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diff --git a/35365-0.txt b/35365-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..da100c7 --- /dev/null +++ b/35365-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11580 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Philip Massinger by A. H. Cruickshank + + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no +restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under +the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or +online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license + + + +Title: Philip Massinger + +Author: A. H. Cruickshank + +Release Date: February 23, 2011 [Ebook #35365] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF‐8 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PHILIP MASSINGER*** + + + + + + Philip Massinger + + By + + A. H. Cruickshank + + Sometime Scholar and Fellow of New College, Oxford + + Canon of Durham, and Professor of Greek and Classical Literature, in the + University of Durham + + Oxford + + Basil Blackwell, Broad Street + + 1920 + + + + + +CONTENTS + + +Dedication +Preface +Philip Massinger +Appendix I. The Small Actor In Massinger’s Plays +Appendix II +Appendix III. The Collaborated Plays +Appendix IV. On The Influence Of Shakspere +Appendix V. Warburton’s List +Appendix VI. A Metrical Peculiarity In Massinger +Appendix VII. “Believe As You List” +Appendix VIII. Collation Of Ms. Of “Believe As You List” +Appendix IX. “The Parliament Of Love” +Appendix X. The Authorship Of “The Virgin Martyr” +Appendix XI. The Authorship Of “The Fatal Dowry” +Appendix XII. The Tragedy Of “Sir John Van Olden Barnavelt” +Appendix XIII. “The Second Maiden’s Tragedy” +Appendix XIV. “The Powerful Favorite” +Appendix XV. “Double Falsehood” +Appendix XVI. Middleton’s “A Trick To Catch The Old One” +Appendix XVII +Appendix XVIII. Alliteration In Massinger +Appendix XIX +Appendix XX. Bibliography +Index +Footnotes + + + + + + +DEDICATION + + +Inscribed To +Frederic G. Kenyon +In Memory Of A Friendship +Of Forty-Four Years + + + + + + [Frontispiece: Philip Massinger] + + + + + +PREFACE + + +In confessing that the war made me write a book I do not stand alone. +Sensible as I am of its defects, I trust it will help to spread the +knowledge of Massinger’s works, and will invite others to deal on similar +lines with the other dramatists of the great age. The design widened as it +went on, and was then contracted. In the end I thought it wiser to confine +myself to digesting the knowledge which I had of Massinger’s text. + +The Clarendon Press undertook to publish this book, but as, owing to +war-work, they could fix no date, I asked them to release me. There would +be no occasion to mention this fact were it not that it was owing to the +original arrangement that I received much valuable help and advice from +Mr. Percy Simpson. Many other scholars and friends have kindly aided me in +various matters, among whom I should like to mention: Mr. J. C. Bailey, +Mr. P. James Bayfield (photographer to Dulwich College), Dr. A. C. +Bradley, Mr. Robert Bridges, Mr. A. H. Bullen, Mr. A. K. Cook, Professor +W. Macneile Dixon, Mr. H. H. E. Gaster, the Dean of Gloucester, Mr. E. +Gosse, Sir W. H. Hadow, Archdeacon Hobhouse, Sir Sidney Lee, Mr. C. +Leudesdorf, Dr. Falconer Madan, Mr. A. W. Pollard, Dr. P. G. Smyly, the +Master of University College, Durham, Sir A. Ward, and Sir George F. +Warner. Last, but not least, I thank my wife for her skilful and ready +help with the proofs. + +A. H. Cruickshank. + + + + + +PHILIP MASSINGER + + +It is interesting to revise the literary judgments of youth; it is +pleasant to find them confirmed by a more mature judgment. This train of +thought has led me to read Massinger once more; and as I read, the desire +arose to treat his works, to the best of my ability, with the attention to +detail which modern scholarship requires. A great amount of valuable work +has been done in the last fifty years on the writers of the Elizabethan +and Jacobean ages; but no one, perhaps with the exception of Boyle, has +applied to Massinger the care which Shakspere, Marlowe, and Ben Jonson, to +name no others, have secured. There is no reason why any of our great +dramatists should be treated with less respect than those of Greece and +Rome, of France and Germany. + +The first thing to be done was to facilitate references by numbering the +lines of Massinger’s plays;(1) the next was to investigate once more the +facts of his life, and to correlate them with the period in which he +lived; the third was to read typical plays of the period, so as to arrive +at a just estimate of our author. + +His life will not detain us long. We know far less of him than we do of +Shakspere. None of his sayings have been preserved to us; hardly any +incidents of his career. His father was house-steward to two of the Earls +of Pembroke, first to Henry Herbert, then to William Herbert,(2) +Shakspere’s friend. The elder Massinger was a Fellow of Merton College, +Oxford, and for several years a Member of Parliament. Philip Massinger, +the dramatist, was born at Salisbury in 1584. In 1602 he went up to St. +Alban’s Hall, Oxford, where his father had been an undergraduate. We are +told by A. à Wood that he went at Lord Pembroke’s expense, but that he did +not work hard at the University, and took no degree.(3) In or after the +year 1606 he seems to have gone to London, and to have speedily engaged in +the work of writing plays.(4) The wide reading which his plays presuppose +probably began at Oxford. + +It was the custom in those days, as in the time of Plautus at Rome,(5) for +playwrights to revise old plays; and still more was it usual for them to +collaborate.(6) We find Massinger at work in this way with Field,(7) +Daborne,(8) Dekker, Tourneur, and above all, with Fletcher. With the +latter he worked from 1613 to 1623. In that year, for some unknown reason, +he seceded from the service of the leading company of actors of the day, +who went by the name of the King’s men, and wrote unaided three plays for +the Queen’s men, _The Parliament of Love_, _The Bondman_, and _The +Renegado_. After Fletcher’s death, in 1625, Massinger rejoined the King’s +men, and wrote for them until his death in 1640. + +It has been surmised from the vivid colouring of _The Virgin Martyr_(9) +and the plot of _The Renegado_,(10) where a Jesuit plays a leading part +and is portrayed in a pleasing light, that Massinger turned Roman +Catholic. The evidence for this theory is quite inadequate. Indeed, we +might as well argue from Gazet’s language that the author followed the +Anglican _via media_.(11) Plots derived from French, Spanish, and Italian +sources would naturally contain Roman Catholic machinery. We might as well +infer that Shakspere was a Roman Catholic because Silvia goes to Friar +Patrick’s cell,(12) or because Friar Laurence is prominent in _Romeo and +Juliet_.(13) + +We know that Massinger lived a life of comparative poverty; on one +occasion we find him, with two other dramatic authors, asking for a loan +of £5.(14) + +The person who thus obliged the three writers was Philip Henslowe, a dyer, +theatrical lessee, and speculator, who acted as a kind of broker between +actors and authors, buying from the one and selling to the other; we still +possess his diary, containing information as to the prices which he gave +for plays.(15) The prologue of _The Guardian_ shows us that for two years +before 1633 Massinger had been under a cloud, and had abstained from +writing. Two of his plays had failed in 1631—_The Emperor of the East_(16) +and _Believe as You List_(17)—so he appears to have put forth his full +strength in _The Guardian_. + + [Henslow document at Dulwich.] + +The dedications of Massinger’s plays which have been preserved show that +he was often dependent for support on the leaders of what he once or twice +calls “the nobility.”(18) + +The connexion of the poet with the family of which his father was the +loyal and trusted servant has been exaggerated by some;(19) in the +dedication of _The Bondman_, written in 1623, to Philip, Earl of +Montgomery,(20) the poet distinctly states that though the Earl had helped +the play at its first performance by his “liberal suffrages” yet he was +personally unknown to him.(21) Amongst others to whom we find dedications +is George Harding, Baron Berkeley, to whom Webster inscribed _The Duchess +of Malfi_. It is pleasant to read in the dedication of _The Picture_ “to +my honoured and selected friends of the Noble Society of the Inner Temple” +that Massinger received “frequent bounties” from them. + +The plays give us no clear evidence that Massinger ever travelled +abroad,(22) though such a passage as _The Great __ Duke of Florence_, II., +2, 5-21, rather suggests a visit to Italy. Nor have we any ground for +supposing that he was, like Shakspere, an actor, unless indeed an obscure +reference in the Dublin poem to the Earl of Pembroke be so +interpreted.(23) In London he lived on the Bankside, Southwark. The story +of his death is told us by our gossiping old friend Anthony à Wood, in his +_Athenae Oxonienses_.(24) Massinger went to bed one night well, and was +found dead the next morning. He was buried at St. Saviour’s on March 18th, +1639/40.(25) The funeral was “accompanied by comedians,” a phrase which +seems to show that his professional friends did him honour at the last; he +is described in the monthly accounts of St. Saviour’s as “a stranger”—that +is to say, a non-parishioner. His intimate friend Sir Aston Cokaine tells +us that he shared the grave of his friend John Fletcher;(26) and in 1896 a +window in the south aisle of the nave of Southwark Cathedral was unveiled +in his honour by Sir Walter Besant.(27) + +What was the atmosphere in which Massinger lived? The days of James I. and +Charles I. were less heroic than those of Elizabeth. In foreign politics +England intervened once or twice in an ineffective way, and a good deal of +sympathy was shown, much of it in a practical fashion, for the cause of +the Protestant King of Bohemia. Gardiner(28) has pointed out that Charles +I. gave permission to the Marquis of Hamilton to carry over volunteers in +aid of Gustavus Adolphus just as James I. had allowed Vere to carry over +volunteers to the Palatinate. Hamilton sailed in July, 1631, and _The Maid +of Honour_ was printed in 1632. The whole plot of this play recalls the +relations of England to the Protestant cause on the Continent. Thus, +William. Lord Craven, to whom Ford’s _Broken Heart_ is dedicated, and who +was knighted at the age of seventeen, after his “valiant adventures” in +the Netherlands under Henry, Prince of Orange, went to the assistance of +Gustavus Adolphus in 1631, when only twenty-two years old. + +Wars in the Low Countries are vaguely referred to in various passages, as, +_e.g._, in _The Fatal Dowry_:(29) + + + NOVALL JUN. Oh, fie upon him, how he wears his clothes! + As if he had come this Xmas. from S. Omer’s + To see his friends, and return’d after Twelfth-tide. + + +The date of the play is uncertain, but it must have been written some +considerable time before being printed in 1632.(30) In _The New Way to pay +Old Debts_ Lord Lovell “has purchas’d a fair name in the wars.”(31) In +_The Fatal Dowry_, _The Picture_, and _The Unnatural Combat_, we have the +familiar type of the brave soldier who is disregarded in time of peace, +and has come down to poverty and old clothes. + +In the wider world of Europe the Turk and the Algerine pirate are still +grim realities enough to form an effective scenic background.(32) Indeed, +it was not so very long since the Battle of Lepanto. We find constant +references to galley-slaves,(33) to the slave market,(34) and to apostates +to Islam.(35) In the opening scene of _The Picture_ the soldier husband +parts from his wife on the frontier of Bohemia “not distant from the +Turkish camp above five leagues.” One of the objections urged against the +new custom of fighting duels is that thereby lives are lost which might +have done service against the Turk.(36) The age of chivalry has its faint +reflection in schemes to “redeem Christian slaves chain’d in the Turkish +servitude” by force of arms, and in the prowess of the Knights of +Malta.(37) The wealth and power of Turkey are taken for granted. When +Malefort senior vows vengeance on Montreville, he cries out: + + + The Turkish Empire offer’d for his ransom + Should not redeem his life.(38) + + +At home we find the vices of a prolonged peace lending opportunity for +some easy satire. On the whole, we may say that we do not learn very much +about our country from the poet which we could not find in the other +playwrights of the day. Let us rapidly put together some of his +references. There were two Englands at this time, drifting inevitably +apart, only to clash in fratricidal war under Charles I. The drama was +becoming less and less national, more and more an affair of aristocratic +patronage. Massinger does not often refer to the Puritans;(39) there is +nothing so amusing in his plays as the passage in Fletcher’s _Fair Maid of +the Inn_, where the Pedant solicits the advice of Forobosco the quack +about “erecting four new sects of religion at Amsterdam.”(40) The +fashionable love of astrology is satirized in _The City Madam_. The +England of Massinger’s plays is an England which loves expense,(41) +amusements, Greek wines,(42) masques,(43) new clothes,(44) and foreign +fashions.(45) London is a great port, with trade to the Indies and +aspirations after the “North passage.” The jealousy of the City and the +Court, the ostentations of the one and the refinement of the other, point +the moral of _The City Madam_.(46) The high-spirited ’prentices of the +City of London take the law into their own hands in days when there are no +police,(47) and their vices are satirized after the manner of Ben Jonson +in the same play. Horse-play, such as tossing in a blanket, is considered +a great joke.(48) The balladmonger so often referred to in Shakspere is +much in evidence,(49) though indeed it was an age in which everyone wrote +poetry.(50) In rural England we find the possibility of an unscrupulous +local tyrant, such as is depicted to us in Massinger’s masterpiece, Sir +Giles Overreach, aided by his jackal, Mr. Justice Greedy.(51) That our +poet had a keen eye for social evils, for the man who sells food at famine +prices, the encloser of commons, the usurer, the worker of iron, the +cheating tradesman, is clear from a passage in _The Guardian_.(52) The +beautiful description in the same play of the amusements of country life, +the hunting and the hawking, with which Durazzo seeks to console his +love-sick ward Caldoro,(53) probably takes one back to Massinger’s own +boyhood in Wiltshire. As we should expect, there is a good deal of riding +in the country scenes.(54) The characters of Sir John Frugal, the +successful merchant, and Mr. Plenty, the country gentleman,(55) show us +that the “John Bull” type of Englishman existed in those days. + +The temptation to give a back-hand blow to one’s own country in the course +of a plot laid abroad is obvious and irresistible; where Shakspere had set +the example others were sure to follow,(56) and Massinger does not spare +the female sex of England. To judge by the passage in _The Renegado_,(57) +the women of his day loved expense and luxury, and were very independent +in their attitude to their husbands.(58) The humiliation of Lady Frugal +and her two daughters after their extravagant ambitions is the point of +_The City Madam_. The contrast between a uxorious husband and an imperious +wife is one of Massinger’s favourite effects.(59) Donusa’s speech in her +own defence in _The Renegado_ might have been written by a suffragette of +our own day.(60) + +We do not get much direct evidence as to the characteristics of the +playwright’s audiences; Dr. Bradley has some good remarks on this +subject.(61) “Nor is it credible that an appreciation of the best things +was denied to the mob, which doubtless loved what we should despise; but +appears also to have admired what we admire, and to have tolerated more +poetry than most of us can stomach;” “the mass of the audience must have +liked excitement, the open exhibition of violent and bloody deeds, and the +intermixture of seriousness and mirth.” Dr. Bradley points out +elsewhere(62) that the Elizabethan actor probably spoke more rapidly than +our modern actors. This would make soliloquies less tedious. + +To turn to the politics of the age; the rift between the dynasty and the +nation grew wider as the century advanced. Though Massinger died before +the days of the Long Parliament, we can imagine that he would have been +one of those who eventually fought under protest for the King. We find +evidence in his plays for supposing that he belonged to the Conservative +Opposition, like his patron Philip, the fourth Earl of Pembroke and +Montgomery. He was a lover of liberty, and there are one or two +indications that his plays offended the strict ideas of Charles I.’s +censorship. + +Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, refused on January 11th, +1630/31, to license one of his plays(63) because “it did contain dangerous +matter, as the deposing of Sebastian King of Portugal by Philip II., and +there being a peace sworn ’twixt the Kings of England and Spain.”(64) The +same worthy records that King Charles I. himself read another of his +plays,(65) while staying at Newmarket, and wrote against one passage, +“This is too insolent, and to be changed.” The passage, which is put into +the mouth of a King of Spain, runs as follows: + + + Monies! we’ll raise supplies what way we please + And force you to subscribe to blanks, in which + We’ll mulct you, as we think fit. The Caesars + In Rome were wise, acknowledging no laws + But what their swords did ratify; the wives + And daughters of the senators bowing to + Their will as deities.(66) + + +These lines clearly reflect on the autocratic methods which prevailed in +England from 1629 to 1640. + +There is much in Timoleon’s speeches in the senate(67) which seems to +contain covert references to the England of the day, and notably in lines +203-213, where the unprepared state of the army and navy is referred to. + +It has been thought with much probability that the Duke of Buckingham is +satirized in the slight sketch of Gisco in _The Bondman_,(68) and in the +more fully drawn character of Fulgentio in _The Maid of Honour_:(69) + + + ADORNI. Pray you, sir, what is he? + + ASTUTIO. A gentleman, yet no lord. He hath some drops + Of the king’s blood running in his reins, derived + Some ten degrees off. His revenue lies + In a narrow compass, the king’s ear; and yields him + Every hour a fruitful harvest. Men may talk + Of three crops in a year in the Fortunate Islands, + Or profit made by wool; but, while there are suitors, + His sheepshearing, nay, shaving to the quick + Is in every quarter of the moon, and constant. + In the time of trussing a point, he can undo + Or make a man; his play or recreation + Is to raise this up, or pull down that, and though + He never yet took orders, makes more bishops + In Sicily than the Pope himself. + + +The grumbling of the professional soldier against the royal favourite +inspires a passage in _The Duke of Milan_.(70) A similar freedom of speech +is found in _The Maid of Honour_; for instance, in the following passages: + + + GASPARO. When you know what ’tis, + You will think otherwise; no less will do it + Than fifty thousand crowns. + + CAMIOLA. A pretty sum, + The price weighed with the purchase; fifty thousand! + To the king ’tis nothing. He that can spare more + To his minion for a masque, cannot but ransom + Such a brother at a million.(71) + + CAMIOLA. With your leave, I must not kneel, sir, + While I reply to this, but thus rise up + In my defence, and tell you, as a man + (Since, when you are unjust, the deity, + Which you may challenge as a king, parts from you,) + ’Twas never read in holy writ, or moral, + That subjects on their loyalty, were obliged + To love their sovereign’s vices; your grace, sir, + To such an undeserver is no virtue.(72) + + +There are also passages in _The Emperor of the East_ which seem to attack +the Government of the day and its agents.(73) I will quote the chief of +these as a specimen of honest indignation: + + + PULCHERIA. How I abuse + This precious time! Projector, I treat first + Of you and your disciples; you roar out, + All is the king’s, his will above his laws; + And that fit tributes are too gentle yokes + For his poor subjects; whispering in his ear, + If he would have their fear, no man should dare + To bring a salad from his country garden, + Without the paying gabel; kill a hen, + Without excise; and that if he desire + To have his children or his servants wear + Their heads upon their shoulders, you affirm + In policy ’tis fit the owner should + Pay for them by the poll(74); or, if the prince wants + A present sum he may command a city + Impossibilities, and for non-performance + Compel it to submit to any fine + His officers shall impose. Is this the way + To make our emperor happy? Can the groans + Of his subjects yield him music? Must his thoughts + Be wash’d with widows’ and wrong’d orphans’ tears, + Or his power grow contemptible?(75) + + +The Englishman’s love of liberty inspires a vigorous speech delivered by +the British slave in _The Virgin Martyr_.(76) + +Further, the impatience which Englishmen felt from time to time at the +poor part played by their country in the Thirty Years’ War is reflected in +_The Maid of Honour_. Bertoldo there gets leave from the King of Sicily to +go to help the beleaguered Duke of Urbin. He is, however, disavowed by the +crafty, peace-loving king. In the debate Bertoldo describes Sicily in +language which might easily be applied to England, and then proceeds in an +eloquent passage to refer to England’s glorious naval tradition in the +past: + + + BERTOLDO. If examples + May move you more than arguments, look on England, + The empress of the European isles, + And unto whom alone ours yields precedence: + When did she flourish so, as when she was + The mistress of the ocean, her navies + Putting a girdle round about the world? + When the Iberian quaked, her worthies named; + And the fair flower-de-luce grew pale, set by + The red rose and the white! Let not our armour + Hung up, or our unrigg’d Armada make us + Ridiculous to the late poor snakes, our neighbours, + Warm’d in our bosoms, and to whom again + We may be terrible.(77) + + +Here, at any rate, Massinger differs from Shakspere, who makes no +reference to the exploits of our sailors; indeed, it would seem that, like +Trafalgar, the defeat of the Armada had no significance for its own +generation.(78) But we must not forget that Massinger was the bosom friend +of Fletcher, in whose plays sailors occur again and again.(79) + +The fact that Massinger was a Cavalier “Radical,” a free lance and +grumbler of the Opposition, may in part explain his struggles and his +poverty. His natural patrons may have looked askance at his independent +attitude, so alien to the passive obedience preached by Fletcher. But, +whatever were his politics, it is clear that he was no Puritan. Brought up +in close contact with a noble house, educated at Oxford, and well versed +in the classics,(80) as many allusions in his works testify, he shows +alike in his merits and his faults the Cavalier mind. To this extent he +may be judged “_felix opportunitate mortis_,” for of all sections of the +nation those whose hearts were with the King, and their reason with the +Opposition, had the hardest part to play after 1640. + +In the department of literature the talent of the country had concentrated +itself more and more on play-writing. Among Massinger’s contemporaries we +note Jonson, Chapman, Fletcher, Beaumont, Webster, Middleton, Dekker, +Heywood, Rowley, Tourneur, Shirley—all keen and able dramatists. +Massinger, in his grasp of stagecraft, his flexible metre, his desire in +the sphere of ethics to exploit both vice and virtue, is typical of an age +which had much culture, but which, without being exactly corrupt, lacked +moral fibre. + +His plays may be divided into three classes: first, those which have come +down to us under his name; secondly, those which he wrote with Fletcher or +other authors; and, thirdly, those which have disappeared. It is not easy +to draw the border-line between the first and second classes. In the last +forty years the students of English literature have devoted much attention +to verse and other tests, and there are those who profess themselves +competent to decide which parts of a composite play were written by the +various collaborators. It is clear that the use of these tests requires +caution. An author may sometimes experiment in the style of somebody else; +it has been held that Shakspere wrote _Henry VIII_ in the manner of +Fletcher, his younger rival; and Delius was of opinion that _The Two Noble +Kinsmen_ is due to two imitators, one of Shakspere and one of Fletcher. +Boyle speaks confidently as follows:(81) “Mr. Fleay used almost +exclusively versification to distinguish author from author. Nor is this +by any means so bold an undertaking as it seems. I have used other tests +apart from the versification, and have almost uniformly found the +impressions derived from the latter correct.” Our confidence in Boyle is +shaken when he attributes(82) the first two acts of _A New Way to pay Old +Debts_ to Fletcher on the evidence of the double endings. He points out +that the allusion to the taking of Breda on July 1st, 1625,(83) is just +possible, as Fletcher was buried on August 29th, 1625. This is clearly a +case where we must take other than metrical considerations into account. +Has the comedy the sparkle, the bustle, and the improbability of Fletcher? + +Again, it is not too much to say that it is a waste of time to apply verse +tests to Tourneur; a great part of the _Atheist’s Tragedy_ is not poetry +at all, but prose measured off in lengths. + +_The Virgin Martyr_ states on its title-page that Dekker was part author. +Similarly, _The Fatal Dowry_ was partly due to Field. Part of _A Very +Woman_(84) is held by many critics to be written by Fletcher; certainly +the style of the play is in places more tender and more racy than we +should expect from Massinger. _The Old Law_ is said to have been written +by Massinger, Middleton, and Rowley. It was a popular play, and often +revived; its first appearance was in 1599,(85) when our poet was but +fifteen years old. His share in it must therefore consist of additions or +modifications at a later date. Certainly there is little in the play which +reminds one of him; original as is its plot, and tender its pathos, both +its tragedy and comedy are in a simpler manner than his.(86) + +On the other hand, Boyle arrives at some startling results when he +investigates the works of Fletcher.(87) He attributes to Massinger parts +of _Thierry and Theodoret_, _The Queen of Corinth_, _The Knight of Malta_, +_The Custom of the Country_, _The Little French Lawyer_, _The Fair Maid of +the Inn_, and of several other plays.(88) + +It may appear strange that in order to estimate Massinger we should have +to read Fletcher as well; but to this the scientific study of English +brings us.(89) Boyle declares that “we ought in future to have no more +editions of Beaumont and Fletcher, but the plays of Beaumont, Fletcher, +and Massinger arranged in nine groups.”