Primary
DocumentsTop | Facsimile of the registry of thebaptism of William Shakespeare, fromThe Works of WilliamShakespeare, by E. K. Chambers, vol. I, 1901, p. 1.The entry is in Latinand reads "Gulielmus filius Johannes Shakspere" or, in English,"William son of John Shakspere".
Jonathan BateinSoulof the Agenotes that "There were no morethan twenty deaths [noted in the parish register of Holy TrinityChurch in Stratford-upon-Avon] in the first half of 1564, well overtwo hundred in the second...the cause is duly noted in a marginalannotation...hic incepit pestis. Herebegins the plague" (pp. 3-4). |
| The BirthPlace in Henley Street, as it appeared in 1762
Taken from J. O. Halliwell-Phillipps,Outlinesof the Life of Shakespeare, 1907,p.32 | | TheBirthplace renedered more fancifully
fromGentleman's Magazine, 1769
Taken from The Works of William Shakespeare ed. E. K. Chambers,1901,p.1 |
John Whitgift was the bishop ofWorcester from 1577 to 1583, when he was "translated" to the see ofCanterbury. Worcester was 21 miles west ofStratford, and the consistory court there the place where amarriage license, issued to a local parish priest, might beobtained. Whitgift's register for the dateNovember 27, 1582 indicates the issuance of a license for marriagebetween William Shaxpere and Anne Whateley of TempleGrafton. At the time, Shakespeare would have been18 years old. I reproduce the register entrybelow in facsimile, from Joseph WilliamGray,Shakespeare'sMarriage, Chapman & Hall, 1905; followed by thecontext and literal translation fromCartaeShakespeareanae. Note that this is the entryfrom the Bishop's register, not the license itself, which has notsurvived.
The next day, November 28, 1582, amarriage bond was entered into by Fulke Sandells and JohnRychardson, farmers of Shottery, Anne Hathaway'svillage. The purpose of the bond was to indemnifythe church in case some later lawful impediment is found to themarriage since the banns were only going to be pronounced once,rather than the stipulated three times. Thegentlemen in question were friends of the Hathaway family fromShottery, and stood surety for £40. In fact,Sandells seems to have been acting as agent for the Hathawayfamily, performing the duties of father since Richard Hathaway wasrecently deceased. Sandells had supervised hiswill, i.e., acted as trustee, and Rychardson had witnessedit. Richard Hathaway had been marriedtwice. Anne was the firstborn of four children(1556) by his first wife. His first wife's nameis unknown, but lived in Temple Grafton. Hissecond wife was named Joan who died about 1600.Richard Hathaway died in September, 1581. The bond clearly describes intendedmarriage between William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway ofStratford. I reproduce it in transcript below,from theCartaeShakespeareanae, the beginning paragraph in Latin simply statesthe parties, amounts, date, and officers of the diocese acting aswitnesses: Noverint universi per praesentesnos Fulconem Sandells de Stratford in comitatu Warwici agricolam etJohannem Rychardson ibidem agricolam, teneri et firmiter obligariRicardo Cosin generoso et Roberto Warmstry notario publico inquadraginta libris bonae et legalis monetae Angliae solvend. eisdemRicardo et Roberto haered. execut. et assignat. suis ad quam quidemsolucionem bene et fideliter faciend. obligamus nos et utrumquenostrum per se pro toto et in solid. haered. executor. etadministrator, nostros firmiter per praesentes. sigillis nostrissigillat. Dat 28 die Novem. Anno regni dominae nostrae Eliz. Deigratia Angliae Franc. at Hiberniae Regime fidei defensor&c. 25. The condicion of this obligacion yssuche that if herafter there shall not appere any lawfull lett orimpediment by reason of any precontract, consanguitie, affinitie orby any other lawfull meanes whatsoever, but that Willm Shagspereone thone partie and Anne Hathwey of Stratford in the dioces ofWorcester, maiden, may lawfully solemnize matrimony together, andin the same afterwardes remaine and continew like man and wiffeaccording unto the lawes in that behalf provided; and moreover ifthere be not at this present time any action sute quarrell ordemaund moved or depending before any judge ecclesiasticall ortemporall for and concerning any such lawfull lett or impediment;and moreover if the said Willm do not proceed to solemnization ofmariadg with the said Anne Hathwey without the consent of hirfrindes And also if the said Willm do upon his owne proper costesand expenses defend and save harmles the right reverend Father inGod Lord John Bishop of Worcester and his offycers for licencingthem the said Willm and Anne to be maried together with once askingof the bannes of matrimony betwene them and for all other causeswhich may ensue by reason or occasion therof that then the saidobligacion to be void and of none effect or els to stand and abidein full force and vertue.
The bond is signed withthe marks of Sandells and Rychardson, who are described as being"de Stratford" but were actually from Shottery. Ireproduce the marks below, from Halliwell-Phillipps The Life ofWilliam Shakespeare,p.112:
The chancellor of the diocesanconsistory court was Richard Cosin ("Ricardo Cosin") assisted byregistrar Robert Warmstry ("Roberto Warmstry"). The effect of thebond was that the marriage might proceed "with once asking of thebannes," as noted above, rather than asking the banns on threesucceeding weeks. |
| From Daniel HenryLambert,Cartae Shakespeareanae: ShakespeareDocuments; a Chronological Catalogue of Extant Evidence Relating tothe Life and Works of William Shakespeare, G. Bell,1904,p.5: |
From Greene's Groats-worth of Wit,1592, the first mention in print of Shakespeare as an establishedLondon playwright."for there is an vpstart Crow,beautified with our feathers, that with his Tygers hart wrapt in aPlayers hyde, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blankeverse as the best of you: and being an absolute Iohannes fac totum,is in his owne conceit the onely Shake-scene in a countrey. O thatI might intreate your rare wits to be imploied in more profitablecourses: & let those Apes imitate your pastexcellence, and neuer more acquaint them with your admiredinuentions. I know the best husband of you all will neuer proue anUsurer, and the kindest of them all will neuer seeke you a kindnurse: yet whilest you may, seeke you better Maisters; for it ispittie men of such rare wits, should be subiect to the pleasure ofsuch rude groomes. "In this I might insert two more,that both haue writ against these buckram Gentlemen: but let theirowne works serue to witnesse against their owne wickednesse, ifthey perseuere to mainteine any more such peasants. For othernew-commers, I leaue them to the mercie of these painted monsters,who (I doubt not) will driue the best minded to despise them: forthe rest, it skils not though they make a ieast atthem."
Greene addresses hisdiatribe to three fellow university trained scholars andplaywrights ("that spend their wits in makingPlaies"). It is assumed that the three areMarlowe (being certainly the most notorious atheist among Londonplaywrights), Nashe and Peele. The useful informationhere is that Shakespeare was prominent enough to provoke this sortof jealousy from an established playwright, that he was a newcomer,and that his country mien showed, being called a "rude groom" and"peasant." |
| FromChettle'sKind-Hearts Dream, containing hisapology to (presumably) Shakespeare for the offense taken intheGroats-worthaffair. Kind-harts Dreame. Conteiningfive Apparitions, with their Invectives against abuses raigning.Delivered by severall ghosts unto him to be publisht, after PiersPenilesse Post had refused the carriage. Invita Invidia. by H. C.Imprinted at London for WilliamWright.Date of entry atStationers' Hall, 8 Dec. 1592. "About three moneths since died M.Robert Greene, leauing many papers in sundry Booke sellers hands,among others his Groats-worth of wit, in which a letter written todiuers play-makers, is offensiuely by one or two of them taken, andbecause on the dead they cannot be auenged, they wilfully forge intheir conceites a liuing Author: and after tossing it two and fro,no remedy, but it must light on me. How I haue all the time of myconuersing in printing hindred the bitter inueying againstschollers, it hath been very well knowne, and how in that I dealt Ican sufficiently prooue. With neither of them that take offence wasI acquainted, and with one of them I care not if I neuer be: theother, whome at that time I did not so much spare, as since I wishI had, for that as I haue moderated the heate of liuing writers,and might haue vsde my owne discretion (especially in such a case)the Author beeing dead, that I did not, I am as sory, as if theoriginall fault had beene my fault, because my selfe haue seene hisdemeanor no lesse ciuill than he exelent in the qualitie heprofesses: Besides, diuers of worship haue reported, his vprightnesof dealing, which argues his honesty, and his facetious grace inwritting, that aprooues his Art."
