James Leyland
@jamesleyland.bsky.social
RULE - The 1st Commandment, Sonnet pair 109-110.
1st Commandment: Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Sonnet 110: A God in love to whom I am confined.
(excerpt from Booth, S, 'Shakespeare's Sonnets').
www.academia.edu/125775909/Th...
#ShakespeareSunday
1st Commandment: Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Sonnet 110: A God in love to whom I am confined.
(excerpt from Booth, S, 'Shakespeare's Sonnets').
www.academia.edu/125775909/Th...
#ShakespeareSunday
October 12, 2025 at 11:33 AM
RULE - The 1st Commandment, Sonnet pair 109-110.
1st Commandment: Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Sonnet 110: A God in love to whom I am confined.
(excerpt from Booth, S, 'Shakespeare's Sonnets').
www.academia.edu/125775909/Th...
#ShakespeareSunday
1st Commandment: Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Sonnet 110: A God in love to whom I am confined.
(excerpt from Booth, S, 'Shakespeare's Sonnets').
www.academia.edu/125775909/Th...
#ShakespeareSunday
On my walk today
September 29, 2025 at 10:56 AM
On my walk today
Epigraph from first work in Shakespeare's name compared with Nevill's motto:
Vilia miretur vulgus
* Let boors admire base things
Nevill's motto: Ne vile velis
* Wish for no base thing
#epigraphytuesday
www.academia.edu/125775909/Th...
Vilia miretur vulgus
* Let boors admire base things
Nevill's motto: Ne vile velis
* Wish for no base thing
#epigraphytuesday
www.academia.edu/125775909/Th...
September 9, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Epigraph from first work in Shakespeare's name compared with Nevill's motto:
Vilia miretur vulgus
* Let boors admire base things
Nevill's motto: Ne vile velis
* Wish for no base thing
#epigraphytuesday
www.academia.edu/125775909/Th...
Vilia miretur vulgus
* Let boors admire base things
Nevill's motto: Ne vile velis
* Wish for no base thing
#epigraphytuesday
www.academia.edu/125775909/Th...
Shakespeare folk know the Bellott vs Mountjoy case of 1612. Shakespeare was a key witness to events ~ 10 years before.
Other key witness? Humphrey Fludd - trusted courier between Neville & his secretary in Paris, 1600.
www.academia.edu/125775909/Th...
Other key witness? Humphrey Fludd - trusted courier between Neville & his secretary in Paris, 1600.
www.academia.edu/125775909/Th...
August 30, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Shakespeare folk know the Bellott vs Mountjoy case of 1612. Shakespeare was a key witness to events ~ 10 years before.
Other key witness? Humphrey Fludd - trusted courier between Neville & his secretary in Paris, 1600.
www.academia.edu/125775909/Th...
Other key witness? Humphrey Fludd - trusted courier between Neville & his secretary in Paris, 1600.
www.academia.edu/125775909/Th...
NEVILLE occurs only once in 7,700 settings of the sonnets (192,000 columns). And what a sonnet ...
www.academia.edu/127656765/Li...
www.academia.edu/127656765/Li...
August 29, 2025 at 1:02 PM
NEVILLE occurs only once in 7,700 settings of the sonnets (192,000 columns). And what a sonnet ...
www.academia.edu/127656765/Li...
www.academia.edu/127656765/Li...
Sonnet 64 & Eternity (at 64th letter of the dedication).
N.B. 'State' in lines 9 and 10 ... the end of everything (?)
#shakespearesunday
N.B. 'State' in lines 9 and 10 ... the end of everything (?)
#shakespearesunday
August 24, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Sonnet 64 & Eternity (at 64th letter of the dedication).
N.B. 'State' in lines 9 and 10 ... the end of everything (?)
#shakespearesunday
N.B. 'State' in lines 9 and 10 ... the end of everything (?)
#shakespearesunday
Following Shakespeare's 154 sonnets is the long poem 'A Lover's Complaint'.
