Excerpt from Sidelights on Shakespeare As With a wave of a wand, Shakespeare mysteriously called into being men and women of all lands, all climes, all temperaments, and all ages. He could not have known the originals of all the types that he produced. How then did he accomplish his task? Through an understanding of the nature of man. He knew that the emotions of men are similar the world over and that only in the expression of these emotions do men differ. It is this difference in the mode of expressing the feelings that move the heart and mind of humanity that produces the different types of men and women. Different persons see the same things in different lights and express their emotions concerning them in different ways. It is this difference in perception and action that indicates the difference in characters. Perceiving this in human nature, Shakespeare drew the characters of Macbeth and Richard III. He represents both men as actuated by ambition, and yet so dissimilar are these characters in speech, action, and mode of procedure while in pursuit of their object as to appear to be impelled by different motives. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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"Plunging into the complexities of Elizabethan history, Hess raises a host of provocative questions about Shakespeare's identity and the controversial character of the 17th earl of Oxford, the leading candidate for authorship honors. Wide reading informs his answers, and he doesn't shy from proposing linkages, motivations and ingenious theories to make sense of the historical records and answer the many questions about Oxford's life. His work on Don Juan of Austria may well prove to have opened a new perspective on that military leader's connection to Shakespeare." -Richard F. Whalen, author, Shakespeare: Who Was He? "The Dark Side of Shakespeare is an original and stimulating book that takes the authorship debate in unexpected new directions. Even those who reject its conclusions will find plenty to think about." -Joseph Sobran, author, "Alias Shakespeare"