PETER D MATTHEWS

Historian, Academic Philosopher, Shakespearean Scholar

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Reviews

Margaret Louise Drody Thompson
Margaret Louise Drody Thompson
@bassano
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The exploration of the thesis is fascinating: that four (six) brothers of the Bassano family, extremely gifted musicians, playwrights, doctors, and Jewish kabbalists in secret, came to England expressly to serve Henry VIII and bring the Renaissance with them, overflowing from these esoteric sources to produce an outstanding culture. People think that doubting or even debating the authorship of the wonderful plays published under the name of Shakespeare means devaluing their worth: what nonsense! This book clearly shows that many of the plots were strongly connected with the Bassano family - to which a pointer is given in the name Bassanio in Merchant of Venice. Another pointer, this time deeply ironic, is Shylock the Jew, a despicable character, yet essential to the plot. For the Bassano family are "hidden" Jews and students of Kabbalah. Surely they had danced with persecution and death many times: yet in the Plays their family stories find transcendent release and catharsis.
Lucy Skywalker
Lucy Skywalker
@Lucy
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The exploration of the thesis is fascinating: that four (six) brothers of the Bassano family, extremely gifted musicians, playwrights, doctors, and Jewish kabbalists in secret, came to England expressly to serve Henry VIII and bring the Renaissance with them, overflowing from these esoteric sources to produce an outstanding culture. People think that doubting or even debating the authorship of the wonderful plays published under the name of Shakespeare means devaluing their worth: what nonsense! This book clearly shows that many of the plots were strongly connected with the Bassano family - to which a pointer is given in the name Bassanio in Merchant of Venice. Another pointer, this time deeply ironic, is Shylock the Jew, a despicable character, yet essential to the plot. For the Bassano family are "hidden" Jews and students of Kabbalah.
Robert Small
Robert Small
@robert
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A very readable and well researched account of the Bassanos and their importance to both music and literature.
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58 New Testament References in the Zohar

To download a list of New Testament references in the academic Pritzker Edition of the Zohar, please click below. I have restricted this to the Pritzker Edition because it is the only academic edition of the Zohar available. Download The

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New Information About Shakespeare’s Sonnets

To Download a PDF copy of this paper, please click on the link below, as it is easier to read and is fully referenced:  Download PDF Paper New Information About Shakespeare’s Sonnets Dr Peter D Matthews DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.22127.92326 Abstract  This

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Understanding the Gender Complexities of Shakespeare

To download a copy of this academic paper in pdf format, please click here: PAPER – Understanding the Gender Complexities of Shakespeare Introduction The dramatists of Shakespeare are often characterized as being feminists because of the frankness of Cordelia in King

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Dr Peter D Matthews

Dr Peter D Matthews

With many years of hard work, study and dedication, he climbed the corporate ladder to senior positions of General Manager and CEO of large building, development and manufacturing companies, while continuing to fund his studies in history, literature, theology, strategic management and philosophy. Peter was ordained as a Minister in February 1999, and awarded a Doctorate Degree of Philosophy in 2001. As a keen historian and dedicated academic philosopher, Peter has spent a lifetime in the Shakespearean works, realizing the dramatist had cited the likes of Plutarch, Virgil, Philo, Homer, Quintus Ennius, Livy, Julius Caesar, Cornelius Nepos, Flavius Josephus, just to name a few. Each play was deliberately embellished with Hebrew piyyut (embellished poetry used as poetic song in worship on Sabbaths and festivals), Jewish theology, and Kabbalistic lore from the Sefer Yetzirah, the Babylonian Talmud, and the first Zohar of Mantua, which was printed by members of the Bassano family. SHAKE-SPEARES SONNETS are no exception, for each of these Zoharic שיר זהב (Shir Zahav, golden poems) ― a traditional Hebrew “Sonnet” of fourteen lines in iambic pentameter ― was penned by a Hebraic female author on Bat Torah (Women of Torah) ― the redemptions of Israel through women. (Click on his name above to view his full biography)

Peter lives with his family in rural Queensland, Australia. He is currently finishing Tomes 2 and 3 of ‘A Comprehensive Commentary of SHAKE-SPEARES SONNETS’, which will be published by Bassano Publishing House in 2022-23. He will be conducting online teaching sessions on the Sonnets once these volumes are published. Universities desiring to partner with Peter, can contact him on the below academic and social media accounts. This is due to spammers abusing his former email address, hence his contact details are no longer published online.