[cardinal4]

You joined today to dis the Bard?

[1rudeboy]

I can barely contain myself. I’m on pins and needles.

[Tijeras_Slim]

What the Fulke?

[onedoug]

Shakespeare was crticized by many in his day, both pro and con - including Ben Jonson - who knew him to be the author of HIS plays, and he died a wealthy man because of it.

No one raised questions of authorship until about 200 years later.

Now along comes another crank like you some 400+ years later to claim authorship for your favorite comparative nobody.

Geez, get a life....

[AnAmericanMother]

Lord, what fools these mortals be!

[AnAmericanMother]

Speaking quite seriously for a moment (though I'm having a little trouble keeping a straight face), here's what you SHOULD have done before you jumped into this silly theory with both feet:

Here is a sampling of the known works of Mary, Countess of Pembroke.

Just dip in anywhere. It should be painfully apparent to anybody with a working knowledge of Shakespeare that she is not up to his weight.

There's a reason that her work has languished in obscurity. It's not bad, but it's pretty forgettable stuff in the context of the 16th century. I don't have my copy of C.S. Lewis's comprehensive survey of 16th c. literature, but I don't think she even rated a mention in about 600 pages.