Edward de Vere, seventeenth Earl of Oxford, was a significant poet at the court of Queen Elizabeth I. Though few works can be authoritatively attributed to him, it is clear that he enjoyed high esteem as a poet in his day. The subject matter, style, and tone of his writings identify him with the newer, younger generation of poets, and he was one of the first of Elizabeth's courtiers to establish a reputation as a writer of vernacular lyric. He was a patron of literature, receiving the dedication of a wide range of works, and the sponsor of a dramatic troupe. His most significant protégé was John Lyly. Since the 1920s there has been some speculation that he was also the author of works more conventionally attributed to William Shakespeare.

When Edward de Vere was born on 2 April 1550, the only son of John de Vere...