(90) The verdict of experts cannot +be disregarded in this matter; there is a real danger that Massinger’s +merits will be underrated if we do not attempt to estimate the share which +he took in writing the plays attributed to Fletcher. His friend Sir Aston +Cokaine might have done us a great service here, but, unfortunately, he +missed his opportunity. In a poem(91) relating to Shirley’s edition of +Beaumont and Fletcher’s works published in 1647,(92) he points out that +the title is inaccurate for two reasons: first, because many of the plays +were written after Beaumont’s death; secondly, because Massinger wrote +parts of some of them; it is a great pity that he did not tell us which +these plays were. + +But worse still remains behind; if we are to believe Boyle, it is +practically certain that Massinger and Fletcher wrote _Henry VIII_(93) and +_The Two Noble __ Kinsmen_.(94) It must be pointed out that there are +still good critics who attribute a large part of _Henry VIII_ to +Shakspere, and a small part of _The Two Noble Kinsmen_. It would take us +too far from our subject to enter in detail on these two difficult +problems. + +Then, in the third place, there are the plays that are lost. In the +eighteenth century there was a certain John Warburton, F.R.S. and F.S.A., +Somerset herald, who collected no fewer than fifty-five genuine +unpublished dramas of the golden period, which he handed over to the care +of his cook until he could find someone to publish them. The cook +appropriated these plays leaf by leaf for coverings for her pastry, and a +certain number of Massinger’s—possibly as many as ten—perished among them. +Here are the names of some of them: _The Forced __ Lady_, a tragedy; _The +Noble Choice_, a comedy; _The Wandering Lovers_, a comedy; _Philenzo and +Hippolita_, a tragi-comedy.(95) + +It may be a consolation when we grieve over this disaster(96) to reflect +that many of the fifty-five plays may not have been worth reading; eight +of them were early works of Massinger’s, and may have been immature or +even unsuccessful. There is a presumption in favour of this supposition, +for his more famous plays appeared separately in quarto, and most of them +can still be procured from dealers in that form; we must suppose that Mr. +Warburton had only what are called actors’—_i.e._, manuscript—copies. If a +play never attained the distinction of being printed there may have been +some defect which militated against its success. + +Colonel Cunningham in his edition gives us the names of thirty-seven plays +in all from Massinger’s pen; if the many be added to this total in which +he joined with other writers, we have a considerable literary output for a +life of fifty-five years. + +Massinger, like Shakspere, fell into disfavour after the Restoration, when +Beaumont and Fletcher carried everything before them. We learn from +Malone’s Preface(97) that _The Bondman_ was acted in 1661 and _The Virgin +Martyr_ on January 10th, 1662; _The Renegado_ on June 6th in the same +year. Pepys saw _The Virgin Martyr_, and liked it,(98) more, however, for +the music than the words. Dryden and Jeremy Collier never mention +Massinger. Selections from _The Guardian_ appeared in prose form, with +insertions from _A Very Woman_, in 1680, under the title _Love Lost in the +Dark, or the Drunken Couple_. Adorio and the other names are the same, but +the Guardian’s part disappears, and his remarks are put in Adorio’s mouth. +A servant, Calandrino, is brought in, whose name is borrowed from _The +Great Duke of Florence_, and Muggulla, a nurse, is added to be +Calandrino’s bride. The contents are worthy of the title. Monck Mason +deplores the fact that Johnson’s dictionary does not once quote Massinger +or Beaumont and Fletcher. “They are more correct,” he says, “and +grammatical than Shakspere, and appear to have had a more competent +knowledge of other languages, which gave them a more accurate idea of +their own.” There was a great reaction in the eighteenth century in favour +of Massinger. Brander Matthews points out that _The New Way_ is the only +Elizabethan or Jacobean play, except Shakspere’s, which held the stage +until the first quarter of the nineteenth century,(99) and gives a good +history of its illustrious career on the English and American stages. + +The critics have differed much about Massinger. Gifford(100) and Hallam +were enthusiastic in their support; Charles Lamb and Hazlitt(101) were +against him, perhaps because they disliked his able Tory editor. The +eighteenth-century writers regarded him as the champion of female virtue; +and in our own time Sir A. Ward has defended his manly and sane morality +in unhesitating language.(102) On the other hand, Boyle deems his heroines +to be corrupt and his heroes “the victims of one devouring passion, often +in a state of incipient madness, alternately raging and melancholy.”(103) + +Like Euripides, Ovid, and Juvenal, Massinger is a writer whose faults are +patent; all the more important, therefore, is it to make his merits quite +clear. We cannot convince the world if we adopt the famous line of +Goethe’s heroine: + + + I cannot reason, I can only feel.(104) + + +I do not indeed claim to discover much that is new about Massinger, nor to +reverse the judgment of time. He is, and he remains, in the second rank of +English writers. But it would be a misfortune if undue obscurity were to +befall an author who was at once so manly and so skilful. I take up the +cudgels for him, partly because the balance of critical judgment has of +late gone too far against him; and yet in a sense he has only come into +his own in the last thirty years, by reason of the unanimity with which so +much good strong work in Fletcher’s plays is now deemed to be due to him. +He has received much praise and much blame; I should like by careful +analysis of the problem to arrive at a juster judgment. But in the main, I +must confess, I plead for Massinger because I love him. + +What, then, are the chief merits of our author? They are three: his +stagecraft, his style, and his metre. And, first, his command of +stagecraft has been universally conceded.(105) This is an important point; +it is as much as to say that the plays are readable and would act +well;(106) when you begin one of them you wish to know what is going to +happen. The first act has usually a great breadth and swing; it is +admirably proportioned and dignified. The chief characters are introduced, +and the train is well laid, without stiffness or delay. Good examples of +this fact are to be found in _The Bondman_ and _The Emperor of the East_. +In _The Renegado_ the first scene at once reveals the object of the plot, +the rescue of Paulina. In _The Bondman_ Marullo enters at line 38, and our +attention is called to him by Leosthenes. As the play progresses you feel +that it is what the French call _bien charpenté_—well constructed. If, as +is often the case, there is a mystery or a secret, it is sufficiently well +kept to excite the curiosity. The author does not depend very much on +soliloquies or disguises; he does not, as a rule, complicate matters by +underplots and cross-interests. The stage is not overcrowded; you do not +feel the need of constantly referring to the list of _dramatis personae_. +A curious instance of this economy is _The Maid of Honour_, where there is +no Queen of Sicily. Minor characters when they reappear are recognized and +provided for, as, for example, Calypso in _The Guardian_ (IV., 3). The +conscientious author forgets no detail in order to round off his plot; +thus in the same play the blow struck at the beginning is apologized for +in V., 3, 250. Nor is there a reckless change of scene. Moreover, a +lifelike effect is given by the fact that speeches generally end in the +middle of a line. As so often in Euripides, the people say the sort of +things that under the circumstances you would expect them to say in real +life.(107) A comparison of Massinger with Ben Jonson will make this ease +of construction clear at once. Köppel has noted the skill with which the +narratives of Suetonius and Dion Cassius are combined in _The Roman +Actor_. It may sound obvious to add that the titles of the plays +correspond to the chief subject-matter, were it not that in so many of the +Elizabethan plays this is not the case. Take as examples Middleton’s +_Changeling_ and _Mayor of Queenborough_. + +Yet it would be too much to say that all Massinger’s plays are equally +successful in this respect. The plot of _The Guardian_, for example, is +unusually intricate. Like Shakspere, he occasionally crowds too much into +the fifth act—for instance, in _The Unnatural Combat_. The device of the +apple which produces so much jealousy and trouble in _The Emperor of the +East_ is rather trivial for a tragi-comedy.(108) The promise of Cleora to +wear a scarf over her eyes until her jealous lover returns from the war is +exasperating.(109) Again, Camiola in _The Maid of Honour_ (III., 3, 200) +forgets that Bertoldo is “bound to a single life,” as she had herself +pointed out to him (I., 2, 148). Nor does Bertoldo (IV., 3, 100) in his +acceptance of her offer say anything about the necessary dispensation. On +the other hand, Massinger avoids those scenes on board ship of which +Fletcher is so fond, and which on the Jacobean stage must have been +ineffective to the spectators, and indeed, are so on any stage.(110) + +Similarly, it is clear that torture on the stage can hardly be made +effective.(111) + +One of Massinger’s favourite devices is to combine subordinates. He has +learnt from _Hamlet_ the lesson of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. He has +studied the method of such scenes as _Henry V._, I., 2, 97-135; II., 2; +III., 5; III., 7. If something has to be done, two or three people express +their eagerness to do it. If someone has to be persuaded, two or three of +the characters press home the various arguments. This all works for +lucidity and ease, and presents a lifelike combination on the stage.(112) +Instances of the device abound; let us take one from _The Picture_.(113) +The great soldier Ferdinand, on his return from the wars, is received +courteously by the old Counsellor Eubulus, but the fashionable young men, +Ubaldo and Ricardo, think they can do the thing better; the passage runs +thus: + + + RICARDO. This was pretty; + But second me now; I cannot stoop too low + To do your excellence that due observance + Your fortune claims. + + EUBULUS. He ne’er thinks on his virtues! + + RICARDO. For, being as you are, the soul of soldiers, + And bulwark of Bellona—— + + UBALDO. The protection + Both of the court and king—— + + RICARDO. And the sole minion + Of mighty Mars—— + + UBALDO. One that with justice may + Increase the number of the worthies—— + + EUBULUS. Heyday! + + RICARDO. It being impossible in my arms to circle + Such giant worth—— + + UBALDO. At distance we presume + To kiss your honour’d gauntlet. + + EUBULUS. What reply now + Can he make to this foppery? + + FERDINAND. You have said, + Gallants, so much and hitherto done so little, + That till I learn to speak and you to do, + I must take time to thank you. + + EUBULUS. As I live, + Answer’d as I could wish, how the fops gape now! + + RICARDO. This was harsh and scurvy. + + UBALDO. We will be revenged, + When he comes to court the ladies, and laugh at him. + + +Another of Massinger’s effective devices is to sustain the interest of the +spectators by concealing characters and facts; thus, in _The Duke of +Milan_ we do not fathom for some time the villainy of Francisco; in _The +City Madam_ we ponder from the beginning over the obscure character of +Luke. The best instances of this expedient are to be found in _The +Unnatural Combat_ and _The Bondman_. The air of gloom which overhangs the +former tragedy is as great in its way as anything which our author has +attained; and though the play is what we may call Elizabethan rather than +for all time, yet it is in some sense the best specimen of his serious +work. The desire of Malefort is that of the father in Shelley’s _Cenci_; +and perhaps the only way to prevent the theme from being intolerable was +to veil it as long as possible, and to raise the spectators’ sympathy at +first for a man who had fought well for the State, and who to all +appearance was badly treated by his pirate son.(114) In _The Bondman_, +Marullo and Timandra, the brother and sister, are concealed till the very +end, when they reveal themselves to be Pisander and Statilia—thereby +bringing to an unexpected conclusion a plot which seemed to offer no +solution.(115) + +In _The City Madam_ the method is varied a little: here we have one of +Massinger’s greatest creations, the fawning hypocrite, Luke. Indications +of his future development are skilfully given from time to time, so that +when this alarming person at length shows himself in his true colours we +shiver without being surprised. The same idea shows itself in _The +Renegado_,(116) in the skill with which Donusa leads up to her proposal +that Vitelli should turn Mahometan; and in _The Virgin Martyr_,(117) where +Artemia prepares the way for the offer of her hand to Antoninus. + +Massinger is never so happy as when he has an opportunity in his +well-proportioned scenes for displays of rhetoric, such as we find in +Euripides, where character argues against character.(118) These scenes are +often thrown into the form of a trial at law or a debate in the +Senate.(119) + +The plays end well and effectively; our author excels in the tragi-comedy, +a type much affected by Fletcher. Like all his contemporaries, he felt +that the intermixture of a lighter element in a play which ended happily +was justifiable.(120) The haste which Shakspere sometimes shows in his +fifth act is, as a rule, not apparent in Massinger. For example, in _The +Virgin Martyr_, the death of the heroine occurs at the end of the fourth +act. To all appearance there is bound to be an anticlimax in the fifth +act. But there is not; on the contrary, the appearance of the heavenly +messenger, bearing the fruits of Paradise to the cruel persecutor +Theophilus, elevates the mind into a state of surprise and admiration. It +has often been pointed out that the appearance of a deity to cut the knot +at the end of a play of Euripides, which sometimes irritates the thinker +in his study, and provokes him to write essays on the bad art and theology +of the poet, is dazzlingly beautiful on the stage, and raises associations +of sublimity and awe; it may in the same way be imagined how effective +must have been the procession at the end of _The Virgin Martyr_. The stage +directions run as follows: “Enter Dorothea in a white robe, crownes upon +her head, led in by Angels, Antoninus, Caliste, and Christeta following, +all in white, but lesse glorious, the Angell with a Crowne for him” +(_i.e._, Theophilus). At the sight of the glorious vision the persecutor +dies, converted to the Christian faith, and the evil spirit, which has +prompted his cruel acts, sinks to his own place with thunder and +lightning, while Diocletian and his court look on in amazement. Similarly, +in _The Roman Actor_ there is no anticlimax; though Paris dies in the +fourth act,(121) we feel that the tragedy is incomplete until it is +rounded off by the punishment of the Emperor Domitian, which we +breathlessly await. + +Secondly, Massinger has a beautiful style. This point again is conceded by +all the critics. The elegance of his dedications shows that had he wished +he could have written excellent prose.(122) One who depreciates him allows +that his style is “pure and free from violent metaphors and harsh +constructions.”(123) It has the grace and balance which one would expect +from a well-bred and educated man, owing little to ornament or epithets or +images. It serves its purpose, which is to tell a story rapidly, and to +unfold character rather than to display the author’s command of language +or subtlety of thought and expression. Seldom trivial, it is never +prosaic, and yet it is constantly on the border-line of prose. Massinger +thought in blank verse because he was a dramatist rather than because he +was a poet. Hence his enemies might say that his lines are prose in +lengths; yet that would be an unjust accusation. The poetical “colour” is +here, the ideal dignity, the atmosphere, although they obtrude themselves +less on the reader than in most poets. Like Ovid, Massinger is one whose +amazing facility carries us along like a flood—a writer who should be read +in large quantities at a time, + + + “Whose easy Pegasus will amble o’er + Some three-score miles of fancy in an hour.”(124) + + +It needs little argument to show that a poet of this order can easily +secure the effect of verisimilitude to life, and will owe much of his +success to that fact. Style naturally appeals differently to different +people; there are those who are captivated by the glamour of Shelley and +Swinburne, or the pomp of Jeremy Taylor; there are also those who enjoy +the severity of _Paradise Regained_, and the simplicity of Newman’s +_Sermons_. In an age like the present, when many of our poets, like our +musicians, whatever else they are, either will not or cannot be simple, it +is refreshing to turn to an author who is always lucid, and who is content +to tell a story to the best of his ability. + +There are times when the style of Massinger rises into solemn eloquence, +especially when he indulges in the moralizing vein. Unlike some of his +literary contemporaries, Massinger wishes to show Virtue triumphant and +Vice beaten. Vice is never glorified in his pages, or condoned. Honest +indignation is perhaps the emotion which he handles best. The +uncontrollable anger which meanness and unworthiness provoke expresses +itself in lofty language. Forcible and plain-spoken rebukes are found, +which show that Massinger could be curt when he pleased. The plays are +full of high-spirited passages, affording admirable opportunities for a +master of elocution. + +Let me give a specimen of just anger in the speech of Marullo. Marullo is +the leader of the revolt of the slaves at Syracuse, and he is addressing +their former lords and masters: + + + Briefly thus then, + Since I must speak for all,—your tyranny + Drew us from our obedience. Happy those times + When lords were styled fathers of families, + And not imperious masters! when they number’d + Their servants almost equal with their sons, + Or one degree beneath them! when their labours + Were cherish’d and rewarded, and a period + Set to their sufferings; when they did not press + Their duties or their wills, beyond the power + And strength of their performance! all things order’d + With such decorum, as wise lawmakers + From each well-govern’d private house deriv’d + The perfect model of a Commonwealth. + Humanity then lodged in the hearts of men, + And thankful masters carefully provided + For creatures wanting reason. The noble horse + That, in his fiery youth, from his wide nostrils + Neigh’d courage to his rider, and brake through + Groves of opposed pikes, bearing his lord + Safe to triumphant victory, old or wounded, + Was set at liberty and freed from service. + The Athenian mules that from the quarry drew + Marble, hew’d for the temples of the gods, + The great work ended, were dismiss’d and fed + At the public cost; nay, faithful dogs have found + Their sepulchres; but man to man more cruel, + Appoints no end to the sufferings of his slave; + Since pride stepp’d in and riot, and o’erturned + This goodly frame of concord, teaching masters + To glory in the abuse of such as are + Brought under their command; who grown unuseful, + Are less esteem’d than beasts. This you have practis’d, + Practis’d on us with rigour; this hath forced us + To shake our heavy yokes off; and, if redress + Of these just grievances be not granted us, + We’ll right ourselves, and by strong hand defend + What we are now possess’d of.(125) + + +In a lower key of manly dignity is the speech of Charalois before the +Judges in _The Fatal Dowry_. It begins thus: + + + Thus low my duty + Answers your lordships’ counsel. I will use, + In the few words with which I am to trouble + Your lordships’ ears the temper that you wish me; + Not that I fear to speak my thoughts as loud, + And with a liberty beyond Romont; + But that I know, for me that am made up + Of all that’s wretched, so to haste my end, + Would seem to most rather a willingness + To quit the burden of a hopeless life + Than scorn of death or duty to the dead.(126) + + +As an example of a high-spirited passage, a speech may be given from _The +Bondman_. Cleora, the heroine, comes forward in a meeting of the Senate to +urge patriotic effort on her fellow-countrymen. Timoleon, the general, is +in the chair, and she addresses him first: + + + CLEORA. If a virgin, + Whose speech was ever yet ushered with fear; + One knowing modesty and humble silence + To be the choicest ornaments of our sex + In the presence of so many reverend men, + Struck dumb with terror and astonishment, + Presume to clothe her thought in vocal sounds, + Let her find pardon. First to you, great sir, + A bashful maid’s thanks, and her zealous prayers, + Wing’d with pure innocence, bearing them to heaven, + For all prosperity that the gods can give + To one whose piety must exact their care, + Thus low I offer. + + TIMOLEON. ’Tis a happy omen. + Rise, blest one, and speak boldly. On my virtue + I am thy warrant, from so clear a spring + Sweet rivers ever flow. + + CLEORA. Then thus to you, + My noble father, and these lords, to whom + I next owe duty; no respect forgotten + To you my brother, and these bold young men + (Such I would have them) that are, or should be, + The city’s sword and target of defence, + To all of you I speak; and if a blush + Steal on my cheeks, it is shown to reprove + Your paleness, willingly I would not say, + Your cowardice or fear; think you all treasure + Hid in the bowels of the earth, or shipwreck’d + In Neptune’s wat’ry kingdom, can hold weight, + When liberty and honour fill one scale, + Triumphant Justice sitting on the beam? + Or dare you but imagine that your gold is + Too dear a salary for such as hazard + Their blood and lives in your defence? For me, + An ignorant girl, bear witness! heaven, so far + I prize a soldier, that to give him pay, + With such devotion as our flamens offer + Their sacrifices at the holy altar, + I do lay down these jewels, will make sale + Of my superfluous wardrobe, to supply + The meanest of their wants.(127) + + +This passage is printed in a broadside (headed “Countrymen”) relating to +the expected invasion of England by Bonaparte, to be found at the British +Museum. A short statement of the plot of _The Bondman_ is followed by a +quotation of Act I., 3, 213-368, with one or two slight omissions. +Possibly Gifford inspired its publication. + +Perhaps the most eloquent passage in Massinger is the speech of Paris, the +Roman actor, before the Senate, in defence of his profession: + + + ARETINUS. Are you on the stage, + You talk so boldly? + + PARIS. The whole world being one, + This place is not exempted; and I am + So confident in the justice of our cause, + That I would wish Cæsar, in whose great name + All kings are comprehended, sate as judge + To hear our plea, and then determine of us. + If to express a man sold to his lusts, + Wasting the treasure of his time and fortunes + In wanton dalliance, and to what sad end + A wretch that’s so given over does arrive at; + Deterring careless youth by his example, + From such licentious courses; laying open + The snares of bawds, and the consuming arts + Of prodigal strumpets, can deserve reproof; + Why are not all your golden principles + Writ down by grave philosophers to instruct us, + To choose fair virtue for our guide, not pleasure, + Condemn’d unto the fire? + + SURA. There’s spirit in this. + + PARIS. Or if desire of honour was the base + On which the building of the Roman empire + Was raised up to this height; if, to inflame + The noble youth with an ambitious heat + T’endure the frosts of danger, nay, of death, + To be thought worthy the triumphal wreath, + By glorious undertakings, may deserve + Reward, or favour from the commonwealth; + Actors may put in for as large a share + As all the sects of the philosophers; + They with cold precepts (perhaps seldom read) + Deliver, what an honourable thing + The active virtue is; but does that fire + The blood, or swell the veins with emulation, + To be both good and great, equal to that + Which is presented in our theatres? + Let a good actor, in a lofty scene, + Show great Alcides honour’d in the sweat + Of his twelve labours; or a bold Camillus + Forbidding Rome to be redeem’d with gold + From the insulting Gauls; or Scipio, + After his victories, imposing tribute + On conquer’d Carthage; if done to the life, + As if they saw their dangers, and their glories, + And did partake with them in their rewards, + All that have any spark of Roman in them, + The slothful arts laid by, contend to be + Like those they see presented. + + RUSTICUS. He has put + The consuls to their whisper. + + PARIS. But, ’tis urged + That we corrupt youth and traduce superiors. + When do we bring a vice upon the stage, + That does go off unpunish’d? Do we teach, + By the success of wicked undertakings, + Others to tread in their forbidden steps? + We shew no arts of Lydian panderism, + Corinthian poisons, Persian flatteries, + But mulcted so in the conclusion, that + Even those spectators that were so inclined, + Go home changed men. And for traducing such + That are above us, publishing to the world + Their secret crimes, we are as innocent + As such as are born dumb. When we present + An heir, that does conspire against the life + Of his dear parent, numbering every hour + He lives, as tedious to him; if there be, + Among the auditors, one whose conscience tells him + He is of the same mould, we cannot help it. + Or, bringing on the stage a loose adulteress, + That does maintain the riotous expense + Of him that feeds her greedy lust, yet suffers + The lawful pledges of a former bed + To starve the while for hunger; if a matron + However great in fortune, birth, or titles, + Guilty of such a foul, unnatural sin, + Cry out ’tis writ for me, we cannot help it. + Or when a covetous man’s express’d, whose wealth + Arithmetic cannot number, and whose lordships + A falcon in one day cannot fly over; + Yet he so sordid in his mind, so griping, + As not to afford himself the necessaries + To maintain life; if a patrician + (Though honour’d with a consulship) find himself + Touch’d to the quick in this, we cannot help it. + Or, when we shew a judge that is corrupt, + And will give up his sentence, as he favours + The person, not the cause; saving the guilty, + If of his faction, and as oft condemning + The innocent, out of particular spleen; + If any in this reverend assembly, + Nay, even yourself, my lord, that are the image + Of absent Cæsar, feel something in your bosom + That puts you in remembrance of things past, + Or things intended, ’tis not in us to help it. + I have said, my lord; and now as you find cause, + Or censure us, or free us with applause.(128) + + +I will quote three more passages: one to show how lifelike in description +Massinger can be; the second, to show how he can ennoble the expression of +love; the third, to show how tender he is at his best. + +The first is from _The Maid of Honour_. A soldier comes in with news for +the besieged general, who is standing on the walls of Siena, looking for +aid from his friends: + + + _Enter_ a Soldier. + + FERDINAND. What news with thee? + + SOLDIER. From the turret of the fort, + By the rising clouds of dust, through which, like lightning + The splendour of bright arms sometimes brake through, + I did descry some forces making towards us; + And from the camp, as emulous of their glory, + The general, for I know him by his horse, + And bravely seconded, encounter’d them. + Their greetings were too rough for friends; their swords, + And not their tongues, exchanging courtesies. + By this the main battalias are join’d; + And if you please to be spectators of + The horrid issue, I will bring you where, + As in a theatre, you may see their fates + In purple gore presented.