Local Group Loves Shakespeare – No Matter Who He Was

Members of the Oberon Shakespeare Study Group are all big fans of the bard, no matter who he is.

They meet monthly at the in Farmington Hills to discuss which Shakespearean plays are being performed and where, along with discussions on who will go and whether they will go as a group. 

Yes, there is agreement that Shakespeare is excellent playwright whose work is still immensely popular today. About this, they are passionate. 

They are equally passionate about what they believe is the mistaken identity of the famous playwright and poet.

They say evidence points to Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford as the author of Shakespeare’s works.

“Our idea is that the works of Shakespeare were written by a man who was better connected, well educated and had a more sophisticated outlook,” said Dr. Richard Joyrich of West Bloomfield, who co-founded the group along with Barbara Burris. 

“He may have used a pen name like a lot other others,” he added, pointing to Samuel Clemens who wrote as Mark Twain. Dr. Joyrich is also the President of the National Shakespeare Oxford Society

For the group’s chair, Tom Hunter of Bloomfield Hills, the authorship question is an enticing puzzle. 

“The reason I got into it was because I was interested in the literary mystery,” he said. Little is known about Shakespeare and the authorship question has been argued for years, some of the better-known contenders are Francis Bacon and Christopher Marlowe.

Linda Theil of Howell, who is the official blogger for the group adds, “We all love Shakespeare, we’re just not happy with the attribution of the work to the Stratfordian person.”

Members of the group continue to research the authorship question, while studying the writing style and interpreting the plays and poems.

“When you are looking at the information about authorship, it makes the work even more exciting and illuminating. I believe it’s a wonderful, wonderful quest. Why wouldn’t you want to know the truth?” Theil asked.

Bruna Lilly, of Farmington Hills is among the newest members of the group, and is drawn to the beauty and richness of the words and the ideas incorporated into the plays and poems of William Shakespeare.  

She said she loves that plays reveal so much information about the time, including the political climate, all of which, points to the writer being well educated.  “He was just such a marvelous thinker,” she adds.

The Oberon Shakespeare Study Group welcomes those interested in the works of Shakespeare and will meet at 6:45 p.m. April 20 at the Farmington Community Library, 32737 W. 12 Mile Road, Farmington Hills. For more information go to their web site, shakespearefellowship.org/oberon or follow their blog at oberonshakespearestudygroup.blogspot.com