The Root of the Boot - A Philological Parody?

[Balfrog]

A carry-on from an earlier piece of analysis looks at the possibility of The Root of the Boot in Songs for the Philologists being a parody of another well-known Elizabethan historical incident. In this case the troll is argued to be once again a lampooning of William Shakespeare, while Uncle John and Tom are supposedly John and Thomas Heywood.


https://priyasethtolkienfan.wordpres...n-connections/

Shakespeare scholars/historians will no doubt be aware of the 'William Jaggard affair'. Ms. Seth explains The Root of the Boot (and its predecessor Pero & Podex) as a light-hearted poking of fun at Shakespeare; which is in-line with Tolkien's known general dislike of the Bard of Avon. The poem, however, does have a 'philological backbone' - as Ms. Seth describes it.