In 2007 the Shakespeare Authorship Coalition (SAC) launched one of the most significant efforts ever to promote and legitimize the authorship question by publishing the Declaration of Reasonable Doubt About the Identity of William Shakespeare.
The Declaration is probably the single best short summary ever written of the reasons to doubt the traditional Stratfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship.
The SOF strongly encourages all its members — and any interested readers exploring the SOF website — to read and sign the Declaration if you have not already done so. The SAC website was updated in 2016 with important new material, “Beyond Reasonable Doubt” Parts 1 and 2.
The SAC is strictly neutral about the true identity of the author “Shakespeare” and thus does not endorse or discuss Oxford or any specific alternative authorship candidates. It simply strives to establish the seriousness of the Shakespeare Authorship Question (SAQ) as a legitimate subject of study and inquiry. The SAC and the SOF are unaffiliated, independent, nonprofit organizations. The SOF, however, warmly congratulates the SAC on the Declaration and endorses its continuing efforts to challenge the stifling pall of academic and media orthodoxy surrounding the SAQ.
More than 4,500 individuals, to date, have signed the Declaration, including almost 100 “notable signatories” — distinguished leaders in academia, the arts, law, and government. These signatories include U.S. Supreme Court Justices John Paul Stevens (1920–2019, served 1975–2010) and Sandra Day O’Connor (b. 1930, served 1981–2006); actors Sir Derek Jacobi, Sir Mark Rylance, Michael York, and Jeremy Irons; and Roland Emmerich, one of the most successful film directors, producers, and writers of all time.
Jacobi, Rylance, York, and Emmerich are also Honorary Trustees of the SOF. Justice Stevens was honored as Oxfordian of the Year in 2009. Indeed, at least five justices of the U.S. Supreme Court have disputed the traditional Stratfordian authorship theory, of whom three declared themselves Oxfordians.
The SOF is proud to note that the founding chairman and CEO of the SAC, John M. Shahan, is himself a distinguished Oxfordian in his individual capacity. Shahan was honored as Oxfordian of the Year in 2012. You can read here how he became an Oxfordian. He is co-author of several important scholarly articles (available here) showing that so-called “stylometric” studies of Shakespearean and other early modern English writings have emphatically not disproven (as some have fallaciously claimed) the Oxfordian theory.
Shahan is also co-editor (with acclaimed British writer Alexander Waugh) of the landmark anthology published by the SAC in 2013: Shakespeare Beyond Doubt? Exposing an Industry in Denial. This is probably the best book-length survey of the SAQ. Its only limitation — understandable, in line with the SAC’s policy of neutrality, and helping keep the volume fairly concise — is that it does not address alternative candidates or the powerful case for Oxford.
The SAC “Doubt About Will” YouTube channel includes the popular video by actor-playwright Keir Cutler, Ph.D., “Why Was I Never Told This?” — as well as a short video brilliantly summarizing the important work of John M. Rollett, Ph.D., on the figure in the Droeshout First Folio engraving supposedly depicting Shakespeare. See also Rollett’s chapter 10, pp. 113–25, in Shakespeare Beyond Doubt?
Rollett’s work, and the SAC “Impossible Doublet” video, show that the Droeshout image — long viewed with richly deserved derision and suspicion — is an obvious clownish parody that cannot be taken seriously. The engraving, together with Ben Jonson’s curious poem facing it (featured on the SOF “Authorship 101” page), openly advertise, for anyone paying attention, that the Folio is hiding something. The joke is on those who refuse to pay attention.
Please read the Declaration of Reasonable Doubt and add your name.
[originally published on the Shakespeare Oxford Society (now SOF) website, Aug. 23, 2011; substantially revised, updated, and republished on July 27, 2020]
