Oxfordians -The oxfordian theory of authorship suggest that the plays attributed to William Shakespeare were actually written by Edward De Vere the earl of oxford.

Stratfordian- A person who,in the controversy over who wrote William Shakespeare's plays holds that it was shakespeare himself.

Here we see why the Authorship Question has always had difficulty finding purchase in even the most logical minds: the Stratfordians lay claim to the name “Shakespeare” and present it matter-of-factly as the name of the man from Stratford. But that’s not really true. The Stratford man used many variants of his name (common in those days before spelling was formalized) the majority of which seem to indicate the name was pronounced “shax sper”, conventional in Warwickshire at the time.

This little subterfuge creates immediate confusion in the minds of those only casually familiar with the Works. “Who wrote Shakespeare?” Well, obviously this fellow from Stratford with the same name.

Only…..

…

For decades, now.

I was in my late teens when I first learned of the Authorship Question, which made immediate sense to me. Twenty years later I was introduced to the De Vere hypothesis, and was totally convinced.

(Incidentally.2: Stratfordians have long made a point about the 46th Psalm. The King James translation was done when the Stratford Man was 46 years old. The 46th word of the psalm is “shake” and, counting backwards, the 46th word is “spear”. Shakespeare signing his work? A tribute from a fellow writer? Coincidence?)