Even though all living fans of Shakespeare only knew of her
existence after 1973, is Emilia Bassano Lanier William Shakespeare’s “dark lady
inspiration” or even the great bard himself?
By: Ringo Bones
Most stone-cold Stratfordians probably scoff at the idea
that William Shakespeare is not the actual author of his works, never mind just
a mere pseudonym of some other Elizabethan era bard willing to remain
anonymous. And there are some who suggested that William Shakespeare is
actually a pseudonym of a Elizabethan era woman bard of really great skill. Is
there any truth to this?
A recent article on The Atlantic by Elizabeth Winkler titled
“Was Shakespeare A Woman?” is a
well-researched insight into the possibility that the great English bard might
actually be a woman wishing to remain anonymous in Elizabethan era England
despite of her really great literary skills. Many so-called “anti-Stratfordians”
cite that William Shakespeare’s life is remarkably well documented – yet no
records from his lifetime identify him unequivocally as a writer. Recently,
probably due to the advent of the “hash-tag me-too movement”, the theory that
William Shakespeare might actually be a woman has regained renewed scrutiny.
Prior to the “unearthing” of her existence back in 1973 by
the Oxford historian and maverick Elizabethan scholar A. L. Rowse, the world at
large was very much oblivious to the existence, never mind her brilliant
literary works, of Emilia Bassano Lanier. Also spelled Aemilia or Amelia, she
was born in 1569 and became a well-known English poet in the early Modern
English era. She was the first Englishwoman to assert herself as a professional
poet through a single volume of poems Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum back in 1611.
Unfortunately, she was largely forgotten after her death in 1645. But thanks to
Oxford historian A.L. Rowse’s speculation that she was Shakespeare’s mistress
that was described as the “dark lady” in the sonnets, the life and works of
Emilia Bassano Lanier was rescued from obscurity.
