|
|
(1566 - 1626)
Perhaps the foremost actor of the late
Elizabethan age, principally of the Admiral's
Men (rivals to the Chamberlain's Men, William
Shakespeare's company).
|
Robert Armin
|
(c 1568 - 1615)
Actor (including Chamberlain's Men) and
playwright.
|
Roger Ascham
|
(c 1515 - 1568)
Scholar, leading educator, and tutor to the
highest, including Elizabeth and Oxford.
|
Jakob Ayrer
|
(c 1543 - 1605)
Prolific German playwright strongly
influenced by touring English troupes. At
least three of his plays show strong
similarities to Shakespeare's.
|
Francis Bacon [aka Lord Verulam,
aka Viscount St Albans]
|
(1561 - 1626).
Scientist, philosopher, MP, courtier,
essayist, civil servant. The first serious
candidate to challenge Shakespeare for
authorship. Convicted of bribery.
|
Barnabe Barnes
|
(1571 - 1609)
Poet, playwright, sometimes identified as the
rival in the Sonnets. He escaped
arrest on attempted murder. His "Divils
Charter" was produced at Court by
the King's Men.
|
Richard Barnfield
|
(1574 - 1627)
Poet famous for his early praises of
Shakespeare.
|
William Basse
|
(? 1583 - 1653)
Poet significant only for his "On Mr.
Wm. Shakespeare", published in 1632,
which says, contrary to Jonson, that WS should be
buried in Westminster.
|
Francis Beaumont
|
(1584 - 1616)
Poet, playwright. Many of his plays were in
collaboration with Fletcher. Despite his much
inferior output, he was buried in
Westminister.
|
Francois de Belleforest
|
(1530 - 1583)
French poet, translator. His "Histoires
Tragique" is a source for "Hamlet",
and possibly also MAAN, TN, and
AWTEW.
|
|
|
Often used
generically to name the subject person of any
particular Sonnet. The Fair Youth and the Dark Lady were both Beloveds.
There may be other Beloveds in the Sonnets.
|
Thomas Betterton
|
(1635 - 1710)
Great actor of the Restoration, but included
here because he went to Stratford for Rowe to try to find
biographical information on Shakespeare.
|
Nicholas Breton
|
(1555? - 1625?)
Prolific English writer of religious and
pastoral poems, satires, dialogues, and
essays; his chief early patron was Mary Herbert, Countess of
Pembroke.
|
George Buc
|
(1562 - 1622)
Poet, historian, Master of the Revels 1609 - 1622.
|
Richard
Burbage
|
(1568 - 1619)
Leading actor (and manager/principal
shareholder) of the Chamberlain's Men
and the King's Men.
|
George Carey, 2nd Lord Hunsdon
|
(1547 -1603) Lord Chamberlain after 1597, patron
of poets and the Chamberlain's Men.
|
Henry Carey, 1st
Lord Hunsdon
|
(c 1524 - 1596)
Lord Chamberlain and patron of the
Chamberlain's Men.
|
Robert Cecil, 1st
Earl of Salisbury
|
(6/1/1553 - 5/24/1612)
Chief minister to Elizabeth after his father's,
Burghley's, death. Hunch-backed,
and hence a possible model for Richard III.
|
Thomas Cecil, Earl
of Exeter
|
(5/5/1542 - 2/8/1623)
Courtier and civil servant. Son of Burghley.
|
William Cecil, Lord Burghley
|
(3/13/1520 - 8/5/1598)
Treasurer and principal counselor to Elizabeth. Guardian of both Oxford and Southampton. Considered by many
to be the inspiration for Polonius.
|
|
|
Court officer
in charge of royal lodgings, wardrobe, and,
importantly, entertainment (esp. theatre).
|
George
Chapman
|
(1560 - 1634)
Poet, classical translator, and major
playwright. Cited by Meres as the best for
tragedy and comedy. Some attribute parts or
all of a number of Shakespeare's plays to him.
Sometimes named as the Rival of the Sonnets.
He wrote poems to several poets, but none to
Shakespeare.
|
Henry
Chettle
|
(1560 - 1607)
Printer, then a playwright-- especially
prolific as a collaborator with others.
Editor, apologist, and possible co-author of
"Groatsworth of Wit".
|
Cinthio
(real name: Giovanni Battista Giraldi)
|
(1504 - 1573)
Italian professor, novelist, playwright. His
plays include sources for Othello and Measure
for Measure.
|
Henry
Condell
|
(9/5/1576 - 12/29/1630)
Actor, member of the King's Men, co-editor
of the First Folio.
|
William Covell
|
( - 1614) Poet.
