A Psychoanalytic Study of Edward de Vere's The Tempest

Abstract

There is now abundant evidence that Freud was correct in believing Edward de Vere (1550–1604) wrote under the pseudonym “William Shakespeare.” One common reaction is “What difference does it make?” I address that question by examining many significant connections between de Vere's life and The Tempest. Such studies promise to bring our understanding of Shakespeare's works back into line with our usual psychoanalytic approach to literature, which examines how a great writer's imagination weaves a new creation out of the threads of his or her life experiences. One source of the intense controversy about de Vere's authorship is our idealization of the traditional author, about whom we know so little that, as Freud noted, we can imagine his personality was as fine as his works.