Thomas North Wrote the Plays That Shakespeare Later Adapted

https://dennismccarthy.substack.com/p/how-we-know-thomas-north-wrote-the

by CPAhem • 1 year ago

1 1 1 year ago

dennismccarthy.substack.com

jfengel• 1 year ago

It begins:

The following four points all should help alleviate initial skepticism:

As all scholars agree, Shakespeare frequently adapted old plays.

Yep, that's true enough.

Shakespeare scholar, June Schlueter, Professor Emerita of Lafayette College and former editor of the Shakespeare Bulletin, and I have already passed peer review, writing for academic presses, confirming Thomas North wrote early versions of three Shakespeare plays.

I hadn't heard that, though it's not impossible. The three plays he lists are not among Shakespeare's best.

Those few outside intellects who have carefully studied the North view have been convinced at both the accuracy and significance of the discovery.

That's not an argument.

Knowing North had written Shakespeare’s old plays has led us to discover a treasure-trove of Shakespearean texts that have generated news reports around the world and praise from many top Shakespearean scholars

This exacerbates my skepticism, not alleviates it.

I'll give him this: he's not arguing that North wrote Shakespeare. But he's arguing that Shakespeare stole his plots solely from North, and that's not supported by the other evidence of Shakespeare's sources. And the weak argumentation doesn't incline me to help him figure out what things he says are supported and which aren't.

Thomas North Wrote the Plays That Shakespeare Later Adapted

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