Ovid's Narcissus discovers his own identity with the vision (Met. iii. 463), which the English version ignores; while, on the other hand, the prophecy of ll. 730-731:
"I, which whilome was
The flower of youth, shalbee made flower againe"
finds no counterpart in Ovid.
Many of the reflections and entreaties ascribed to Narcissus in the Latin version are omitted in the English; neither is there any mention of the beating of the breast (Met. iii. 480-485). The final conversation with Echo is given thus by Ovid:
Eheu!
Eheu!
Heu frustra dilecte puer!
Heu frustra dilecte puer!
Vale!
Vale!
The English writer somewhat amplifies this, Echo being always a favourite stage-character. The rising up of Narcissus after death is an English expedient; so is Echo's return to give a final account of herself, the matter of which is suggested, as has been said, by Met. iii. 393-401.
So much for the classical basis of the play; it remains to notice briefly the points in which it resembles an English comedy, or shows traces of the influence of other English writers. Most remarkable in the latter connection is the frequent coincidence of expressions between the Narcissus and Shakspere's Henry IV. (Part 1.). Amongst these are the following:
| L. 78. | Ladds of metall. | Cf. 1 Henry IV., | ii. 4, 13. |
| 80. | No vertue extant | " | ii. 4, 132. |
| 111. | I tickle (them) for | " | ii. 4, 489. |
| 422. | Never ioyd (it) since | " | ii. 1, 13. |
| 575. | Kee (= quoth) pickpurse | " | ii. 1, 53. |
| 734. | (My) grandam earth | " | iii. 1, 34. |
See also the notes on ll. 282, 396, and 683.
As Henry IV. was entered at Stationers' Hall February 25th, 1597, and the first quarto appeared in 1598, it is quite possible that these may be direct borrowings on the part of the writer of the Narcissus.