(129) + + +The second is from _The Duke of Milan_, where Marcelia expresses her love +for her lord, Sforza, the Duke of Milan. + + + MARCELIA. My worthiest lord! + The only object I behold with pleasure, + My pride, my glory, in a word, my all! + Bear witness, heaven, that I esteem myself + In nothing worthy of the meanest praise + You can bestow, unless it be in this, + That in my heart, I love and honour you. + And, but that it would smell of arrogance + To speak my strong desire and zeal to serve you, + I then could say, these eyes yet never saw + The rising sun, but that my vows and prayers + Were sent to heaven for the prosperity + And safety of my lord, nor have I ever + Had other study, but how to appear + Worthy your favour; and that my embraces + Might yield a fruitful harvest of content + For all your noble travail, in the purchase + Of her that’s still your servant; by these lips, + Which pardon me that I presume to kiss—— + + SFORZA. O swear, for ever swear! + + MARCELIA. I ne’er will seek + Delight but in your pleasure; and desire, + When you are sated(130) with all earthly glories, + And age and honours make you fit for heaven, + That one grave may receive us. + + +The third is from _A Very Woman_; the disguised John Antonio is telling +his story at Almira’s request: + + + Not far from where my father lives, a lady, + A neighbour by, blest with as great a beauty + As nature durst bestow without undoing, + Dwelt, and most happily, as I thought then, + And bless’d the house a thousand times she dwelt in. + This beauty, in the blossom of my youth, + When my first fire felt no adulterate incense, + Nor I no way to flatter, but my fondness; + In all the bravery my friends could show me, + In all the faith my innocence could give me, + In the best language my true tongue could tell me, + And all the broken sighs my sick heart lend me, + I sued and serv’d; long did I love this lady, + Long was my travail, long my trade to win her; + With all the duty of my soul I serv’d her.(131) + + +At times the poet rises to what is not far removed from inspiration; and +such lines as the following from _The Parliament of Love_ make good the +claim of English to be the imperial language of the world. King Charles +seeks to justify the honours which he, the “most Christian king,” gives to +the statue of Cupid; he then continues thus: + + + CHARLES. ’Tis rather to instruct deceived mankind, + How much pure love that has his birth in heaven, + And scorns to be received a guest, but in + A noble heart prepared to entertain him, + Is by the gross misprision of weak men, + Abused and injured. That celestial fire, + Which hieroglyphically is described + In this his bow, his quiver, and his torch, + First warm’d their bloods, and after gave a name + To the old heroic spirits; such as Orpheus, + That drew men, differing little then from beasts, + To civil government; or famed Alcides + The tyrant-queller, that refused the plain + And easy path leading to vicious pleasures, + And ending in a precipice deep as hell, + To scale the rugged cliffs on whose firm top + Virtue and Honour, crown’d with wreaths of stars, + Did sit triumphant.(132) + + +But there is another characteristic of Massinger’s style and that perhaps +more obvious still; it is full of courtliness and grace. A perusal of _The +City Madam_, where the subject is the absurdity of the ladies of the +Mansion House who ape the manners of the West End, suggests the question +whether Massinger was ever attached to the Court. We do not know. He must, +at any rate, have moved amongst refined and educated people. Napoléon said +that Corneille’s plays ought to be performed to an audience of ambassadors +and ministers of state;(133) in the same way, in reading Massinger, we +feel that we are moving freely in the palaces of the great. There is +comparatively little here of dialect(134) or low life; we are at once +taken up into high life with all its virtues and its faults. The kings and +courtiers behave and express themselves as we should expect them to do; +the politeness and the compliments which we hear on every side have the +merit of being entirely natural. And if there is little to remind us of +Dickens, there is still less to recall Thackeray. There is no air of +snobbishness; such is the dexterity of our author that we do not feel like +Jeames Yellowplush, that we are awkward menials watching the doings of the +titled and the great. Not only do the characters move with an inborn grace +which is free from self-analysis and self-contempt, but they take the +audience up into their company; and as the gallants of that era used +sometimes to sit upon the stage, close among the actors,(135) so in +reading Massinger we feel that we are unconsciously present at the scenes +he portrays. + +This is as much as to say that the stage of those days responded to a real +and living need in the minds of the audience; there was nothing exotic or +artificial about it, as there seems to have been about our plays ever +since the Puritans turned things upside down. It will be said that this +enchanted atmosphere belongs to all the greater playwrights of the age +alike. And this is true; it is one of the secrets of their abiding charm. +Brander Matthews, in dealing with the unreality of Massinger’s atmosphere, +says that “some of Shakspere’s most delightful plays, _The Merchant of +Venice_ for one, and _Much Ado_ for another, are charming to us now only +because we are quite willing to make believe with the poet” (_op. cit._, +p. 311). And so, when Leslie Stephen asks if we are “invigorated” by the +perusal of Massinger’s plays,(136) I reply to that apostle of common sense +that I am not only charmed and delighted, but invigorated. And why? +Because I am admitted to a world of heroism and romance. + +But may we not put the matter more broadly still? When we read the +Cavalier lyrics of Suckling, Herrick, and Lovelace, when we think of +Falkland, when we stand before the portraits of Vandyck, do we not feel +that modern England was in danger until lately of losing something? There +is an aroma there of chivalry which had almost faded from our ken. And yet +there is an element in our shy and dumb English nature to which this +atmosphere is congenial, however overgrown with money-making our minds had +seemed to be. Nor, as the student of history knows well, had the Puritans +in the Civil War the monopoly of religion and duty. Indeed, the Civil War +was a true tragedy, because both sides had right, both fought and bled for +what they believed to be the truth. To-day, in spite of our many domestic +discords, no party spirit discounts the gallant deeds of which we have +read daily, and of which of necessity only a fraction has been publicly +rewarded. Perhaps the flame of romance will breathe once more in our +midst, now the War is over, purified by suffering, and quickened by the +memory of those serene yet manly spirits whom we have lost on the +battlefield, whose departure in the dayspring of life seems, as it were, +to have extinguished so many stars in the vault of heaven. They put aside +the calls of culture and pleasure, and the natural ambition to do +something in the world before they were abolished by death. They have +willingly given for their country all that they had; they have given +themselves. If we remember their devotion with gratitude it may purify us +from the commonplace, the vulgar, and the selfish. They, at any rate, can +address the power of evil, which for the moment seemed to triumph, in the +words of Dorothea: + + + What is this life to me? Not worth, a thought: + Or, if it be esteem’d, ’tis that I lose it + To win a better; even thy malice serves + To me but as a ladder to mount up + To such a height of happiness, where I shall + Look down with scorn on thee and on the world; + Where, circled with true pleasures, placed above + The reach of death or time, ’twill be my glory + To think at what an easy price I bought it. + There’s a perpetual spring, perpetual youth; + No joint-benumbing cold, or scorching heat, + Famine, nor age, have any being there. + Forget for shame your Tempe; bury in + Oblivion your feign’d Hesperian orchards; + The golden fruit, kept by the watchful dragon, + Which did require a Hercules to get it, + Compared with what grows in all plenty there, + Deserves not to be named. The Power I serve + Laughs at your happy Araby, or the + Elysian shades; for He hath made His bowers + Better in deed than you can fancy yours.(137) + + +As an instance of Massinger’s courtliness I will quote a short passage +from _The Great Duke of Florence_: Contarino has come from the court of +the Duke to fetch his nephew Giovanni, who has been brought up by a tutor, +Charomonte by name, in the country. As the prince comes in, Charomonte +addresses Contarino: + + + CHAROMONTE. Make your approaches boldly; you will find + A courteous entertainment. (CONTARINO _kneels_.) + + GIOVANNI. Pray you, forbear + My hand, good signior; ’tis a ceremony + Not due to me. ’Tis fit we should embrace + With mutual arms. + + CONTARINO. It is a favour, sir, + I grieve to be denied. + + GIOVANNI. You shall o’ercome; + But ’tis your pleasure, not my pride, that grants it. + Nay, pray you, guardian and good sir, put on; + How ill it shews to have that reverend head + Uncover’d to a boy! + + CHAROMONTE. Your excellence + Must give me liberty, to observe the distance + And duty that I owe you.(138) + + +Take another instance, from _The Duke of Milan_: + + + SFORZA. Excuse me, good Pescara. + Ere long I will wait on you. + + PESCARA. You speak, sir, + The language I should use.(139) + + +And this, from The Bashful Lover: + + + FARNESE. Madam, I am bold + To trench so far upon your privacy + As to desire my friend (let not that wrong him, + For he’s a worthy one) may have the honour + To kiss your hand. + + MATILDA. His own worth challenges + A greater favour. + + FARN. Your acknowledgment + Confirms it, madam.(140) + + +I have used the word “lucid” of Massinger’s style; perhaps a more +appropriate word would be dexterous; not that he is obscure like Chapman, +or like Shakspere in his later manner, far less turgid, but he is not +afraid of somewhat long sentences. What he is really afraid of, unlike +Fletcher, is a full-stop at the end of the verse. There are two devices +which the reader will notice, often in combination; in the first place, +Massinger is very fond of the “absolute” construction, and loves to +multiply parentheses. The following passages from _A New Way_ will serve +as illustrations: + + + FURNACE. She keeps her chamber, dines with a panada, + Or water gruel, my sweat never thought on.(141) + + WOMAN. And the first command she gave, after she rose, + Was, her devotions done, to give her notice + When you approach’d here.(142) + + +Or again, from _The Emperor of the East_: + + + Astraea once more lives upon the earth, + Pulcheria’s breast her temple.(143) + + +Or from _The Bondman_: + + + And, to those that stay, + A competence of land freely allotted + To each man’s proper use, no lord acknowledged.(144) + + +We find the “absolute” construction occasionally in Shakspere, as in _The +Merchant of Venice_: + + + So are those crisped snaky golden locks + Which make such wanton gambols with the wind, + Upon supposed fairness, often known + To be the dowry of a second head, + The skull that bred them in the sepulchre.(145) + + +Or in _Hamlet_: + + + Folded the writ up in form of the other, + Subscribed it, gav’t th’ impression, placed it safely, + The changeling never known.(146) + + +A passage from _The Fatal Dowry_ will show an elaborate use of +parenthesis: + + + What though my father + Writ man before he was so, and confirm’d it, + By numbering that day no part of his life + In which he did not service to his country; + Was he to be free therefore from the laws + And ceremonious form in your decrees? + Or else because he did as much as man, + In those three memorable overthrows, + At Granson, Morat, Nancy, where his master, + The warlike Charalois, with whose misfortunes + I bear his name, lost treasure, men, and life, + To be excused from payment of those sums + Which (his own patrimony spent) his zeal + To serve his country forced him to take up!(147) + + +Compare also these lines from _The Guardian_: + + + And if you shew not + An appetite, and a strong one, I’ll not say + To eat it, but devour it, without grace too, + For it will not stay a preface, I am shamed, + And all my past provocatives will be jeer’d at.(148) + + +From _The Picture_: + + + HONORIA. That you please, sir, + With such assurances of love and favour, + To grace your handmaid, but in being yours, sir, + A matchless queen, and one that knows herself so, + Binds me in retribution to deserve + The grace conferr’d upon me.(149) + + +From _A Very Woman_: + + + PAULO. This friend was plighted to a beauteous woman, + (Nature proud of her workmanship) mutual love + Possessed them both, her heart in his heart lodged + And his in hers.(150) + + +From _The Bashful Lover_: + + + ALONZO. By me, his nephew, + He does salute you fairly, and entreats + (A word not suitable to his power and greatness) + You would consent to tender that, which he + Unwillingly must force, if contradicted.(151) + + +From _The Parliament of Love_: + + + What coy she, then, + Though great in birth, not to be parallel’d + For nature’s liberal bounties, (both set off + With fortune’s trappings, wealth); but, with delight, + Gladly acknowledged such a man her servant?(152) + + +It has been pointed out by Zielinski that “the perfection of language in +regard to the formation of periods depends upon the presence and +prevalence of abbreviated by-sentences,”(153) by which expression he +describes “absolute” constructions. + +Secondly, he delights in an expedient which the poems of Robert Browning +have made familiar to this generation, the frequent omission of the +relative pronoun.(154) And so his sentences meander with a seemingly +negligent grace to an unexpected conclusion. It is clear that such a style +both requires and repays a careful study of the rhetorical art. + +I give as an instance of this combination the words of Paulinus in _The +Emperor of the East_. He is talking of the Emperor’s sister and Prime +Minister Pulcheria: + + + She indeed is + A perfect phœnix, and disdains a rival. + Her infant years, as you know, promised much, + But grown to ripeness she transcends, and makes + Credulity her debtor. I will tell you + In my blunt way, to entertain the time + Until you have the happiness to see her, + How in your absence she hath borne herself, + And with all possible brevity; though the subject + Is such a spacious field, as would require + An abstract of the purest eloquence + (Deriv’d from the most famous orators + The nurse of learning, Athens, shew’d the world) + In that man that should undertake to be + Her true historian.(155) + + +The style of Massinger is not only lucid and dexterous; it is strong, +partly because of its ease, and more mature and modern than that of many +of his contemporaries. Milton’s prose would have gained much in directness +if he had studied Massinger. This strength does not show itself so much in +isolated fine lines, for, as we have already seen, epigram was foreign to +his nature, though from time to time we get such lines, as, for example, +in _The Duke of Milan_: + + + One smile of hers would make a savage tame; + One accent of that tongue would calm the seas, + _Though all the winds at once strove there for empire_.(156) + + +Or, again, in the same play: + + + How coldly you receive it! I expected + The mere relation of so great a blessing, + _Borne proudly on the wings of sweet revenge_, + Would have call’d on a sacrifice of thanks.(157) + + +Or, again, in _A New Way_: + + + OVERREACH. The garments of her widowhood laid by, + _She now appears as glorious as the spring_.(158) + + +Or in _The Roman Actor_: + + + Could I imp feathers to the wings of time, + Or with as little ease command the sun + _To scourge his coursers up heaven’s eastern hill_.(159) + + +We may remark in passing that Massinger’s best single lines are usually +decasyllabic. + +It has been remarked by Mr. Swinburne, whose discerning judgment of the +Jacobean dramatists has lavished just praise on Massinger’s art and style, +that in the second act of _Sir John Van Olden Barnavelt_, “the student +will say, ‘This tune goes manly,’ ” and it is remarkable that our poet had +formed in 1619 the style which marked him to the end of his life.(160) + +An instance of this simple strength may be given from _The City Madam_, +where Luke debates whether he shall agree to the proposition of the +pretended Indians: + + + LUKE. Give me leave—(_walks aside_) + I would not lose this purchase. A grave matron! + And two pure virgins! Umph, I think my sister, + Though proud, was ever honest, and my nieces + Untainted yet. Why should not they be shipp’d + For this employment? They are burthensome to me, + _And eat too much_.(161) + + +When rudeness is necessary it is uttered with some vigour, as in _The +Fatal Dowry_, where this is what Romont gets for his well-meant pains: + + + ROCHFORT. Sir, if you please + To bear yourself as fits a gentleman, + The house is at your service; but if not, + Though you seek company elsewhere, your absence + Will not be much lamented.(162) + + +The rejected lover in such a scene as the following has no illusions left +him: + + + MUSTAPHA. All happiness— + + DONUSA. Be sudden. + ’Twas saucy rudeness in you, sir, to press + On my retirements; but ridiculous folly + To waste the time that might be better spent, + In complimental wishes. + + CORISCA. There’s a cooling + For his hot encounter! (_aside_) + + DONUSA. Come you here to stare? + If you have lost your tongue and use of speech, + Resign your government; there’s a mute’s place void + In my uncle’s court, I hear; and you may want me + To write for your preferment.(163) + + +Two minor features of Massinger’s style may be mentioned here: + +1. The catalogue line, so familiar to the student of Lucretius—_e.g._: + + + _Believe as You List_, I., 2, 85. The sapphire, ruby, jacinth, + amber, coral. + + _Believe as You List_ II, 2, 312. All circumstances, + Answers, despatches, doubts, and difficulties. + + _Picture_, V., I, 59. The comfortable names of breakfasts, + dinners, + Collations, supper, beverage. + + _Emperor of East_, 2 Prol., 8. With his best of fancy, judgment, + language, art. + + I., 2, 194. To his merchant, mercer, draper, + His linen-man, and tailor. + + V., 2, 88. As sacred, glorious, high, invincible. + + _City Madam_, II., 1, 72. Tissue, gold, silver, velvets, satins, + taffetas. + + IV., 3, 69. Entreaties, curses, prayers, or imprecations. + + _Unnatural Combat_, II., 1, 128. All respect, + Love, fear, and reverence cast + off. + + _Great Duke of Florence_, II., 1, 7. We of necessity must be + chaste, wise, fair. + + +2. A more marked feature is the repetition of words or short phrases in +various parts of the line.(164) The following instances may be given from +(_a_) _The Great Duke of Florence_: + + + I., 1, 154. It is the duke! + The duke. + + I., 2, 41. Our duchess; such a duchess. + + I., 2, 95. See, signiors, see our care. + + I., 2, 131. Take up, take up. + + II., 1, 71. Fie! fie! the princess. + + III., 1, 102. Tells + His son, this is the prince, the hopeful prince. + + (_b_) _The City Madam_: + + II., 1, 58. I blush for you, + Blush at your poverty of spirit. + + III., 1, 11. I am starv’d, + Starv’d in my pleasures. + + V., 1, 12. Far, far above your hopes. + + V., 1, 81. The height + Of honour, principal honour. + + V., 2, 67. A manor pawn’d, + Pawn’d, my good lord. + + +And, thirdly, the versification of Massinger is musical and melodious. +Boyle says that Milton’s blank verse owes much to the study of it. “In the +indefinable touches which make up the music of a verse, in the artistic +distribution of pauses, and in the unerring choice and grouping of just +those words which strike the ear as the perfection of harmony, there are, +if we leave Cyril Tourneur’s _Atheist’s Tragedy_ out of the question, only +two masters in the drama, Shakspere in his latest period and +Massinger.”(165) Coleridge says that it is “an excellent metre, a better +model for dramatists in general to imitate than Shakspere’s. Read +Massinger aright, and measure by time, not syllables, and no lines can be +more legitimate, none in which the substitution of equipollent feet, and +the modifications by emphasis, are managed with such exquisite +judgment.”(166) Be it noted that this praise comes from a master of his +art, for no one who has once appreciated Coleridge’s command of +vowel-syzygy and the velvet-like texture of his blank verse can refuse him +that title. + +Massinger’s blank verse is equal to all the emotions which the author can +express and kindle. It never fails him, nor, on the other hand, does it +obtrude itself unduly on the sense conveyed. Only after reading a +considerable passage of our poet do we understand how much the +versification contributes to his lifelike and dignified atmosphere. + +Moreover, the metre of Massinger is admirably suited to his style. There +seems a hidden but real harmony between them. Some might call his metre at +times slipshod and undignified, from the fact that, except in elevated +passages, the characters speak in rhythmical sentences which approximate +to prose. Boyle, who declares that “Marlowe and Massinger are the two +extremes of the metrical movement in the dramatists,”(167) has pointed out +that “Massinger’s blank verse shows a larger proportion of run-on lines +and double endings in harmonious union than any of his +contemporaries.(168) Cartwright and Tourneur have more run-on lines, but +not so many double endings. Fletcher has more double endings, but very few +run-on lines. Shakspere and Beaumont alone exhibit a somewhat similar +metrical style.”(169) This is interesting, because we shall see later on +that Massinger was a devoted admirer and imitator of Shakspere in thought, +device, and expression. It is not strange, therefore, that he should also +copy his metre, or rather, develop his own on the same lines. To show how +flexible and dexterous the metre of Massinger is, I will give two +instances from _The Bashful Lover_. In the first Uberti encourages Gonzaga +to persevere with the contest: + + + UBERTI. Sir, these tears + Do well become a father, and my eyes + Would keep you company as a forlorn lover, + But that the burning fire of my revenge + Dries up those drops of sorrow. We, once more, + Our broken forces rallied up, and with + Full numbers strengthen’d, stand prepared t’ endure + A second trial; nor let it dismay us + That we are once again t’ affront the fury + Of a victorious army; their abuse + Of conquest hath disarm’d them, and call’d down + The Powers above to aid us. I have read + Some piece of story, yet ne’er found but that + The general, that gave way to cruelty, + The profanation of things sacred, rapes + Of virgins, butchery of infants, and + The massacre in cold blood of reverend age, + Against the discipline and law of arms, + Did feel the hand of heaven lie heavy on him + When most secure.(170) + + +In the second Gonzaga refuses the hand of his daughter Matilda to Lorenzo: + + + GONZAGA. Two main reasons + (Seconding those you have already heard) + Give us encouragement; the duty that + I owe my mother country, and the love + Descending to my daughter. For the first, + Should I betray her liberty, I deserv’d + To have my name with infamy razed from + The catalogue of good princes; and I should + Unnaturally forget I am a father, + If, like a Tartar, or for fear or profit, + I should consign her, as a bondwoman, + To be disposed of at another’s pleasure; + Her own consent or favour never sued for, + And mine by force exacted. No, Alonzo, + She is my only child, my heir; and if + A father’s eyes deceive me not, the hand + Of prodigal nature hath given so much to her, + As, in the former ages, kings would rise up + In her defence and make her cause their quarrel; + Nor can she, if that any spark remain + To kindle a desire to be possess’d + Of such a beauty, in our time, want swords + To guard it safe from violence.(171) + + +Anyone who compares the metre of Massinger with that of Fletcher will find +that our author observes far stricter laws than his friend. The plays of +Massinger abound in lines divided between two speakers, or even three, +which, nevertheless, observe the strict rule of the metre.(172) + +The way in which Massinger’s style and metre suit one another can best be +illustrated by a passage or two from _The Parliament of Love_; the first +is where Bellisant speaks about the decay of chivalry. + + + BELLISANT. Ere they durst + Presume to offer service to a lady, + In person they perform’d some gallant acts + The fame of which prepar’d them gracious hearing, + Ere they made their approaches; what coy she, then,(173) + Though great in birth, not to be parallel’d + For nature’s liberal beauties (both set off + With fortune’s trappings, wealth); but with delight, + Gladly acknowledg’d such a man her servant, + To whose heroic courage and deep wisdom, + The flourishing commonwealth, and thankful king, + Confess’d themselves for debtors? Whereas, now, + If you have travelled Italy, and brought home + Some remnants of the language, and can set + Your faces in some strange and ne’er-seen posture, + Dance a la volta, and be rude and saucy, + Protest and swear and damn (for these are acts + That most think grace them), and then view yourselves + In the deceiving mirror of self-love, + You do conclude there hardly is a woman + That can be worthy of you.(174) + + +The second is a speech of Leonora exposing Cleremond’s baseness: + + + I, burning then with a most virtuous anger, + Razed from my heart the memory of his name, + Railed and spit at him; and knew ’twas justice + That I should take those deities he scorn’d, + Hymen and Cupid, into my protection, + And be the instrument of their revenge; + And so I cast him off, scorn’d his submission, + His poor and childish winnings, will’d my servants + To shut my gates against him; but, when neither + Disdain, hate, or contempt could free me from + His loathsome importunities, and fired too + To wreak mine injur’d honour, I took gladly + Advantage of his execrable oaths, + To undergo what penance I enjoin’d him; + Then, to the terror of all future ribalds, + That make no difference between love and lust, + Imposed this task upon him. I have said, too; + Now, when you please, a censure.(175) + + +The critics may differ in their estimate of Massinger’s style and metre; +but it is simple truth to say that they are unique in our literature, in +their correctness, dignity, ease, and classical frugality. + +Let us now turn to the poet’s faults. It is said that his range of thought +is limited, and this may be at once conceded. It might also be said that +Greek tragedy is limited, and the statement is true of all our Elizabethan +playwrights; yet we return to them again and again, for they have +something to give us which we cannot do without. It is idle to depreciate +one period of our literature at the expense of another. Are not the old +madrigal writers limited, and Farrant and Byrd, Orlando Gibbons and Blow? +and yet we enjoy them; nay, to take even Purcell himself, when we confess +that the pleasure he gives us is due to the fact that he is more daring, +less shackled than his generation, “so modern” as we say, are we not in +the end forced to confess that he too is unmistakably limited, “bewrayed” +by his quaint and stately rhythms to be one of the seventeenth century? + +Our age has a wider and subtler range of psychology; to revert from “The +Georgian Poets” of 1911 to Massinger is like going back from the films of +a cinema palace to a tondo of Luca Signorelli. Both films and tondo have +their uses. We may take a single illustration of this point from _The +Brothers Karamazov_. The great Russian novelist, among other problems, +deals in that book with the case of the young man who is in love with two +women at once. That is the sort of complicated interest which we do not +expect our Elizabethan writers to cope with, in as great detail as a +modern writer uses. The problem occurs in _The Bondman_, where the +heroine, Cleora, is distracted between her plighted love to Leosthenes and +her warm sense of obligation to Marullo;(176) it is interesting and +instructive to see how simply the whole thing is touched upon, and how +soon the doubt is solved by the discovery of Leosthenes’ former intrigue +with Statilia. May we not say, with Aristophanes, in comparing Massinger +and Dostoevsky: + + + Τὸν μὲν γὰρ ἡγοῦμαι σοφόν, τῷ δ ἥδομαι.