There is a long tradition inShakespeare biography of assuming Chettle's apology is addressed toShakespeare, but it is certainly not certain.SeeCartaeShakespeareanaNo. 16. |
The dedicationtoVenus and Adonis, 1593: TO THE RIGHTHONORABLE Henrie Wriothesley,Earle of Southampton,
and Baron of Titchfield. Right Honourable, I know not how Ishall offend in dedicating my unpolisht lines to your Lordship, norhow the worlde will censure mee for choosing so strong a proppe tosupport so weake a burthen, onelye if your Honour seeme butpleased, I account my selfe highly praised, and vowe to takeadvantage of all idle houres, till I have honoured you with somegraver labour. But if the first heire of my invention provedeformed, I shall be sorie it had so noble a god-father: and neverafter eare so barren a land, for feare it yeeld me still so bad aharvest, I leave it to your Honourable survey, and your Honor toyour hearts content which I wish may alwaies answere your ownewish, and the worlds hopefull expectation. Your Honors in alldutie,
William Shakespeare.
The work was printedin London by Shakespeare's countryman and friend, RichardField. It became the most popular, best sellinglong poem of the Elizabethan age, gaining for its author notorietyas reflected in Meres'PalladisTamia,JohnWeever'sepigram 22andthe Parnassus plays (for each see below). Referto one of the following facsimile editions to examine theoriginal: |
FromWillobie,His Avisa."Yet Tarquyne pluckt hisglistering grape,
And Shake-speare, paints poore Lucrece rape." ... "H. W. being sodenly affectedwith the contagion of a fantasticali fit, at the first sight of A,pyneth a while in secret griefe, at length not able any longer toindure the burning beate of so fervent a humour, bewrayeth thesecresy of his disease unto his familiar frend W. S. who not longbefore had tryed the curtesy of the like passion, and was now newlyrecovered of the like infection ; yet finding his frend let bloudin the same vaine, he took pleasure for a tyme to see him bleed,& in steed of stopping the issue, he inlargeth thewound, with the sharpe rasor of a willing conceit, perswading himthat he thought it a matter very easy to be compassed,& no douht with payne, diligence &some cost in tyme to he obtayned. Thus this miserable comfortercomforting his frend with an impossibility, eyther for that he nowwould secretly laugh at his frends folly, that had given occasionnot long before unto others to laugh at his owne, or because hewould see whether an other could play his part better thenhimselfe, & in vewing a far off the course of thisloving Comedy, he determined to see whether it would sort to ahappier end for this new actor, then it did for the old player"(Cant.XLIIII).
|
The dedicationtoThe Rape of Lucrece, 1594: TOTHE
RIGHT HONOURABLE HENRY WRIOTHESLEY,
EARL OF SOUTHAMPTON AND BARON OF TICHFIELD The love I dedicate toyour Lordship is without end, whereof this pamphlet, withoutbeginning, is but a superfluous moiety. The warrant I have of yourhonourable disposition, not the worth of my untutored lines, makesit assured of acceptance. What I have done is yours; what I have todo is yours; being part in all I have, devoted yours. Were my worthgreater, my duty would show greater; meantime, as it is, it isbound to your Lordship, to whom I wish long life, still lengthenedwith all happiness. Your Lordship's in allduty,
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE.
Field printedShakespeare's next long poem also. The growth infamiliarity, eveny intimacy, in comparison with the previous year'sdedication toVenus andAdonisis often noted. Manycommentators feel it is likely that Shakespeare spent some portionof the time during which the theatres were closed by plague in1593-94 in the personal service of Southampton, likely at his housein Titchfield. Certainly the Italianate influenceof John Florio, Southampton's tutor, can be seen in the playwritten (in all likelihood) during or shortly after thisperiod,Love's Labour'sLost. Many believe that most of the Sonnetswere writtenbetweenLucreceand theend of the decade of the 1590s. BecauseShakespeare seems to have been intimately associated withSouthampton during this period, he is the leading candidate as theyoung man addressed in the Sonnets. Even if so,and Shakespeare carried on some sort of familiarity withSouthampton after 1594, there is no record of association betweenthe two after Southampton's imprisonment consequent to the Essexrebellion of 1601 and the marginal role the Shakespeare's companyplayed in that fiasco (see my blog entry "TheEssex Rebellion and the Players" for details). See one of thefollowing facsimile editions in order to examine the originaldocument. |
From theGestaGrayorum:Aftertheir Departure the Throngs and Tumults did somewhat cease,although so much of them continued, as was able to disorder andconfound any good Inventions whatsoever. Inregard whereof, as also for that the Sports intended wereespecially for the gracing of theTemplarians[i.e., law students from the InnerTemple]it was thought good not to offer anything of Account, saving Dancing and Revelling with Gentlewomen;and after such Sports, a Comedy of Errors (like to Plautus hisMenechmus) was played by the Players. So that Night was begun, andcontinued to the end, in nothing but Confusion and Errors;whereupon, it was ever afterwards called, The Night ofErrors. This mischanceful Accidentforting so ill, to the great prejudice of the rest of ourProceedings, was a great Discouragement and Disparagement to ourwhole State ; yet it gave occasion to the Lawyers of the Prince'sCouncil, the next Night, after Revels, to read a Commission of Oyerand Terminer, directed to certain Noblemen and Lords of HisHighness's Council, and others, that they would enquire, or causeEnquiry to be made of some great Disorders and Abuses lately doneand committed within His Highness's Dominions of Purpoole,especially by Sorceries and Inchantments ; and namely, of a greatWitchcraft used the Night before, whereby there were greatDisorders and Misdemeanours, by Hurly-burlies, Crowds, Errors,Confusions, vain Representations and Shews, to the utter Difcreditof our State and Policy. The next Night upon thisOccasion, we preferred Judgments thick and threefold, which wereread publickly by the Clerk of the Crown, being all against aSorcerer or Conjurer that was supposed to be the Cause of thatconfused Inconvenience. Therein was contained, How he had causedthe Stage to be built, and Scaffolds to be reared to the top of theHouse, to increase Expectation. Also how he had caused diversLadies and Gentlewomen, and others of good Condition, to be invitedto our Sports; also our dearest Friend, the State of Templaria, tobe disgraced, and disappointed of their kind Entertainment,deserved and intended. Also that he caused Throngs and Tumults,Crowds and Outrages, to disturb our whole Proceedings. And Lastly,that he had foisted a Company of base and common Fellows, to makeup our Disorders with a Play of Errors and Confusions ; and thatthat Night had gained to us Discredit, and itself a Nickname ofErrors. All which were against the Crown and Dignity of ourSovereign Lord, the Prince of Purpoole.
The illustration above shows theinterior of Gray's Inn Hall fromShakespeare'sLondonby Thomas Ordish,1904,p.156. |
| FromCartaeShakespeareanae: Shakespeare Documents; a Chronological Catalogueof Extant Evidence Relating to the Life and Works of WilliamShakespeare, by Daniel Henry Lambert,1904,p.13. This is a record ofpayment for the acting of two comedies or interludes as part of theChristmas festivities before the queen in 1594.The first was acted on St. Stephens day (December 26) and thesecond on Innocent's day (December 28). The 28this probably an error because a separate payment is recorded to theAdmiral's men for playing that day, and Shakespeare's company seemsto have been employed elsewhere that day (see "Gesta Grayorum"above). The troupe received somewhat over 20£ fortwo presentations. |
From Robert Southwell's dedicationto hisSaint Peter's Complaint,1595."The Author to His Louing CosinMaster W. S."
|
August 11, Hamnetfilius William Shakspere.
Hamnet and his twin sister, Judeth,were baptized February 2, 1584-5. He died, just11 1/2 years later and was buried August 11, 1596 at Stratford,cause unknown. He was the poet's only knownson.(Halliwell-Phillipps,TheLife of William Shakespeare, p. 31). Thetwins had been named after the Stratford baker Hamnet (or as it issometimes given Hamlett) Sadler and his wife Judeth, whoundoubtedly stood as godparents. Shakespeare'srelationship with Hamnet Sadler lasted a lifetime, because he isremembered in his will with a bequest of 26s 8d in order topurchase a memorial ring--the same bequest left to his fellowsBurbage, Heming and Condell (see SidneyLee,ALife of William Shakespeare, p. 285). For more on the death of HamnetShakespeare see myblogposton this topic. |
The illustration isfrom the second draft of the grant at the Heralds'College. The motto "Non sans droict,' not withoutright. SeeCartaeShakespeareanaNo. 30fordetails and the further draft grant, in 1599, giving theShakespeares the right to impale their arms with those ofArden. |
"Inter Willielmum Shakespearequerentem et Willielmum Underhill, generosum, deforciantem, de unomesuagio, duobus horreis, et duobus gardinis cum pertinentiis inStratford Super Avon unde placitum conventions summonitum fuitinter eos in eadem curia. Scilicet quodpredictusWillielmusUnderbill recognovit predicta tenementa cumpertinentiis esse jus ipsius Willielmi Shakespeare ut illa quseidem Willielmus habet de dono predicti Willielmi Underhill et illaremisit et quietumclamavit de se et hseredibus suis predictoWillielmo Shakespeare et hseredibus suis imperpetuum; et prsetereaidem Willielmus Underhill concessit pro se et hseredibus suis quodipsi warantiz- abunt predicto Willielmo Shakespeare et hseredibussuis predicta tenementa cum pertinentiis imperpetuum: et pro hacrecognitione remissione quieta clamantia warantia fine et concordiaidem Willielmus Shakespeare dedit predicto Willielmo Underhillsexaginta libras sterlingorum. (Pasch. 39 Eliz.)"[SeeCartaeNumber32. See also the original of this documentatWindowson Warwickshire, where the following note isappended: "Not all the documentation for thispurchase has survived. This document, known technically as anexemplification of a fine, records a fictitious legal action theresult of which was Shakespeare's successful acquisition of theproperty. This was enrolled in the records of the central courtsand could be turned up should a dispute later arise, rather likeregistration today."]
