Interview with Charlton Ogburn

Interviewed by Dr. Sheila Tombe

This interview with Charlton Ogburn  first appeared in Apostrophe (Spring/Summer 1996); it is reprinted with permission.

APOSTROPHE: Does it matter [who wrote the plays]?

OGBURN: If it doesn't matter who wrote the plays of Shakespeare then it doesn't matter who wrote anything. All literary biography then is a waste of time. Furthermore, I think one can't read the plays of Shakespeare without a sense of tremendous indebtedness to the author. You want to see credit given where credit is due, and the plays take on a more intimate meaning and deeper meaning when you see what lay behind them, your eyes are opened and you see things in them that you never saw before; and, I think they gain in richness and in the hold they have on us. I think the question of who Shakespeare was has presented us with the greatest mystery story in the arts, and who is immune to a mystery story?

http://shakespeareoxfordfellowship.org/interview-with-charlton-ogburn/