(177) + + +Then it is said that Massinger’s work is not free from coarseness. The +answer to this accusation may be made in more ways than one. I might with +confidence reply to such critics: If you wish for real vulgarity of +diction, read Marston; if you wish for real vulgarity of mind, read +Middleton; if you wish for poisoned morals, read Ford and Tourneur; and +then revise your judgment of Massinger. It is notorious that all the stage +writers of the Elizabethan age are tarred with the same brush; there is +much in Shakspere himself that we wish he had not written; still more is +this true of Ben Jonson. In _The Virgin Martyr_, where we have the odious +servants, Hircius and Spungius, it is generally believed that the parts of +the play in which they appear are due to Dekker, not to Massinger, whose +other works present nothing so disgusting. There are, at any rate, no +lapses of taste in Massinger like those which we find in Fletcher; nothing +like the fate of Rutilio in _The Custom of the Country_, or of Merione in +_The Queen of Corinth_, or of the Father in _The Captain_. It must be +confessed that Massinger’s conception of love is apt to be earthly, +physical, sensuous; there is but little in his plays about the marriage of +true minds,(178) too much about “Hymen’s taper” and “virgin forts.” +Captivated by the charms of female beauty, his intellect is too concrete +in its ideals to rise above mere morality to the mysteries of the diviner +love. So far it must be allowed that his art interests and stimulates the +passions of his audience without elevating them. But if at times we feel a +monotonous limitation in his outlook in these matters, if we miss the +healthy breezes of bracing commonsense and cheerful self-restraint, we are +never pained by the triumph of what is low, corrupt, or morbid. + +When it is said that his women are impure it is necessary to enter a clear +protest.(179) There are offensive and heartless women in Massinger, such +as Domitia in _The Roman Actor_, and Beaumelle in _The Fatal Dowry_;(180) +there are odious old women, like Borachia and Corisca. There are pert and +vulgar ladies’ maids; but you have only to read _The Bondman_, _The +Bashful Lover_, _A Very Woman_, _The Maid of Honour_, _The Great Duke of +Florence_, _The Emperor of the East_, _The Picture_, to see that his world +includes some charming female characters—not, indeed, so lovely as those +of Shakspere, but still, types which show that he had not lost his faith +in human nature, as, when we read Fielding, we feel regretfully almost +obliged to allow, in spite of Sophia Western and Amelia, is the case with +our great novelist. + +It is true that there are ladies in Massinger’s plays who offer their +hands in marriage to the men they love, and very charmingly the thing is +done, though there is nothing equal to the scene between the Duchess and +Antonio in Webster’s masterpiece; as, for example, Artemia in _The Virgin +Martyr_, the Duchess of Urbin in _The Great Duke_, Calista in _The +Guardian_.(181) This feature is not confined to Massinger among the +writers of his age; to mention no other instances, what about Arethusa in +_Philaster_, Bianca in _The Fair Maid of the Inn_, Beliza and the Queen in +_The Queen of Corinth_,(182) Frank in _The Captain_, Clara in _Love’s +Cure_ (IV., 2), Martia in _The Double Marriage_ (II., 3), Lamira in _The +Honest Man’s Fortune_ (V., 3), Erota in _The Laws of Candy_? Or, what +about Desdemona in _Othello_,(183) or Olivia in _Twelfth Night_?(184) What +about the plot of _All’s Well that Ends Well_? To the vulgar mind all +things are vulgar. _Honi soit qui mal y pense._(185) It may certainly be +conceded that in some of Massinger’s plays, as, for instance, _The +Unnatural Combat_ and _Believe as You List_, the feminine interest is +comparatively slight. Brander Matthews tells us that Massinger’s women +“are all painted from the outside only”;(186) “they are not convincing; +they lack essential womanliness.” This may be due to the fault which the +same critic points out in our author, that “he is heavy-handed and +coarse-fibred ethically as well as æsthetically.” One may reply that if +the theatre be the mirror of life Massinger had an undoubted right to +bring bad women on the stage; there are good and noble women also among +his characters, and if they are not “convincing,” perhaps we may quote +Coleridge’s remark about Shakspere, that “he saw it was the perfection of +women to be characterless.” However far our author may fall short of his +great model in grace, charm, and delicacy, he at any rate deserves credit +for having imagined female characters who are full of passions and made of +“flesh and blood.”(187) + +Massinger resembles other dramatists of his age; at times we feel that +they talk like the little boys on the links in Stevenson’s +_Lantern-Bearers_. But Massinger is a robuster mind than Fletcher, for +example; if he brings vice upon the stage, and if he speaks too freely +about things which we prefer not to have mentioned, if “like Hogarth, he +enjoys his own portrayal of degrading vice and its appalling +consequences,”(188) we must, to do him justice, take his work as a whole. +Indeed, most of the critics have singled out as one of his special claims +to praise his sturdy morality,(189) and the general effect on any fair +mind of a perusal of his plays is a conviction that he loved virtue. +Vitelli(190) may make the best of both worlds, but he converts Donusa, and +faces death and torture with fortitude. Goodness emerges from Massinger’s +plays, sometimes compromised for the moment, but always triumphant in the +end. There is considerable outspokenness, but not much lubricity, and no +perverted morality. Passages which offend can nearly always, as in +Shakspere, be omitted without damaging the course of the plot. Moreover, +as has often been pointed out, the works of Massinger are almost wholly +free from blasphemy and profanity, and attacks on the clergy, such as +moved the wrath of Jeremy Collier in later times. + +It may be a fanciful suggestion, but it is possible that the drama of that +day suffered from the fact that boys took the female parts.(191) No one +would deny the artistic loss thereby involved, but there was a moral loss +as well. It made it possible for things to be said that would not have +been said by men to women, still less by women to men. It unconsciously +invested the love-scenes with an air of unreality and grossness. It +prevented the relation of the sexes from being depicted with that union of +passion and purity which, though difficult, is possible. + +It has been said that Massinger is hard and metallic, and devoid of +pathos. This charge, again, is largely true. You will not find in him +scenes which clutch the heart like those of _Dr. Faustus_, or _The Duchess +of Malfi_, or _The Broken Heart_, or _The Maid’s Tragedy_, or _The Wife +for a Month_; you will not find the sublimity of Ordella’s self-sacrifice +in _Thierry and Theodoret_, or the chivalry of _A Fair Quarrel_; still +less will you find anything so appalling as the end of _King Lear_, or +_Othello_, or _Romeo and Juliet_. There is plenty of passion in Massinger; +like the legendary lion, he lashes with his tail, and you can almost see +him in the act; but his rhetoric does not entirely carry you away. Let me +recall the fine passage which was quoted just now from _The Roman +Actor_.(192) I hope everyone will allow its eloquence; but the repetition +of the commonplace phrase, “we cannot help it,”(193) natural and forcible +as it is, falls short of the ideal grandeur at which the passage aims. We +feel that Fletcher could have made a finer thing of the prison-scene in +The _Emperor of the East_. + +It is significant that the most tender passage in Massinger,(194) where +Leonora bids Almira take consolation, has been assigned by some to +Fletcher. In other words, Massinger is not in the front rank of genius, +but no one would claim for him such a place. + +Again, one might urge that his plays are not stores of worldly wisdom, +like Shakspere’s; his aphorisms are not deep; they do not bite.(195) +Consequently he does not lend himself to quotation. Yet this does not of +necessity detract from his greatness. No one would question the excellence +of the _Waverley Novels_, but Leslie Stephen has pointed out that we only +make one quotation from Scott’s novels.(196) Aristotle has told us that +“excessive brilliance of diction obscures characters and sentiments.”(197) +There are few passages of high poetical emotion in Massinger; there is +little magic in the rhythm of individual lines. Like most of his +contemporaries he shows at times a strange insensibility to smooth rhythm +in the heroic couplet. He has an anapæstic lilt in various parts of the +line, inherited from Shakspere, and found in Milton’s early poems, which +is not ineffective in its way, and which seems to have aimed at varying +the monotony of the ten-syllable line.(198) He has not much power of +rhyme,(199) nor are his plays studded with such lyrics as Shakspere and +Fletcher could write upon occasion.(200) + +Again, the comic element in Massinger is at times dull, forced, and +ordinary; it does not take us very far to label a foolish Florentine +gentleman with the name of “Sylli”;(201) the hungry soldier is rather a +time-worn type,(202) nor can Greedy compare with Lazarillo. Though the +situations are humorous, we do not split with laughter over Massinger, as +we do in reading Aristophanes, or Shakspere, or Molière.(203) We do not +find in him the mercurial lightness of _A Trick to Catch the Old One_, or +the invincible absurdity of “The Roarers” in _The Fair Quarrel_. But it is +necessary to remember that the comic business is of the kind which gains +by acting, or indeed requires it, and to allow that towards the end of his +life Massinger came forward as a grave and powerful satirist of +contemporary men, reminding us of Ben Jonson, but, to my mind, excelling +him; for he shows less asperity with greater lucidity and ease.(204) He is +not unduly morose or bitter, yet he wins conviction with an admirable +sanity and sobriety. The plays will repay good acting, and, after all, +plays are meant to be acted; it is significant that the last of +Massinger’s plays to hold the stage was his comedy, _The New Way to pay +Old Debts_, and it is very much to be wished that it should be revived in +England.(205) + +Some critics have accused Massinger of redundancy in style, a +characteristic which clearly will strike different people in different +ways. Thus, Hallam regards this feature as on the whole meritorious, +giving “fulness, or what the painters would call impasto, to his style, +and if it might not always conduce to effect on the stage, suitable on the +whole to the character of his composition.” Mr. Bullen,(206) after an +eloquent tribute to “Massinger’s admirable ease and dignity,” and to “his +rare command of an excellent work-a-day dramatic style, clear, vigorous, +and free from conceit and affectation,” proceeds to allow that “he is apt +to grow didactic and tax the reader’s patience; and there is often a want +of coherence in his sentences, which amble down the page in a series of +loosely linked clauses.” I do not myself feel that this charge comes to +very much. + +The real fault of Massinger lies in an imperfect presentation of +character. This point has been felt by many writers, and put in various +ways. Coleridge bluntly says: “Massinger’s characters have no +character.”(207) Brander Matthews puts it in another way when he observes +that “the plots are not the result of the characters, but the work of the +playwright,”(208) a criticism we may remark in passing eminently +applicable to Fletcher. It has been said that the characters are +conventional, like those in the Italian or Spanish sources from which they +are derived; the violent tyrant and the arrogant queen are the most +familiar of these types. I do not think this statement arrives at the root +of the matter. Characters may be conventional and yet interesting and +lifelike. A great many of the personages in Massinger’s plays, important +and unimportant alike, act reasonably; he takes great pains to +discriminate them, and the effect is successful and consistent. Let us +recall the great characters in Massinger; they are Paris, Luke, Sir Giles +Overreach, Durazzo, Marullo, Malefort, Charalois, Antiochus, Camiola, +Dorothea, Donusa, Almira. In the second rank we may put Timoleon, Romont, +Bertoldo, John Antonio, Mathias, Wellborn, Athenais, Marcelia, Sophia, +Cleora. Of these persons, the two that I think most men would like to have +known best are Paris and Camiola. Notice, by the way, that there is seldom +more than one great character in a play. Now, in _Henry VIII_ there are +three, the King, Catherine, and Wolsey. The question arises whether +Massinger, even with Fletcher’s help, could have worked on this scale. If +Massinger wrote _Henry VIII_ it is certainly, with all its faults, his +most remarkable achievement. + +The point which I wish to emphasize is that there are many characters in +Massinger drawn with care and ability. Think, for example, of the skilful +contrast between Pulcheria and Athenais in _The Emperor of the East_, +showing how easy it is for two good women to quarrel. Further, it is clear +that the attempt to produce composite and developing characters is +praiseworthy, even if it be not always successful, because it is more true +to life than Ben Jonson’s brilliant but illusory delineation of “humours.” +Human beings are too complex to be labelled in this slapdash way, however +amusing it may be on the stage. + +And yet we must allow that a certain number of the more important +characters act outrageously; the explanation being that the faults which +Massinger loves to portray and censure are such as show themselves in +outrageous ways—such as anger, pride, impotence in the Latin sense, +uxoriousness, and above all jealousy.(209) Take the case of Theophilus in +_The Virgin Martyr_, who kills his daughters because they have been +reconverted to Christianity; or of Domitian in _The Roman Actor_, who goes +through life killing people as he would kill flies. It is not enough to +say that there are such people in the world; the point is, that in +Massinger they shock us without appalling us. Sforza behaves to Marcelia +much as Othello behaves to Desdemona; we feel at once a difference of +power in the two plays.(210) Massinger has many villains, but Shakspere +manages better with Richard III and Iago. Think again of the uxoriousness +of Ladislas, Theodosius, Domitian, which some have held to be a covert +satire on Charles I. We despise these weak and servile husbands. + +Now, is there anything we can urge in Massinger’s justification? I think +there is. We read his plays nowadays, we do not see them acted. We are +therefore apt to forget how impressive and vigorous good acting is. The +display of passion on the stage with gesture, attitude, frown, and scorn, +would render more tolerable some of these scenes which offend us in the +study by their crudeness. Such a part, for instance, as Leosthenes in _The +Bondman_, the jealous and yet guilty lover, has great opportunities for +the actor. It might even be urged that Massinger wrote thus because he +knew the capabilities of the actors who were going to perform his plays. + +The same consideration applies to a feature in Massinger which will strike +every reader. He sets himself at times to represent growth, or, at any +rate, change, of character. Even Shakspere seldom tries to do this,(211) +and it was too hard a task for his pupil. His most ambitious venture in +this direction is in _The Picture_. In that play Mathias has a magic +portrait, which shows him whether his wife is faithful to him or not in +his absence; and the alternations of the mind in husband and wife alike +are drawn with considerable power. Luke in _The City Madam_ is perhaps the +most skilfully drawn example of a development of character. The hypocrite +is quite carried away by the riches to which he unexpectedly +succeeds.(212) Another successful conversion is that of Theophilus at the +end of _The Virgin Martyr_. It is due partly to his eating the heavenly +fruit, for which he had asked Dorothea at her death, partly to the effect +which the grace and beauty of Angelo produce on his mind. The gradual +growth of his new belief, in spite of all that Harpax can do, is managed +with much skill, and it is in itself true to nature that the man who had +been violent in one direction should ultimately be violent in another. +Moreover, we are bound to remember that when people are soon persuaded, +the play gets on. Indeed, I think we have in this consideration the clue +to the whole matter; “the Stage Poet” had a practical mind. + +Change of mood and vacillation of purpose, under the stress of temptation, +or due to the conflict of contrary impulses, are features of some of +Massinger’s best scenes. The wavering of the love-sick Caldoro while +Durazzo is abusing him is very true to life.(213) The skill with which the +“melancholy” Vitelli’s changes of mood are depicted in _The Renegado_(214) +suggests the theory that Massinger is drawing his own portrait. The +alternation of pride and humility in Honoria in _The Picture_(215) is +forcibly shown. The just anger of Sophia at the end of the same play +yields skilfully to a combined intercession. + +As a rule, however, the changes are too rapid. Thus, in _The Maid of +Honour_, Aurelia, when she hears that Camiola has ransomed Bertoldo and +bound him with a promise to marry her, suddenly changes her mind; she has +been on the point of marrying the faithless soldier, but, as she says: + + + On the sudden + I feel all fires of love quench’d in the water + Of my compassion.(216) + + +Though the change is natural, it is inartistically effected; it comes too +suddenly. Think, however, what an opportunity this would be for a great +actress. If we were in the audience, we should see the gradual development +reflected in her expression and bearing long before she utters the words +which embody her thought. + +Other instances of the same thing are to be found in Donusa’s conversion +to Christianity in _The Renegado_,(217) in the change of faith effected in +Calista and Christeta by Dorothea’s story of the King of Egypt and Osiris’ +image,(218) and in the indecision of Lorenzo about matrimony in _The +Bashful Lover_.(219) + +Change of mind is an ungrateful and inartistic experience. It has landed +many honest politicians in bitter and undeserved reproaches. From +Aristotle’s time onwards Euripides has been blamed for his Iphigenia at +Aulis, who first feared to die, and then offered herself for her +country.(220) We certainly feel that in Massinger there are occasionally +instances of cheap repentance which do not seem real. Take the case of +Corisca in _The Bondman_; a bad woman repents, but though convinced we are +not pleased at the spectacle.(221) If Massinger had ever read the +_Poetics_ of Aristotle, he forgot or ignored the precept that a character +should be ὁμαλόν, or “consistent.”(222) If this is not the case there is a +danger that the effect will be μιαρόν, or “odious,” to use a word of which +Aristotle is fond. I think, then, that this charge is proven. Massinger +saw how effective on the stage a sudden change of character might be, but +lacked the necessary art to make it convincing. Hence some of his +characters are not even ὁμαλῶς ἀνώμαλοι.(223) Perhaps the explanation is +this, that, being a master of language, he overvalued the persuasiveness +of rhetoric.(224) It is not enough to portray the varying emotions which +sway the mind at a particular moment; to produce a satisfactory whole they +have to be fused together. The reader should not feel that the characters +are at the mercy of the situations in which they are placed, or they will +appear to be lay-figures or puppets, rather than live flesh and blood. + +Yet even here a defence of some sort can be set up for our poet. I will +endeavour to make my meaning clear by an analogy from music. It may have +occurred to someone to ask what the music of Mozart would have been like +if he had lived after Beethoven. Would it have been more serious and +sublime than it is? The question is worth asking, even if the only answer +to it be this, that without Mozart Beethoven would never have existed. I +think it is fair to argue that Massinger, in his constant effort after the +representation of change of character, was before his time; he was seeking +after a complex but possible effect, which the novelist can undertake but +which the limitations of the stage render almost impossible.(225) + +Is it fanciful to say that if he had lived in the eighteenth century, if +he had had before his eyes the work of Fielding, Richardson, and Smollett, +he would have been a good novelist, less cynical than Fielding, more +concise than Richardson, more ideal than Smollett? There are authors like +Euripides and Virgil whose very failures by a strange paradox seem part of +their greatness; and we may perhaps say that Massinger, by pointing the +way somewhat tentatively and blindly to subtle psychological studies, has +helped to build up the noble fabric of the English novel. + +Let us now turn to some miscellaneous points of interest in Massinger; and +first, let us note his imitation of Shakspere. It is tempting to suppose +that as he was at one time a dependent of a family which was intimate with +Shakspere he may have come across the man himself;(226) it is, at any +rate, simpler to remember that as he was thirty-two years of age when +Shakspere died, he can hardly have failed to meet him in his professional +relations. But we have no evidence of the fact. All we can say is that his +plays, like those of Fletcher, Webster, Tourneur, and others,(227) show a +constant study of Shakspere.(228) + +First let me give a few examples of the imitation of incidents. In _The +Roman Actor_,(229) Paris refers to a tragedy “in which a murder was acted +to the life,” which forced a guilty hearer to make discovery of his +secret; this recalls the play scene in Hamlet.(230) In _A Very Woman_(231) +Almira makes Antonio tell her his history. The hint of this is taken from +_Othello_.(232) In _The Fatal Dowry_(233) Beaumelle and her maid arrange +to be overheard, like Hero and Ursula in _Much Ado about Nothing_.(234) +The device by which Beaupré recovers her husband in _The Parliament of +Love_ is imitated from _All’s Well that Ends Well_ and _Measure for +Measure_. The banditti in _The Guardian_(235) respect the poor like the +outlaws in _The Two Gentlemen of Verona_.(236) The forest scenes in the +same play recall _As You Like It_ and _Midsummer-Night’s Dream_.(237) In +_The Bashful Lover_(238) the pretty tale of a sister which Ascanio tells +is a reminiscence of _Twelfth Night_.(239) The incident in the same play +of Hortensio with Ascanio in his arms(240) is modelled on _As You Like +It_.(241) Malefort’s behaviour to the tailor(242) is imitated from +Petruchio’s in _The Taming of the Shrew_.(243) The gibberish of the +pretended Indians in _The City Madam_(244) reminds us of Parolles’ +adventure in _All’s Well_.(245) The scene in _The Emperor of the +East_(246) where Eudocia professes to have eaten the apple is modelled on +_Othello_(247), where Desdemona asserts that the handkerchief is not lost. +In _The Bondman_(248) Zanthia overhears Corisca’s confession of love in +her sleep, as Iago does Cassio’s.(249) In _A New Way to pay Old +Debts_(250) Sir Giles Overreach, is carried off for treatment to a dark +room like Malvolio in _Twelfth Night_.(251) Almira in _A Very Woman_(252) +reminds us of the sleep-walking scene in _Macbeth_. The ghosts in _The +Unnatural Combat_(253) and _The Roman Actor_(254) are used like those in +the finale of _Richard III_. + +Parallels in thought and diction are also numerous. Take _The Roman +Actor_(255): + + + ARETINUS. Are you on the stage, + You talk so boldly? + + PARIS. The whole world being one, + This place is not exempted. + + +This goes back to Jaques in _As You Like It_.(256) In _The Maid of +Honour_(257) Jacomo talks of “trailing the puissant pike;” the phrase of +Pistol in _Henry V_.(258) In _The Emperor of the East_(259) Athenais makes +use of the phrase “prophetic soul,” which we remember in _Hamlet_.(260) +Leosthenes uses the same phrase in _The Bondman_(261) when the mutinous +slave Cimbrio boasts of the excesses of his friends. The pun which Hircius +makes on the cobbler’s awl(262) occurs in the first scene of _Julius +Cæsar_. The madness of the English slave in _A Very Woman_(263) comes from +the grave-diggers’ scene in _Hamlet_.(264) The “many-headed monster, +multitude” of Theodosius in _The Emperor of the East_(265) takes us back +to Coriolanus’ “beast with many heads”;(266) while the reference in the +same play(267) to the “stomach” reminds us of the fable of Menenius.(268) +In _The Bashful Lover_(269) Uberti discourses thus: + + + I look on your dimensions, and find not + Mine own of lesser size; the blood that fills + My veins, as hot as yours, my sword as sharp, + My nerves of equal strength, my heart as good. + + +This reminds us of Shylock in _The Merchant of Venice_(270) and the King +in _Henry V_.(271) Clarindore’s language in _The Parliament of Love_(272) +is modelled on Malvolio in _Twelfth Night_.(273) The same is true of Sir +Giles Overreach in _A New Way_.(274) Shakspere’s dislike of spaniels +reappears in the same play.(275) + +No doubt we must make deductions for the common idioms of the day,(276) +but the cumulative evidence of these parallels with the elder dramatist is +overwhelming.(277) + +Massinger is very fond of introducing doctors in his plays; so no doubt +are the other dramatists of this period. It is interesting to compare +Paulo in _A Very Woman_ with Corax in _The Lover’s Melancholy_ of Ford, +who deals successfully with two cases of mental derangement. Ford is more +subtle, Massinger more dignified. Thus we find in _The Virgin Martyr_(278) +a consultation about Antoninus’ health. Sapritius, the afflicted father, +hails the doctors thus: + + + O you that are half gods, lengthen that life + Their deities lend us; turn o’er all the volumes + Of your mysterious Æsculapian science + T’ increase the number of this young man’s days.(279) + + +Compare with this another passage in _The Duke of Milan_: + + + SFORZA. O you earthly gods, + You second natures, that from your great master, + Who join’d the limbs of torn Hippolytus, + And drew upon himself the Thunderer’s envy, + Are taught those hidden secrets that restore + To life death-wounded men!