An epistle of his, published 1595, praising Spenser, Daniel, and Oxford (thou mayst
extoll thy courte-deare-verse), is
annotated with a reference to Shakespeare.
|
Samuel Daniel
|
(1562 - 1619)
Poet in Mary Herbert's circle,
playwright. Sometimes named as the Sonnets'
rival.
|
Dark Lady
|
Appellation
given to the mysterious anonymous femme of
the later Sonnets.
|
John Davies
|
(1565 - 1618)
Poet. An epigram, "To our English
Terence, Mr. Will. Shake-speare" was
published c 1610.
|
Robert Devereux, 2nd
Earl of Essex
|
(1566 - 1601)
Courtier, soldier, prime favourite of
Elizabeth after Leicester's death. Several
possible allusions to him in the plays.
Executed for trying to overthrow the
government. He was the 3rd husband of
Frances, daughter of Walsingham.
|
Leonard Digges
|
(1588 - 4/7/1635)
One of the dedicatory poets in the First
Folio, translator of Spanish literature,
and son of the mathematician Thomas D. His
mother lived in Stratford; he lived near Heminges and Condell in London.
|
Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester
|
(1532 - 1588)
the prime favourite of E1, Master of the
Horse, courtier, soldier, patron of the arts
and Leicester's Men.
|
William
Dugdale
|
(1605 - 1686)
Antiquary whose "Antiquities of
Warwickshire" is important for its
engraving of Shakspere's Stratford monument.
|
Edward Dyer, Sir
|
(10/1543 - 5/1607)
English courtier and poet, a friend of Sir
Philip Sidney. His works were
well regarded, but little has survived.
|
Richard
Edwards
|
(1526 - 1566)
Playwright, Master of the Children of the
Chapel. His "Damon and Pythias"
was a pioneering "tragical comedy".
|
Fair Youth
|
Appellation
given to the beloved anonymous young man
referred to in the early "marriage"
Sonnets. Many critics believe this
same Fair Youth is also the object of the
adoration in the bulk of the other sonnets.
|
Geoffrey Fenton
|
(c 1539 - 1608)
Civil servant and translator of de Belleforest's Histoire
Tragique (1567).
|
Mary Fitton
|
(1578 - 1647)
Maid of Honour, beauty, mistress of Pembroke. Candidate for the Dark Lady.
|
John Fletcher
|
(1579 - 1625)
Premiere playwright of the King's Men after
Shakespeare. Father was Bishop of London. He
was possibly the collaborator with WS on Two
Noble Kinsmen, Henry VIII, and the lost Cardenio.
|
John Florio
|
(? 1554 - 1625)
Scholar, translator of Italian, tutor to Southampton.
|
George Gascoigne
|
(?1542 - 10/7/1577)
MP, soldier, bohemian, poet, playwright, and
literary innovator. Friend of George Turberville and Edmund Spenser. Early linked to
sonnets, first English non-dramatic blank
verse, early war journalism.
|
Arthur
Golding
|
(1536 - 1606)
Prolific translator, including Ovid's "Metamorphoses".
His half-sister was Oxford's mother.
|
Joseph
Greene
|
18th c. Pastor
of the Stratford Church. Before he beautified
the 'Shakspere' monument, there was no record
of anyone noticing paper or pen in the hands
of the bust.
|
Robert Greene
|
(7/1558? - 9/3/1593)
Bohemian, university wit, prose writer and
blank verse dramatist, particularly of
romantic comedy. Authored many popular
pamphlets including "repentances"
such as "Groatsworth of Wit" (ostensibly).
|
Fulke Greville, 1st Lord Brooke
|
(10/3/1554 - 9/30/1628)
Philosopher, civil servant, writer,
playwright, friend of Sidney, and favourite of E1.
He died of stab wounds inflicted by a
disgruntled manservant.
|
Mr. W.H.
|
The mysterious
dedicatee of the Sonnets.
|
|
|
(1552 - 11/23/1616)
Geographer. In 1589 he began publishing his "The
Prinicipall Navigations, Voiages, Discoveries
of the English Nation ...", which he
(and then others) expanded in later editions.
