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1591*, has noticed or even alluded to any theatrical production of our author.

That it took place, either in 1590, or very soon after that year, must be inferred both from tradition, and from written testimony. Aubery tells us, from the former source, that "he began early to make essays in dramatique poetry, which at that time was very lowe, and his plays took well †;" and from the nature and extent of the allusions in the following passage from Robert Greene's Groatsworth of Witte bought with a Million of Repentance, there can be no doubt that, not only one play, but that several had been written and prepared for the stage by our poet, anterior to September, 1592.

It appears that this tract of Greene's was completed a very short time previous to his death, which happened on the third of the month of the year just mentioned, and that Henry Chettle, " upon whose perill” ‡ it had been entered in the Stationers' register on September the 20th, 1592, became editor and publisher of it before the ensuing December. §

Greene had been the intimate associate of Marlowe, Lodge, and Peele, and he concludes his Groatsworth of Witte with an address to these bards, the object of which is, to dissuade them from any further reliance on the stage for support, and to warn them against the ingratitude and selfishness of players: "trust them not;" he exclaims, " for there is an upstart crowe BEAUTIFIED WITH OUR FEATHERS, that with his tygres heart wrapt in a player's hide, supposes hee is as well able to bombaste out a blank verse as the best of you; and being an absolute JOHANNES FAC-TOTUM, is in his own conceit the only SHAKE-SCENE in a countrey." ||

To Mr. Tyrwhit we are indebted for the first application of this

* In his Apology for Poetry,

+ Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 213.

+ Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 286; and Chalmers's Supplemental Apology, p. 272. note.

§ Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 237.

Ibid. vol. xiv. p. 217.

VOL. II.

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concluding that, on Shakspeare's arriv
1586 or 1587, his immediate employ
we now proceed to consider the mu
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when he informs us that the poer
his invention; and though we e
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in dramatic literature, yet, if v
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years 1587 and 1590 †, the
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le, combined with the itimately infer, first, that 1592; secondly, that he had success, for Aubrey tells us, this grace in writing approved htragedy and comedy, Greene bombast out a blank verse, and grace in writing;" fourthly, that stage some of the separate or joint Lodge, and Peele; the words of crowe beautified with OUR zrapt in a player's hide, supposes," &c. furtively acquired fame by appropriatring to a particular play, through the proof of the assertion, the words tygres being a parody of a line in the Third

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*Part II. chapter

In his Discour

* Part II. chap. 1.

Part of King Henry the Sixth or what we, for reasons which will be speedily assigned, have thought proper to call the Second Part,

"O, tiger's heart, wrapp'd in a woman's hide;"

*

fifthly, that he had already excited, as the usual consequence of success, no small degree of jealousy and envy; hence Greene has querelously bestowed upon him the appellation of upstart, and has taxed him with a monopolising spirit, an accusation which leads us to believe, sixthly, that he had written or prepared for the stage SEVERAL PLAYS anterior to September, 1592; this last inference, which we conceive to be fairly deduced from the description of our poet as AN ABSOLUTE JOHANNES FAC-TOTUM with regard to the stage, will immediately bring forward again the question as to the precise era of our author's earliest drama.

Now to warrant the charge implied by the expression, an absolute fac-totum, we must necessarily allow a sufficient lapse of time before September, 1592, in order to admit, not only of Shakspeare's altering a play for the stage, but of his composing either altogether, or in part, both tragedy and comedy on a basis of his own choice, so that he might, as he actually did, appear to Greene, in the capacities of corrector, improver, and original writer of plays, to be a perfect fac-totum.

And, if we further reflect, that the composition of the Groatsworth of Witte most probably, from indisposition, occupied its author one month, as he complains of weakness scarce suffering him to write towards the conclusion of his tract, and that we cannot reasonably conclude less than two years to have been employed by Shakspeare in the execution of the functions assigned him by Greene; the period for the production of his first drama, will necessarily be thrown back to the August of the year 1590; an era to which no objection, from contradictory testimony, can with any show of probability apply; for,

* Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xiv. p. 43. Act i. sc. 4.

passage to Shakspeare, who, as might naturally!
himself hurt at Greene's unmerited sarcasm,
by the designation of the only Shake-scene i
pleased with Chettle's officious publication
ments so openly as to draw forth from t!
months after his edition of the Gr
which adds further weight to the i
from the language of Greene.
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to quote more at large in
after slightly noticing
speaking highly of t
integrity of Shak.

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r poet's commencewhich was the first ed from his pen; a with many difficulties, trated by a patient investiaction from, minute circumstances

duced us to fix upon PERICLES, as the a successful, enquiry, will be offered, der the first article of the following Chronothough deviating, in several instances, both Chalmers and Malone, will not, it is be found needlessly singular, nor unproductive exmacion to probability, and, perchance, to truth. spicuity, it has been thought eligible to prefix, es the order which has been adopted, the observations us arrangement being classed according to the series and here it may be necessary to premise, that the e of our commentary, with the exception of what may be to establish a few new dates, will be chiefly confined to marks on each play, relieved by intervening dissertations che super-human agency of the poet.

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