After my last
post about the play Hamlet in Shakespeare’s First Folio (1623), I was using my
circle drawing method on pages 260 and 261 of the Tragedies, The Tragedy of
Hamlet. (My last post examined page
261.) I found something amazing on page
260. So, without further ado, I present
the image, with an explanation afterword. (You will have to click on the image to see it in higher resolution.)
In case you are
new to this blog, I often draw circles in the First Folio to find hidden
messages. I started doing this to test a
hypothesis that the author of the plays was a Freemason or Rosicrucian. Because the Freemasons use the symbol of the
compass and square, I decided to draw circles in the First Folio to see what I
might find. I primarily use one circle
of fixed radius (with a radius of about 26 lines in the First Folio). I always draw this circle in red. I have two circles of fixed radius that I use
less often. I don’t want to repeat
myself here, so you can go to these posts to learn more about this method:
You can find
and explanation of how I discovered the circles in this post:
The image above
shows one of the standard circles I use drawn on pages 260 and 261 of the
Tragedies, The Tragedy of Hamlet. The
circles are centered on the two instances of the word “soule” on page 260. The first circle is centered on the word
“soule” in line 7 of the right-hand column of page 260, in these lines spoken
by the character Polonius:
I hold my dutie, as I hold my Soule,
Both to my God, one to my gracious
King.
"Hamlet
(Folio 1, 1623)." Internet Shakespeare Editions. University of
Victoria, NaN undefined NaN. Web. 20 Dec. 2023. https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/doc/Ham_F1/complete/index.html.
The second
circle is centered on the word “soule” in lines 56-57 of the right-hand column
in these lines, again spoken by Polonius:
Therefore, since Breuitie is the Soule of Wit,
And tediousnesse, the
limbes and outward flourishes,
I will be breefe.
Note also that
the acrostic WIT, spelled backwards, going upwards, in the capital first
letters of the 5th through 8th lines in the left-hand
column of page 261. This acrostic is
directly across from the first lines spoken by Polonius shown above. In effect, both sets of lines have an
association with the word “wit.” The
former by indirect spatial association with the acrostic WIT on page 261, and
the latter by direct association in the actual lines— “Breuitie is the Soule of
Wit.”
The
circumferences of the two circles intersect just below line 31 in the
right-hand column of page 260. Although
I used circles, because the two circles are of equal radius, the same point can
be found by determining the midpoint between lines 7 and 56. I believe that the message was intended to be
discovered with circles because with that method a section of text (i.e., p. 260, lines 31-35, right-hand column) is highlighted
by the overlapping circumferences.
The text that
is highlighted is—
* * *
Was falsely borne in hand, sends out
Arrests
On Fortinbras, which he (in breefe) obeyes,
Receiues rebuke from
Norwey: and in fine,
Makes Vow before his Vnkle,
neuer more
To give
th’assay of Armes against your Maiestie.
(Highlight added)
Note that the acrostic WORM is spelled by the capital letters starting
the lines.
There are several puns on Edward de Vere’s name in the works of
Shakespeare. During preparations to write one of my posts, I was contacted by
Ms. Jan Cole. Ms. Cole has been a member
of the De Vere Society since 2011 and has had several articles published in the
DVS Newsletter and online at their website. Her research is mostly about Edward
de Vere's life and connections, and how these relate to the Shakespeare
canon. When studying the play Love’s
Labor’s Lost she found a number of allusions to French literature current when
de Vere was in France in 1575. See her essay in DVS Newsletter vol.22, no.1,
January 2015, pp. 32-37 (unfortunately unavailable online to non-DVS members at
the time of writing).
Ms. Cole helpfully provided the following information:
“'Winter' in French is 'l'hiver', a
pun on Vere, which parallels the Latin 'Ver' meaning 'spring', also a pun on
Vere. This Latin-French cross-punning appears at the end of 'Love's Labours
Lost' in the 'spring and winter' songs. The French poet, Jacques d'Yver, also
punned on his name in the title of his 1572 book, 'Le Printemps d'Yver'
(literally, 'the Spring of Winter'), the title of which may be alluded to in
this part of the play. If the 'spring and winter' song of 'Love's Labours Lost'
contains an allusion to this book, there is an allusion to two surnames that
are homonyms formed by cross-punning in Latin and French, since 'ver' is Latin
for 'spring' and 'hiver' is French for 'winter'. Translated into English, this
give two surnames that are antonyms. To have two surnames that are
simultaneously synonyms and antonyms (sounding the same but meaning the
opposite) is rare….[A]ny multi-lingual reader aware of Vere references would
probably understand 'winter' (when translated into French') as a reference to
him.”
