Shakespeare and the Authorship of the Sonnets

The persona of Edward de Vere represents a contrast to the canonical, Stratfordian image of Shakespeare. His adulterous affair with a teenage girl half his age, his complicity in acts of treason against Queen Elizabeth, and the bankruptcy of his earldom due to his lavish spending all combine to paint a picture of a man contrary to the Stratfordian ideal. However, it is this unattractive portrayal of him that supports the argument that de Vere wrote the sonnets, since the sonnets themselves offer