Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (1550–1604) was an English lyric poet and theatre patron of the Elizabethan era. He is among the alternative candidates speculated for the authorship of Shakespeare’s works.
Born in Castle Hedingham, Essex, England, de Vere married William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley’s daughter Anne. He showed promise as a courtier and patron, but his capricious and violent temper dispelled such hopes. His most famous quarrel was with the English poet and Courtier Philip Sidney.
De Vere had some reputation as one of the foremost Elizabethan courtier-poets. Of his lyrical poems, published in various collections, “What cunning can expresse” is well known.
In the 1920s, de Vere became famous as a strong candidate proposed (next to William Shakespeare himself) for the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays. While evidence exists that de Vere had written some plays during his lifetime, Shakespeare scholars believe that such speculations are without foundation.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford
A valiant mind no deadly danger fears.
—Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford
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