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The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 13.1566  Wednesday, 26 June 2002

[1]     From:   Sean Lawrence <seanlawrence@writeme.com>
        Date:   Tuesday, 25 Jun 2002 15:28:41 -0700
        Subj:   Re: SHK 13.1560 Re: "A Funeral Elegy"

[2]     From:   Richard Kennedy <stairway@charter.net>
        Date:   Tuesday, 25 Jun 2002 13:09:11 -0700
        Subj:   Identity of W.S.?


[1]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From:           Sean Lawrence <seanlawrence@writeme.com>
Date:           Tuesday, 25 Jun 2002 15:28:41 -0700
Subject: 13.1560 Re: "A Funeral Elegy"
Comment:        Re: SHK 13.1560 Re: "A Funeral Elegy"

Richard Kennedy says that

>For those who wish to know of the early discussions at Hardy Cook’s
>“Shaksper” group, this link will prove out what I have to say.
>
>http://mbhs.bergtraum.k12.ny.us/cybereng/ebooks/fe-crit.txt

Since this links to a message from himself, frothily denouncing all
quantitative methods whatsoever, I can hardly see what it proves, unless
it's that your ascription was indeed a lucky guess.

Cheers,
Seán.

[2]-------------------------------------------------------------
From:           Richard Kennedy <stairway@charter.net>
Date:           Tuesday, 25 Jun 2002 13:09:11 -0700
Subject:        Identity of W.S.?

If the W.S. of the Funeral Elegy was not Shakespeare, but John Ford
instead, then why would Ford put the initials "W.S." be on the title
page?  Is that W.S. person somewhere else in this small drama, some
other poet entirely, or friend of Ford, or might a biographical chase
lead us to find Shakespeare himself playing a part?  The next logical
step in this mystery would be to turn up all the turf and uncover this
mysterious "W.S."

And yet I think less of it than that.  I don't think there was any W.S,
but Ford was riding in on Shakespeare's Sonnets, so to speak.  There is
a sameness there, especially as regards the Fair Youth sonnets.  There
might even be some erotic interest.  I see the use of those initials to
be a piece of marketing, and that there is no mysterious W.S. to be
found.

[Editor’s Note: Today’s NYTimes has another article by William S.
Niederkorn – “Beyond the Briefly Inflated Canon: Legacy of the
Mysterious 'W. S.'” --
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/26/arts/26SHAK.html ]

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