A indicates the location of thehouse, F the grounds and garden, where grew the famous mulberrytree. The house eventually made its way back intothe Clopton family, who renovated it and added a newfront. Sir Hugh Clopton died there in 1751, theyear it was purchased by the infamous Rev. Francis Gastrell whopulled down the house and uprooted the mulberrytree. It is pictured below from thattime. FromHalliwell-Phillipps,The Life of WilliamShakespeare, 1848,pp.165-166. SeealsoShakespere's homeat New Place, Stratford-upon-Avon: Being a history of the "Greathouse" built in the reign of King Henry VII, by Sir Hugh Clopton,knight, and subsequently the property of William Shakespere, gent.,wherein he lived and died,By JohnChippendall Montesquieu Bellew, Published by Virtue brothers andco., 1863. In 1602 a similar"fine" was entered, this time between William Shakespeare andHercules Underhill: "" Inter WillielmumShakespeare generosum querentem ct Herculem Underhill generosumdeforciantem, de uno mesuagio, duobus horreis, duobus gardinis, etduobus pomariis cum pertinentiis, in Stretford-super-Avon; undeplacitum convencionis summonitum fuit inter eos in eadem curia,Scilicet quod predictus Hercules recognovit predicta tenementa cumpertinentiis esse jus ipsius Willielmi, ut illa que idem Willielmushabet de dono predicti Herculis, et illa remisit et quieta clamavitde se et beredibus suis predicto Willielmo et heredibus suis inperpetuum; et preterea idem Hercules concessit, pro se et heredibussuis, quod ipsi warantizabunt predicto Willielmo et heredibus suispredicta tenementa cum pertinentiis contra predictum Herculem etheredes suos in perpetuum; et pro hac re cognicione, remissione,quieta clamancia, waranto, fine et concordia idem Willielmus deditpredicto Herculi sexaginta libras sterlingorum," Mich. 44& 45 Eliz. (SeeHalliwell-Phillipps,Outlines of the Life ofShakespeare, 3rd edition, 1883,p.453).
Apparently this was aformality. According to Halliwell-Phillipps, itmust have been discovered that Hercules has a residual interest inthe party and this fine concluded the transaction so thatShakespeare would own the title clear. The deedto the property has disappeared, so these two surviving "fines" arenot completely clear. |
From FrancisMeres'PalladisTamia,listing some of the works ofShakespeare to 1598. As the soul of Euphorbus wasthought to live in Pythagorus, so the sweet, witty soul of Ovidlives in mellifluous & honey-tongued Shakespeare,witness his Venus and Adonis, his Lucrece, his sugared sonnetsamong his private friends, &c. As Plautus and Seneca areaccounted the best for comedy and tragedy among the Latins, soShakespeare among the English is the most excellent in both kindsfor the stage; for comedy, witness his Gentlemen of Verona, hisErrors, his Love Labours Lost, his Love Labours Won, hisMidsummer's Night Dream, & his Merchant of Venice;for tragedy, his Richard the 2, Richard the 3, Henry the 4, KingJohn, Titus Andronicus, and his Romeo and Juliet. As Epius Stolo said that themuses would speak with Plautus' tongue if they would speak Latin,so I say that the muses would speak with Shakespeare's fine-filedphrase, if they would speak English.
|
| The mid-1590s were hard times forthe residents of Stratford, as they were for most English towns inthe midlands. To add to the miseries ofmalnutrition brought on by poor harvests, heavy rains, andunseasonable cold, Stratford had suffered two disastrous fires.Richard Quiney had been elected bailiff in 1592, and representedStratford in London every year from 1597 to 1601.In 1598 he had traveled there to petition the Privy Council forrelief from the Parliamentary subsidy. He stayedat the Bell, near St. Paul's, from where he wrote the followingletter to Shakespeare, asking for a loan of 30£ to cover his ownexpenses, not those of the town: Facsimile of the letter:
Transcription of theletter: Loveinge contreyman, I am bolde ofyow, as of a ffrende, craveinge yowr helpe with xxxll uppon Mr.Bushells mid my securytee, or Mr. Myttens with me. Mr. Rosswell isnott come to London as yeate, and I have especiall cawse. Yow shallffrende me muche in helpeinge me out of all the debettes I owe inLondon, I thanck God, and muche quiet my mynde, which wolde nott beindebted. I am nowe towardes the Cowrte, in hope of answer for thedispatche of my buysenes. Yow shall nether loose creddytt normonney by me, the Lorde wyllinge ; and nowe butt perswade yowrselfesoe, as I hope, and yow shall nott need to feare, butt, with allhartie thanckefullnes I wyll holde my tyme, and content yowrffreende, and yf we bargaine farther, yow shalbe the paie-masteryowrselfe. My tyme biddes me hasten to an ende, and soe I committthys [to] yowr care and hope of yowr helpe. I feare I shall nott bebacke thys night ffrom the Cowrte. Haste. The Lorde be with yow andwith us all, Amen ! ffrom the Bell in Carter Lane, the 25. October,1598. Yowrs in all kyndenes, To my loveinge goodffrend and contreyman
Mr. Wm. Shackespere deliver thees. | |
Reproduced from J. O.Halliwell-Phillipps,The Life of WilliamShakespeare,p.178. Facsimile reproductions of the lettercan be found in D. H. Lambert,CartaeShakespeareanae,followingp. 28, and atYourIcons. In both places, it is reproducedcourtesy of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, where it is currentlyheld. The facsimile given above is reproducedfrom J. O. Halliwell-Phillipps,Outlines of the Life ofShakespeare, 1907,p.166. |
Thefirst appearance of Shakespeare's name on the title page of aprinted play was the quarto publicationofLove's Labour'sLost.Thefirst quarto, and only authoritative text,ofLove's Labour'sLostappeared in 1598 with the following titlepage:Apleasant conceited comedie called, Loues labors lost. As it waspresented before her Highnes this last Christmas. Newly correctedand augmented by W. Shakespere.
Imprinted at London: by W. W. [William White] for Cutbert Burby,1598.
