tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9138091.post-32403786673382920622007-01-12T15:52:00.000-07:002007-02-13T17:12:46.785-07:00Two Brits have coldly admonished me, with sniffs and noses in the air, that the Shakespearean Authorship Question is “merely an American question.” End of discussion. And that is one of Peter Holland’s two “arguments” against the authorship issue in his article about WS in the Dictionary of National [British] Biography (his other argument is, “You’re just a snob”).<br /><br />Claiming it to be merely an American question (because Americans are somehow prone as a nation to conspiracy theories, Holland claims) seems to be almost as popular a line as “You're just a snob,” particular with the British. It’s also an <span style="font-style: italic;">ad hominem</span> argument, as if somehow being an “American question” automatically makes it an inferior or stupid question or you are an inferior or stupid American for thinking such a thing (and consequently, the speaker is the superior English person). AND IT DOES NOT ADDRESS THE ISSUE.<br /><br />And like “You’re just a snob,” it skirts the issue without the speaker having to know anything about the question at all. Very convenient.<br /><br />Funny, the Brits who told me this and the British Peter Holland all live in America.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Sweet Swan of Avon: Did a Woman Write Shakespeare? Robin P. Williams http://www.MarySidney.com</div>Robin Williamsnoreply@blogger.com