(280) + + +In _A Very Woman_(281) Paulo, on entering with two surgeons, is thus +addressed: + + + DUKE. My hand! You rather + Deserve my knee, and it shall bend as to + A second father, if your saving aids + Restore my son. + + VICEROY. Rise, thou bright star of knowledge, + Thou honour of thy art, thou help of nature. + Thou glory of our academies! + + +The old saying, “Ubi tres medici ibi duo athei,” referred to by Sir T. +Browne in _Religio Medici_ is recalled to us by these lines: + + + VICEROY. Observe his piety; I have heard, how true + I know not, most physicians, as they grow + Greater in skill, grow less in their religion; + Attributing so much to natural causes, + That they have little faith in that they cannot + Deliver reason for; this doctor steers + Another course.(282) + + +We find them again in _The Emperor of the East_,(283) where a surgeon is +contrasted with an empiric who vends his wares and talks much Latin, like +the quack in Ben Jonson’s _Alchemist_, while Paulinus complains of the +many medical impostors who prey upon the rich. The crisis of _The Duke of +Milan_(284) owes much to the action of doctors. The plot of _A Very Woman_ +hinges largely on the skill of the doctor Paulo, to whom we have referred +above. In this play we have two victims of melancholy, Almira and +Cardenes; the former is cured by falling in love with the disguised John +Antonio; the latter is Paulo’s patient. The recovery of the avaricious +father in _The Roman Actor_(285) is due to Paris acting in the part of a +doctor. The physician Dinant in _The Parliament of Love_ gives the +gallants a good lesson (IV., 5). And in _The Picture_(286) we find an +elaborate simile, in which soldiers are said to be the surgeons of the +State. In the same play Hilario,(287) when on starvation fare, is accosted +by a surgeon, who invites him to sell himself for “a living anatomy to be +set up in the surgeons’ hall.” Such passages,(288) and the zest with which +Massinger refers to potatoes, eringos, and the like,(289) together with +the rather wearisome allusions which he makes to “caudles” and +“cullises,”(290) lead us to wonder whether at one time of his life he may +have seriously studied medicine. There is a significant passage in _The +Parliament of Love_,(291) where Chamont says to the doctor Dinant, + + + Good master doctor, when your leisure serves, + Visit my house; when we least need their art, + Physicians look most lovely. + + +And close intercourse with doctors may have suggested the lines +immediately below: + + + NOVALL. The knave is jealous. + + PERIGOT. ’Tis a disease few doctors cure themselves of. + + +At the same time, let us not forget the passages where he shows a +knowledge of the law;(292) nor the fact that books have been written to +prove that Shakspere must have had a training in this or that +profession.(293) The really interesting point about the doctors in +Massinger is that they are so often praised as the healers of the mind; +the dramatist who delights in drawing gloomy, passionate characters seems +to have a high opinion for the profession which undertook to cure +“melancholy.”(294) In _A Very Woman_ he takes care to praise and reward +the doctor more highly than the surgeons. On the other hand, like most of +his contemporaries, he naturally makes the physician a part of the +machinery rather than an individual character. Even the doctor in _A Fair +Quarrel_, who takes an unusually large part in the plot, can hardly be +said to be more than a carefully drawn lay figure. The same remark applies +to the friars of Shakspere. + +The chief question about Massinger which interests the student of English +is the authorship of _Henry VIII_. Did he take part in writing that play +with Fletcher? There is a great mass of literature on this subject. As one +who has read the undoubted plays of Massinger many times, I am bound to +say that while there is much in the play which reminds one of Shakspere +and Fletcher, I find little trace of Massinger’s style. I do not deny that +there are one or two slight reminiscences; thus the word “file”(295) is a +favourite one with Massinger. We find blushing in the play once or +twice,(296) but then we find it elsewhere in Shakspere. Anne’s remark to +the old lady, “Come, you are pleasant,”(297) is in Massinger’s manner, but +he may have taken the turn from Shakspere. The strict metre of such a line +as this is like Massinger;(298) the same remark applies again: + + + SURREY. Has the King this? + + SUFFOLK. Believe it. + + SURREY. Will this work? + + +The fourth scene of the second act is a great law-court Scene, and +Massinger has several such, in which he may be copying Shakspere. The +combination of courtiers in dialogue which we get in various parts of +_Henry VIII_ is like Massinger;(299) but, to my mind, the scenes are more +clumsy than their parallels in Massinger. Sudden changes of mind are found +in _Henry VIII_;(300) and this is probably the strongest bit of evidence +in favour of Massinger’s authorship. The characters are not harmoniously +rounded off: Buckingham’s prayers for the King(301) do not please us; the +King’s scruples of conscience are not convincing;(302) Wolsey’s +meekness(303) and piety(304) do not ring true, though they anticipate the +picture of his last year which we get in Cavendish’s Life—but all these +blemishes may be due to hasty work or dual authorship. Failure in +representing vacillation and complexity of character is, as we have seen +above, a note of Massinger, but the failures of this kind in _Henry VIII_ +are marked by a sentimentality which reminds us of Fletcher. + +Let us see now what there is in the play unlike Massinger. To begin with, +there are many passages in Shakspere’s difficult later style,(305) and +there is a complete absence of Massinger’s sinuous sentences and frequent +parentheses, as also of his peculiar vocabulary; there are many flights of +high and tender poetry which are beyond his compass; there are brilliant +γνῶμαι, such as— + + + GRIFFITH. Noble madam, + Men’s evil manners live in brass, their virtues + We write in water,(306) + + +or, + + + CHANCELLOR. But we are all men, + In our own natures frail, and capable + Of our flesh; few are angels,(307) + + +which are quite out of his range of power. + +Again, there is a curious series of links in the play, by which characters +who are to come on later are introduced; it seems to be an attempt to give +unity to a disconnected work. Thus, the King’s belief in Cranmer is early +indicated;(308) Cromwell’s future success is foreshadowed by Wolsey;(309) +Gardiner’s dislike of Cranmer is brought before us.(310) This is a method +of which I can recall no instance in Massinger’s undoubted plays. + +In spite of his roughness and ferocity, Henry is more of a man than any of +Massinger’s tyrants; there is no parallel in Massinger to Anne Boleyn, +slight as her portrait is; while Katherine and Wolsey are alike far +superior to anything of his. Lastly, the pageantry and processions of the +play do not appear in Massinger’s simple designs. + +The authors of _Henry VIII_ were essaying an impossible task. They were +trying to construct an historical play out of materials which were too +various to make artistic unity feasible, and they had to make an +unattractive character the centre of the piece. Consequently, they decided +to end the play at the christening of Elizabeth, and to cover their +retreat with gorgeous rhetoric about the Virgin Queen(311) and her Stuart +successor. It would have been quite impossible to introduce the death of +Anne Boleyn, or any further incident of the reign, without harrowing the +feelings of the spectator and losing all sense of proportion. But they do +make a desperate effort to centre our attention on the King as a +commanding figure; he comes before us as “the first gentleman in Europe,” +and as the anxious lover of his people; he is represented as torn by +conflicting emotions about the divorce, and as badly treated by Rome; all +we can say is, these facts are true, however unskilfully the play brings +them before us. Whatever the King does, we are meant to like him. His +victims all conspire to invoke the blessings of Heaven on his head; +Buckingham,(312) Wolsey,(313) Katherine,(314) all agree in this, reminding +us of John Stubbs the Puritan, who, when his right hand was cut off for +writing a book against Elizabeth’s proposed marriage, put off his hat with +his left, and said with a loud voice, “God save the Queen.” The +christening scene in Act V. is skilfully constructed so as to concentrate +our interest on Henry; we feel that he is a royal and heroic figure, whose +faults may in the last resort be palliated by the consideration that he is +the father of Elizabeth. + +I agree with the critics who regard the play as a failure from the +artistic point of view; it lacks unity, and it moves awkwardly. It might +even be called a spectacular experiment. But I rate it higher than they +seem to do; its faults are largely due to the subject; it has much of +Shakspere in it, as for example, the conscientious way in which the +historical details are introduced.(315) It is full of superb and moving +passages, and it uses the eleven-syllable line with skill and tenderness. +If some of its defects remind us faintly of Massinger, its excellences are +altogether beyond his abilities. Doubtless, it is natural to wish that +each play of Shakspere should excel its predecessor, and to be unwilling +to confess that he ended his career with something that was not supremely +excellent. In the same way we may be sorry that one of Mozart’s last +works, _Titus_, was a failure. But it is better to take things as we find +them than to seek to twist them into something else on inadequate grounds. + +Boyle’s attribution of _Henry VIII_ to Fletcher and Massinger(316) was +coldly received by the New Shakspere Society.(317) Let us look at his +arguments. I trust that condensation will do them no injustice. + +1. There is a change in the conception of the character of Buckingham. +Such changes constantly occur in the plays which Fletcher and Massinger +wrote together, notably in the character of Sir John Van Olden Barnavelt. +Therefore Massinger wrote part of _Henry VIII_. This line of argument, +even if valid, would only prove collaboration by Fletcher with someone +else. + +2. The Shakspere play _All is True_ may have perished in the “Globe” fire +of 1613. _Henry VIII_ was written to take its place, but not produced +before 1616. The evidence quoted for the date 1616-17 is very weak, and +does nothing to prove Massinger’s co-operation. + +3. If it be urged that the reputed authors of the play were alive in 1623, +when it was published as Shakspere’s work in the Folio, Boyle +replies,(318) “that, with the exception perhaps of Ben Jonson, it would +never have occurred to a dramatist of that age to claim as his property +what was published under another’s name.” This is a bold statement. Can an +instance of such indifference be quoted? Or are we merely bidden to +remember that Massinger was poor? + +4. Boyle then works through the scenes which he ascribes to Massinger. + +I., 1.—The opening is like _The Emperor of the East_, III., 1. “An +untimely ague” corresponds to “a sudden fever.” The resemblance of the +scenes is undoubted, and the parallel phrases are remarkable. Note, +however, that the writer says the same thing twice (lines 4 and 13), while +lines 9-12 are not like Massinger. + +I., 4.—Lines 1-18, and 60 to the end. I find no trace of Massinger’s style +in these passages. He never wrote lines 75-6: + + + The fairest hand I ever touch’d! O beauty, + Till now I never knew thee! + + +or such a phrase as “let the music knock it” _ad finem_. + +II., 1.—Lines 1-54, and 136 to the end. I find no trace of Massinger’s +style in these passages. Boyle has to allow that Fletcher altered several +lines in 1-54; this is precarious and subjective reasoning. + +II., 3.—Lines 1-11 are in the parenthetic manner, but quite unlike +Massinger’s. “Soft cheveril conscience” in line 31, and “you’d venture an +emballing” in line 47, are instances of the strong vocabulary which marks +the play.(319) Picturesque phrases of this kind are not characteristic of +Massinger’s style. + +Nor did Massinger ever sink so low as line 64: + + + A thousand pound a year, annual support.(320) + + +II., 4.—No doubt Massinger loves a forensic scene, but this one leads to +nothing and leaves the mind in confusion. Now, Massinger was too good an +artist to do that. The things the people say in this scene must have +passed through their minds in real life, but they are combined in such a +way as to be true to history rather than to dramatic propriety. The author +aims at telling what happened, and what happened does not always make a +good play. It might even be urged from what we know of Massinger that he +was too good a “stage-poet” to undertake an English historical play with +its necessary limitations. + +III., 2, 1-203.—The scene, like so much else in the play, lacks the +refinement and courtliness which Massinger always has at his command. It +may be noted that the bluff, coarse atmosphere of the “Shaksperian” scenes +is very suitable to the central figure of the play.(321) Henry VIII +infects his surroundings with himself, and this might be quoted as an +indication of Shaksperian skill. + +IV., 1.—The prosaic details of this scene are unlike anything in +Massinger.(322) + +V., 1.—The point of this scene is to concentrate our attention on +Elizabeth’s birth. The scene “sprawls” sadly, to use Boyle’s description +of Fletcher’s method. First we have Gardiner and Lovell, then Henry and +Suffolk, then Henry and Cranmer, then Henry and the old lady. Massinger +constructed better than this. + +V., 3, 1-113.—Such a speech as Cranmer makes (lines 58-69) is too short +for Massinger’s ample method, and its terse, broken style is singularly +unlike his. + +5. The few parallels of diction which Boyle brings forward are either from +plays which are not certainly by Massinger, or may be explained as due to +reminiscence or common phraseology. + +6. Boyle has much of value to say in his criticisms of the characters. But +again and again he seems to forget that the author is hampered by the +story. He could not treat Henry VIII as Schiller treated Mary Stuart; to +idealize the events would have been an act of _lèse-majesté_. + +It is true that Anne Boleyn is not a creation of the same order as +Shakspere’s later heroines—Imogen, Miranda, Marina, Perdita. Though +beautiful and charming, she is shallow and commonplace. Is not this, +however, the Anne Boleyn of real life? + +“Katherine is inferior to Hermione in _The Winter’s Tale_.” But why should +not her portrait be drawn on different lines? Is she not a proud Spanish +princess? She is certainly one of the great figures of English Tragedy. + +Wolsey is meant to be great but is really vulgar, while “his utter +collapse after disgrace is unnatural.” The reply is that Wolsey is a mixed +character, and none the worse dramatically for that; very able, very +unscrupulous in his use of the courtier’s tricks, very fond of power; but +not wholly bad. His repentance is true at once to human nature and to +history. + +“The king is unintelligible.” The fact is, it was impossible to make a +hero of Henry VIII; it does not, therefore, follow that Massinger helped +to write the play! Boyle is correct when he says that it is with Henry as +it is with Wolsey: “we receive our impressions of the characters from the +opinions formed of them by others.” In other words, the characterization +of the play is faulty. Some critics have supposed that this fact is due to +loss of mental power by Shakspere; it is simpler to hold the collaboration +with Fletcher as responsible for the jolts and jars which the play gives +the reader. If anyone still holds that Shakspere wrote the whole play, he +might plausibly take the line that Shakspere was experimenting in the new +style and metre of his popular young rival Fletcher. If, however, +Shakspere in his retreat at Stratford, in days when posts were infrequent +and locomotion slow, forwarded scenes and suggestions for Fletcher to work +up at his own sweet will, something like what we have would be the result. +Fletcher was evidently on his mettle on this occasion. I cannot prove that +Fletcher did not invite Massinger to help him in such an enterprise, and I +know how fond Massinger was of studying Shakspere. The latter argument, +however, cuts both ways. Again, Massinger may have had an earlier +Shaksperian style, very unlike his mature style; but this is pure +hypothesis. The evidence which we have does not justify us in saying more +than this, that he knew the play of _Henry VIII_ well.(323) + +It would take me too far from my purpose to discuss the authorship of _The +Two Noble Kinsmen_ in detail, interesting as the problem is, but as many +critics have assigned the “un-Fletcherian” parts of the play to Massinger, +I have, as in duty bound, read the play carefully several times. There is +very little trace of his style, or method, or metre. The only passage +which reads to me like Massinger is assigned by Boyle to Fletcher.(324) +Mr. Dugdale Sykes, in an acute article,(325) has produced some parallels +between Massinger and _The Two Noble Kinsmen_; but though one or two of +them are striking, they do not prove his case when they are looked at in +connexion with the context. + +Take, for example: + + + 3RD QUEEN. He that will all the treasure know o’ th’ earth + Must know the centre too.(326) + + +Mr. Sykes compares these lines in _The Parliament of Love_: + + + CLEREMOND. And I should gild my misery with false comforts, + If I compared it with an Indian slave’s, + That with incessant labour to search out + Some unknown mine, dives almost to the centre.(327) + + +On this passage I make two remarks: first, such similarity of thought as +is found here may be due to imitation or unconscious reminiscence of _The +Two Noble Kinsmen_. A man who constantly repeats himself is surely the +sort of person who would delight to borrow thoughts and phrases from other +writers, and to imitate whole scenes and incidents. Are we to suppose that +Massinger confined his studies to Shakspere? + +Secondly, let us judge the passage as a whole; it runs thus: + + + He that will all the treasure know o’ th’ earth + Must know the centre too; he that will fish + For my least minnow, let him lead his line + To catch one at my heart. + + +Anything more unlike Massinger than this fishing for minnows cannot be +imagined. + +Take again the parallel,(328) “which alone should be conclusive of +Massinger’s authorship”: + + + PIRITHOUS. Though I know + His ocean needs not my poor drops, yet they + Must yield their tribute there. My precious maid, + Those best affections, that the heavens infuse + In their best temper’d pieces, keep enthroned + In your dear heart.(329) + + +In _Believe as You List_ we have: + + + Though I know + The ocean of your apprehensions needs not + The rivulet of my poor cautions, yet, + Bold from my long experience, I presume, etc.(330) + + +Though the similarity of thought and expression in the first three lines +is manifest, the archaic simplicity of the first passage differs greatly +from the mature flow of the second. + +What is Mr. Sykes’ theory? “If we admit Massinger’s collaboration in this +play, at the very outset of his literary career, before his style was +definitely formed, and when the influence of the foremost dramatist of the +age was strongest upon him, the apparently ‘Shaksperian’ quality of its +verse can readily be explained.” On this proposition I make two remarks; +first, that as we have none of Massinger’s early works, I cannot prove +that he never wrote in the style of _The Two Noble Kinsmen_; I can only +assert with absolute certainty that none of his extant works has the least +resemblance to it. Secondly, as to the supposed “Shaksperian” colour of +the play, this is a point on which one’s judgment varies each time one +reads it. There is a great deal in the “un-Fletcherian” parts which +reminds one of Shakspere; some of it is so like his later style that it is +not surprising to find that many great critics have assigned it to him; +many other passages, however, seem just not to ring true; they are obscure +because they have little meaning. For let not the fact be disguised, in +spite of one great lyric, several splendid scenes, and some fine speeches, +there is much poor stuff in _The Two Noble Kinsmen_. + +The simplest explanation of the double ascription in the quarto of 1634 is +to suppose that Shakspere helped Fletcher in some way. He may even have +written the un-Fletcherian parts,(331) though, personally, I find traces +of Fletcher in them also; he may have left material which Fletcher worked +up; he may have merely suggested the construction of the plot, a +department in which Fletcher is weak. + +If, however, the “Shaksperian” parts be deemed unworthy of Shakspere, why +assign them to Massinger, whose work they do not resemble? Could no one +else have imitated Shakspere except Massinger? Why should not Fletcher +himself for once have caught the Shaksperian manner? Why should he not +have confided the execution of a part to someone else who was soaked in +Shakspere’s style? Why should not Beaumont have helped him here as +elsewhere,(332) or possibly Heywood? + +The archaic flavour of the play is to me the outstanding fact about it; we +know that plays on this subject were acted in 1566 and 1594. The archaic +flavour may be due to the influence of Chaucer on the writers; it is more +likely to be due to an earlier play having been taken and altered. It +might also be due to the collaboration of someone like Heywood, who, +though late in time, is surprisingly simple and early in style. The rustic +scenes are an instance of this very early manner.(333) If Shakspere and +Fletcher took an old play, and the former contributed a few turns to the +revised edition, then everything would be accounted for.(334) It will be +said that there are scenes which remind us of Lady Macbeth and Ophelia; +why should not an already existing play have suggested to Shakspere +something which he worked up in those two characters into a far finer +result? We know for a fact that much of his best work is based on older +plays. This random hypothesis is quite as probable as the supposition that +Massinger had anything to do with _The Two Noble Kinsmen_. + +Let us next consider Mr. Tucker Brooke’s position.(335) After a searching +and masterly analysis of the merits and defects of the play, he ends with +a guarded tendency towards assigning the “un-Fletcherian” parts to +Massinger on the following grounds: “The metrical tests give him an even +better title than his master [_i.e._, Shakspere] to the doubtful parts of +our play.” To this I reply that style is a more important test than metre. +There are, secondly, “the structural and psychological imperfections of +the work”; thirdly, “the tendency to unnecessary coarseness of language”; +fourthly, “the feeble imitation of Shakspere”; fifthly, “the frequent +similarity to Massinger’s acknowledged writings.” The only serious +argument against the assumption is that there is nothing in Massinger to +compare with “the magnificent poetry of the un-Fletcherian part.” + +Let us briefly look at these arguments. The work is “structurally and +psychologically imperfect.” True, and this point might be quoted to +support the theory that the play is based on an old and immature tragedy. +As far as concerns structure, Massinger’s plays are always strong; so that +part of the argument falls to the ground. No doubt his psychology is his +weak point, but its weakness is of a different kind from that which we +find in _The Two Noble Kinsmen_. There are no violent emotions of the sort +in which he rejoices in it. There are no characters in Massinger +resembling Palamon and Arcite. Mr. Brooke refers to their “spinelessness,” +and it is true that they are not much differentiated. I suppose, however, +that he would allow that they start by being a romantic pair of friends, +that their quarrel when they first see Emilia is lifelike, and that their +subsequent behaviour is chivalrous. When he refers to “the really +revolting wishy-washiness and ingrained sensuality of Emilia” he uses +exaggerated language. The fact is, that Emilia is in a very difficult +position, and if her character is ambiguous it is the fault of the story +rather than of the author. + +“The tendency to unnecessary coarseness of language.” This is based in the +main on Hippolyta’s language,(336) with which Mr. Sykes compares a passage +in _The Unnatural Combat_.(337) I have discussed the supposed coarseness +of Massinger’s heroines elsewhere. In spite of everything that Boyle can +say, with his catalogue of twenty-two passages, I wonder who is right +about Massinger’s women, Boyle or Courthope, who says that “his portraits +of women show more delicacy of feeling and imagination than those of any +English dramatist with the exception of Shakspere.”(338) I, at any rate, +feel that Courthope is nearer the truth than Boyle and his followers. + +“Feeble imitation of Shakspere.” That there is imitation of Shakspere in +Massinger we all know; but I deny that it is feeble, and we know that +others of the same age, like Fletcher, Webster, and Tourneur, have +delighted to imitate him. + +“The frequent similarity to Massinger’s writings.” In the first place, I +do not feel that the similarity is frequent; and secondly, as has already +been pointed out, what similarity there is may be due to imitation of _The +Two Noble Kinsmen_ by Massinger. Are we to suppose that the only author he +imitated or borrowed from was Shakspere? + +The final reservation raises mixed feelings. I am tired of those writers +who grudgingly attribute to Massinger the leavings of other playwrights, +making him the whipping boy of his age, and who proceed to qualify their +theories by doubts as to his ability to attain to the excellences which +they perforce discover in them. I will be so far generous to Mr. Brooke as +to allow that “the magnificent poetry of the un-Fletcherian parts” is +unlike Massinger, because there is no reason for supposing that he wrote +any of these parts. Massinger’s fame can stand on its own merits without +these churlishly conceded ascriptions of doubtful work. + +And now let us pass to Boyle’s notable article on this subject.(339) Much +as I admire his learning and zeal, I am amazed at the perversity of his +judgment and the thinness of his arguments. Let us take them in order. +“There is a want of development in the dramatic character”(340) of _The +Two Noble Kinsmen_. This Boyle ascribes to the fact that, as elsewhere, +Massinger’s conceptions were blurred by Fletcher’s co-operation in other +parts of the play. As this argument begs the question it has no weight. +“Allusions to Shakspere are characteristic both of Massinger and _The Two +Noble Kinsmen_.”(341) Are we to suppose that no one imitated Shakspere +except Massinger? “The metrical structure of the play corresponds closely +with Massinger’s general style.”(342) Here, however, Boyle has to allow +that the percentages for double endings are not what you would expect. And +I look with suspicion on a writer who professes to be so certain of these +tests that he can assign I., 1-40, and V., 1-19, to Fletcher. “Massinger +is fond of classical allusions, as is the author of _The Two Noble +Kinsmen_.”(343) This argument deserves no consideration when we remember +that the fact is true of other Elizabethan writers. For example, we find +“the helmeted Bellona,”(344) and Massinger is fond of the sonorous +word.(345) Yes, but Bellona is not unknown in Shakspere. M. Arnold has +pointed out that she occurs in a weak passage of Macbeth.(346) “Medical +and surgical similes occur in both.”(347) When we come to investigate +these we find that the remarks in question are of a commonplace kind. “The +characters of _The Two Noble Kinsmen_ resemble those of Massinger.”