Line 15: The abused woman has a napkin of 'conceited characters', cf. the abused Philomel's needlework - the only textual code in classical mythology (?) - and her mutilation invoked in Sonnet 102 (below).
Line 15: The abused woman has a napkin of 'conceited characters', cf. the abused Philomel's needlework - the only textual code in classical mythology (?) - and her mutilation invoked in Sonnet 102 (below).
August 20, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Following Shakespeare's 154 sonnets is the long poem 'A Lover's Complaint'.
Line 15: The abused woman has a napkin of 'conceited characters', cf. the abused Philomel's needlework - the only textual code in classical mythology (?) - and her mutilation invoked in Sonnet 102 (below).
Line 15: The abused woman has a napkin of 'conceited characters', cf. the abused Philomel's needlework - the only textual code in classical mythology (?) - and her mutilation invoked in Sonnet 102 (below).
Letters link Sir Henry Nevill to 'Twelfth Night' entertainment.
Nevill introduced Duke Orsino to Elizabeth's Court. No-one else knew of this visit - or the discovery of the lost Sebastian (with a mark 'upon his brow'). These were state secrets.
www.academia.edu/126533632/Ne...
Nevill introduced Duke Orsino to Elizabeth's Court. No-one else knew of this visit - or the discovery of the lost Sebastian (with a mark 'upon his brow'). These were state secrets.
www.academia.edu/126533632/Ne...
August 19, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Letters link Sir Henry Nevill to 'Twelfth Night' entertainment.
Nevill introduced Duke Orsino to Elizabeth's Court. No-one else knew of this visit - or the discovery of the lost Sebastian (with a mark 'upon his brow'). These were state secrets.
www.academia.edu/126533632/Ne...
Nevill introduced Duke Orsino to Elizabeth's Court. No-one else knew of this visit - or the discovery of the lost Sebastian (with a mark 'upon his brow'). These were state secrets.
www.academia.edu/126533632/Ne...
The dedication to Shakespeare's Sonnets is a 'MAP' of the Sonnets.
Setting out the dedication in a map grid, new words appear - the 1st letter of each maps to a Sonnet, e.g. L'ETE at 1,8 maps to Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
www.academia.edu/125775909/Th... #shakespearesunday
Setting out the dedication in a map grid, new words appear - the 1st letter of each maps to a Sonnet, e.g. L'ETE at 1,8 maps to Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
www.academia.edu/125775909/Th... #shakespearesunday
August 17, 2025 at 11:00 AM
The dedication to Shakespeare's Sonnets is a 'MAP' of the Sonnets.
Setting out the dedication in a map grid, new words appear - the 1st letter of each maps to a Sonnet, e.g. L'ETE at 1,8 maps to Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
www.academia.edu/125775909/Th... #shakespearesunday
Setting out the dedication in a map grid, new words appear - the 1st letter of each maps to a Sonnet, e.g. L'ETE at 1,8 maps to Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
www.academia.edu/125775909/Th... #shakespearesunday
Digges had probably met Shakespeare ...
August 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Digges had probably met Shakespeare ...
Shakespeare often used irony (Antony on Brutus in Julius Caesar III, ii; Lennox on Macbeth III, vi).
Here, one clue that Leonard Digges is being funny re Shakespeare is that Digges himself was most famous as a translator from that "vulgar Language" Spanish.
Here, one clue that Leonard Digges is being funny re Shakespeare is that Digges himself was most famous as a translator from that "vulgar Language" Spanish.
August 16, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Shakespeare often used irony (Antony on Brutus in Julius Caesar III, ii; Lennox on Macbeth III, vi).
Here, one clue that Leonard Digges is being funny re Shakespeare is that Digges himself was most famous as a translator from that "vulgar Language" Spanish.
Here, one clue that Leonard Digges is being funny re Shakespeare is that Digges himself was most famous as a translator from that "vulgar Language" Spanish.
Digges had probably met Shakespeare...
August 16, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Digges had probably met Shakespeare...
