Stratfordians also point out that the de Vere theory assumes an unlikely hoax,The Oxford camp claims that de Vere wanted to hide his authorship because it went against protocol for the noble class.A highborn earl simply should not be writing plays for common people.To give de Vere cover, William Shakespeare of Stratford must have agreed (probably for pay) to serve as a front man.The Stratfordians point out that, for this to be true, Shakespeare's many friends and acquaintances were either blind enough to be fooled by it or willing to be in on the trick.The same goes for de Vere's friends and acquaintances, including the very intelligent Queen Elizabeth.The part hardest to believe is that a plan like that could be sustained for decades without the secret being revealed.