The W. W. is thought to be William White (d.1615). Cuthbert Burby (d. 1607) owned thecopyright to this play and toRomeo andJuliet, transferred on his death to Nicholas Ling. Q1 served as the text for the Folio printing, but ithas been revised inconsistently, giving rise to a theory of a lostQ0, but there is no other evidence for a lost quarto (except forthe "Newly corrected and augmented" tag printer on the Title pageof Q1. It is often noted that the stagedirections in Q1 are unusually full and descriptive, indicatingperhaps an absence from the playhouse and/or a production fornon-professionals. Once again, this is only atheory. Because it is full of inside jokes and parodies, a casehas been made forLove's Labour'sLosthaving been written for a private party,probably involving Southampton and his circle, and later adaptedfor the stage. It does seem to have strongassociations with the Southampton circle, though this theory is byno means universally accepted. Those who advanceit usually place the play in about 1593-94, in the periodofVenus andAdonisandThe Rape ofLucrece, with which it has obviousaffinities. A popular theory of Shakespeare'slife has him serving as Southampton's secretary or literaryassistant during this period of closure of the publicplayhouses. Peter Ackroyd in hisShakespeare:The Biographysays thatLLL is "so highly allusive and ironic that it hardly seems designedfor the public playhouses...there has even been speculation that itwas first performed in Southampton House or atTitchfield. In a ground plan for Titchfield Housethere is an upstairs chamber designated as the 'Playhouse Room,'just to the left of the main entrance...it has been variouslyinterpreted as a playful satire upon Southampton and his circle,upon Lord Strange and his supporters, upon Thomas Nashe, upon JohnFlorio, upon Sir Walter Raleigh and the notorious 'school ofnight.' There are references to a thunderingrival poet, George Chapman, and to other Elizabethan notables whoare now less well known...and it may indeed refer to all ofthem." If indeed the play was acted for the Southamptoncircle, it must later have been translated to the Theatrerepertory. It is known to have been acted beforeQueen Elizabeth in 1597 (see the text on the title page), andSouthampton had it performed for the family of King James atSouthampton House in 1605. What is definitely known is that it appears in the listof Shakespeare's plays in FrancisMeres'PalladisTamiain1598. It is also (in all likeliehood) referencedin Robert Tofte'sAlba, or The Month's Mind ofa Melancholy Lover, also published in 1598: "I once did see aplay ycleped so," (seeHalliwell-Phillipps,Outlines,p.305. The play was most likely written,therefore, between 1593 and 1597, though may be a revision of amuch earlier work. |
Weever's Fourth weeke,epigramme 22: Ad GulielmumShakespeare
HONEY-TONGUED Shakespeare, whenI saw thine issue,
I swore Apollo got them and none other;
Their rosy-tinted features clothed intissue,
Some heaven-born goddess said to be theirmother:
Rose-cheeked Adonis, with his ambertresses,
Fair fire-hot Venus, charming him to loveher,
Chaste Lucretia, virgin-like her dresses,
Proud lust-stung Tarquin, seeking still to proveher:
Romeo, Richard; more whose names I knownot,
Their sugared tongues, and power attractivebeauty
Say they are saints, although that saints they shownot,
For thousands vow to them subjective duty :
They burn in love, thy children, Shakespeare hetthem,
Go, woo thy Muse, more Nymphish brood beget them.
Epigrammes in the oldest Cut, and newestFashion.
John Weever. 1599. Fourth Weeke, Epig. 22.
|
Edmund Tilney had beenElizabeth's Master of the Revels, and as such was censor andlicensor of all plays, players and playhouses in the realm, butpractically, in and around London. "But after theaccession of James the First he seems to have had a deputy in hisnephew, Sir George Buck, to whom the reversion of the Mastershiphad been given by Elizabeth in 1597, and confirmed by a patent ofJames on June 23, 1603" (E. K. Chambers, Notes on the History ofthe Revels Office Under the Tudors,p.57). Buck was an avid collector of plays, andoften annotated them (see Alan Nelson's "Sir George Buc(1560-1622): the Man who knew Shakespeare.")In his copy of George-a-Green: The Pinner of Wakefield (1599) hewrote: "Written by..........a minister, who acted
the pinner's part in it himself. Teste W.Shakespea[re]"
He must haveencountered Shakespeare or sought him out to get his theatricalinsider's insight into the authorship of theplay. The episode is probed in depth in AlanNelson's "GeorgeBuc, William Shakespeare, and the Folger George a Greene" fromShakespeare Quarterly, April 1998. |
The Return from Parnassus, Part1,Act3, Scene 1Gullio. Marrie, wellremembred! I'le repeat unto you an
enthusiasticall oration wherwith my new mistris' earswere
verie lately made happie. The carriage of my body,by
the reporte of my mistriss, was excellent: I stoodstroking
up my haire, which became me very admirably, gave alow
congey at the beginning of each period, madeevery
sentence end sweetly with an othe. It is the part ofan
Oratoure to perswade, and I know not how better thanto
conclude with such earnest protestations. Supposealso
that thou wert my mistris, as somtime wooddenstatues
represent the goddesses; thus I woulde lookeamorously,
thus I would pace, thus I would salute thee. Ingenioso. (It will be mylucke to dye noe other death than
by hearinge of his follies! I feare this speach that'sa
comminge will breede a deadly disease in my ears.) Gullio. Pardon, faire lady,thoughe sicke-thoughted Gullio
maks amaine unto thee, and like a bould-faced sutore '
gins to woo thee. Ingenioso. (We shall havenothinge but pure Shakspeare
and shreds of poetrie that he hath gathered at thetheaters!) Gullio. Pardon mee, moymittressa, ast am a gentleman,
the moone in comparison of thy bright hue a meereslutt,
Anthonie's Cleopatra a blacke browde milkmaide, Hellena
dowdie. Ingenioso. (Marke, Romeo andJuliet! O monstrous thefta!
I thinke he will runn throughe a whole booke ofSamuell
Daniell's!) Gullio. Thrise fairer thanmyselfe (—thus I began—)
The gods faire riches, sweete abovecompare,
Staine to all nimphes, more lovely then aman,
More white and red than doves and rosesare!
Nature that made thee with herselfe hadstrife,
Saith that the worlde hath ending with thy life. Ingenioso. Sweete Mr.Shakspeare! Gullio. As I am a scholler,these arms of mine are long
and strong withall,
Thus elms by vines are compast ere they falle. Ingenioso. Faith, gentleman!youre reading is wonderfull
in our English poetts! Gullio. Sweet Mistris, Ivouchsafe to take some of there
wordes, and applie them to mine owne matters bya
scholasticall invitation.
Report thou, upon thy credit; is not my vayne incourtinge
gallant and honorable ? Ingenioso. Admirable, sanescompare, never was so mellifluous
a witt joynet to so pure a phrase, such comlygesture,
suche gentlemanlike behaviour. Gullio. But stay! it's verietrue good witts have badd
memories. I had almoste forgotten the cheife pointe.I
cal'd thee out for new year's day approcheth, andwheras
other gallants bestovve Jewells uponthere mistrisses (as I
have done whilome) I now count it base to do asthe
common people doe ; I will bestowe upon them theprecious
stons of my witt, a diamonde of invention, that shallbe
above all value and esteeme; therfore, sithens Iam
employed in some weightie affayrs of the courte, I willhave
thee, Ingenioso, to make them, and when thou hast doneI
will peruse, pollish, and correcte them. Ingenioso. My pen is yourebounden vassall to commande.
But what vayne woulde it please you to have them in ? Gullio. Not in a vaine veine(prettie, i'faith!): make mee
them in two or three divers vayns, in Chaucer's,Gower's
and Spencer's and Mr. Shakspeare's. Marry, I thinkeI
shall entertaine those verses which run likethese;
Even as the sunn with purple coloured face
Had tane his laste leave on the weeping morne,&c.
O sweet Mr. Shakspeare! I'le have his picture in mystudy
at the courte. Ingenioso. (Take heed, mymaisters! he'le kill you with
tediousness ere I can ridd him of the stage!)
Gullio. Come, let us in! I'le eate a bit of phesaunte,and
drincke a cupp of wine in my cellar, and straight tothe
courte I'le goe. A Countess and twoo lordes expectmee
to day at dinner; they are my very honorable frendes ;I
muste not disapointe them.
Act 4, Scene 1 Gullio. Stay, man! thouhaste a very lecherous witt;
what wordes are these? Though thou comes somwhatneare
my meaninge yet it doth not become my gentle witt tosett
it downe soe plainlye Youe schollers are simplefelowes,
men that never came where ladies growe; I thathave
spente my life amonge them knowes best whatbecometh
my pen and theire ladishipps ears. Let mee heareMr.
Shakspear's veyne. Ingenioso. Faire Venus,queene of beutie and of love,
Thy red doth stayne the blushinge of themorne,
Thy snowie necke shameth the milkwhitedove,
Thy presence doth this naked worlde adorne;
Gazinge on thee all other nymphes I scorne.
When ere thou dyest slowe shine thatSatterday,
Beutie and grace muste sleepe with thee for aye! Gullio. Noe more! I am onethat can judge accordinge
to the proverbe, bovem ex unguibus. Ey marry, Sir,these
have some life in them! Let this duncified worldeesteeme
of Spencer and Chaucer, I'le worshipp sweet Mr.Shakspeare,
and to honoure him will lay hisVenus andAdonisunder
my pillowe, as wee reade of one (I doe not wellremember
his name, but I am sure he was a kinge) slept withHomer
under his bed's heade. Well, I'le bestowe a Frenchecrowne
in the faire writinge of them out, and then I'leinstructe
thee about the delivery of them. Meanewhile I'lehave
thee make an elegant description of my mistris ; likenthe
worste part of her to Cynthia; make also afamiliar
dialogue betwixt her and myselfe. I'le now in, andcorrect
these verses. Ingenioso. Why, who couldeendure this post put into a
sattin sute, this haberdasher of lyes, this bracchidochio,this
ladyemunger, this meere rapier and dagger, thiscringer,
this foretopp, but a man that's ordayned to miserie!Well,
madame Pecunia, one more for thy sake will I waiteon
this truncke, and with soothinge him upp in time willleave
him a greater foole than I founde him.