Master William Hunnis (MrWH)
- Elizabeth's dramatist (Children of Chapel 30y+)
- Primary creator of Kenilworth (highest possible stakes)
- Genesis specialist (onlie 'begetter')
- Sonneteer
- Blackfriars founder
- Shakespeare's teacher?
- Elizabeth's dramatist (Children of Chapel 30y+)
- Primary creator of Kenilworth (highest possible stakes)
- Genesis specialist (onlie 'begetter')
- Sonneteer
- Blackfriars founder
- Shakespeare's teacher?
August 15, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Master William Hunnis (MrWH)
- Elizabeth's dramatist (Children of Chapel 30y+)
- Primary creator of Kenilworth (highest possible stakes)
- Genesis specialist (onlie 'begetter')
- Sonneteer
- Blackfriars founder
- Shakespeare's teacher?
- Elizabeth's dramatist (Children of Chapel 30y+)
- Primary creator of Kenilworth (highest possible stakes)
- Genesis specialist (onlie 'begetter')
- Sonneteer
- Blackfriars founder
- Shakespeare's teacher?
6/6 Time Sonnets
Sonnet 8 - Octave: all in one, one pleasing note do sing.
(a different kind of interval - sonnet numbers signify).
Sonnet 8 - Octave: all in one, one pleasing note do sing.
(a different kind of interval - sonnet numbers signify).
August 12, 2025 at 10:00 AM
6/6 Time Sonnets
Sonnet 8 - Octave: all in one, one pleasing note do sing.
(a different kind of interval - sonnet numbers signify).
Sonnet 8 - Octave: all in one, one pleasing note do sing.
(a different kind of interval - sonnet numbers signify).
5/6 Time Sonnets
Sonnet 30 - Month (the moon - moneth', mone, fore-bemoned mone)
Sonnet 30 - Month (the moon - moneth', mone, fore-bemoned mone)
August 12, 2025 at 10:00 AM
5/6 Time Sonnets
Sonnet 30 - Month (the moon - moneth', mone, fore-bemoned mone)
Sonnet 30 - Month (the moon - moneth', mone, fore-bemoned mone)
4/6 Time Sonnets
Sonnet 7 - Day, the 7th Day, Sunday.
Sonnet 7 - Day, the 7th Day, Sunday.
August 12, 2025 at 10:00 AM
4/6 Time Sonnets
Sonnet 7 - Day, the 7th Day, Sunday.
Sonnet 7 - Day, the 7th Day, Sunday.
3/6 Time Sonnets
Sonnet 52 - Year (52 weeks) 'in the long year set'.
Sonnet 52 - Year (52 weeks) 'in the long year set'.
August 12, 2025 at 10:00 AM
3/6 Time Sonnets
Sonnet 52 - Year (52 weeks) 'in the long year set'.
Sonnet 52 - Year (52 weeks) 'in the long year set'.
2/6 Time Sonnets
Sonnet 12 - Hours. 'When I do count the clock'.
Sonnet 12 - Hours. 'When I do count the clock'.
August 12, 2025 at 10:00 AM
2/6 Time Sonnets
Sonnet 12 - Hours. 'When I do count the clock'.
Sonnet 12 - Hours. 'When I do count the clock'.
1/6 Time Sonnets
Sonnet 60, Minutes: ... our minutes hasten ...
The numbers and the contents of 5 sonnets seem to reference the 5 intervals of time: minute, hour, day, month, year (+ Octave).
independent.academia.edu/JamesLeyland
Sonnet 60, Minutes: ... our minutes hasten ...
The numbers and the contents of 5 sonnets seem to reference the 5 intervals of time: minute, hour, day, month, year (+ Octave).
independent.academia.edu/JamesLeyland
August 12, 2025 at 9:53 AM
1/6 Time Sonnets
Sonnet 60, Minutes: ... our minutes hasten ...
The numbers and the contents of 5 sonnets seem to reference the 5 intervals of time: minute, hour, day, month, year (+ Octave).
independent.academia.edu/JamesLeyland
Sonnet 60, Minutes: ... our minutes hasten ...