(348) +Theseus, for example, resembles Lorenzo in _The Bashful Lover_. I see no +resemblance. “Palamon and Arcite may be met with in many of Massinger’s +plays.”(349) I fail to find them anywhere. “The three ladies are grossly +sensual in their remarks.”(350) I have dealt with this point before, and +it really amounts to a mischievous obsession in Boyle’s mind. Let us take +the passages seriatim; Emilia is talking privately to Hippolyta(351) about +a dead girl friend to whom she was devoted when young. In the course of +this beautiful passage she says: + + + The flower that I would pluck + And put between my breasts, then but beginning + To swell about the blossom, oh! she would long + Till she had such another, and commit it + To the like innocent cradle, where phœnix-like + They died in perfume. + + +I am ashamed to waste words in vindicating this passage, which Boyle sets +by the language of Iachimo in Cymbeline in describing the mole on Imogen’s +breast(352) to a company of gentlemen. + +The next one is “decisive of the question of the authorship of our play.” + + + 1ST QUEEN. When her arms, + Able to lock Jove from a synod, shall + By warranting moonlight corslet thee, O when + Her twinning cherries shall their sweetness fall(353) + Upon thy tasteful lips, what wilt thou think + Of rotten kings and blubbered queens? What care + For what thou feel’st not, what thou feel’st being able + To make Mars spurn his drum? O, if thou covet + But one night with her, every hour in’t will + Take hostage of thee for a hundred, and + Thou shalt remember nothing more than what + That banquet bids thee to.(354) + + +Though there are passages in Massinger of which the thought is similar to +that presented here, I do not judge it or them as severely as Boyle. The +point, however, which I wish to make is this: these lines are typical of +what I have called the archaic flavour of the play. Where in Massinger’s +works will you find “warranting moonlight,” “tasteful lips,” “twinning +cherries,” “rotten kings and blubbered queens,” or “Mars’ drum”? The idea +that Massinger wrote this passage is quite preposterous; the only thing in +it which reminds one of him is the “and” at the end of line 204. + +Lastly, we have Hippolyta’s words in the same scene: + + + Yet I think + Did I not by the abstaining of my joy, + Which breeds a deeper longing, cure their surfeit + That craves a present medicine, I should pluck + All ladies’ scandal on me.(355) + + +Hippolyta agrees in these lines to postpone her wedding in order that the +Queens should be avenged on Creon. No doubt the lines are crude, but Boyle +goes too far with his “cloven hoof,” his “effluvia of social corruption,” +his “thick miasma.” + +“There is a close parallel between _The Two Noble Kinsmen_ and _A Very +Woman_ in the treatment of madness.”(356) I do not see much similarity +between the prose of the one play and the poetry of the other, but so far +as any exists it is due to the common ideas of the age as to the way in +which to treat the mad. “The reflections in the dialogue of Palamon and +Arcite,(357) on the corruptions of Thebes, the neglect of soldiers, the +extravagance of fashion, are allusions such as Massinger makes to +contemporary English life.”(358) The allusions are such as any moralist +might make, and if the rough and immature style in which they are +expressed is not like Massinger’s the argument falls to the ground. + +“There are a good many expressions in common between _The Two Noble +Kinsmen_ and Massinger.”(359) This is the really serious argument; but let +me repeat that similarity of thought and expression in isolated phrases +does not prove unity of authorship. Let us, however, look at some of these +parallels. + +Reference is twice made in _The Two Noble Kinsmen_ to “the wheaten +garland” of brides.(360) Massinger refers to “the garland” of a bridegroom +in three passages.(361) I fail to see the connexion. Notice also that +Massinger does not use the epithet “wheaten” in these passages. + +Theseus says, “Troubled I am,” and turns away.(362) It was quite natural +that he should think twice before postponing his wedding. Boyle compares a +passage where Ladislas is in uncertainty(363): + + + I am much troubled, + And do begin to stagger. + + +People in Massinger’s plays are often perplexed, and so they are in real +life. Note that Theseus ends his remark with these words at the beginning +of a line. When Massinger’s characters are in perplexity their way of +expressing themselves is quite different; it is more full and rounded off. + +Theseus says: “Forward to the temple,”(364) being anxious to be married. +“Similar words in similar situations occur in Massinger.”(365) In neither +case, however, is it a bridegroom who speaks. + + + _The Two Noble Kinsmen_, I., 165, 166: + + 1ST QUEEN. And that work presents itself to th’ doing; + Now ’twill take form, the heats are gone to-morrow. + + +Boyle says this is obscure, but can be explained by _Empress of the East_: + + + That resolution which grows cold to-day + Will freeze to-morrow.(366) + + +The thought is a familiar one; and can anyone suppose that Massinger wrote +line 165? + +The expression “our undertaker”(367) recalls a word used by +Shakspere.(368) Massinger also has it twice;(369) the parallel is +interesting, but the word was a cant political term of Jacobean times. + +The fact that apes imitate is referred to in these lines:(370) + + + ’Tis in our own power— + Unless we fear that apes can tutor’s—to + Be masters of our manners. + + +In _The Emperor of the East_ we find: + + + You are master of the manners and the habit, + Rather the scorn of such as would live men, + And not, like apes, with servile imitation + Study prodigious fashions.(371) + + +Surely there is no need to assume common authorship here. The imitative +ape has been common property for a long time. + +A peculiarity of a sick man is referred to, thus: + + + I must no more believe thee in this point + Than I will trust a sickly appetite, + That loathes even as it longs.(372) + + +Massinger in _A Very Woman_ has: + + + No more of Love, good father, + It was my surfeit, and I loathe it now, + As men in fevers meat they fall sick on.(373) + + +The simile is a part of ordinary experience and literary convention. You +might as well argue that Massinger wrote _Euphues_. + +The jailer’s daughter leaves the scene with this remark: + + + It is a holiday to look on them; Lord, the difference of men.(374) + + +Lidia, in _The Great Duke of Florence_, when Sanazarro seems to be +treating her rudely, exclaims: + + + Oh, the difference of natures!(375) + + +But she does not leave the stage. + +We might say: Oh, the difference of styles! In the one case we have a +rustic maiden of low birth; in the other, a lady justly offended. + +I do not deny that some of the parallels are remarkable, but they may be +due to imitation or reminiscence. Take the words: + + + Thou, O jewel, + O’ th’ wood, o’ th’ world, hast likewise blest a place + With thy sole presence.(376) + + +In _The Great Duke of Florence_ we find: + + + And what place + Does he now bless with his presence?(377) + + +The phrase is one which Massinger’s courtly mind would treasure and +delight to use. + +Theseus, addressing Artesius, says: + + + Forth and levy + Our worthiest instruments, whilst we despatch + This grand act of our life, this daring deed + Of fate in wedlock.(378) + + +Phrases like this are found in Massinger; thus in _The Maid of Honour_, +Roberto says of the wedding of Bertoldo and Aurelia: + + + And rest assur’d that, this great work despatch’d, + You shall have audience.(379) + + +They may be due to reminiscence, though it is simpler to regard them as +the current English of the day. + +The strongest evidence for Boyle’s theory is contained in Palamon’s +invocation to Venus:(380) + + + I never practised + Upon man’s wife, nor would the libels read + Of liberal wits; I never at great feasts + Sought to betray a beauty. + + +These words certainly remind us of Leosthenes in _The Bondman_, both in +thought and style: + + + Nor endeavour’d + To make your blood run high at solemn feasts, + With viands that provoke; the speeding philtres; + I worked no bawds to tempt you; never practised + The cunning and corrupting arts they study + That wander in the wild maze of desire.(381) + + +I think, however, that reminiscence will suffice to account for the +parallel. The man who could write the last line of this passage has no +need to buttress up his fame with _The Two Noble Kinsmen_, though it is of +course conceivable that he edited it for publication in 1634. + +Lastly, the method of Massinger calls for a few words. It has been noticed +by all the critics that he often repeats himself. As is the case with +Plautus the same metaphors, thoughts, and words recur from time to time in +similar situations. It is clear that this characteristic might help us to +trace those parts of Fletcher’s plays in which Massinger collaborated. + +One or two simple instances of this fact may be quoted: the characters in +Massinger are very fond of blushing;(382) references to the talkativeness +of women are frequent;(383) metaphors from the sea and sailing are very +common;(384) people are fond of saying that they mean to do something but +they do not know what;(385) the exact courtier kneels and kisses the robe +of a lady or her foot, and is sometimes rebuked for doing so.(386) + +As a good moralist, Massinger dislikes suicide(387) and duelling.(388) The +latter practice is referred to in his plays as a new-fangled importation +from abroad. + +Let us now quote some of his favourite words: references need not be given +for “honour”; wherever we find “atheist” for a bad man,(389) or +“magnificent” for munificent,(390) or the Latin phrase “nil ultra,”(391) +or the Greek words “apostata”(392) and “embryon”;(393) wherever we find +“frontless”(394) impudence and “sail-stretched” wings(395) and +“libidinous”(396) Caesars; wherever the moisture of the lips is compared +to nectar,(397) wherever we read of “the centre”(398) or of “horror,”(399) +or of washing an Ethiop,(400) there we are on familiar ground. Again, it +is a characteristic of Massinger, which offends some of his readers more +than others, that he is always ready with the obvious remark. Thus, when +Marrall, after a career of tergiversation is finally kicked off the stage, +he says: + + + This is the haven + False servants still arrive at.(401) + + +In _The Emperor of the East_, when the complications about Paulinus’ apple +are getting rather serious, the Princess Flaccilla makes the remark, which +is certainly in the mind of the reader: + + + All this pother for an apple!(402) + + +When Leosthenes allows himself to be intolerably coarse in his language to +Cleora, we read these words: + + + CLEORA. You are foul-mouth’d. + + ARCHEDAMUS. Ill-manner’d, too.(403) + + +When Hilario seeks to amuse his mistress with an absurd message from the +front, and she observes, “This is ridiculous,”(404) we feel inclined to +say, “Not only ridiculous, but not worth writing.” When Cardenes, after +lying as dead for some time, gives signs of life, the Viceroy very justly +observes: + + + This care of his recovery, timely practis’d, + Would have expressed more of a father in you, + Than your impetuous clamours for revenge.(405) + + +It will be remembered that Shakspere had used this device in his day. +Compare _Richard II_: “Can sick men play so nicely with their names?”(406) +_Midsummer-Night’s Dream_: “Lord, what fools these mortals be!”(407) _1 +Henry VI_: “Here is a silly stately style indeed!”(408) + +What impression do we get of Massinger from his writings? He was the +intimate friend and associate of Fletcher; how far was he a man of the +same stamp? Both as a poet and a stylist Fletcher is his superior; he is +more tender and more varied; in isolated scenes he attains a high degree +of pathos. From time to time the bursts of lovely poetry which illustrate +his plays make us bow the head as though in the presence of an enchanter. +The fifty plays which are currently associated with his name, with all +their faults, are a veritable fairyland. Again, there is a terse piquancy +about him, which expresses itself in clear-cut, vigorous lines, such as we +find rarely in our poet. And he has a real vein of humour, which makes one +laugh heartily.(409) Nor is his direct and lucid prose style to be +despised. On the other hand, he was not a great artist; his plots, though +usually bustling, are often improbable; his character-drawing is +constantly fickle and inconsequent. Thus, according to Boyle,(410) in _The +Honest Man’s Fortune_, Tourneur and Massinger make Montague a gentleman; +in Act V. Fletcher destroys all that was good in Massinger, but makes good +sport for the groundlings. He maintains that the same thing happens to +Buckingham in _Henry VIII_ and to Barnavelt. Though there are many +life-like characters in his works, to whom we feel attracted, such as Leon +in _Rule a Wife and have a Wife_ and Valerio in _The Wife for a Month_, +they are too often made to do improbable things. Again, as a moralist +Fletcher falls far behind Massinger. He shows from time to time a +high-flown and tainted sentimentality which is far removed from real life. +Indeed, the bad use to which he puts his great talent is often enough to +make angels weep. He more than anyone is responsible for the Puritan +reaction; he more than anyone is responsible for most of what was bad in +the Restoration drama, and he has had his reward. Except by the student, +his work is forgotten. It can hardly be doubted that the death of Fletcher +was a gain to Massinger in emancipating him from the co-operation of a +fascinating but unsafe guide.(411) In standing alone he learnt to perfect +all that was best in his own gifts. + +It is difficult to form a clear judgment of Beaumont. The more I read what +scholars attribute to him, the more I feel disposed to agree with Sir A. +Ward that Beaumont and Fletcher were men of the same mind and tastes. It +is plain that the author of _Philaster_, _The Maid’s Tragedy_, and _A King +and No King_ had a range of passion and pathos beyond Massinger. +_Philaster_ is incomparable, and as we read the other two plays we hurry +on from scene to scene; when we put the book down we are perturbed. They +have carried us away in spite of their grave faults. The glorious nonsense +of _The Knight of the Burning Pestle_ is equally beyond Massinger. On the +other hand, such disagreeable plays as _The Coxcomb_ and _Cupid’s Revenge_ +do not invite a second perusal. I do not feel that Beaumont was cleaner in +mind than Fletcher, or more balanced in judgment. When we come to the +department of metre we seem to be on surer ground; the metre of Beaumont +has high qualities, and his decasyllabic verse reminds me of the cold +purity of a waterfall. In style his lines constantly have a marked +simplicity and directness which anticipate Wordsworth. He can write a line +in which the words run in the order which they would have in prose, and +hence his great strength. On the other hand, he is often careless about +the length of his lines, possibly from a love of variety. He is fond of +rhyme, and introduces prose freely into his scenes. His models appear to +have been Marlowe for metre and Ben Jonson for treatment. He has a liking +for burlesque, as witness _The Knight of the Burning Pestle_, _The +Woman-Hater_, and Arbaces in _A King and No King_.(412) All this is very +unlike Massinger. + +It may be asked, how does Massinger compare with Webster? This question +naturally rises in the mind at a moment when a gifted writer, snatched +from us before his time, has left us an interesting and scholarly study of +Webster. Mr. Rupert Brooke makes no secret of his contempt for Fletcher, +and “the second-rate magic” of Massinger; he regards Webster as the last +of the strong school of Elizabethan dramatists. + +Are we to compare _Westward Ho!_, _Northward Ho!_, and _The Cure for a +Cuckold_ with _A New Way to pay Old Debts_ and _The City Madam_? They are +less refined, less skilfully constructed. The stage is more crowded, and +the characters are worse drawn. The same considerations apply to the +_Malcontent_(413) and _The Devil’s Law-case_. Mr. Brooke practically +allows that he means by Webster, _The White Devil_ and _The Duchess of +Malfi_, and these plays alone. Let it be said at once that it is an +ungrateful task to magnify one poet at the expense of another. We allow +that in these two plays Webster comes nearer to Shakspere than any of his +compeers. He has a great, a subtle, a well-stored mind; he produces +isolated tragic effects of the most poignant kind; he is a master of +atmosphere; he plays with the feelings of his auditors; he can dazzle them +by “his miraculous touches of poetic beauty.” + +On the other hand, he is not a clear thinker, nor are his plays skilfully +planned. I should imagine that they read better than they act. For +instance, the scene in _The Duchess of Malfi_, where Ferdinand gives the +heroine the dead hand, fills us with horror. I doubt if it would be +effective on the stage. Webster’s rhymes are poor, and his prose worse +than Massinger’s. Sir Sidney Lee(414) says his blank verse is “vigorous +and musical”; to me it seems too often ragged and halting. But the chief +objection to Webster is that he lives in “a world of repulsive themes and +fantastic crimes.” He revels in the sinister suggestions aroused by +skulls, dead hands, ghosts, echoes, and madmen. His mind was morbid, and +his successes are like lightning flashes of splendid power piercing a +gloomy and sullen background. + +The fact that he was not a productive writer may weigh less with some +critics than with others; more important is it to remember that +Massinger’s plays held the stage much longer than Webster’s. This fact may +fairly be taken to prove the appeal which the former has successfully made +to the human heart. Webster, in short, compared with Shakspere, reminds us +somewhat of the contrast between Mantegna and Raphael. + +In one or two respects Webster has affinities with Massinger. Both +frequently imitate Shakspere; and both repeat themselves continually, +though in different ways. Whereas Massinger used the same vocabulary and +terms of thought again and again, Webster quotes whole sentences from one +of his plays in another, as if he felt, like some of the Greek writers of +antiquity, that when he had said a thing as it should be said, he had the +right to use it again.(415) + +It is difficult to compare Massinger with Ben Jonson: both wrote Roman +plays and domestic comedies; but Ben Jonson has at once a greater mind and +a wider range of experiment. He was a learned man, a great figure in +society, the dictator of a circle of wits, the centre of many friendships +and enmities. He would probably regard Massinger as a pale-featured, +gentle hack. We know more about his full-blooded personality than about +any other writer of the period, and while there is much in him to offend, +there is more to inspire our respect. + +Our immediate object is to compare the two writers as dramatists. It is at +once clear that they work on different lines. Massinger is a follower of +Shakspere and Fletcher, though we can trace in some of his tragedies the +influence of Webster and Tourneur. In his comedies, we see some +approximation to Ben Jonson; it is instructive to compare _Eastward Ho!_ +with _The City Madam_. A fundamental difference of method is at once seen; +Massinger deliberately eschews the use of prose. It must at once be +conceded that he has left nothing on so colossal a scale as _Every Man in +his Humour_, _Volpone_, _Epicoene_, _The Alchemist_, and _Bartholomew +Fair_. Here we find skilful plot, masterly characterization, and ludicrous +combinations. How heartily we laugh over the Plautine scene before Cob’s +house in _Every Man in his Humour_,(416) or at the intrusion of unbidden +guests at Morose’s wedding, or at the deception practised on the two +knights in the gallery.(417) How dazzled we are with the kaleidoscopic +“vapours” of the great Fair. On the other hand, in what Dryden calls the +“dotages,” we find a great falling off. Ben Jonson can be very dull. Still +even in _The Devil is an Ass_ and _The Staple of News_ there is a vein of +original fancy, which reminds us that we are dealing with no imitator, but +with an original and poetical mind. Nor must we forget the splendid series +of Masques, into which Ben Jonson put some of his best work; to this +Massinger has but little to oppose. And then, as we all know, Ben Jonson +bursts out from time to time with a great lyric, whereas Massinger’s songs +are commonplace. Lastly, in _The Case is Altered_, we have a plot in the +manner of Fletcher which is so successful as to make us regret that Jonson +did not try this type of play again. Though it has not the atmosphere of +Massinger, it has something of the mellow graciousness at which he, like +Fletcher, aimed. + +It would be silly to deny Jonson’s superiority of intellect, and of +attainment when at his best. His faults are, however, very serious. Though +he can draw a man of good breeding, his women are very ordinary. He is too +fond of incorporating long passages from the classical authors whom he +knew so well; he would have been more attractive if he had used +Aristophanes and Plautus, Ovid and Libanius, as inspirations rather than +as materials. The notes on Sejanus are a liberal education, but after all, +“the play’s the thing.” The use of “humour” and “vapours,” though at first +brilliant and captivating, even becomes artificial and tedious; no one is +the embodiment of one passion or weakness. Let us be thankful that human +nature is not so simple or consistent, for in that case it would cease to +interest. More serious still, Jonson has no sense of proportion; we read +Knowell’s soliloquy in _Every Man in his Humour_,(418) and we say, “Fine! +but too long”; and we say this again and again as we read his works. The +great length of the fifth act of Sejanus is a good instance of this fault. +Indeed, it is impossible that the play was acted in the form which we now +have—it would have emptied the house, like Burke’s speeches. When Jonson +gets on to some subject of which he knows the technical terms, such as +“fucuses”(419) or “alchemy,” he is almost as tedious as Kipling’s +Macandrew. His plots are at times too skilful; thus, even Brainworm in +time gets on our nerves. His coarseness is that of a common soldier, and +his puns are bad. + +Are there any points of contact between the two authors? I do not wish to +suggest that Massinger owed nothing to the older writer, though parallels +of diction may mean little but the simultaneous use of the idioms of the +day. Thus in _The Staple of News_ we find, “I do write man,”(420) +“blacks,”(421) “kiss close,”(422) “nectar,”(423) “magnificent”(424); +tossing in a blanket is referred to,(425) and the saints(426) at +Amsterdam, while the cook’s fortifications(427) remind us of a passage in +_A New Way to pay Old Debts_. In Sejanus we find “passive fortitude” +commended.(428) “He puts them to their whisper,”(429) reminds us of _The +Roman Actor_. Sejanus’ change of temper to his satellites(430) when he +fancies danger is past resembles that of Domitian in the same play. _The +City Madam_ has touches of plot and style which recall Volpone. + +There is, however, little contact between Ben Jonson and Massinger. Their +births were separated by only ten years, but a much longer period than +that seems to divide them. Friend of the great as he was, Ben Jonson was +yet an Aristophanic, nay, a Rabelaisian democrat; Massinger is a gentleman +and a courtier. The one has the vigour and immaturity of the Elizabethan +age, and in him we feel in contact with the obsolete Mystery and Morality +plays;(431) the other has the refinement and romance of the Caroline era. +The one is a powerful satirist and a pugnacious fighter; the other lives +in an ideal world. On the one side is _vis consili expers_; on the other, +a more limited intellect with a surer artistic sense. If I may venture to +say so, they differ from one another as an apple from a pear. I do not +deny that Ben Jonson was the greater man, but I find him more archaic and +more difficult to read than Massinger. Much of the interest of his plays +is dead for us, his local colour and topical allusions, which require so +many notes, are more tedious; his personal likes and dislikes, his +egotism, his vanity, are wearisome; and though his blank verse is strong +and manly, it is not so melodious as Massinger’s. The older man stands +foursquare and solitary; the younger man reaches forward to posterity, and +we feel him to be linked by his art and grace to ourselves. Though Dryden +never mentions Massinger, there is a dignified capacity which is common to +the two authors. + +Massinger’s chief rival in the latter part of his life was Shirley. +Shirley’s plays are full of interest; his graceful style rises +occasionally into poetry, at which the author himself seems to smile; his +plots are full of ingenious turns; his female characters are more +confidently developed than Massinger’s, nor is he unable to draw a +lifelike man, as we see from Lorenzo in _The Traitor_ and Columbo in _The +Cardinal_. He excels in the battledore and shuttlecock of love-making; he +tells us far more of the manner of well-bred contemporary society than +Massinger. Indeed, it is probable that he had a greater success in his day +than his rival, and was more in touch with Court circles, though even the +loyal Shirley discreetly satirizes from time to time the government of +Charles I. He is not devoid of humour and epigram; his dialogue is light +and sprightly. He reaches back to Fletcher and forward to Dryden; we seem, +as we read his plays, to be a long way removed from the labour of Jonson, +the pomp of Chapman, the vernal simplicity of Heywood. On the other hand, +we miss in him the breadth and strength, the dignity, the nobility, and +the fire of Massinger. He is more of a photographer than a painter. Though +his style has eloquence, the thought is often far from clear, and the long +sentences are clumsy. There is something slight and unsubstantial about +the whole thing, while the metre is continually careless and lame. + +In assigning Massinger’s place in the drama of his age, we have to +remember that the period falls into two well-defined parts. He has very +little in common with Marlowe, Greene, and Peele, and still less with the +charming Dresden china of Lyly. Marlowe’s generation breathes the +freshness and vehemence of the spring, while Massinger reflects the silver +lights of September. So rapid was the development of fifty years, that to +pass from the one to the other is like going from the lancet windows of +Salisbury Cathedral to the tracery of William of Wykeham. While we miss +the purity and simplicity of Early English, it would be foolish to ignore +the strength of design and proportion that maturity and experience +brought. The towers and battlements, the lierne vaulting, the large +windows, and generous clerestories of Perpendicular do much to atone for +the spiritless detail and mechanical wall-panelling. A similar +consideration applies to the Jacobean dramatists when compared with their +Elizabethan predecessors. + +Shall I be thought presumptuous in setting Massinger against Shakspere? +The attempt may, at any rate, help to elicit a true estimate; the +suggestion has often been made before. Shakspere seems to have been from +his writings a man of great receptivity, unerring knowledge of human +nature, profound wisdom, and infinite sweetness, the master of all the +arts which we associate with a good poet. Massinger reminds us of Ben +Jonson, though he is less consciously clever, less cumbered with learning, +less combative.