Literature · Premium
Emilia Bassano and the Shakespeare mystery
Emilia Bassano, a woman of Italian origins, lived in Elizabethan London as the mistress of a powerful lord and a frequenter of theatres. According to a fascinating but minority theory, behind the name of William Shakespeare might be hidden precisely her: a cultured, rebellious woman, unable to write for the stage as such. In Shakespeare's sonnets, a mysterious "Dark Lady" with dark hair and olive skin appears, who would recall Emilia. According to this hypothesis, the Bard's origins are too humble, his education too scant, his life too provincial to explain the philosophical depth, the knowledge of Italian courts, the mastery of law and medicine that his works display. In 1611, Emilia published the first English feminist poetry book under her own name. Could she really have been the true author of the Shakespearean masterpieces? Without definitive proof, the mystery remains open, but the suggestion continues to fascinate.
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