Thank you, Ms. Cole!
In addition to the winter-spring punning discussed above, the word “worm”
is also a pun on the name Vere. “Worm”
in French is ver (earthworm translates to ver de terre). Similarly, “worm” in Latin is vermis,
meaning grub, worm, or maggot. There is
an example of this pun in the “joy of the Worme” scene in Act 5, scene 2 of
Antony and Cleopatra.
Therefore, the WORM acrostic shown above seems to be an obvious pun the name
Vere, and probably more specifically is a reference to Edward de Vere.[i]
The lines above (p. 260, lines 31-35, right-hand column) also include the
words “in breefe” (“in brief”). I
believe this is a way of alluding to the line “brevity
is the soul of wit.” I also believe
this is a hint to abbreviate the name “Fortinbras” to “Fort” (i.e., “For-T,”
meaning forty (40)).
Fortinbras is not of Norwegian origin; it is French for “strong in
arms.” In this regard, Fortinbras
promises his uncle, Norway, “never more to give th’assay of Armes
against your Maiestie” (emphasis added).
This line, along with the previous four lines must be considered in
light of Polonius’ full statement that “brevity is the soul of wit”—
Pol. This businesse is
very well ended.
My
Liege, and Madam, to expostulate
What
Maiestie should be, what Dutie is,
Why day
is day; night, night; and time is time,
Were
nothing but to waste Night, Day, and Time.
Therefore, since Breuitie is the
Soule of Wit,
And tediousnesse, the limbes and
outward flourishes,
I will be breefe. Your
Noble Sonne is mad:
Mad call
I it; for to define true Madnesse,
What
is't, but to be nothing else but mad.
But let
that go.
Qu. More matter, with
lesse Art.
Polonius, in his less than brief
statement — “more matter, with less art”— uses the metaphor “brevity is the
soul of wit” while tediousness is like its limbs— like arms and legs — and the
outward gestures of those limbs. In this
sense, “to be brief” can be thought of as “cutting something short” or
abbreviating something to get to the point, or in Polonius’ metaphorical sense,
it’s like cutting off the arms of tediousness.
Thus, to shorten the name Fortinbras, or to make it “in brief” as
Polonius says, the “in arms” (“—inbras”) part of the meaning of Fortinbras
(“strong in arms”) must be cut off, or metaphorically amputated. (f one looks at the actual text of the First
Folio, it seems as if the capital V in “Vnkle” is dropping on the word “Armes”
like an edged weapon. Also, the
parentheses around “in breefe” indicates to remove all the letters in
Fortinbras beginning with the letters “in.”
When this is done, the remaining part of the name, Fortinbras, is
“Fort,” meaning “strong.” (Like the Black Knight guarding the “bridge” in
the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Fortinbras is strong and “can
still fight” even without his arms.) The
letters in “Fort” can be broken into “For-T” or forty (40). The derivation of the French word “fort”
(strong) derives from the Latin word “fortem/fortis” (strong). Fortis is pronounced like “Four-Tees”
or “forties,” so the association with the number 40 is more apparent.
Because “For-T” is a homonym for “forty,” it hints at the numbers 17 and
40, and 1740, that are associated with Edward de Vere. Alexander Waugh first proposed that the
number 1740 is associated with Edward de Vere.
The number 17 is his earl number, and the number 40 is another reference
to de Vere. See “The Incalculable Genius
of John Dee” https://www.youtube.com/@alexanderwaugh7036/videos
(video lecture by Alexander Waugh).
To interpret the text immediately surrounding these clues, I will engage
in a little speculation supported by the available facts. First, we have the WORM and WIT acrostic
clues, which clearly seemed to have been placed there. (I believe the entire
First Folio is filled with similar clues and riddles.) In particular, the WIT acrostic seems to be
placed directly across from the word “soule” in line 7 of the right-hand column
of page 260 so that the line has an association with the word “wit” to balance
in with the “brevity is the soul of wit” line lower in the right-hand
column. Therefore, there appears to be a
structure to the text designed and implemented by some wit. The structure of the text around the WIT
acrostic suggests that the design of the hidden message was placed there by
Edward de Vere or someone working on his behalf:
Mad let
vs grant him then: and now remaines
That
we finde out the cause of this effect,
Or
rather say, the cause of this defect;
For this effect defectiue,
comes by cause,
Thus it remaines, and the
remainder thus. Perpend,
I haue a daughter: haue,
whil'st she is mine,
Who in her Dutie and
Obedience, marke,
Hath giuen me this: now gather,
and surmise.
