary of attacks from conspiracy theorists, stressing in the Q&A that he would only answer questions, not accusations. As a whole, this was an excellent, compelling hour. [Keir Hind]