Posted by Jonathan Adler:
Justice Stevens Rules for Edward de Vere:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_04_12-2009_04_18.shtml#1240062636
The [1]WSJ reports Justice John Paul Stevens believes that some/all of
the work attributed to William Shakespeare were actually written by
Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford.
Justice Stevens, who dropped out of graduate study in English to
join the Navy in 1941, is an Oxfordian -- that is, he believes the
works ascribed to William Shakespeare actually were written by the
17th earl of Oxford, Edward de Vere. Several justices across the
court's ideological spectrum say he may be right.
This puts much of the court squarely outside mainstream academic
opinion, which equates denial of Shakespeare's authorship with the
Flat Earth Society.
"Oh my," said Coppelia Kahn, president of the Shakespeare
Association of America and professor of English at Brown
University, when informed of Justice Stevens's cause. "Nobody gives
any credence to these arguments," she says. . . .
Not all members of the court are persuaded. "To the extent I've
dipped in, I'm not impressed with the Oxfordian theory," says
Justice Anthony Kennedy. The spread of Oxfordianism on the court
"shows Justice Stevens's power and influence," Justice Kennedy
says. Of the nine active justices, only Stephen Breyer joins
Justice Kennedy in sticking up for Will. Chief Justice John Roberts
and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito declined to comment.
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who retired in 2006, cast the court's
deciding vote many times. On Shakespeare, she says, "I'm not going
to jump into this and be decisive."
According to Justice Stevens, "Sandra is persuaded that it
definitely was not Shakespeare" and "it's more likely de Vere than
any other candidate." Pressed, Justice O'Connor says, "It might
well have been someone other than our Stratford man."
References
1. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123998633934729551.html
_______________________________________________
Volokh mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.powerblogs.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/volokh