The 1625 edition contains what some claim is
a source for the Tempest.
|
Samuel
Harsnet
|
(1561 -1631)
Prelate, civil servant. He published a
pamphlet in 1603 said to be the source for
devils in Lear, Tempest, and Pericles.
|
John
Hayward
|
(1564 - 1626)
Historian. He seems to have borrowed from Richard
II to write allegorical history
supporting Essex against Elizabeth.
|
John Heminges
|
(11/25/1566 -
10/12/1630) Actor, member of the King's Men,
major shareholder in the Globe and
Blackfriars theatres, executor of several
actors' wills, co-editor of the First
Folio.
|
Philip Henslowe
|
( - 1616)
Theatre and property owner/manager including
Bear Garden, Paris Garden, Rose Theater,
Newington Butts Theatre, Fortune Theatre,
Swan, Whitefriars, Hope Theatre. His business
records are a major source of information
about Elizabethan theatre.
|
Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
|
(1534 - 1601)
Patron of the arts and Pembroke's Men.
|
|
|
(1595 - 1673) Master of the Revels 1623 to 1642.
|
Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of
Pembroke
|
(10/27/1561- 9/25/1621)
Sister of Philip Sidney, wife of the 2nd
Earl, mother of William and Philip Herbert (to whom
the First Folio was dedicated), patron
of the arts, poet and translator.
|
Philip Herbert, Earl of Mongomery
|
(10/10/1584 -
1/23/1650) Patron of the arts, renowned for
his courtly skills including performances in
masques. One of the dedicatees of the First
Folio. Married Oxford's daughter, Susan.
|
William Herbert, 3rd Earl of
Pembroke
|
(4/8/1580 - 4/10/1630)
One of the dedicatees of the First Folio.
Some consider him Mr. WH and/or the Fair Youth of the Sonnets.
Imprisoned in 1601 for fathering a child to
Mary Fitton.
|
Thomas
Heywood
|
(c 1570 - 1641)
Actor/playwright. His dramas borrowed a lot
from Shakespeare.
|
Nicholas Hilliard
|
(1537 - 1619)
Premiere painter of miniature portraits for
the court. Conceivably the "painted
counterfeit" of Sonnet 17 is by
him.
|
Raphael Holinshed
|
( - 1580)
Historian. His Chronicles (1577, 1587)
are the source for much contemporary
knowledge.
|
Hugh
Holland
|
(1571 - 7/18/1633)
One of the dedicatory poets in the First
Folio.
|
Wenzel Hollar
|
(1607 - 1677)
Czech engraver, immigrant, art tutor.
Important for his "Long View of London",
which depicted the London theatres, and his
rendering of Shakspere's monument in Dugdale's Antiquaries.
|
Henry Howard, Earl
of Surrey
|
(1517? - 1/13/1547)
Poet, early English sonneteer, early use of
English blank verse. Husband to Frances de
Vere-- Oxford's aunt. Executed
for treason.
|
William
Jaggard
|
(1569 - 1623)
Printer and bookseller. Together with his son
Isaac, pirate-printed "Passionate
Pilgrim" and number of the quartos.
Also printed the First Folio.
|
Inigo Jones
|
(1573 - 1652)
Architect, courtly stage designer-- brought
innovations from Italy.
|
Ben Jonson
|
(6/11/1572 - 8/16/1637)
Poet, playwright, critic. One of the
dedicatory poets in the First Folio.
Other works include "Every Man in His
Humour", "Volpone",
"The Alchemist" & "Bartholomew
Fair". He also wrote more directly
about the playwright Shakespeare than any
other.
|
|
|
( - 1650)
Traveler. He was shipwrecked with the Sea-Venture
in 1609, and his account thereof is believed
by some to be a source for the Tempest.
|
Thomas Kyd
|
(11/6/1558 -
1594) Famous playwright, but his "Spanish
Tragedie" is the only play that can
be reliably assigned to him.
|
Lewis Lewkenor
|
(c1556 - 1626)
Spy for Burghley and translator.
Some of his translations may have been used
for MoV and Othello.
|
Francis Langley
|
(1550 - 1601)
Theatre entrepreneur, owner of the Swan. He
and Shakespeare are sworn against in a peace
warrant by a William Wayte.
|
Thomas Lodge
|
(1557 - 1625)
Playwright, prose writer, poet, university wit. His "Rosalynde"
(1590) may be the source for AYLI.
|
John Lyly
|
(1554? - 1606)
Prose writer, influential courtly playwright,
university wit, Oxford's secretary. His Euphues
romances featuring elegant language led to Euphuism.