InThe Returnto Parnassus, Part 2,Act1, Scene 2where Judicio, the critic, ispassing judgment on various of the poetic worthies of the day, weread: WilliamShakespeare.
Judicio. Who louesnotAdonsloue,orLucrecerape?
His sweeter verse contaynes hart throbbingline,
Could but a grauer subiect him content,
Without loues foolish lazy languishment.
For the Burbage and Kempe scenesseeAct4, Scene 3, where Kempe says: "Why heres our fellow Shakespeareputs them all downe, I and Ben Jonsontoo. O that Ben Jonson is a pestilent fellow, hebrought up Horace giving the Poets a pill, but our fellowShakespeare hath given him a purge that made him beray hiscredit." [Referring to the War of theTheatres]
InAct4, Scene 4, Burbage goes on to audition students for thepart of Richard III. |
| From the Diary of JohnManningham: Febr.1601 | Feb.2 | At our feast wee had a play called" Twelue Night, or What you Will," much like the Commedy ofErrores, or Menechmi in Plautus, but most like and neere to that inItalian called Inganni? A good practise in it to make the Stewardbeleeve his Lady widdowe was in love with him, by counterfeyting aletter as from his Lady in generall termes, telling him what sheeliked best in him, and prescribing his gesture in smiling, hisapparaile, &c., and then when he came to practisemaking him beleeue they tooke him to be mad. |
March 1601 | | Vpon a tyme when Burbidge playedRichard III. there was a citizen grone soe farr in liking with him,that before shee went from the play shee appointed him to come thatnight vnto hir by the name of Richard the Third. Shakespeareouerhearing their conclusion went before, was intertained and athis game ere Burbidge came. Then message being brought that Richardthe Third was at the dore, Shakespeare caused returne to be madethat William the Conqueror was before Richard the Third.Shakespeare's name William. (Mr. Touse.) |
|
Gabriel Harvey, scholar,intimate friend to Spenser, enemy of Nashe, a man with his hand onthe literary pulse of his time, and an inveterate marginalannotator wrote this now famous marginalia in his copy of Speght'sChaucer, which he signed and dated twice, 1598:And now translated Petrarch, Ariosto, Tasso,& Bartas himself deserue curiouscomparison with Chaucer, Lidgate, & owre bestInglish, auncient & moderne.Amongst which, the Countesse of PembrokesArcadia, & the Faerie Queene ar now freshest inrequest : & Astrophil, & Amyntas arnone of the idlest pastimes of sum fine humanists. The Earle ofEssex much commendes Albions England : and not unworthily fordiuerse notable pageants, before, & in theChronicle. Sum Inglish, & other Histories nowheremore sensibly described, or more inwardly discouered. The LordDaniel, Mountioy makes the like account of Daniels peece of theChronicle, touching the Vsurpation of Henrie of Bullingbrooke.which in deede is a fine, sententious, & politiquepeece of Poetrie: as profitable, as pleasurable.The younger sort takes much delight in Shakespeares Venus,& Adonis : but his Lucrece, & histragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke haue it inthem, to please the wiser sort. Or such poets :or better : or none. Vilia miretur vulgus : mihi flavus Apollo
Pocula Castaliae plena ministret aquae :
quoth Sir Edward Dier, betwene iest,& earnest. Whose written deuises farr excell mostof the sonets, and cantos in print. His Amaryllis,& Sir Walter Raleighs Cynthia how fine& sweet inuentions? Excellent matter ofemulation for Spencer, Constable, France, Watson,Daniel, Warner, Chapman, Siluester, Shakespeare, &the rest of owr florishingmetricians...I have a phansie to Owens new Epigrams, as pithie aselegant, as plesant as sharp, & sumtime as weightieas breife..." (GabrielHarvey's Marginalia, G. C. Moore Smith, 1913, p.232-233).
Mention of the work that put Shakespeare on theliterary map,Venus and Adonis, could notbe avoided, but Harvey is quick to distance himself fromShakespeare's erotic, if mellifluous, poem and stress the opinionamong graver critics that Lucrece and Hamlet are worth seriousattention. The Latin tag associated with Dier(Sir Edward Dyer 1543-1607 most of whose poetic works are lost waslater resurrected (though now forgotten) by Alden Brooks as aShakespeare authorial candidate--seeWillShakespeare and the Dyers Hand, 1943) is, of course, fromOvid'sAmoresand servesas the epigraph toVenus and Adonis, themention of which must have put Harvey in mind of the passage andthen by transference of Dyer. [It means, "Let vile people admirevile things; may fair haired Apollo serve me goblets filled withCastalian water", Apollo being the god of poetry, the Castaliansprings being sacred to the Muses--seeVenus andAdonisinTheNorton Shakespeare, ed. Katharine E. Maus].This piece of marginialia is important as a testimony to the regardwith which Shakepseare was held by a very literatecontemporary. The fact that Harvey's Chaucer was signed anddated 1598 does not, of course mean that he knew Hamlet at thatdate. The annotation could have been made muchlater and is believed to have been made in 1603. For more on Harvey's marginalia, and itssubsequent history involving Steevens, Malone, Halliwell-Phillipps,and Sidney Lee--all great Shakespeare editors--see "GabrielHarvey and the Wiser Sort". |
Since it is sometimesdifficult to find a text of the license granted Shakespeare'scompany from King James, I reproduce it here, taken fromHalliwell-Phillipps,The Life of WilliamShakespeare, 1848,p.203. The warrant bears the date May 17, 1603and takes Shakespeare's company into the king's service as theKing's Men, giving them the right to play in their accustomed houseand to tour within the realm. By the King. Right trustyand welbeloved counsellor, we greete you well and will and commaundyou, that under our privie seale in your custody for the timebeing, you cause our letters to be derected to the keeper of ourgreate seale of England, commaunding him under our said greateseale, he cause our letters to be made patents in forme following.James, by the grace of God, King of England, Scotland, Fraunce andIrland, defendor of the faith, &c., to alljustices, maiors, sheriffs, constables, headboroughes, and otherour officers and loving subjects, greeting; Know ye, that we of ourspeciall grace, certaine knowledge, and meere motion, have licencedand authorized, and by these presentes doe licence and authorize,these our servants, Lawrence Fletcher, William Shakespeare, RichardBurbage, Augustine Phillippes, John Hemmings, Henrie Condell,William Sly, Robert Armyn, Richard Cowlye, and the rest of theirassociats, freely to use and exercise the arte and faculty ofplaying comedies, tragedies, histories, enterludes, moralls,pastoralls, stage plaies, and such other like, as thei have alreadystudied, or hereafter shall use or studie, as well for therecreation of our loving subjects, as for our solace and pleasure,when we shall thinke good to see them, during our pleasure; and thesaid comedies, tragedies, histories, enterludes, moralls,pastoralls, stage plaies, and such like, to shew and exercisepubliquely to their best commoditie, when the infection of theplague shall decrease, as well within theire now usuall howsecalled the Globe, within our county of Surrey, as also within anietowne halls, or moat halls, or other convenient places within theliberties and freedome of any other citie, universitie, towne orborough whatsoever within our said realmes and dominions. Willingand commaunding you, and every of you, as you tender our pleasure,not only to permit and suffer them heerin, without any your letts,hinderances, or molestations, during our said pleasure, but also tobe ayding or assisting to them yf any wrong be to them offered; andto allowe them such former courtesies, as hathe bene given to menof their place and qualitie, and also what further favour you shallshew to these our servants for our sake we shall take kindly atyour hands, and these our letters shall be your sufficient warrantand discharge in this behalfe. Given under our signet at our mannerof Greenewiche the seavententh day of May in the first yeere of ourraigne of England, France, and Ireland, and of Scotland the six andthirtieth.
For more, see "Licenseto Play" in the Mr. Shakespeare blog. |
FromMicrocosmos(1603)inTheComplete Works of John Davies of Hereford (15.. - 1618), vol.I, p. 82, ed. A. B. Grosart, 1878.Players, I loue yee, and yourQualitie,
As ye are Men, that pass-time not abus'd :
And some I loue for 'painting, poesie,
And say fell Fortune cannot be excus'd,
That hath for better uses you refus'd :
Wit, Courage, good-shape, good partes, and allgood,
As long as al these goods are no worseus'd,
And though the stage doth staine pure gentlebloud.
Yet generous yee are in minde and moode.