The numbers and the contents of 5 sonnets seem to reference the 5 intervals of time: minute, hour, day, month, year (+ Octave).
independent.academia.edu/JamesLeyland
Philomel
Ovid... (cut out to silence her rape) her tongue wriggled on the ground, as if trying to speak.
Shakespeare... Therefore, like her I sometime *hold* my tongue.
Was the author silenced too?
Ovid... (cut out to silence her rape) her tongue wriggled on the ground, as if trying to speak.
Shakespeare... Therefore, like her I sometime *hold* my tongue.
Was the author silenced too?
August 11, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Philomel
Ovid... (cut out to silence her rape) her tongue wriggled on the ground, as if trying to speak.
Shakespeare... Therefore, like her I sometime *hold* my tongue.
Was the author silenced too?
Ovid... (cut out to silence her rape) her tongue wriggled on the ground, as if trying to speak.
Shakespeare... Therefore, like her I sometime *hold* my tongue.
Was the author silenced too?
Ben Jonson's nauseated take on Shakespeare's coat of arms (from 'Everyman out of his Humor')
#shakespearesunday
#shakespearesunday
August 11, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Ben Jonson's nauseated take on Shakespeare's coat of arms (from 'Everyman out of his Humor')
#shakespearesunday
#shakespearesunday
What should one make of an author’s biography that is unfailingly at odds with his works?
* Shakespeare the writer - pities the social climber (Sonnet 125)
* Shakespeare the actor - chases a coat of arms - "Non sans Droit!" (Not without Right)
... or "Not without Mustard!" as Jonson satirized it.
* Shakespeare the writer - pities the social climber (Sonnet 125)
* Shakespeare the actor - chases a coat of arms - "Non sans Droit!" (Not without Right)
... or "Not without Mustard!" as Jonson satirized it.
August 9, 2025 at 10:43 AM
What should one make of an author’s biography that is unfailingly at odds with his works?
* Shakespeare the writer - pities the social climber (Sonnet 125)
* Shakespeare the actor - chases a coat of arms - "Non sans Droit!" (Not without Right)
... or "Not without Mustard!" as Jonson satirized it.
* Shakespeare the writer - pities the social climber (Sonnet 125)
* Shakespeare the actor - chases a coat of arms - "Non sans Droit!" (Not without Right)
... or "Not without Mustard!" as Jonson satirized it.
2 Orsinos (Dukes) and 2 castaway Sebastians - new evidence confirming a long-suspected & well-documented performance was indeed Twelfth Night (no other contemporary Shakespeare production has surviving documentation).
www.academia.edu/126533632/Ne...
www.academia.edu/126533632/Ne...
August 8, 2025 at 12:49 PM
2 Orsinos (Dukes) and 2 castaway Sebastians - new evidence confirming a long-suspected & well-documented performance was indeed Twelfth Night (no other contemporary Shakespeare production has surviving documentation).
www.academia.edu/126533632/Ne...
www.academia.edu/126533632/Ne...
The examples above demonstrate that the name Shakespeare was misused (at the height of his fame).
Here are 3 more by W.S. who is also not Shake-speare.
... also, Ben Jonson bemoaning a broker, a Poet-Ape, a thief 'that would be thought our chief'.
Here are 3 more by W.S. who is also not Shake-speare.
... also, Ben Jonson bemoaning a broker, a Poet-Ape, a thief 'that would be thought our chief'.
August 7, 2025 at 11:18 AM
The examples above demonstrate that the name Shakespeare was misused (at the height of his fame).
Here are 3 more by W.S. who is also not Shake-speare.
... also, Ben Jonson bemoaning a broker, a Poet-Ape, a thief 'that would be thought our chief'.
Here are 3 more by W.S. who is also not Shake-speare.
... also, Ben Jonson bemoaning a broker, a Poet-Ape, a thief 'that would be thought our chief'.