The collection comprises 154 poems, the first 17 of which were written to a man urging him to marry and have children.

Scholars began to suggest that Edward de Vere, Elizabethan courtier, poet and playwright, wrote under the name of Shakespeare due to the similarities between his Oxford life and the Shakespeare plays. It was thought that he chose not to reveal his true identity as it would have been a disgrace for an aristocrat to be associated with public entertainment.

“Throughout his retirement Rendall continued to write about Shakespeare and bequeathed more than 100 books to the University, including pamphlets reflecting contemporary approaches to the plays and sonnets, many with his annotations and review cuttings,” said Katy.

“Among the collection are theatre leaflets such as an 1894 programme of Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen of Verona.”

Rendall’s collections, along with Shakespeare’s second folio from the Robert George Morton collection, are held at the University’s Special Collections and Archives, Sydney Jones Library.