Burbage, in addition to being theperiod's leading actor, was known as a painter. |
| In 1604 Antony ScolokerpublishedDaiphantus,or The Passions of Love. It can be foundrepirnted inSome LongerElizabethan Poems, edited by that pillar of English Renaissancestudies, Arthur Henry Bullen (1903). The poeminterests us little, but the remarkable thing about it is areference to both "friendly" Shakespeare himself and his thenrecent creation Hamlet in the introductory epistle to the reader,which begins, fanciful flush with the printer's art: The epistle to the reader, it turnsout, deals with epistles to readers. Eschewingthe overwrought first paragraph (that can be read at the source)Scoloker moves on to more interesting matter: "It [the introductory epistle]should be like the never-too-well-read Arcadia, where the Prose andVerse, Matter and Words, are like his [SIDNEY'S] Mistress's eyes!one still excelling another, and without corrival! or to come hometo the vulgar's element, like friendly SHAKE-SPEARE'S Tragedies,where the Comedian rides, when the Tragedian stands on tiptoe.Faith, it should please all, like Prince HAMLET ! But, in sadness,then it were to be feared, he would run mad. In sooth, I will notbe moonsick, to please ! nor out of my wits, though I displease all! What ? Poet ! are you in Passion, or out of Love ? This is asstrange as true !" (p.367)
Scoloker's poem itselfalso makes reference to Hamlet in the context of the lunacy oflove. Here are the verses: His breath, he thinks thesmoke ! his tongue, a coal!
Then runs for bottle-ale to quench histhirst;
Runs to his ink-pot, drinks ! then stops the hole!
And thus grows madder than he was at first.
TASSO he finds, by that of HAMLET thinks
Terms him a madman, then of his inkhorn drinks!
Calls players "fools! The Fool, he judgethwiseth,
Will learn them action out of Chaucer'sPander,
Proves of their poets bawds, even in thehighest,
Then drinks a health! and swears it is noslander."
Puts off his clothes! his shirt he only wears!
Much like mad HAMLET, thus, as Passion tears! (p.393)
For more, see "AntonyScoloker: Friendly Shakespeare and Mad Hamlet" at the Mr.Shakespeare blog. |
| Item, I geve and bequeathe untoand amongste the hyred men of the company which I am of, whichshalbe at the tyme of my decease, the some of fyve pounds oflawfull money of England, to be equally distributed amongstethem. Item, I geve and bequeathe unto myfellowe, William Shakespeare, a thirty shillinge peece in gould; tomy fellowe, Henry Condell, one other thirty shillinge peece ingould; to my servaunte, Christopher Beeston, thirty shillings ingould; to my fellowe, Lawrence Fletcher, twentyshillings in gould ; to my fellowe, Robert Armyne, twenty shillingsin gould ; to my fellowe, Richard Coweley, twenty shillings ingould ; to my fellowe, Alexander Cook, twenty shillings in gould;to my fellowe, Nicholas Tooley, twenty shillings ingould. Item, I geve to the preacher, whichshall preache at my funerall, the some of twentyshillings. Item, I geve to Samuell Gilborne,my late apprentice, the some of fortye shillings, and my mousecolloured velvit hose, and a white taffety dublet, a blacke taffetysute, my purple cloke, sword, and dagger, and my baseviall. Item, I geve to James Sands, myapprentice, the some of fortye shillings, and a citterne, abandore, and a lute, to be paid and delivered unto him at theexpiration of his terme of yeres in his indenture ofapprenticehood. |
FromTheScourge of Folly(c. 1610)inTheComplete Works of John Davies of Hereford (15.. - 1618), vol.II, p. 26, ed. A. B. Grosart, 1878.To our English Terence Mr. Will :Shake-speare.
EPIG. 159.
SOME say good Will (which I, in sport, dosing)
Had'st thou not plaid some Kingly parts insport,
Thou hadst bin a companion for a King ;
And, beene a King among the meaner sort.
Some others raile ; but raile as they thinke fit,
Thou hast no rayling, but, a raigning Wit :
And honesty thou sow'st, which they do reape;
So, to increase their Stocke which they do keepe.
Davies is also probably referringto Shakespeare'sVenus andAdonisinPapersComplaint, compil'd in ruthfull Rimes Against the Paper-spoylers ofthese Times,a 546-line poetic satireappended toThe Scourge ofFolly. Speaking fancifully in the person ofpaper, Davies says, Another (ah Lord helpe) meevilifies
With Art of Loue, and how to subtilize,
Making lewdVenus, with eternallLines,
To tyeAdonisto her louesdesignes :
Fine wit is shew'n therein : but finertwere
If not attired in such bawdy Geare.
But be it as it will : the coyest Dames,
In priuate read it for their Closset-games:
For, sooth to say, the Lines so draw themon,
To the venerian speculation,
That will they, nill they (if of flesh theybee)
They will thinke of it, sith loose Thought isfree.
And thou (O Poet) that dost pen my Plaint,
Thou art not scot-free from my iust complaint
For, thou hast plaid thy part, with thy rudePen,
To make vs both ridiculous tomen.
(ll.47-62,Complete Works, vol.II,p.75)
Venus andAdoniswas enormously popular in its time, andwhile other poems of the era dealt with Venus and Adonis, and couldbe the subject of these lines (seeGrosart'snote), none could be said, in 1610, to possess "eternall Lines"other than Shakespeare's poem. |
Among the filler in the thirdedition ofThe PassionatePilgrimare several poems by Thomas Heywood,notably including two love epistles translated by Heywood fromOvid'sHeroideswhich werepublished as part of hisTroia Britannica orGreat Britain's Troy(1609 - printed by William Jaggard), anepistle of Paris to Helen and one of Helen to Paris which aretrumpeted on the title page, a transcription ofwhich is reproduced here fromRolfe's edition of1906:THE | PASSIONATE | PILGRIME. | or |Certaine Amorous Sonnets, betweene Venus and Adonis, | newlycorrected and aug- mented. | By W. Shakespere. The thirdEdition. | Whereunto is newly ad- | ded two Loue- Epistles, thefirst | from Paris to Hellen, and | Hellens answere backe | againeto Paris. Printed by W. Iaggard. | 1612.
The title pages of all editions(apparently, since the title page to the first edition is notextant) ofThe PassionatePilgrimattribute all the works containedtherein to "W. Shakespere." The printer of theorginalTroiaBritannicawas the same William Jaggard, who,as we will see, answered Heywood so insolently when he wasrequested to print a list of his errata. Withthis as background, here is Heywood's epistle to Okes, takenfromLiteraryBlunders: A Chapter in the "History of HumanError"by H. B. Wheatley: To my approved good Friend, MR.NICHOLAS OKES. The infinite faults escaped in mybooke of Britaines Troy by the negligence of the printer, as themisquotations, mistaking the sillables, misplacing halfe lines,coining of strange and never heard of words, these being withoutnumber, when I would have taken a particular account of the errata,the printer answered me, hee would not publish his ownedisworkemanship, but rather let his owne fault lye upon the neckeof the author. And being fearefull that others of his quality hadbeene of the same nature and condition, and finding you, on thecontrary, so carefull and industrious, so serious and laborious todoe the author all the rights of the presse, I could not choose butgratulate your honest indeavours with this short remembrance. Here,likewise, I must necessarily insert a manifest injury done me inthat worke, by taking the two epistles of Paris to Helen, and Helento Paris, and printing them in a lesse volume under the name ofanother, which may put the world in opinion I might steale themfrom him, and hee, to doe himselfe right, hath since published themin his owne name; but as I must acknowledge my lines not worthy hispatronage under whom he hath publisht them, so the author, I know,much offended with M. Jaggard (that altogether unknowne to him)presumed to make so bold with his name. These and the likedishonesties I knowe you to bee cleere of ; and I could wish but tobee the happy author of so worthy a worke as I could willinglycommit to your care and workmanship. Yours ever, THOMASHEYWOOD
Jaggard apparently responded bycanceling the title page ascribing the work to Shakespeare, andissuing a new title page withoutattribution. Welearnfrom Rolfethat The Bodleian copy of this editioncontains the following note by Malone: "All the poems from Sig. D.5 were written by Thomas Heywood, who was so offended at Jaggardfor printing them under the name of Shakespeare that he has added apostscript to his Apology for Actors, 4to, 1612, on this subject;and Jaggard in consequence of it appears to have printed a newtitle-page to please Heywood, without the name of Shakespeare init. The former title-page was no doubt intended to be cancelled,but by some inadvertence they were both prefixed to this copy and Ihave retained them as a curiosity."