(432) He is modest,(433) manly, lucid, sane, and sensible, +capable of just indignation, one who respects himself, a faithful +friend,(434) and a wide reader; he knows a gentleman when he sees him; he +can pay compliments with good breeding; he has had his ups and downs in +life;(435) he is one who understood men better than women, and who, like +Sir Thomas Browne, “loved a soldier”;(436) a vigorous and business-like +artist, he is never worsted by his theme, but makes it lifelike and +interesting, with an unerring instinct for what is effective on the stage, +his very faults being largely due to this useful knowledge. That there was +a strain of noble melancholy in his mind can hardly be denied.(437) The +character which seems to me to embody Massinger himself is Charalois in +_The Fatal __ Dowry_. Whether he was musical I should doubt after the +perfunctory reference to the art in _The Fatal Dowry_.(438) We find +nothing in his plays like the famous idyllic description in Ford’s +_Lover’s Melancholy_.(439) On the other hand, he knew that vocal and +instrumental music were effective in a play; we need go no farther than +the end of Act IV. in _The Virgin Martyr_ for proof of this.(440) And +Cario uses the terms of music with great precision in _The Guardian_.(441) +On the whole we get the impression that he was an example of a rare +combination, modesty with independence of mind, a fact which, considering +what the circumstances of the literary life then were, is quite enough to +explain the hard struggle he seems to have undergone. + +It may be said that I am comparing a mighty genius with a second-rate +intellect. Are there any points in which Massinger can hold his own +against Shakspere? Granted that he falls short in passion, +imagination,(442) wit, diction, rhythm, lyric rapture, where does he +shine? + +It may at first hearing sound snobbish to point out that he was a +University man, but a good deal of truth lies hidden in that simple +phrase. Shakspere’s plays are marked by many faults of construction, +taste, and detail; he who never blotted a line should certainly, as Ben +Jonson remarked, have blotted a good many. It always seems to me that this +is a line of thought which is too much ignored by those who believe that +Shakspere wrote his own plays, and that Bacon had nothing to do with them. +The Baco-Shaksperians point, and very justly, to the surprising knowledge +and culture shown in the plays; they refuse to believe that all this can +have come from the brain of a Warwickshire rustic, forgetting the faults +which are so glaring, faults which are precisely those which a learned and +accurate scholar like Bacon would have avoided. + +Now Massinger is a correct and artistic writer. The little tricks of style +which were so dear to his mighty predecessor, the pun, the +alliteration,(443) the conceit, the verbal quibble,(444) are far less +obtrusive; he is free from that affectation and precious obscurity which +are so marked in Shakspere’s later style. And one small point may be +noticed in passing here, as an indication of good breeding: the characters +in Massinger very seldom address one another by name. It is significant +that Greedy and Overreach both offend in this way.(445) + +Though it is true that these faults were common to the age, they are so +marked in Shakspere that it is impossible to ignore them in any estimate +of the man. In the details of style, then, Massinger can claim credit for +being more correct. In a word, what he lacks in genius and poetry he +supplies to a certain extent by good taste and education. He shares this +advantage with his age, which was learning to correct the errors of the +past; the English language was advancing rapidly to more maturity and +balance than it had in the previous generation. + +I have already pointed out the careful study of Shakspere which we find in +Massinger, and the copious use of his imperial vocabulary. When we take +into account all the elements of the problem, when we make allowance for +quantity of work done, as well as for quality, would it be too much to say +that Massinger is as the pupil to the master, and that, though separated +by “a long interval,” he comes second?(446) This may seem a hard saying, +unless it is explained. I allow that Ben Jonson had a greater intellect; +that Beaumont and Fletcher had more genius, more pathos, more humour; that +Marlowe, Webster, and Ford, each in his own way, were greater poets. I put +Massinger next to Shakspere as a dramatist pure and simple, because his +best work is well-constructed and interesting, his style and metre +entrancing, his atmosphere charming and easy, yet ideal, his morality +mature and sane. And in praising his morality, I do not lay stress on the +benefits to be derived from the use of his plays as a school-book, though +that consideration is not to be despised but rather maintain that in +avoiding abnormal, tainted, and morbid themes he is in advance of his age; +consequently he is easier for us to read and understand than other writers +whose gifts were greater than his; he makes a successful and enduring +appeal to the _communis sensus_ of mankind. + +I now proceed to a short critical estimate of Massinger’s plays. The most +famous are _The Virgin Martyr_ in tragedy, and _A New Way to pay Old +Debts_ in comedy. Opinions have differed strangely about _The Virgin +Martyr_. It went through four editions in quarto in the seventeenth +century, a fact which testifies to its immediate popularity. Davies(447) +considered it far inferior to any of his other productions, and Mason was +equally severe. Even Hallam confessed that parts of it were far from +pleasing. There can be no doubt that these parts of the play, which the +critics now unanimously ascribe to Dekker, are responsible for giving +Massinger a bad name for coarseness. It is hard to carry supernatural +machinery through, as Fletcher’s _Prophetess_ shows, and we have here an +Angel, and a Devil, but they are on the whole managed successfully. The +first act is admirably proportioned; the fourth and fifth also are +masterly. There are a thrill and a glamour in the style of this play +unlike anything else in Massinger, due perhaps to the religious problem +dealt with.(448) The only fault of Dorothea is that, like other good +people, she is a bad judge of character. It gives us a shock to find +Spungius and Hircius members of her household, and at least we feel she +should not have put her charities in their hands, but should have attended +to the poor herself.(449) The Princess Artemia is a type common in +Massinger.(450) + +In _A New Way to pay Old Debts_ we have an ingenious plot which never +flags, adequate comedy, and characters which are appropriately, if not +very carefully, drawn. The style is strong and natural; it is not far from +this play to Goldsmith, and indeed the eighteenth century must have owed +much to it. In its atmosphere of ease and propriety there are no harsh +lights or discordant tints. + +The central idea of the plot was probably borrowed from a play of +admirable vivacity and dexterity, Middleton’s _Trick to catch the Old +One_, which appeared in 1607. What has Massinger added to Middleton? He +has made the plot more probable, refining the characters, and raising the +whole thing from prose to poetry. We laugh less, but we admire more, for +we feel that we are seeing something transacted which might have happened. + +Sir Giles Overreach is Massinger’s masterpiece, a superman of colossal +wickedness, with no belief in the honour or virtue of men or women.(451) +Though fond of money, he is not a miser, but loves to lavish his gains; +power is rather his foible; repeated success has made him reckless; his +aim is to increase his estates by bullying his poorer neighbours, and by +employing the sharp practices of the law. But he has yet one other +ambition, to see his only daughter married to a lord and to hear her +styled “Right Honourable.” His unscrupulousness is expressed in +often-quoted passages of great power; his frantic anger in the fifth act +is depicted with a skill which leaves no sympathy in our minds for a +father whose only daughter has treated him badly. Here Massinger is more +successful than his great model in the case of Shylock and Jessica. I +cannot agree that it is inconsistent with the character of Sir Giles that +he should be anxious for his daughter to marry a lord—there are several +passages in the earlier part of the play which show that he is not only a +bully but a base-born snob.(452) + +Where so much is admirable it is difficult to make selection, but we may +point out that Wellborn’s character is a fine piece of work; we pity his +disgrace, we rejoice in his success, we believe in his desire to do better +in the future. The grief of Lady Allworth for her husband and the jealous +fears of young Allworth when Lord Lovell is to meet Margaret are +excellently drawn. There are, moreover, touches of poetry in the play of a +high order, as, for instance: + + + ALLWORTH. If ever + The queen of flowers, the glory of the spring, + The sweetest comfort to our smell, the rose, + Sprang from an envious briar, I may infer, + There’s such disparity in their conditions, + Between the goodness of my soul, the daughter, + And the base churl, her father.(453) + + +Or in Allworth’s speech about his love: + + + Add this too; when you feel her touch, and breath + Like a soft western wind, when it glides o’er + Arabia, creating gums and spices; + And in the van, the nectar of her lips, + Which you must taste, bring the battalia on, + Well-arm’d, and strongly lined with her discourse, + And knowing manners, to give entertainment; + Hippolytus himself would leave Diana, + To follow such a Venus.(454) + + +The play which Massinger himself at one time esteemed the most highly was +_The Roman Actor_,(455) but we have to remember that much of his best work +was done after 1626, the date of the play. _The Roman Actor_, though most +admirable, is strong and hard rather than inspired. More than any other of +his works it shows us an element of greatness in the author’s mind, which +reveals itself in many ways; in the attractive and noble character of +Paris, in the mastery shown in dealing with a Roman theme, the local +colour of which is put on with a light and yet sure hand, in the skill +with which the story is invested with the atmosphere of tyranny, in the +breathless interest with which we follow the last moments of Domitian in +Act V., in the dexterity with which three smaller plays are introduced +into the action without in the least confusing the construction. In making +an actor the hero of the play, and in giving him so many opportunities of +showing his art, Massinger no doubt felt every confidence in the genius of +J. Taylor, but perhaps the chief charm of the play is due to the +reflection which it inspires in the mind of the reader, that it expresses +with fire and conviction the struggling author’s high ideal for the +theatre as a social institution, and his esteem for actors. On the other +hand, there is little comic relief, and little female interest beyond the +infatuation of the Empress. Indeed, the women who take part in the play +are one and all unattractive, and though it might be fairly urged that +they are probably adequate portraits of the originals, we cannot help +feeling that the author ought to have seen that they were timid sketches. +In other words, we are face to face here with an acknowledged limitation +of Massinger’s art. Nor should it be forgotten that while the play is full +of noble and even impassioned rhetoric,(456) there are one or two prosy +passages(457) and several small improbabilities.(458) In the third of the +inserted plays Domitian, taking the part of an actor, avenges himself on +Paris. This device by which characters in a play avenge themselves by +taking parts in a subordinate play, occurs in the famous _Spanish Tragedy_ +of Kyd, and in Middleton’s _Women, beware Women_. Most successful of all +is the splendid climax of Act IV., where we have the clash of interest +required by the highest form of tragedy; we sympathize with Paris, and yet +we feel that the Emperor, who has been wronged, must avenge himself +signally and at once. + +It is the tragi-comedies which give me the most pleasure, the romantic +plays with a happy ending, such as _The Great Duke of Florence_, _The +Emperor of the East_, _The Bashful Lover_ (the last of Massinger’s plays +which we possess), _A Very Woman_; closely allied with these is _The Maid +of Honour_. _The Great Duke of Florence_ is full of courtesy and grace; +there are some charming passages of poetry, and the metre is liquid and +easy. The whole play is bathed in the sunshine of youth, and while there +is some good comedy in it, there is little for the expurgator to do. The +characters are all drawn with skill and propriety, especially the Duke, +the Duchess of Urbin, and Lidia. Petronella in disguise is Massinger’s +best comic creation. + +In _The Emperor of the East_, with a trivial plot and some improbability +in details, there is much admirable work, especially at the beginning. The +two courtiers get to the point at once, mentioning Pulcheria in I., 1, 10. +It was a play at which the author worked hard, and of which he thought +highly.(459) The two good women, the sister and the wife, are well drawn, +and we understand how natural it is that they should be antipathetic; we +welcome the allowance they make for one another,(460) we sympathize with +the humiliation of each in her turn, and we rejoice in their +reconciliation. Especially pleasing are the gentle dignity of Eudocia in +III., 4, and her slowness to take up Chrysapius’ suggestion in IV., 1. The +Emperor is not an attractive character, as he is at once weak and violent; +but we have to remember that he is very young, and also that he has been +kept in leading-strings all the earlier part of his life. I should like to +believe, with many critics, that the prose scene, in which the Empiric +figures, is not due to Massinger. It is a study in the manner of Ben +Jonson. Another touch of the older master is “The Projector,”(461) who is, +however, on very much fainter lines than Meercroft in _The Devil is an +Ass_. Imitation of Shakspere is prominent in _The Emperor of the East_. +Scenes I., 1, and III., 1, remind us of Henry VIII’s courtiers. The +pictures in Act II. seem to be suggested by a similar scene in _The +Merchant of Venice_. Act IV., 5 recalls _Othello_, III., 4; Act V., 2, +105-8 is modelled on _Othello_ III., 3, 330-3.(462) + +_A Very Woman_ or _The Prince of Tarent_ is based, as the Prologue tells +us, on an old play; the author’s modesty cannot forbear saying that, good +as it was before, it is “much better’d now.” By this he probably means +that substantial additions have been made, that the plot has been put into +better shape,(463) and that perhaps the comic element is cut down. Boyle +assigns about two-fifths of the play to Massinger, including the quarrel +between Cardenes and Antonio, and the great love scene between Antonio and +Almira, but excluding the careful treatment of Cardenes’ melancholy by +Paulo the doctor.(464) I should myself unhesitatingly assign the latter +scene to Massinger. The only scenes which can be safely attributed to +Fletcher are those of the slave-market,(465) and that where Leonora seeks +to console Almira.(466) The sprightly vivacity of the former and the +tenderness of the latter are good evidence for this assignation. A perusal +of this admirable masterpiece leads us to the conclusion that if +Massinger, instead of collaborating with Fletcher, had rewritten the plays +of the latter, our literature would have been greatly enriched. + +I would not deny that a man may have several styles, and may write in the +manner of another; especially is this possible when the other has been his +bosom friend. Still there are a grace and delicacy about _A Very Woman_ +which seem to suggest the hand of Fletcher. The characters are drawn with +great refinement and vividness. There is a pair of devoted friends, +Antonio and Pedro, and over against them two charming ladies, Leonora and +Almira, the former at once sensible and kind, the latter almost worthy of +a place beside Shakspere’s heroines. The great love scene, though +suggested by Desdemona and Othello, is not unworthy of Shakspere +himself.(467) Cuculo is an amusing study of the old courtier, such as we +get elsewhere in Massinger. Borachia, the lady who loves wine, is drawn +with a lighter hand than Massinger’s; yet I feel that Fletcher, unassisted +or unpruned, would have made the scenes in which she appears grosser than +they are. Antonio, the Prince of Tarent, reminds us of a clean-limbed, +honest English public-school boy; he is slow to take offence, but brave +when provoked, sorry for the mischance of which he is the innocent cause, +courteous, and ready on all occasions. + +The plot has been shaped with great attention to detail. Thus, when +Antonio, disguised as a slave, first meets his friend Pedro, his master +Cuculo does not allow him to speak,(468) so that Pedro has no chance of +identifying him by his voice. Later on, however, Pedro has an intuition +that the slave is other than he seems to be: + + + “I do see something in this fellow’s face still + That ties my heart fast to him.”(469) + + +He treats him as a friend, as though his intuition pierced through the +external disguise,(470) and when the recognition takes place he naturally +remarks: + + + “Have I not just cause, + When I consider how I could be so stupid, + As not to see a friend through all disguises.”(471) + + +Again, we have an indication at the end of the slave-market scene that the +slave who followed Paulo will be an important link in the plot: + + + PAULO. Follow me, then; + The knave may teach me something. + + SLAVE. Something that + You dearly may repent; howe’er you scorn me, + The slave may prove your master.(472) + + +It is this slave who leads the pirates in their attempt to carry off +Leonora and Almira. + +When Antonio appears in his former dress(473) we ask, how did he get it? +The answer is, from the Captain, his fellow-slave, whose life he had saved +in the past by interceding with the Viceroy.(474) Lastly, the Duke’s +reference (V., 2, 130) to the advice which the Viceroy had given him in +II., 2, is one of those careful touches making for unity of design in +which Massinger delights.(475) + +No doubt the plot is not free from improbabilities; in real life Antonio +would have revealed himself to Pedro, and Pedro and Almira would both have +recognized him. We have already seen that Massinger is so fond of a story +that he sometimes forgets to let his characters guide it. To round off the +play harmoniously, Antonio should have had a soliloquy, to explain to the +audience who he was, to lament over the change of his fortunes, to express +a hope that all would come right in the end, to reassert his devotion to +Pedro, and to protest his loyalty in spite of everything to Almira. +Perhaps something of the sort was cut out. + +_The Bashful Lover_ is the last play of “the strange old fellow”(476) that +we possess; it reminds us in several respects of Fletcher; in the romantic +atmosphere,(477) the overwrought devotion of the hero, the bustling action +and the complexity of the plot, and in a metrical detail.(478) On the +other hand, the smooth and careful construction, the subordination of the +comedy, the constant use of parentheses, and, above all, the vacillations +of the violent Lorenzo, are characteristics of Massinger. There are many +noble personages in the play, and considerable tenderness. Matilda’s +character is drawn well at the start; in the latter part she rather tends +to become a lay figure. A princess with three aspirants to her hand, of +whom two are princes, while the one she loves is to all appearance of +lowly birth, is awkwardly placed. The same fault, as Boyle points +out,(479) might be found with the hero, Hortensio; the fact is that the +story rather carries the characters along in its sweep than is developed +by them; moreover, Massinger seems in the last two acts to be more +interested in the psychological study of Lorenzo’s emotions than in his +hero’s fortunes. With all its beauties, the play betrays the advancing +years of the author by a certain heaviness of touch, although the episode +of Ascanio, the disguised page, is carried through with great delicacy and +skill, and the varied incidents of Act II. make the battle one of the most +lifelike in literature. + +_The Maid of Honour_ is well planned, and the characters well contrasted. +Indeed, anyone who doubts Massinger’s skill in this respect will be +convinced by this play. Though the end is sombre, it is, as Leslie Stephen +has pointed out, dignified and inevitable. As Bertoldo was sworn to +celibacy, Camiola could not have married him, even if her self-respect had +allowed it.(480) Here again we get an imperious lady, the Duchess Aurelia, +who changes her mind too rapidly, but cannot be charged with viciousness. +The comic touches, a foolish lover and a pair of effeminate courtiers, are +quite good. The various moods of Adorni—his deepening devotion to Camiola, +his humility at her rebuke, his fidelity in doing her commands, his +temptation to commit suicide—are admirably portrayed. The King, too, is +well drawn; he is a complex character, who is not wholly bad. The rough +old soldier Gonzaga is a lifelike study, but the figure who dominates the +play is the high-spirited and beautiful heroine. The careful skill of the +author is shown in many details, among others, in the way in which +Camiola, before taking the veil, persuades the King to forgive Fulgentio. +For this to be possible the way is paved by the King’s change of mind as +to Camiola’s character in IV., 5. The end of the play shows in what way +Massinger is a greater artist than Fletcher. The latter would certainly +have married off the Duchess Aurelia to the King or the Duke of Urbin, and +provided Gonzaga with a wife. + +No student of our comic drama can ignore the brilliant vigour of _The City +Madam_.(481) The characters one and all contribute to an harmonious unity, +the most lifelike perhaps being Sir John Frugal, the bluff, successful +British merchant, tender-hearted, yet ashamed of being unbusinesslike, and +a good judge of men. The plot moves easily, not overloaded with satire. +The women remind us of Ben Jonson’s women, but with less strength there is +a greater art shown here than Ben Jonson had at his command. The great +triumph of the play is the hypocrite Luke, to whom some splendid rhetoric +is assigned. He arrests our attention from the first; though not on the +grand scale like Sir Giles Overreach, he is an innate villain, who only +lacks opportunity to be capable of anything, a sordid soul, who does not +know what goodness is. The two ’prentices are of the same kidney as +Quicksilver in _Eastward Ho_. + +For sheer vitality and strength three of the plays stand out +conspicuously: _The Bondman_, _The Renegado_, and _The Guardian_. Though +they are disfigured by one or two coarse scenes, one is carried along in +reading them as if one were in a sailing-boat, dancing along a fresh sea. +Of _The Bondman_ Monck Mason says: “I don’t recollect any play whatsoever +that begins or ends in a manner so pleasing, uncommon, and striking.” It +contains four well-drawn characters—Timoleon, Marullo, Leosthenes, and +Cleora. The plot is lively, though some critics, I think unjustly, have +accused the author of cutting the knot in the fifth act. The disguised +brother and sister who meet in Act III., I should perhaps indicate their +relationship. Timandra does not explicitly mention her brother till V., 1, +64. A reference earlier in the play to the wrong which Leosthenes had done +her would certainly make for clearness. There is much fine eloquence in +the play. The one or two offensive comic scenes are not essential to the +plot. + +_The Renegado_ has an Oriental setting, which alone would make it +attractive on the stage. The character of Donusa is on the grand scale, +one of Massinger’s successes; the Merchant, the Jesuit, and Grimaldi are +all well drawn. There is some fine oratory and a good plot, which works up +to an exciting end. There is not much in the comic line of value here. + +The plot of _The Guardian_ is more complicated than is usual with +Massinger. It contains some charming banditti scenes, while Alphonso’s +fictitious narrative in the last act is one of the strongest pieces of +writing in our author. The guardian, Durazzo, the kind-hearted but cynical +and quick-tempered old man of the world, is one of Massinger’s most +successful creations. On the other hand, it will be allowed that there is +too much concession in _The Guardian_ to a corrupt taste, due perhaps to +poverty and the depression of failure. The character of Iolante is +unattractive; her intrigue with a man who turns out to be her brother is +odious; her repentance is cheap and unconvincing. The earlier part of the +play in its movement and morals alike reminds us of Fletcher. + +_The Picture_ is full of power, and enriched with some good strokes of +satire; the alternations of mood in the chief characters are represented +with skill, while the magic portrait on which the plot hinges seems to +take a natural place in the story. There is, however, a crudeness and +hardness of texture about the play, though Mathias and Sophia are well +drawn, especially the latter. Everything comes right at the last, and true +love is vindicated after the display of some proper pride; but one feels +that the three venture their honour too far. “He comes too near who comes +to be denied.” The King’s faults are overdrawn; the Queen very nearly +spoils the play; the young courtiers, though realistic, are unpleasant; +the comic element is poor and farcical.(482) In dealing with a +psychological theme, Massinger was trying to adjust to the hard-and-fast +concrete outlines of the drama a story which would have been easier to +manage and more attractive to read if it had been cast in the form of a +novel. There would then have been possible gradations of light and shade, +which would have made the treatment less bald. It would have supplied +Richardson with a problem worthy of his heart-breaking and long-drawn +analysis. + +_The Duke of Milan_ is a gloomy play, with a somewhat intricate plot, +presenting to us that strange “Italianate”(483) world of treachery and +poison with which Webster, Ford, and Tourneur make us familiar. We must +remember, on the other hand, that Italy gives an atmosphere which domestic +plays like _The Yorkshire Tragedy_ and _Arden of Feversham_ lack. As in +_The Bondman_ and _The Unnatural Combat_, the plot is developed late, +though hints are given before. Thus, the ill-treated sister is early +referred to,(484) while the last words of the same act prepare us for +Francisco’s villainy. The finest scene in the play is Act III., 1, which +is bathed in the romantic atmosphere so congenial to our author. Sforza +submits to his enemy, the Emperor Charles, without forfeiting our esteem, +while the Emperor shows a noble magnanimity. There is a subdued comic +element in the person of Graccho, the musician. + +_The Duke of Milan_ is carefully written(485) and skilfully constructed; +the author has taken great pains to draw the characters of Sforza and +Marcelia, though Francisco is perhaps more successful than either.(486) +The Duke’s last words are the clue to his character: + + + I come: Death, I obey thee! + Yet I will not die raging; for alas! + My whole life was a frenzy: good Eugenia, + In death forgive me.