SHAKESPEARE BY COMMITTEE. Derek Jacobi is a wonderful actor. I have been lucky enough to see him on stage as Richard II, Benedick, Cyrano, Uncle Vanya and Prospero. However, I can’t take seriously his latest claim that Shakespeare’s works were probably written by a committee. (“‘I subscribe to the group theory. I don’t think anybody could do it on their own,” Jacobi said.’”) The hypothesis of a committee means that we have to explain not just how a single genius came into the world, but how several geniuses came into the world at the same time (and then decided to write as a secret group).
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As a matter of probability it seems unlikely. As with the baseball steroids what-have-you, people seem incapable of accepting that sometimes one person is four or five standard deviations above the norm. Over the billions of people it will just happen.
Speaking of Jacobi, I watched “Dead Again” – a gift from Mom – last week and enjoyed it thoroughly.
I just don’t see how hard it is to accept that Shakespeare was an incredible genius. Not a clergyman, lord, sister-in-law, etc.
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