Topic: First Folio

The traditional narrative of William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon is challenged using research from Mark Twain and scholar Diana Price. Critics point out the lack of primary documents, letters, or manuscripts in Shakespeare's handwriting, as well as his family's apparent illiteracy. Diana Price’s "Shakespeare’s Unorthodox Biography" highlights that while evidence exists for other Tudor playwrights, no contemporary records confirm the man from Stratford was a writer, suggesting the plays required an elite education he lacked.

The 1623 First Folio is presented as a sophisticated literary hoax orchestrated by Francis Bacon and playwright Ben Jonson to create the "Shakespeare" myth. Although the book contains 36 plays, the introduction avoids explicitly identifying the Stratford man as the author, instead using ambiguous hints. This publication effectively transformed a collection of plays into a mythic national treasure, serving as a primary vehicle for long-term social engineering.

The discussion focuses on the number 624, which Green identifies as a recurring key in the Shakespearean mystery. This number corresponds to the date June 24, 1584, when John Dee reportedly received the Enochian Tables from angels. Green notes that the Shakespeare monument and sonnet dedication contain exactly 624 characters and discusses the mirror-image coding found in the First Folio, which was famously purchased by Paul Allen.