The highlighted text apparently conveys this message: “For-t [i.e., Edward
de Vere], his WIT hath given me this: now gather, and surmise.” To surmise means to make a judgment about
(something) without sufficient evidence; to guess. I believe that there is sufficient
circumstantial evidence to conclude what these messages are about.
As my last post showed, there are references to the Vere name throughout
the scene. Everything so far— the WORM
acrostic clue, the “forti” (forty) clue, the textual clues discussed in my last
post, even the WIT acrostic clue (Oxford was known as an excellent writer of
comedies)— indicates that any message hidden in the text is about Edward de
Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. I
cannot conceive of a better candidate.
So what is the message?
The text surrounding the WORM acrostic seems to indicate that Edward de
Vere’s was “falsely born.” This is an
interesting choice of words because the Vere name is closely linked to the
concept of truth. Edward de Vere’s motto
was Vero Nihil Verius (“Nothing more true than truth” or “Nothing truer
than truth”). Thus, stating that Edward
de Vere “was falsely born” is the same as saying that Edward de Vere is not a
Vere; he is of a different lineage. The
text stating that “for-t” (i.e., “forty”), meaning Edward de Vere, “in brief
obeys,” possibly subject to arrest for disobedience, can be interpreted to mean
that Edward de Vere went along with the fiction that he was a Vere, willingly
or not.
If Edward de Vere was not, in fact, a Vere, what was his true
descent? Here we must surmise, at least
until there is more solid evidence.
Considering everything I have presented in this blog, I believe the most
logical alternative for Edward de Vere’s birth is that he was born as a result
of an affair between then Lady Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth, and Thomas
Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, and Lord High Admiral.
In my last post I presented an image showing the intersection of the circumferences
of two circles on page 261. The circles
are centered on the words “Queen” and “Conception.” The circumferences intersect at the 40th
line from the start of the dialogue between Hamlet and Polonius. This line is also the 57th line
from the top of the column, and 40 + 17 = 57 (for another occurrence of Edward
de Vere’s number, 1740). The circles
intersect at the line “Indeed that is out o’th Ayre” in these lines:
Pol. Though this be madnesse,
Yet
there is Method in't: will you walke
Out of
the ayre my Lord?
Ham. Into my Graue?
Pol. Indeed that
is out o'th' Ayre:
How pregnant (sometimes) his Replies are?
I believe that the fact that the message is associated with the words “Queen”
and “Conception,” and the words “pregnant” and “air” (a homonym for “heir”) along
with the fact that the text is full of hidden messages equating Hamlet with
Edward de Vere, along with all the other evidence shown on this blog, means
that the hidden message alludes to the Edward de Vere was an illegitimate son
of Queen Elizabeth who was barred from the Tudor succession.
It is possible to interpret the lines to mean that if Edward de Vere died
before having a male heir that he would have no heir (out o’th [heir]). The alternative meaning is that Edward de
Vere’s death would remove him from a line of succession (I believe the Tudor
succession). I believe that in the
overall context of the messages shown here, and elsewhere in this blog, that
the latter alternative meaning is the better interpretation.
Click on the image to see it in higher resolution.
[i]
There is another “worm” clue in the scene (Act 2, scene 2
of Hamlet), there are other potential clues.
Scanning across to page 261, this nonsensical exchange is found:
Ham. For if the Sun breed Magots in a dead dogge,
being a good kissing
Carrion-----
Haue you a daughter?
Pol. I haue my Lord.
Ham. Let her not walke i'th'Sunne: Conception is a
blessing, but not as your
daughter may conceiue. Friend
looke too't.
The fact that the Latin word for worms— vermis— can be applied to
maggots, Hamlet’s words allude to the conception of Vere children. Because it is widely accepted that Polonius
satirizes William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, the comment seems to be directed
toward Burghley’s daughter, and Edward de Vere’s first wife, Anne de Vere (née
Cecil), Countess of Oxford. Rumors of
Anne’s infidelity, whether true or not, caused a breach in relations between her and Edward de
Vere.
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