I attended many Shakespeare play productions in Stratford CT as a child, but could hardly understand a word of what was being said, and could hardly glean anything of what was actually going on in those very great & talented productions in Stratford. It's fun to know more about Shakespeare and read an expert analysis.
A friend was giving a speech when his crew turned out the lights stopped her speech and turned up lights with Bill moving her aside to announce POTUS run. He later apologized and ask her out on a date. She declined (wisely) telling him no as he was married. He kept after her for a few month's.
Irene Coslet of the London School of Economics published in Jan 2026 'The Real Shakespeare: Emilia Bassano Willoughby.’ Bassano was exiled from the court of Tudor Queen Elizabeth I in 1592 into an arranged marriage with Alphonso Lanier, a profligate Court musician who used up all her family wealth carousing with illiterate scoundrels, including the actor William Shakespeare, while she raised Henry and Odillya. Only her son, Henry, survived to adulthood; her daughter, Odillya, tragically passed away in infancy. Her life experiences appear repeatedly throughout the plays and form the basis of her believable characters and their psychologically accurate portrayals.
Irene Coslet summarizes her book:
"A new piece of research evidence that I outline in my upcoming book shows that Shakespeare was not a man, but a woman: a black woman, Anglo-Venetian, of Moroccan descent, and covertly Jewish, named Emilia Bassano (London, 1569-1645). She was the daughter of a Venetian Court musician. Following the passing of her father when she was seven, Bassano was fostered into a noble household in England, where she received a high level of education. She spent her youth at the English Court as a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I before she was banished and forced into an unwanted marriage in 1592. ...
"She has been associated with Shakespeare since the 1970s, when the historian Alfred Leslie Rowse of Oxford found evidence that Bassano was the mistress of the patron of Shakespeare’s acting company. ...
"John Hudson first proposed the theory that Bassano was Shakespeare in 2013. In the Early Modern period, women were prohibited from writing drama ad acting. In general, they were restricted from writing literature for publication and engaging in public activities: Hudson posited that Emilia Bassano adopted a pen name to be able to write. ...
"My research concludes that the pioneer of the Western world and English language was a Subaltern (a black, Jewish woman), challenging the Eurocentric and patriarchal paradigm. The key question I seeks to address is whether society is prepared to give leadership and authority (Author-function) to an individual who would be generally regarded as a Subaltern. Attributing the Western heritage only to white men is not only unrealistic, but it also perpetrates inequality and injustice in society."
Thankfully John has not related (at least directly) how Macbeth is somehow related to today’s political happenings and their motivations. Human nature, more aptly labeled good or evil, exists and will exist, taking many forms and the author of many outcomes.
I attended many Shakespeare play productions in Stratford CT as a child, but could hardly understand a word of what was being said, and could hardly glean anything of what was actually going on in those very great & talented productions in Stratford. It's fun to know more about Shakespeare and read an expert analysis.
"All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone" - Blaise Pascal
Bill Clinton once said that the tragedy of Macbeth was that he did not have an ethically sufficient object for his ambition.
Edit: I found the exact quotation: “I think ‘Macbeth’ is a great play about someone whose immense ambition has an ethically inadequate object.”
interesting comment.
this kind of allows some inference into Slick Willies inner modus operandi on life!
Perhaps a bit more noble than his OWN wife.
Perhaps, but not!
Cut from same tree.
A friend was giving a speech when his crew turned out the lights stopped her speech and turned up lights with Bill moving her aside to announce POTUS run. He later apologized and ask her out on a date. She declined (wisely) telling him no as he was married. He kept after her for a few month's.
Holy Crapp. . .
Irene Coslet of the London School of Economics published in Jan 2026 'The Real Shakespeare: Emilia Bassano Willoughby.’ Bassano was exiled from the court of Tudor Queen Elizabeth I in 1592 into an arranged marriage with Alphonso Lanier, a profligate Court musician who used up all her family wealth carousing with illiterate scoundrels, including the actor William Shakespeare, while she raised Henry and Odillya. Only her son, Henry, survived to adulthood; her daughter, Odillya, tragically passed away in infancy. Her life experiences appear repeatedly throughout the plays and form the basis of her believable characters and their psychologically accurate portrayals.
Irene Coslet summarizes her book:
"A new piece of research evidence that I outline in my upcoming book shows that Shakespeare was not a man, but a woman: a black woman, Anglo-Venetian, of Moroccan descent, and covertly Jewish, named Emilia Bassano (London, 1569-1645). She was the daughter of a Venetian Court musician. Following the passing of her father when she was seven, Bassano was fostered into a noble household in England, where she received a high level of education. She spent her youth at the English Court as a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I before she was banished and forced into an unwanted marriage in 1592. ...
"She has been associated with Shakespeare since the 1970s, when the historian Alfred Leslie Rowse of Oxford found evidence that Bassano was the mistress of the patron of Shakespeare’s acting company. ...
"John Hudson first proposed the theory that Bassano was Shakespeare in 2013. In the Early Modern period, women were prohibited from writing drama ad acting. In general, they were restricted from writing literature for publication and engaging in public activities: Hudson posited that Emilia Bassano adopted a pen name to be able to write. ...
"My research concludes that the pioneer of the Western world and English language was a Subaltern (a black, Jewish woman), challenging the Eurocentric and patriarchal paradigm. The key question I seeks to address is whether society is prepared to give leadership and authority (Author-function) to an individual who would be generally regarded as a Subaltern. Attributing the Western heritage only to white men is not only unrealistic, but it also perpetrates inequality and injustice in society."
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/medialse/2026/01/16/was-shakespeare-a-black-woman-why-authorship-and-representation-matter/
I have never read MacBeth John. THanks for the very interesting review. You are surely a talented writer. I appreciate your prose.
Robert Frederick's interpretation of the play as the embodiment of "the gnostic inversion of all values" is very compelling: https://robertfrederick.substack.com/p/ep-5-the-tragedy-of-macbeth-part
Shakespeare's Macbeth plagiarized Thomas North:
https://dennismccarthy.substack.com/p/thomas-north-macbeth-and-the-crime
For those who would love a Shakespeare-related mystery (free to watch). Made headlines in Norway:
EP1: https://vimeo.com/94648237
EP2: https://vimeo.com/94648236
EP3: https://vimeo.com/94648239
EP4: https://vimeo.com/94648238
Thankfully John has not related (at least directly) how Macbeth is somehow related to today’s political happenings and their motivations. Human nature, more aptly labeled good or evil, exists and will exist, taking many forms and the author of many outcomes.
Many insights as to POTUS 47?
Eerie similarities.
So good! Thx John
John, you never cease to amaze me with your extensive travel, knowledge and writing ability. Would love to know you!