In 1905 Sidney Lee publishedafacsimileof the 1599 edition of The Passionate Pilgrim, along with anillustration of the two title pages to which Malone refers from the1612. I reproduce them here. This copy, at theBodleian in the Malone collection, of the 1612 title page withoutShakespeare's name, is not known to exist anywhereelse. For more on thisinteresting episode, see my blog post "ThomasHeywood and the Much Offended Mr. Shakespeare." |
Detraction is the sworne friend toignorance : for mine owne part I have ever truly cherisht my goodopinion of other mens worthy labours; especially of that full andhaightned stile of MaisterChapman, thelabor'd and understanding workes ofMaisterJohnson, the no lesse worthycomposures of the both worthily excellentMaisterBeamont, &MaisterFletcher, and lastly (without wronglast to be named) the right happy and copious industry ofM.Shake-speare,M.Decker, &M.Heywood; wishing what I write may beread by their light protesting that, in the strength of mine ownejudgement, I know them so worthy, that though I rest silent in myowne worke, yet to most of theirs I dare (without flattery) fixthat of Martial:—non norunt haec monumentamori.*
[*L. "These memorials do not knowhow to die."] |
1.—Jovis, 17 Nov., my cosenShakspeare comyng yesterday to towne, I went to see him how he did.He told me that they assured him they ment to inclose noe furtherthan to Gospell Bushe, and so upp straight (leavyng out part of theDyngles to the Field) to the Gate in Clopton hedge, and take inSalisburyes peece; and that they mean in Aprill to survey the land,and then to gyve satisfaccicn, and not before; and he and Mr. Hallsay they think ther will be nothyng done at all. 2.—23 Dec. A hall. Lettres wrytten,one to Mr. Manyring, another to Mr. Shakspear, with almost all thecompany's handes to eyther. I alsoe wrytte of myself to my cosenShakspear the coppyes of all our actes, and then also a not of theinconvenyences wold happen by the inclosure. 3.—10 Januarii, 1614. Mr. Manwaryngand his agreement for me with my cosen Shakspeare. 4.—9 Jan. 1614. Mr. Replyngham, 28Octobris, article with Mr. Shakspear, and then I was putt in byThursday. 5.—Sept . Mr. Shakspeare told Mr.J. Greene that I was not abble to beare the enclosing ofWelcombe.
Halliwell-Phillipps,Outlinesof the Life of Shakespeare, 3rd edition,1883,p.218. |
As early as about 1615, we seeFrancis Beaumont, in his verse letter to "Mr B:J" (Ben Jonson)refer to Shakespeare as a poet informed by Nature:Here I would let slip
And from all learning keep these lines as clear
As Shakespeare's best are, which our heirs shall hear
Preachers apt to their auditors to show
How far sometimes a mortal man may go
By the dim light of Nature.
The letter is printed inE. K. Chambers' William Shakespeare: Facts and Problems (Oxford,1930) in vol. II, p. 224, and has been reprinted several times,most recently in Charles Nicholl'sTheLodger Shakespeare(p. 80).It begins a traditional view of Shakespeare as the unlearned,non-scholarly poet; a poet born, not made; one who brings forth hisverse from his mother wit, as it were, without studied preparation;in short, "by the dim light of Nature." For more on Shakespeare'sreputation as a "Natural" poet, see my blog post "NaturalShakespeare." |
| "Only sixcopies of Shakespeare's signature have survived, and this willcontains three of them." For the others, see"TheSix Signatures"a post on my Mr. WilliamShakespeare and the Internet blog with facsimile reproductions ofthe six authenticated Shakespeare signatures and information ontheir sources. |
| The facsimile is takenfromA Book forShakespeare Plays and Pageantsby OrieLatham Hatcher, 1916, p. 76: |
ELEGY ONSHAKESPEARE,
ON MR. WM. SHAKESPEARE.
HE DYED IN APRILL l6l6.
RENOWNED Spencer lye a thought more nye
To learned Chaucer, and rare Beaumond lye
A little neerer Spenser, to make roome
For Shakespeare in your threefold, fowerfoldTombe.
To lodge all fowre in one bed make a shift
Vntill Doomesdaye, for hardly will a fift
Betwixt ys day and yt by Fate be slayne,
For whom your Curtaines may be drawnagaine.
If your precedency in death doth barre
A fourth place in your sacred sepulcher,
Vnder this carued marble of thine owne,
Sleepe, rare Tragoedian, Shakespeare, sleepalone;
Thy unmolested peace, vnshared Caue,
Possesse as Lord, not Tenant, of thy Graue,
That vnto us & others it maybe
Honor hereafter to be layde by thee.
WM.BASSE.
For more on the elegy, seemyblogpostof 9/19/07.
|
From BenJonson'sTimber orDiscoveries,p.23 De Shakespeare nostrat[i]. — Iremember the players have often mentioned it as an honor toShakespeare, that in his writing, whatsoever he penned, he neverblotted out a line. My answer hath been, " Would he had blotted athousand," which they thought a malevolent speech. I had not toldposterity this but for their ignorance, who chose that circumstanceto commend their friend by wherein he most faulted ; and to justifymine own candor, for I loved the man, and do honor his memory onthis side idolatry as much as any. He was, indeed, honest, and ofan open and free nature ; had an excellent fancy, brave notions,and gentle expressions, wherein he flowed with that facility thatsometime it was necessary he should be stopped. "Sufflaminanduserat" as Augustus said of Haterius. His wit was in his own power;would the rule of it had been so too. Many timeshe fell into those things, could not escape laughter, as when hesaid in the person of Caesar, one speaking to him: "Caesar, thoudost me wrong." He replied : "Caesar did neverwrong but with just cause;" and such like, which were ridiculous.But he redeemed his vices with his virtues. There was ever more inhim to be praised than to be pardoned.
It should be noted that it wouldseem utterly impossible to regard anyone other than Shakespeare ofStratford-upon-Avon as the author of the works, in light of thistestimony and Jonson's even more compelling "To the memoryof my beloved, the author," among the commendatory verses tothe First Folio, but such is the perversity of humannature. |
Digges commendatory poem to theFirst Folio (1623): To the Memorie of the deceasedAuthour Maister W. Shakespeare Shake-speare, at length thy piousfellowes give
The world thy Workes : thy Workes, by which, out-live
Thy Tombe, thy name must when that stone is rent,
And Time dissolves thy Stratford Moniment,
Here we alive shall view thee still. This Booke,
When Brasse and Marble fade, shall make thee looke
Fresh to all Ages : when Posteritie
Shall loath what's new, thinke all is prodegie
That is not Shake-speares; ev'ry Line, each Verse
Here shall revive, redeeme thee from thy Herse.
Nor Fire, nor cankring Age, as Naso said,
Of his, thy wit-fraught Booke shall once invade.
Nor shall I e're beleeve, or thinke thee dead.
(Though mist) untill our bankrout Stage be sped
(Imposible) with some new straine t'out-do
Passions of Juliet, and her Romeo ;
Or till I heare a Scene more nobly take,
Then when thy half-Sword parlying Romans spake.
Till these, till any of thy Volumes rest
Shall with more fire, more feeling be exprest,
Be sure, our Shake-speare, thou canst never dye,
But crown'd with Lawrell, live eternally.
Digges commendatory poem to the1640 edition of Poems: Written by Wil. Shakespeare, Gent. (1623? -1635): Vpon Master W ILLIAM S HA K E S P E A R E,
the Deceased Authour, and his P O E M S . Poets are borne not made,when I would prove
This truth, the glad rememberance I must love
Of never dying Shakespeare, who alone,
Is argument enough to make that one.
First, that he was a Poet none would doubt,
That heard th’applause of what he sees set out
Imprinted; where thou hast (I will not say
Reader his Workes for to contrive a Play:
To him twas none) the patterne of all wit,
Art without Art unparaleld as yet.
Next Nature onely helpt him, for looke thorow
This whole Booke, thou shalt find he doth not borrow,
One phrase from Greekes, nor Latines imitate,
Nor once from vulgar Languages Translate,
Nor Plagiari-like from others gleane,
Nor begges he from each witty friend a Scene
To peece his Acts with, all that he doth write,
Is pure his owne, plot, language exquisite,
But oh ! what praise more powerfull can we give
The dead, then that by him the Kings men live,
His Players, which should they but have shar’d the Fate,
All else expir’d within the short Termes date;
How could the Globe have prospered, since through want
Of change, the Plaies and Poems had growne scant.
But happy Verse thou shalt be sung and heard,
When hungry quills shall be such honour bard.
Then vanish upstart Writers to each Stage,
You needy Poetasters of this Age,
Where Shakespeare liv’d or spake, Vermine forbeare,
Least with your froth you spot them, come not neere;
But if you needs must write, if poverty
So pinch, that otherwise you starve and die,
On Gods name may the Bull or Cockpit have
Your lame blancke Verse, to keepe you from the grave:
Or let new Fortunes younger brethren see,
What they can picke from your leane industry.
