November 24, 2020
“Who cares,” right? Through high school and college, I became reasonably educated in the literature of Shakespeare. My primary major in college was Comparative Literature, and my Shakespeare professor was an avid Stratfordian. All my other classes were in the sciences, especially biology. I attended medical school and was steeped in the scientific method.
I did my ophthalmology residency at the University of Iowa medical center, which is pertinent because of U of I’s famous Writer’s Workshop (the launching pad for Flannery O’Connor, among many others). I became even further steeped in literature at this time of my life.
As I practiced my profession, I continued to read on many other topics, including religion and politics. I was already a conservative Catholic but became more familiar with other brilliant writers holding that “unorthodox” view. I began epistolary friendships with William F. Buckley Jr. and Joseph Sobran, both of National Review fame. I’ve had the privilege to have met them both. As many Oxfordians are aware, Joe wrote a number of syndicated columns on the works of Shakespeare, as well as the authorship question. Bill did a famous interview on his Firing Line show with Charlton Ogburn, author of The Mysterious William Shakespeare.
These writings formed the basis for my serious consideration of the question: “Who really wrote Shakespeare?”
Through Joe Sobran I met another great writer and Oxfordian, Tom Bethell. Tom has contributed mightily to the movement by his writing in The Atlantic and Harper’s — all of which I read excitedly back in the day. Finally, Joe’s 1997 book, Alias Shakespeare, put the nail in the Stratfordian coffin for me. Since then I have read many fine Oxfordian books, too numerous to list here.
I’d like to make an aside here — about how we come to believe what we believe (epistemology). As a scientist, most things in life are based on probabilities for me. “Is this thing more likely to be true than that one?” Sometimes we can actually calculate the probabilities. Most other times we must rely on what St. John Henry Newman called “the illative sense” in his great book, the Grammar of Assent. This is the sense that derives from many inputs, from the head and the heart. These inputs or data points are based on intuition, probability — not on certainty. After reading, researching, contemplating, the point eventually comes when we must decide. And we say, not with scientific certainty, but with intellectual integrity, “I believe.”
And so, having done a great deal of homework, I can say that I know two things: Shaksper from Stratford did not write the works of Shakespeare, and Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, most probably did.
My wife and I are such Shakespeare fans that we moved to Ashland, Oregon, for our retirement. After going my entire life without ever having lived near an Oxfordian, I’ve had the pleasure to become friends with the “Earl of Ashland,” Dr. Earl Showerman. He introduced me to the SOF and so much more in the world of Shakespeare studies!
— Paul N. Arnold, M.D.
“How I Became an Oxfordian” is a series edited by Bob Meyers. You may submit your essay on this topic (500 words or less in an editable format such as MS Word), along with a digital photo of yourself, to: communications@shakespeareoxfordfellowship.org. Also include a sentence about yourself, e.g.: “Jane Smith is a business owner in Dallas.” You must be an SOF member to submit an essay.
To join the SOF see our membership page. To read other essays in this series, click here.
