A Chronicle History of the Life and Work of William Shakespeare / Player, Poet, and Playmaker

by Frederick Gard Fleay

Man: and then shoot up in one beard and weed

Past threescore years."

1592.

June. A [Merry] Knack to Know a Knave was acted as a new play at the Rose by Edward Alleyn and his company (i.e. Lord Strange's) "with Kempe's Merriments of the Men of Gotham." The introduction of Honesty as a principal character points to R. Wilson the elder as the author. It was certainly not written by Greene and Nash, as Mr. Simpson supposes. Besides this play and a number of revivals, mostly of plays of the Queen's company (see my Shakespearian Study, p. 88), Lord Strange's men acted this season certain new plays: on March 3, 1 Henry VI.; April 11, Titus and Vespasian (these have been already noticed): April 28, 2d. Tambercame; May 23, The Taner of Denmark; and in 1593, January 5, The Gelyous [Jealious] Comedy; January 30, The Guise (i.e. Marlowe's Massacre of Paris).

1594.

July 24, Locrine was entered S. R. and published in 1595 as "newly set forth, overseen, and corrected by W. S." I see no reason to infer that W. S. is William Shakespeare. The play was written, according to Mr. Simpson, by Tilney in 1586. I rather think for him by G. Peele. Shakespeare has no concern with it further than the letters W. S. indicate.

1595 [possibly 1599].

A 'Larum for London, or The Siege of Antwerp, was acted about this time. It was published in 1602, but entered S. R. 29th May 1600. The title at once points it out as a moralising play, of the same class as A Looking-Glass for London; didactic as to politics. I believe it to be by the same author, T. Lodge. The fear of a Spanish invasion is evident in the play. In July 1595 the Spaniards made a descent on Cornwall and burned Mouse Hole, Neulin, and Penzance. This is the most likely time for any real danger to London from the Spaniards to have been apprehended. Lodge, probably in the next year, wrote The Taming of the Shrew (afterwards altered by Shakespeare) for the Chamberlain's company. The seldom-used word villiaco, found in this play, occurs in 2 Henry VI., iv. 8, in the part I assign to Lodge.

1596.

The Life and Death of Sir Thomas More was certainly acted in this year. That this also was a political play is evident from the numerous alterations made in the MS. by E. Tylney, Master of the Revels. He specially objected to all passages directed against the French; and cut out entirely Scene 1, the insurrection scene. This must have alluded too closely to events of the time. Now on 29th June 1595 there was an insurrection of the London Prentices, suppressed by the then Lord Mayor just in the same way as that in the play by Sheriff More. (See Maitland and Stowe under that date.) Moreover, in October 1595 Hartford was imprisoned in the Tower for contempt, and threatened with loss of his title, just as More is in the play, which was no doubt acted while he was in prison (Aikin's Elizabeth, chap, xxiv.) I have previously noted the certainty of this play being acted by the Chamberlain's players, T. Goodale being one of the actors. It was probably written chiefly by Lodge; but some scenes, such as Scene 2 with the Lifter and Scenes 9, 10, with Faulkner and the players, bear unmistakable marks of another hand, the same, I think, as the author of Lord Cromwell. It is a singular play, containing a comedy, Scenes 1-10, and a tragedy, Scenes 11-18, in one. This leads me to conjecture that it is the same play as was played by the Paul's children before James and the King of Denmark, 30th July 1606. This contained a comedy and tragedy, and was called Abuses. I need hardly say that this title is specially appropriate to Sir T. More. It pleased the kings, as was to be expected, more than it did the authorities under Elizabeth. We know that some plays of the Chamberlain's company passed into the hands of the Paul's boys, e.g. Satiromastix. The part of Justice Suresby is probably the one alluded to in The Return from Parnassus, iv. 3, where Kempe tells Philomusus (Lodge) that his face "would be good for a foolish mayor or a foolish justice of peace." In the same scene, Studioso (Drayton) is made to recite from Richard III. and Jeronymo, both which plays were still acted by the Chamberlain's men in 1599; so that Drayton was looked on in 1602 as a tragedian, Lodge as a comedian. This agrees with Meres' classification of them in 1598. Nevertheless it is certain that both of them produced both tragedies and comedies.