Both Strafordians and Anti-Stratfordians have been arguing about this for a century, but the mystery has been solved [I have moved all my writings on William Shakespeare and Thomas North onto my substack: “All the Mysteries That Remain.” You can subscribe there for free–no credit card or anything–but after 7 days, a free subscription onlyContinue reading “The Long-Debated Mystery of Shakespeare’s Geographical Errors in “The Winter’s Tale””
Author Archives: Dennis McCarthy
Thomas North: Playwright
On first glance, the biggest challenge when arguing that Thomas North wrote Shakespeare’s orginal plays is making the case for Thomas North as any sort of playwright in the first place. North’s place in English literature has, for the last 400 years, been solely off the back of his three major translations. In particular, theContinue reading “Thomas North: Playwright”
Appendix G: Arthur Brooke’s “Romeus and Juliet” and North’s Wedding-Turned-Funeral
In 1562, two years before Shakespeare was born and seven years after Thomas North traveled through the Lombardy regions of Italy with the Viscount Montague, young Arthur Brooke referred to a stage tragedy on Romeo and Juliet. Brooke, who had connections to the Inns of Court, cited the play in a foreword to his longContinue reading “Appendix G: Arthur Brooke’s “Romeus and Juliet” and North’s Wedding-Turned-Funeral”
The Description of Romeo’s Sorrow Comes From North’s ‘Dial’ & Pre-Dates 1562 Poem
Shakespearean editors have long known that an English play of Romeo and Juliet existed even before the future playwright was born in Stratford in 1564. Young poet Arthur Brooke complimented the staged version in the foreword to his 1562 poem on the doomed lovers. Those scholars who have carefully studied all the iterations of theContinue reading “The Description of Romeo’s Sorrow Comes From North’s ‘Dial’ & Pre-Dates 1562 Poem”
Shakespeare and Brooke Both Borrowed from North’s pre-1562 “Romeo and Juliet”: Changing Juliet’s Wedding into a Funeral
In 1562, two years before Shakespeare was born and seven years after Thomas North traveled through the Lombardy regions of Italy with the Viscount Montague, young Arthur Brooke referred to a stage tragedy on Romeo and Juliet. Brooke, who had connections to the Inns of Court, cited the play in a foreword to his longContinue reading “Shakespeare and Brooke Both Borrowed from North’s pre-1562 “Romeo and Juliet”: Changing Juliet’s Wedding into a Funeral”
An Original Poem by North & Turning Juliet’s Wedding into a Funeral
As detailed in earlier posts, North would often write original passages in his translations. That is, he would veer from the language of his source-text, at times preferring to craft his own speeches and descriptions as opposed to closely transcribing the work in front of him. One extraordinary example is North’s original, 110-line poetic complaintContinue reading “An Original Poem by North & Turning Juliet’s Wedding into a Funeral”
Cassio’s Book-Learning vs. Iago’s Real Experiences in War (North’s Marginal Notes)
In the opening exchange in Othello, Iago criticizes the recently promoted Cassio because he knows nothing about war other than what he has read in books and does not have Iago’s actual experiences in battle. The origin of the passage clearly comes from one underscored by North in his own Dial of Princes, in whichContinue reading “Cassio’s Book-Learning vs. Iago’s Real Experiences in War (North’s Marginal Notes)”
Ye-Olde-Spellinge Corrector
MS Word Macros to Help Normalize Early Modern English Texts The following macros will help start you on your way to modernizing the spelling of Early Modern English texts — especially large tomes and those downloaded from Early English Books online. It corrects many of the most common spelling variations and makes the works easierContinue reading “Ye-Olde-Spellinge Corrector”
Quotes and Descriptions of North’s Plays That Appeared Long Before Shakespeare Adapted Them (1-4)
Frustratingly, when Elizabethan writers often referred to plays performed by Leicester Men’s–including all of Thomas North’s plays–they never named the playwright. This is why it has taken so long to determine who wrote them. Still, many writers did do the next best thing: They often quoted the play. To those innocent of the fact thatContinue reading “Quotes and Descriptions of North’s Plays That Appeared Long Before Shakespeare Adapted Them (1-4)”
Not Just a Translator: Extraordinary Praise for Originality and Quality of North’s Writing
Nineteenth and early twentieth century scholars studying Thomas North’s translation of Plutarch’s Lives were often effusive in their praise of both the originality and quality of North’s prose. They noted that North frequently veered from the original foreign text he was translating in order to rework it into his own masterful style–punching up speeches, embellishingContinue reading “Not Just a Translator: Extraordinary Praise for Originality and Quality of North’s Writing”