He gained control of Blackfriars Theater in
1583-- many of his plays were prose comedies
performed by children companies. (qv Volker Malthopp Pages)
|
James Maabe
|
(1572 - 1642)
Translator, poet, friend of Digges. Likely to be
"I.M", one of the dedicatory poets
in the First Folio.
|
Francis Manners, 6th Earl of Rutland
|
(1578 - 1632)
Brother of Roger, friend of Southampton. Subject of the
famous impressa by Burbage and Shakespeare.
|
Roger Manners, 5th Earl of Rutland
|
( - 1612)
Based on parallels between his life and the
canon, (qv
Volker Malthopp Pages) some people propose
him as the author, either alone or as a
collaborator. His monument is much like
Shakspere's.
|
Christopher
Marlowe
|
(2/26/1564 - 5/30/1593
?) Playwright, spy, university wit. Some say he wrote
the canon. Author of "Tamburlaine the
Great", "The Tragicall History of
Dr. Faustus", "The Jew of Malta".
Stabbed in a tavern brawl.
|
John
Marston
|
(1576 - 1634)
Satirist and Playwright. Occasionally used
pseudonym (W Kinsayder). Arrested in 1608 and
thereafter ceased working in theatre.
|
|
|
Court officer
under the Lord Chamberlain responsible for
producing plays in Court. Holders: Tilney (1579-09), Buc (09-22), John
Astley (22-23), Herbert (23-42).
|
Francis Meres
|
(1565 - 1647)
Translator and critic, his collection of
essays, "Palladis Tamia", is
important for its references to Shakespeare
and Oxford.
|
Thomas Middleton
|
(1570 - 1627)
Playwright. Some claim he wrote the songs in Macbeth.
|
Luce Morgan [aka
Parker]
|
(1560 - 1610)
Maid of the Queen's bedchamber, later
convicted as a prostitute. Candidate (by
Hotson) for the Dark Lady.
|
Anthony Munday
|
(1560? - 1633)
Playwright, spy (among Catholic refugees in
France and Italy), poet. Probably the prime
author of Sir Thomas More-- a hand-written
revised passage of which some claim to be by
Shakespeare.
|
Thomas Nashe
|
(1567 - 1601?)
Pamphleteer, poet, university wit.
|
Thomas North
|
(1535? - 1601)
His translation of Jacques Amyot's French
version of "Plutarch's Lives"
was heavily used by Shakespeare for Julius
Caesar, Anthony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus,
and Timon.
|
John Ostler
|
( - 1614)
Actor, married to Thomasina, daughter of John
Heminges.
|
Henry
Peacham
|
(1576? - 1643)
Artist and critic, his 1622 "The
Compleat Gentleman" has an essay
borrowing heavily from Puttenham, mentions Oxford but not Shakespeare
in a literary survey.
|
George Peele
|
(1556 - 1596)
Playwright, university wit. Suggested as a
collaborator of Shakespeare.
|
George Puttenham
|
(ca 1519 -
autumn 1590) Courtier, literary critic,
probable author of "Arte of English
Poesie" (1589).
|
Walter
Raleigh, Sir
|
(1554 - 10/29/1618,
London). English adventurer and writer, a
favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, who knighted him
in 1585. Accused of treason by Elizabeth's
successor, James I, he was imprisoned
in the Tower of London and eventually put to
death.
|
Nicholas Rowe
|
(1674 - 1718)
Playwright and editor and first significant
biographer of Shakespeare. He collected oral
stories about Shakespeare and sent Betterton to Stratford for
more information. He also made many textual
improvements and corrections to the canon.
|
Thomas Sackville, 1st
Earl of Dorset [aka Lord Buckhurst]
|
(1536 - 4/19/1608)
English statesman, poet, and dramatist. His "Tragedie
of Gorboduc" is an early example of
English drama in blank verse.
|
William Shakespeare
|
(?) The man
behind the name that appears on the plays and
the poems, the author of the canon. Also the
name of an Elizabethan-Jacobean actor. Some
debate participants think author and actor
are the same person; others don't.
|
William Shakspere
|
(4/26?/1664 -
4/23/1616) Stratford businessman, actor?,
poet?, playwright?, Shakespeare?
|
Philip Sidney
|
(11/30/1554 -
10/17/1586) Courtier, statesman, soldier,
poet, and patron of scholars and poets. His "Astrophel
and Stella" (1582) is one of the
finest Elizabethan sonnet cycles. His "The
Defence of Poesie" introduced
Renaissance theories to England. His uncle
was Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.
He married Frances, daughter of Walsingham. He did not allow
his writings to be published in his lifetime.
