>>24503425

>The Renaissance was a time when the people who could read read constantly on every subject.

The plays evidence an author who knows Greek, Latin, French, Italian and is an expert in the law and uses its language habitually. This does not fit the profile of William. He did not have the resources and therefore leisure time and education to do this. This is the reason why so many lawyers, actors and literati have been sceptical of the authorship - or have been puzzled as to how William acquired the requisite knowledge.

>Also, the fixation on Italy wasn’t unique to Shakespeare. Italy was the fountainhead of the Renaissance, so everybody in Europe was a huge wopaboo. Just look at some of Shakespeare’s contemporaries, like Edmund Spenser for example.

Edmund Spenser was part of the Earl of Leicester's entourage who, yes, were obsessed with Italy.
Thomas North wrote plays for the Earl of Leicester's men. This partially explains why the plays are so Italianate. Thomas himself had been to Italy and discusses it in his journal. The journal itself was a source for several plays: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55900663-thomas-north-s-1555-travel-journal