I doe not wonder when you offer at
Blacke-Friers, that you suffer : tis the fate
Of richer veines, prime judgements that have far’d
The worse, with this deceased man compar’d.
So have I seene, when Cesar would appeare,
And on the Stage at half-sword parley were,
Brutus and Cassius : oh how the Audience,
Were ravish’d, with what wonder they went thence,
When some new day they would not brooke a line,
Of tedious (though well laboured ) Catilines;
Sejanus too was irksome, they priz’de more
Honest Iago, or the jealous Moore.
And though the Fox and subtill Alchimist,
Long intermitted could not quite be mist,
Though these have sham’d all the Ancients, and might raise,
Their Authours merit with a crowne of Bayes.
Yet these sometimes, even at a friends desire
Acted, have scarce defrai’d the Seacoale fire
And doore-keepers : when let but Falstaffe come,
Hall, Poines, the rest you scarce shall have a roome
All is so pester’d : let but Beatrice
And Benedicke be seene, loe in a trice
The Cockpit Galleries, Boxes, all are full
To heare Maluoglio that crosse garter’d Gull.
Briefe, there is nothing in his wit fraught Booke,
Whose sound we would not heare, on whose worth looke
Like old coyned gold, whose lines in every page,
Shall passe true currant to succeeding age.
But why doe I dead Sheakspeares praise recite,
Some second Shakespeare must of Shakespeare write;
For me tis needlesse, since an host of men,
Will pay to clap his praise, to free my Pen.
|
Milton's epitaph on Shakespeare,published in theSecondFolioof 1632; Milton's first publishedpoem: An Epitaph on the admirableDramaticke Poet, W. Shakespeare What needs my Shakespeare for hishonour'd bones,
The labour of an age in piled stones?
Or that his hallow'd reliques should be hid
Under a star-y-pointing pyramid?
Dear son of memory, great heir of fame,
What need'st thou such weak witness of thy name?
Thou in our wonder and astonishment
Hast built thyself a live-long monument.
For whilst to th' shame of slow-endeavouringart
Thy easy numbers flow, and that each heart
Hath from the leaves of thy unvalued book
Those Delphic lines with deep impressiontook,
Then thou our fancy of itself bereaving,
Dost make us marble with too muchconceiving;
And so sepulchred in such pomp dost lie,
That kings for such a tomb would wish to die.
Milton also makes reference toShakespeare, contra "learned" Ben Jonson, in L'Allegro(1631): Then to the well-trodstage anon,
If Jonson's learned sock be on,
Or sweetest Shakespeare, Fancy's child,
Warble his native wood-notes wild. (131-134)
|
Hierarchy of the BlessedAngels, a description of which I give here, taken fromCollectanea Anglo-Poetica (The Chetham Society,1878,p.250):The Hierarchie of the blessedAngells. Their Names, Orders, and Offices. The fall of Lucifer withhis Angells. Written by Tho. Heywood. ... London Printed by AdamIslip 1635. Folio, pp. 639, including frontispiece, introductorymatter and index...The Hierarchie of the blessed Angells is a longand very desultory poem of above six hundred pages, in ninebooks...
It is a long and, toquoteChambers Cyclopaedia, "curiousspecimen." Among its description of angels anddevilstheHierarchiegives adescription of various contemporary or near contemporaryplaywrights with their shortened first names. Mellifluous Shakespeare,whose enchanting quill
Commanded mirth or passion, was but Will;
And famous Jonson, though his learned pen
Be dipped in Castaly, is still but Ben.
Fletcher and Webster, of that learned pack
None of the meanest, was but Jack;
Dekker but Tom, nor May, nor Middleton,
And he's but now Jack Ford that once was John.
(Library of theworld's best literature, ancient and modern, ed. C. D. Warner,et al, 1897,p.7349) Surely the mostincidental of verse, but interesting none the less for thegrouping. This was published in 1635, andShakespeare's name is still prominent among those who had lived tobe noteworthy (or nearly so) in the Carolinian period, though hehad been dead nearly 20 years: Ben Jonson(d.1637), John Fletcher (d. 1625), John Webster (d. 1634), ThomasDekker (d. 1632), Thomas May (d. 1650), Thomas Middleton (d. 1627),John Ford (d. c. 1640), Shakespeare (d. 1616). |
Passages from Aubrey's Brief Livesabout Shakespeare:Shakespeare not a "companykeeper": The more to be admired,quaere—he was not a company keeper; lived in Shorditch; would notbe debauched; and if invited to court, was in paine. W.Shakespeare—quaere Mr. Beeston, who knowes most of him from Mr.Lacy.(Vol.I, p. 97) Davenant's contention: Sir William Davenant(l6o5/6-1668). Sir William Davenant, knight, Poet Laureate, wasborne about the end of February — vide A. Wood's Antiq.Oxon.—baptized 3 of March A.D. i605/6], in ... street in the cityof Oxford at the Crowne taverne. His father was John Davenant, avintner there, a very grave and discreet citizen: his mother was avery beautifull woman, and of a very good witt, and of conversationextremely agreable. They had three sons, viz. 1, Robert 2, William;and 3, Nicholas (an attorney) : and two handsomedaughters... Mr. William Shakespeare was wontto goe into Warwickshire once a yeare, and did commonly in hisjourney lye at this house in Oxon. where he was exceedinglyrespected. I have heard parson Robert (Davenant) say that Mr. W.Shakespeare haz given him a hundred kisses. NowSir William would sometimes, when he was pleasant over a glasse ofwine with his most intimate friends—e. g. Sam. Butler (author ofHudibras), &c.—say, that it seemed to him that hewritt with the very spirit that Shakespeare, and scemd contentedenough to be thought his son. He would tell them the story asabove, in which way his mother had a very lightreport. (Vol.I, p. 204) Shakespeare's entry in the BriefLives: Mr. William Shakespear was borneat Stratford upon Avon in the county of Warwick. His father was abutcher, and I have been told heretofore by some of the neighbours,that when he was a boy he exercised his father's trade, but when hekill'd a calfe he would doe it in a high style, and make a speech.There was at that time another butcher's son in this towne that washeld not at all inferior to him for a naturall witt, hisacquaintance and coetanean, but dyed young. This William being inclinednaturally to poetry and acting, came to London, I guesse, about 18;and was an actor at one of the play-houses, and did act exceedinglywell (now B. Johnson was never a good actor, but an excellentinstructor). He began early to make essayesat dramatique poetry, which at that time was very lowe ; and hisplayes tooke well. He was a handsome, well shap'tman: very good company, and of a very readie and pleasant smoothwitt. The humour of ... the constable,in Midsomernight's Dreame, he happened to take at Grendon in Bucks—I thinke it was Midsomer night that he happened to lye there—whichis the roade from London to Stratford, and there was living thatconstable about 1642, when I first came to Oxon : Mr. Josias Howeis of that parish, and knew him. Ben Johnson and he did gatherhumours of men dayly where ever they came. One time as he was atthe tavern at Stratford super Avon, one Combes, an old rich usurer,was to be buryed, he makes there this extemporaryepitaph, Ten in the hundred the Devillallowes,
But Combes will have twelve, he sweares andvowes:
If any one askes who lies in this tombe,
' Hoh !' quoth the Devill, ' Tis my John o Combe.'
He was wont to goe to his nativecountrey once a yeare. I thinke I have been told that he left 2 or300 li. per annum there and thereabout to a sister. Vide hisepitaph in Dugdale's Warwickshire. I have heard Sir WilliamDavenant and Mr. Thomas Shadwell (who is counted the best comoedianwe have now) say that he had a most prodigious witt, and did admirehis naturall parts beyond all other dramaticall writers. He waswont to say (B. Johnson's Underwoods) that he ' never blotted out aline in his life'; sayd Ben: Johnson, ' I wish he had blotted-out athousand.' His comoedies will remaine wittas long as the English tongue is understood, for that hehandlesmores hominum. Now our present writers reflectso much upon particular persons and coxcombeities, that twentyyeares hence they will not be understood. Though, as Ben: Johnson sayes ofhim, that he had but little Latine and lesse Greek, he understoodLatine pretty well, for he had been in his younger yeares aschoolmaster in the countrey.—from Mr. . . .Beeston(Vol.II, p. 225-227)
|
"Many were thewet-combats betwixt him [Shakespeare] and Ben Jonson ; which two Ibehold like a Spanish great galleon and an English man-of-war :master Jonson (like the former) was built far higher in learning ;solid, but slow, in his performances. Shakespeare, with the Englishman-of-war, lesser in bulk, but lighter in sailing, could turn withall tides, tack about, and take advantage of all winds, by thequickness of his wit and invention" (vol.III, p. 284).
|
|
爱华网