He died gallantly in the siege of Zutphen,
and was memorialized by many of the leading
poets.
|
Edmund
Spenser
|
(1552? - 1/13/1599)
Poet, colonial officer in Ireland. Works:
The Shepheardes Calender; Complaints; The
Faerie Queene; Prothalamion; Amoretti and
Epithalamion; Three Proper, and Wittie,
Familiar Letters, by Gabriel Harvey and
Spenser; A View of the Present State of
Ireland.
|
John Stanhope, Lord
Harrington
|
(c1545 - 1617)
Courtier, vice chamberlain.
|
William
Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby
|
(1561 - 1642)
Another candidate for authorship. Husband of Oxford's daughter
Elizabeth.
|
John Stow
|
(c 1525 - 1605)
Antiquarian.
|
|
|
( - 1619) Poet
and early traveler to Virginia, chiefly
notable for a letter about his 1609 Bermuda
shipwreck, which has been tied to the Tempest.
|
James I Stuart, King
of England
|
King of
England, Scotland and Ireland upon death of
Elizabeth I, patron of the theatre.
|
Torquato Tasso
|
(1544 - 1595)
Italian poet and playwright.
|
Thomas Thorpe
|
(1570 - 1635)
Publisher of the Sonnets and possible
author of their controversial dedication.
|
|
|
( - 1610) Master of the Revels 1579 - 1609. Uncle
of George Buc.
|
Elizabeth I Tudor,
Queen of England
|
(8/7/1533 - 3/24/1603;
r 1558-d) Queen of England and Ireland,
arguably England's greatest monarch, patron
of the theatre.
|
George Turberville
|
(1544? - 1597?)
Poet, early English blank verse.
|
|
|
A group of
Oxbridge-educated playwrights primarily
active in the late 1580s and early 1590,
including: Robert Greene, Thomas
Lodge, John Lyly, Christopher Marlowe, George
Peele, and Thomas Nashe.
|
Anne Vavasour
|
One of
Elizabeth's maids, impregnated by Oxford causing his
imprisonment and touching off a street-brawling
feud between him and her relatives.
Considered the Dark Lady by many Oxfordians.
|
Edward de Vere, 17th
Earl of Oxford
|
(4/12/1550 - 6/24/1604)
Courtier, favorite of E1, bohemian, patron of
writers and the theater, poet, playwright.
|
Elizabeth Trentham
de Vere
|
Oxford's 2nd wife.
|
Ann Cecil de Vere
|
Daughter of Burghley, Oxford's neglected 1st
wife.
|
Francis Walsingham
|
(c1532 -
4/6/1590) Statesman, spymaster, a principal
counselor to Elizabeth 1st.
|
John Ward
|
( - 1681)
Vicar of Stratford, 1661 -. He kept a diary
from 1648 to '79. C 1662 he recorded several
tales about Shakspere/Shakespeare.
|
William Webbe
|
( ) Critic: "A
Discourse of English Poetrie".
|
John
Webster
|
(1580? - 1634)
Actor?, playwright. Perhaps the best Jacobean
playwright, little is known about him.
|
John Weever
|
(1576 - 1632)
Poet. An epigram of his published in 1599
celebrates Shakespeare.
|
George Whetstone
|
(1544 - 1587)
Soldier/adventurer and writer. His play "Promos
and Cassandra" is a source for MfM.
|
George Wilkins
|
( ? )
Playwright. He may be a co-author of Pericles.
|
Henry Wotton
|
(1568 -1639)
Poet, translator, spy, he provided a report
of the burning of the Globe.
|
Elizabeth
Vernon Wriothesley, Countess of Southampton
|
( - c1648)
When orphaned she became ward of Essex. Southampton impregnated her,
forcing their marriage, and causing Elizabeth to lock them both
up for awhile. Some see her as the Dark Lady.
|
Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of
Southampton
|
(1573 -
1624) Courtier, patron of the arts, dedicatee
of "Venus and Adonis" and "Lucrece".
Orphaned at 8, and like Oxford, became a ward of Burghley, who tried to get
him to marry his granddaughter, Oxford's
daughter, Elizabeth de Vere. A friend of Essex's, he participated
in the latter's coup attempt. He narrowly
escaped the axe, and was released from prison
by James1 in 1603. Often
named as the Fair Youth. There is nothing
but an old tale to show he financially aided
Shakespeare.
|
Thomas Wyat, Sir
|
(1503 - 10/6/1542)
Poet and courtier, introduced the Italian
sonnet.
|