THE 1609 SHAKE-SPEARE DELUSION

by Peter W. Kendall

The following work contains what for some will be the welcome, and for others the most unwelcome, resolution of the long-standing so-called SHAKE-SPEARES SONNETS Problem. The famous collection of 154 sonnets in the English form published by T.T. in the Spring of 1609 has raised countless questions over the ensuing years. In particular, as far as the publication itself is concerned , * What purpose does the hyphen in SHAKE-SPEARES serve. * Why does the Lovers Complaint section of the publication include BY WILLIAM SHAKE-SPEARE in the head- title, whereas SHAKE-SPEARES SONNETS, by itself, is sufficient for the sonnet section. * Why is the post publication treatment of the sonnets so different to that of Venus & Adonis, and Lucrece , both clearly attributed to William Shakespeare, which each enjoyed several reprints prior to the second appearance of the sonnets in 1640. * Why in 1640 did the sonnets re-appeare in a manipulated publication which claimed that they had not previously been published; which would appeare to be tantamount to showing that the 1609 publication had been called-in. * Why with so many clues being available has the identity of the Fair Youth, to whom many of the sonnets were quite clearly addressed, proved to be so elusive. * Why was the 1609 publication called-in. Further to the above questions regarding the 1609 compilation as published, * Why, when possessive apostrophes subsequently came into general use, was the second legitimate position for an apostrophe in the title not given equal status to that of the first position. The above questions were all given specific attention in a slim book entitled THE SONNETS OF THE SHAKE-SPEARES self-published in 2011 ( a copy is held by the Bodleian Library in addition to the copy held by the British Library ) and the following work is an expansion upon Chapter 3, THE FAIR YOUTH, in that volume. This expansion, THE 1609 SHAKE-SPEARE DELUSION, has now shown how a detailed study of Philip Sidney's own correspondence and publications can be combined in a simple story to conclusively identify the Fair Youth of the so-called SHAKE-SPEARES SONNETS, and how this conclusion has important consequences for the world of Shakespearian Studies.

82 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 9, 2019