> Even more impressively, the
philosopher John Finnis has decoded a late and obscure
Shakespeare poem (untitled, but usually called THE PHOENIX AND
THE TURTLE) and shown that it celebrates a Catholic woman, Ann
Line, who was executed for religion by Elizabeth.
Hasn't there long been controversy (mainstream, not fringe) over whether this poem is really Shakespeare? I'm recalling commentary to that effect in Hubler and maybe Ault--anthologies, not critical studies, I grant you, but good ones. I'm thinking it had an odd provenance. My memory of it, which is weak--and that tells you something there, perhaps--is that it did not read like Shakespeare the poet. (While my command of the plays is spotty, the poetry I know pretty well.)
As to Shakespeare's sources, I think Neil Gaiman does as good a job as any of accounting for them. They're total fiction, of course--what else would you expect?