Sigmund Freud was one of the first prominent intellectuals who endorsed the 1920 theory that "William Shakespeare" was a pseudonym of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. It is time that psychoanalysts-- and others-- re-examine Freud's theory about Shakespeare open-mindedly. Those who accept the overwhelming evidence that de Vere wrote the works of Shakespeare are known as Oxfordians. Psychoanalysts who reach the same conclusion might be called Oxfreudians.
The premiere review of English literary scholarship, The Year's Work in English Studies, wrote of my 2010 article on the Sonnets: "Inferring the sexuality of the sonnets’ author directly from the sonnets’ speaker, and allowing for less poetic license than other critics, Waugaman’s article, ‘The Bisexuality of Shakespeare’s Sonnets and Implications for de Vere’s Authorship,’ argues that ‘the wish to disconnect art from life … is strongly influenced by homophobic readings of Shakespeare.’ "
Much poetic license is needed to reconcile the facts about William Shaksper of Stratford with the contention that he was the author of the Shakespeare canon. Georgetown University, which champions academic freedom, has named me one of their faculty experts on Shakespeare for media contacts. This is one more sign that the Shakespeare Authorship Question is a legitimate subject for inquiry, despite the claims of the traditional Stratfordians that there is no doubt whatsoever about the accuracy of their authorship theory. I invite you to explore this fascinating topic with an open mind. I include here many of my 50 publications on Shakespeare and the related topic of the psychology of pseudonymity.