(487) + + +The chief “frenzy” of his life was his devotion to his wife Marcelia. This +peerless beauty combines pride(488) with a kindly simplicity which is no +match for Francisco; while she dearly loves her husband and forgives him +in her last words, she is not altogether attractive. On the other hand, +her anger with Sforza for leaving orders that she should be killed if he +did not return safe from his hazardous enterprise is natural, and the +scene in which she receives him coldly and provokes his violent anger +would be effective when acted.(489) We are inevitably reminded of +_Othello_, and the comparison is most instructive as revealing the great +gap which separates the pupil from the master. Marcelia is not so gracious +as Desdemona, nor Sforza so strong as Othello, nor Francisco so devilish +as Iago. As is usually the case with Massinger, the fifth act carries +along our interest to the end. We do not weep, but we are certainly moved +by the horror of the Duke’s death. The princesses of the Ducal House are +responsible for an improbable scene(490) when they flout Marcelia in the +absence of her lord. Their behaviour reminds us of the ladies in _The +Roman Actor_. In style _The Duke of Milan_ is marked by several passages +of fine poetry and a comparative absence of the parenthetic construction. + +_The Fatal Dowry_ is a famous and much-admired play, adapted by Nicholas +Rowe in the eighteenth century to form the basis of his _Fair +Penitent_.(491) There are some fine scenes here, notably the funeral, +which is as effective as anything our poet has written. On the other hand, +the scene in which Rochfort is robed and blindfolded, and assents to his +daughter’s death, recalls Fletcher in its improbability; nor is it likely +that Beaumelle would marry Charalois at such short notice. All we can say +about this is that hurried weddings are one of the presuppositions of the +Jacobean drama.(492) There are an heroic atmosphere, a fine friendship, +and much rhetoric of a high order in _The Fatal Dowry_. Moreover, as the +moral lines at the end point out, there is the clash of law and natural +vengeance in this play, which is a legitimate source of dramatic power. +Charalois, Romont, Malotin, and Pontalier are all well drawn: the “sweet +and gentle nature” of Charalois is particularly attractive, though he is +not incapable of passionate anger,(493) which makes the punishment he +inflicts on his guilty wife in IV., 4 more credible. On the other hand, a +story is at a disadvantage in which the father, though generous and +dignified, is impulsive and quixotic, the heroine is worthless, and her +lover contemptible.(494) The style in places is less lucid than usual, +which may be due to the co-operation of Field; moreover, the metre is more +halting than Massinger’s is wont to be, and I think it probable that the +play has been carelessly printed. There is much spirited sarcasm in Act +III., and some fun in Act IV.(495) + +_The Unnatural Combat_ is full of splendid rhetoric; indeed, there are +perhaps too many soliloquies. This early work is grim as an iron-bound +coast; yet the affairs of the honest, brave, and poverty-stricken captain, +Belgarde, provide a lighter element, and the moralizing of the pert page +in III., 2 is both sensible and light-handed in execution. The reason for +the son’s antipathy to his father is hinted at from time to time in the +first act; its disclosure is postponed too late. We should also have been +prepared for the wrongs and treachery of Montreville, which burst upon us +too suddenly in the last act. The evil passion of Malefort is powerfully +depicted; here, again, we have a careful study of conflicting emotions. +Though he struggles against his evil desires, we feel that a bad man must +come to a bad end.(496) The play would have been better rounded off if in +the initial part some indication had been given that he seemed to everyone +a man whose mind, for some mysterious reason, was unbalanced and +unhinged.(497) Once allow that such a theme can be tolerable as that which +we have here, and the hints which Montreville drops from time to time are +adequate to stir the suspicion of the spectator. + +The style is more like rhythmical prose than that of any other of +Massinger’s plays. Here alone in our author do children occur, and that in +an unpleasing context.(498) The ghosts of Malefort’s victims, which appear +in the last scene, seem to me a legitimate and powerful episode. It was +natural to compare this violent play with Chapman’s tragedies; Malefort +reminding us of _Bussy d’Ambois_ and Byron; but there is little in common +between the two authors. In the first place, Massinger knows how to +construct a play; in the second place, there is hardly a line in _The +Unnatural Combat_ which is obscure, whereas in the last act of _Bussy +d’Ambois_, Chapman’s masterpiece, there is hardly a line which is +intelligible. + +The _Parliament of Love_ contains much fine poetry(499) and one great +forensic scene, such as our author loves.(500) It is, however, in too +fragmentary a state for us to judge it fairly.(501) The atmosphere is +unreal, the interest flags, the boisterous comedy is unattractive. There +are more women than is usual in Massinger, and duelling and friendship +inspire two noble scenes (III., 2; IV., 2). Though vice is humbled, we ask +here, as in _The Picture_, does virtue gain by the way in which its +opposite is portrayed? And are not the characters, male and female alike, +undiscriminated? The interest, in other words, is concentrated in the +triple story, and doubtless we feel some satisfaction in the punishment of +Clarindore, the betrayer of secrets.(502) There are a good many half-lines +in the manner of Fletcher. + +Though _Believe as You List_(503) is full of dignity and poetry, it has a +plot without much nexus, of the sort which Aristotle would blame as +ἐπεισοδιώδης.(504) We are wafted from Carthage to Bithynia, from Bithynia +to Lusitania, from Lusitania to Sicily. Though Antiochus is truly a king +even in his misfortunes, and excites our respect and compassion, the play +can hardly have been a success. The melancholy tinge is too uniform; the +improbabilities of the recognitions are too glaring. The Courtesan and +Berecinthius cannot be said to have added to the gaiety of nations; of the +other characters Flaminius alone has individuality. The peculiar +circumstances under which the play was written may help to explain the +fiasco. + +_The Old Law_ does not owe much to Massinger. As it was a favourite play, +it may have owed its association with his name to revision on his +part.(505) There is a charming tenderness in places and a rollicking +improbability about the whole scheme, both alien to the staid Massinger. +The humour is not his, but better; his phraseology is markedly +absent;(506) the prose scenes show another conception of art; the careless +metre suggests Rowley. It is clear that whoever wrote the comic parts of +_The Old Law_ was responsible for Chough, Trimtram, and the Roarers in _A +Fair Quarrel_. The scene is laid in “Epire,” a region which seems to have +been regarded by our ancestors as a place for strange things to happen, +and a vague background like the city of Callipolis;(507) it seems to have +the same character in the present day. A King of “Epire” figures among +Diocletian’s court in _The Virgin Martyr_, and in _The Dumb Knight_(508) +we find a Duke of Epire. The classical allusions and Latin phrases suggest +that the author of _The Old Law_ was a man of some culture. + +My task is now ended. I shall consider myself happy if I persuade some of +my readers to make the acquaintance of Massinger’s plays.(509) We have +lately been celebrating the tercentenary of Shakspere’s death. The best +way of honouring a great author is to read his writings; but to appreciate +aright the greatness of Shakspere we should be wise to combine with our +study a just estimate of his contemporaries and satellites; and, of the +many dramatists of that century, none seem to me more worthy of +affectionate consideration than Philip Massinger. It is especially +instructive to return to his writings from the perusal of the masterpieces +of his contemporaries; though from time to time they display rich gifts of +pathos, poetry, and humour, they are too often marred by waywardness, +unnaturalness, want of proportion, and grossness; it is a relief to resume +the study of an author whose work is sober, well balanced, dignified, and +lucid. While he shares with them the modern atmosphere of romance and +adventure, he is the most Greek of his generation; and this is the real +secret of his abiding charm. The passionate, the abnormal, the lurid, the +farcical elements, in which his contemporaries revel, are not, indeed, +entirely absent, but they are less conspicuous; the luxuriance of the +thicket does not hinder the wayfarer from following the path; we pluck the +roses without tearing our flesh on the thorns; and as we contemplate the +marble splendour of his verse we almost forget that sculpture has its +limitations. + + + + + +APPENDIX I. THE SMALL ACTOR IN MASSINGER’S PLAYS + + +There are several passages in our author in which reference is made to the +low stature of the actor of a female part. + + + _Duke of Milan_, II., 1, 108: Graccho, speaking of Mariana: + + Of a little thing, + It is so full of gall! + + II., 1, 156: + + MARCELIA. For you, puppet— + + MARIANA. What of me, pine-tree? + + 172: + + MARIANA. O that I could reach you, + The little one you scorn so. + + 177: + + GRACCHO. Forty ducats + Upon the little hen. + + 181: + + MARCELIA. Where are you, + You modicum, you dwarf? + + MARIANA. Here, giantess, here. + + 188: + + MARIANA. Or right me on this monster (she’s three foot + Too high for a woman). + + _Bondman_, I., 2, 3: Cleon, speaking to Corisca: + + Beauty invites temptations, and short heels + Are soon tripp’d up. + + (This passage may have another interpretation.) + + _Renegado_, I., 2, 9: Manto, speaking of Paulina: + + And though low of stature, + Her well-proportion’d limbs invite affection. + + II., 5, 159: Asambeg, of Paulina: + + Such a spirit, + In such a small proportion, I ne’er read of. + + V., 2, 62: Carazie, of Paulina: + + I would he had sent me + To the gallies or the gallows, when he gave me + To this proud little devil. + + V., 3, 174: Mustapha, of Paulina: + + A terrible little tyranness! + + _Parliament of Love_, V., 1, 86: Perigot, of Leonora: + + A confident little pleader. + + _Roman Actor_, IV., 1, 15: Domitilla, referring to Domitia: + + Who no sooner absent. + But she calls Dwarf! (so in her scorn she styles me) + Put on my pantofles, fetch pen and paper. + + V., 2, 5: Domitilla speaks: + + Could I make my approaches, though my stature + Does promise little, I have a spirit as daring + As hers that can reach higher. + + _Picture_, I., 1, 96: Corisca speaks: + + Your hand, or if you please + To have me fight so high, I’ll not be coy, + But stand a-tiptoe for’t. + + III., 2, 27: Ricardo to Corisca: + + Pretty one, I descend + To take the height of your lip. + + II., 2, 197: And Pallas, bound up in a little volume. + + _Emperor of the East_, II., 1, 388: Theodosius to Athenais: + + By thyself, + The magazine of felicity, in thy lowness + Our eastern queens, at their full height, bow to thee. + + _Maid of Honour_, I., 2, 46: Sylli to Camiola: + + Nor I, your little ladyship, till you have + Perform’d the covenants. + + II., 2, 117: Fulgentio to Camiola: + + Of a little thing + You are a pretty peat, indifferent fair too. + + _Maid of Honour_, IV., 3, 83: + + BERTOLDO. Since she alone, in the abstract of herself, + That small but ravishing substance, comprehends + Whatever is, or can be wish’d, in the + Idea of a woman! + + _The Bashful Lover_, I., 1, 116: + + HORTENSIO. My little friend, good morrow. + + (_Cf._ III., 1, 28, where “Ascanio” has to be carried.) + + +The part of Domitilla was taken by I. Hunniman; that of Paulina by Theo. +Bourne; that of Corisca (in _The Picture_) by W. Trigge. It would appear, +therefore, that these references are not all due to the stature of any one +individual actor, but that Massinger took care to have actors of different +height brought into juxtaposition in his plays. He may here be copying the +well-known passages in _Midsummer Night’s Dream_ (III., 2, 288-298, 324, +329). _Cf._ also _Antony and Cleopatra_, II., 5, 118; III., 3, 13; _Much +Ado_, I., 1, 172 and 216; _As You Like It_, I., 2, 284; _Twelfth Night_, +I., 5, 219; II., 5, 16; _King Lear_, I., 1, 201. _Cf._ Bradley’s +_Shakspearean Tragedy_, p. 317, n. 1. + +In Dekker’s _Honest Whore_, Pt. 2. III., 1, the heroine, Bellafront, is “a +little tiny woman.” So are Pretiosa in Middleton’s _Spanish Gipsy_ (I., +5), and Isabella in _Women, beware Women_ (III., 2). _Cf._ also _The Case +is Altered_ (III., 3), “’Fore God, the taller is a gallant lady.” We find +the same idea in _The Fair Maid of the West_, II., 3; III., 1, 2. +Celestina, in Shirley’s _Lady of Pleasure_ (III., 2), is “a puppet.” +Spaconia in _A King and no King_ (III., 1) is “that little one”; Viola in +_The Coxcomb_ (V., 3) is “not high.” _Cf._ also _The Prophetess_ (I., 3, +59), a play which bears many marks of Massinger’s work: + + + DIOCLESIAN. Thou know’st she is a prophetess. + + MAXIMINIAN. A small one, + And as small profit to be hoped for by her. + + _The Spanish Curate_ (V., 1, 37), Jamie to Violante: + + In stature you’re a giantess: and your tailor + Takes measures of you with a Jacob’s staff + Or he can never reach you: this by the way + For your large size. + + _Love’s Cure_ (V., 3), Bobadillo to Lucio, speaking about Clara: + + I put the longest weapon in your sister’s hand, my lord, because + she was the shortest lady. + + +_The Sea Voyage_ (IV., 3): MORILLAT: “This little gentlewoman that was +taken with us,” referring to Aminta. As Cleopatra in _The False One_ (II., +3) arrives in a parcel, she must have been small. Margarita in _Rule a +Wife_ (III., 4) is “of a low stature.” Ismenia in _The Maid of the Mill_ +“was of the lowest stature” (I., 2); _cf._ also V., 2, 7. Evanthe in _A +Wife for a Month_, IV., 3 is “this little fort.” _Cf._ also _The Noble +Gentleman_, IV., 3. + + + + + +APPENDIX II + + +Did Massinger know Greek? It is perhaps worth while collecting the scanty +evidence on the subject. We find a pun on the name Philanax in _The +Emperor of the East_,(510) and Mathias plays on the name of his wife +Sophia.(511) The phrase κατ᾽ ἐξοήν is used in _The Guardian_.(512) We find +a Greek construction in _The Emperor of the East_:(513) + + + And that before he gives he would consider + The what, to whom, and wherefore. + + +On the other hand, we notice Theseus scanned as a trisyllable.(514) + +There are one or two passages where the unexpected turn of the thought +rather suggests a Greek original. Thus, in _The Renegado_(515) we are +reminded of _The Acharnians_:(516) + + + GAZET. What places of credit are there? + + CARAZIE. Chief gardener. + + GAZET. Out upon’t! ’Twill put me in mind my mother was an herb + woman. + + +Another passage of THE RENEGADO(517) reminds us of a famous fragment of +Euripides,(518) often mistranslated: + + + ASAMBEG. At Aleppo + I durst not press you so far: give me leave + To use my own will and command in Tunis. + + +In _The Virgin Martyr_(519) we find a parallel to _The Hecuba_:(520) + + + THEOPHILUS. As a curious painter, + When he has made some honourable piece, + Stands off, and with a searching eye examines + Each colour, how ’tis sweeten’d; and then hugs + Himself for his rare workmanship. + + +In _The Emperor of the East_(521) occurs a parallel quoted by Dr. Walter +Headlam in his notes to _Agamemnon_:(522) + + + THEODOSIUS. What an earthquake I feel in me! + And on the sudden my whole fabric totters! + My blood within me turns, and through my veins, + Parting with natural redness, I discern it + Chang’d to a fatal yellow. + + +It is the general opinion of scholars that our Elizabethan dramatists owed +very little to the Greek drama directly, but we cannot forget that +Massinger had had a good education at Oxford, and was a widely read +man.(523) His forensic skill often reminds us of Euripides; and if he did +not know the works of his illustrious predecessor, he would have found in +them a congenial spirit.(524) + +The speech of Sanazarro to Giovanni in _The Great Duke of Florence_(525) +reminds us of Creon’s arguments in Sophocles’ _Œdipus Tyrannus_, line 596 +κ.τ.λ. + +The scene in _The Bondman_,(526) when the senators frighten the mutinous +slaves by shaking their whips, reminds us of the Scythians in +_Herodotus_,(527) but it is also found in _Justin_,(528) and Gifford +points out that it may really have been borrowed from a contemporary book +of travels, Purchas’s _Pilgrims_.(529) + +Massinger had a good working knowledge of mythology; thus, references in +his plays to Hercules and Alcides abound, as they do in Shakspere. We find +several false quantities in proper names: Caesarĕa, in _The Virgin +Martyr_; Archidămus, in _The Bondman_; Eubŭlus, in _The Picture_; +Nomothētae, in _The Old Law_(530); Cybēle, in _Believe as You List_.(531) +We may compare Shakspere’s _Andronĭcus_; Anthrŏpos in _Four Plays in One_, +_The Triumph of Time_; and Euphānes in _The Queen of Corinth_.(532) + +It seems scarcely worth while to collect the passages which show +Massinger’s knowledge of Latin; the authors he seems to have known best +are Ovid, Juvenal, and Horace. Swinburne and others have commented on his +indulgence in “the commonplace tropes and flourishes of the schoolroom or +the schools.”(533) + + + + + +APPENDIX III. THE COLLABORATED PLAYS + + +The plays in which Massinger is supposed to have collaborated with other +authors are here set down, with the analyses made by Boyle (_D. N. B._, +xxxvii., pp. 10-16) and the views of Mr. A. H. Bullen in his article on +Fletcher (_D. N. B._, xix., pp. 303-311).(534) + +1. _The Honest Man’s Fortune._ (Field, Daborne, Massinger, Fletcher.) + +M.: Act III. or part of it. + +A. H. B. agrees. + +A. H. C.: I doubt whether Massinger had any share in this play. There are +passages of ten-syllable lines in Act III., 1 which are quite unlike him, +while 2 and 3 are interspersed with prose passages, a feature which +Massinger as a rule avoids. + +2. _Thierry and Theodoret._ (Massinger, Field, Fletcher, and possibly a +fourth writer.) + +M: Act I., 2; Act II., 1, 3; Act IV., 2. + +A. H. B. attributes largely to Massinger, assigning Act III. to an unknown +author. + +A. H. C. assigns to Massinger Act II., 1 and 3, and with some hesitation +Act I., 2; Act IV., 2. + +3. _The Bloody Brother._ (Massinger, Field, Fletcher, and possibly a +fourth writer.) + +M.: Act I., Act V., 1. + +A. H. B. thinks that Fletcher and Jonson wrote the play, and that +Massinger revised it for a performance at Hampton Court in January, +1636-37. + +A. H. C.: There are clearly three hands at work here, one of whom writes +obscurely and uses a good deal of rhyme. Act I., 1 reminds us of Massinger +in several touches, especially lines 269-70. The broken lines in this +scene are complete, as is Massinger’s unfailing practice, but the +ten-syllable line is more common than is usually the case with him. While +Act V., 1 has some sentences cast in the parenthetic form, the expressions +used are less lucid than we expect from Massinger. + +4. _The Knight of Malta._ (Massinger and Fletcher.) + +M.: Act III., 2, 3; Act IV., 1; possibly part of Act V., 2. + +A. H. B. agrees, assigning Act II. and Act III., 1 to Fletcher. + +“Some third person wrote Act I. and part of Act V.” + +A. H. C.: I trace Massinger only in Act III., 2. + +5. _The Queen of Corinth._ (Massinger, Fletcher (?), Field.) + +M.: Act I., Act V. + +A. H. B. assigns Act II. to Fletcher, the rest to Middleton and Rowley. + +A. H. C.: Massinger wrote Act I., 1, 2, 3 from “Enter Agenor,” V., 2. +Fletcher wrote Act I., 3; Act II., 1, 2, 3, 4; Act III., 1, 2; Act V., 3. +As usual, he is responsible for the comic parts. Act V., 4 is a vigorous +trial scene, not due, I think, to Massinger. The impression that I get +from Act III. is that Massinger drafted it, and Fletcher worked over it. + +6. _Sir John Van Olden Barnavelt._ (Massinger, Fletcher.) + +M.: Act I., 1, 2; Act II., 1; Act III., 2, 3, 5; Act IV., 4, 5; Act V., 1 +to “Enter Provost.” + +A. H. B. agrees on the whole. + +A. H. C.: Act III., 5, and Act IV., 5 seem to me unworthy of Massinger. +Perhaps a third hand wrote Act I., 3; Act II., 2-7; Act III., 1, as far as +“will ripen the imposture”; Act III., 3; Act V., 1, as far as “Exeunt wife +and daughter.” + +7. _Henry the Eighth._ (Massinger and Fletcher.) + +A. H. B. agrees, attributing a few passages to Shakspere, notably the +trial scene of Catherine. + +Sir A. Ward thinks that Massinger and Fletcher wrote most of the play, +Shakspere only a little (_H. E. D._, ii., 246). + +Macaulay ascribes it to Shakspere and Fletcher, “perhaps revised by +Massinger.” + +For a fuller discussion of this problem, _cf._ pp. 84-91. + +8. _The Two Noble Kinsmen._ (Massinger and Fletcher.) + +M.: Act I.; Act II., 1; Act III., 1, 2; Act IV., 3; Act V., 1 from line +19, 3, 4. + +A. H. B. thinks that Shakspere wrote additions for the revival of an old +play, _Palamon and Arsett_, which came into the hands of Fletcher and +Massinger after the death of Shakspere. Massinger has interpolated his own +work in some of the Shakspere passages. + +For a fuller discussion of this problem, _cf._ pp. 92-104. + +9. _The Custom of the Country._ (Massinger and Fletcher.) + +M.: Act II., 1, 2, 3, 4; Act III., 4, 5; Act IV., 1, 2; Act V., 1, 2, 3, +4. + +A. H. B. agrees. + +Macaulay adds part of Act V., 5 to Massinger. + +A. H. C.: This play owes very little to Massinger. Boyle, in attributing +Act II. to him, must have been guided solely by metrical considerations. +There is not a trace of his style in the Act. No doubt it is true that +Hippolyta is a type familiar in Massinger’s plays; and her sudden change +of mind in the last act reminds us of him. Again, the mental treatment to +which Duarte owes his cure (Act IV., 1), and the praises of the medical +profession (Act V., 4), recall _A Very Woman_ (II., 2, 26). + +But we have to set a good deal against these facts. The plot is more +elaborate, bustling, and improbable than we expect from Massinger. It is +improbable that the young men (Act II., 2) should leap into the sea and +leave Zenocia in the lurch. It is improbable that they should swim a +league to shore with their swords erect in the air, though swords no doubt +they must have if they are to behave as Fletcher’s gentlemen behave. It is +improbable that Rutilio in his flight (Act II., 4) should take refuge in a +palace and find himself in the bedroom of the lady of the house. +Difficulties of this kind are familiar enough in Fletcher. It need +scarcely be said that Sulpicia and her establishment are due to Fletcher +alone. + +To sum up, if Massinger had any share in this play, he may have given +hints or added touches in connexion with Hippolyta and Duarte. The +simplest supposition is that he edited the play for a revival. The +Prologue and Epilogue “at a revival” contain expressions which remind us +of him. The Prologue ends thus (lines 18-20): + + + You may allow + (Your candour safe) what’s taught in the old schools, + “All such as lived before you were not fools.” + + +The parenthesis is in Massinger’s manner. + +Again, in the second Epilogue, line 7, we find “qualification,” with which +compare “fortification” in _A New Way_, I., 2, 25. + +10. _The Elder Brother._ (Fletcher (?), Beaumont; probably revised +generally by Massinger.) + +M.: Act I., 1, 2; Act V., 1, 2. + +A. H. B. thinks that Massinger revised and completed it after Fletcher’s +death, but says nothing about Beaumont. + +A. H. C.: There are traces of Massinger in Act I., 1 and Act V., 1, in +which scenes we find careful metre and a good many parentheses. While Act +I., 2 resembles Massinger, it seems to me to have a lighter touch than +his. In Act V., 1 we find a speech or two very much in his manner, and +characteristic also is the skill with which an ambiguity is prolonged for +some time in this scene, and then dissipated. I doubt if he wrote Act V., +2. + +11. _The Sea Voyage._ (Massinger, Fletcher.) + +M.: Act II., 1, 2; Act III., 1, from “Enter Rosellia”; Act V., 1, 2, 3, 4. + +A. H. B. says nothing about Massinger here. Macaulay doubts if he had any +share in the play. + +A. H. C.: The metre is throughout too rough for Massinger. The plot does +not recall his work in any way. + +12. _The Double Marriage._ (Massinger, Fletcher.) + +M.: Act I., 1; Act III., 1; Act IV., 1, 2; Act V., 2, to “Enter Pandulfo.” + +A. H. B. agrees. + +Macaulay assigns all Act I. to Massinger. + +A. H. C: I find no trace of Massinger in this improbable play. + +13. _The Beggars’ Bush._ (Massinger, Fletcher.) + +M.: Act I., 1, 2, 3; Act V., 1, latter part; V., 2, lines 1-110. + +A. H. B. does not think Massinger’s part is clearly marked. + +Macaulay assigns to Massinger Acts I., II., III., and V. + +A. H. C.: I find no trace of Massinger. Neither the plot is lucid nor the +expression. The commercial scenes and the beggars’ slang are both unlike +anything in Massinger, and alien to his courtly mind. + +14. _The False One._ (Massinger, Fletcher.) + +M.: Act I.; Act V. + +A. H. B. agrees. + +A. H. C.: Massinger wrote Act I., a good deal of Act IV., and Act V. There +is hardly a scene except the Masque in Act III., 4 which reads like +Fletcher’s unaided work. The dignified rhetoric throughout the play has +the stamp of Massinger; more than that, the character-drawing is like his. +The outspoken Sceva reminds us of the old courtier Eubulus in _The +Picture_. The rudeness of Eros to Septimius in Act III., 2, reminds us of +Donusa in _The Renegado_. The continual changes of mind on the part of +Septimius are an effect which Massinger loves. (_Cf._ also Arsinoe and +Photinus in Act V., 4.) + +15. _The Prophetess._ (Massinger and Fletcher.) + +M.: Acts II., IV., V., 1, 2. + +A. H. B. thinks Massinger’s share “very considerable.” + +A. H. C.: Fletcher wrote Act I., 1, 2, and the Geta scenes (Act I., 3; Act +III., 2; Act IV., 3, 5; Act V., 3). Perhaps some hack wrote the choruses +(Act IV., 1; Act V., 1) or are they inherited from an old play? The main +part of the play is due to Massinger. He certainly had a hand in Act III., +1. Maximinian is a skilfully drawn character on his lines. + +16. _The Little French Lawyer._ (Massinger and Fletcher.) + +M.: Act I.; Act III., 1; Act V., 1, from “Enter Cleremont,” with traces of +his hand in other scenes. + +A. H. B. agrees. + +A. H. C.: Massinger can be traced at the beginning of Act I., 1 and in Act +III., 1 and Act IV., 5. The resemblances are rather slight, and it is +possible that they are due to the fact that Fletcher occasionally imitated +Massinger. + +17. _The Lover’s Progress._ (Massinger and Fletcher.) + +M.: Act I., 1, 2 (to “Enter Malefort”); Act II., 2; Act III., 4, 6 (last +two speeches); Act IV.; Act V. + +A. H. B. thinks it is “by Fletcher, with large alterations by Massinger.” +He refers to the explicit statement in the Prologue where the reviser +declares himself to be— + + + ambitious that it should be known + What’s good was Fletcher’s, and what ill his own, + + +a statement in harmony with Massinger’s well-known modesty. + +A. H. C.: Massinger wrote Act I., 1, Act II., 2. There are traces of his +work in Act III., 4, 6; Act IV., 2, 4; Act V., 1, 3. The improbabilities +of the plot—_e.g._, the action of Clarangé—are due to Fletcher. It is +clear from the Prologue that the original play was too long. Massinger +probably cut it down, by leaving out, among other things, scenes in which +Lisander killed his two foes. The play is probably to be identified with +_The __ Wandering Lovers_ or _The Picture_, entered as by Massinger in the +Stationers’ Register, September 9th, 1653. + +18. _The Spanish Curate._ (Massinger and Fletcher.) + +M.: Act I.; Act III., 3; Act IV., 1, 4; Act V., 1, 3. + +A. H. B. agrees. + +Macaulay adds Act IV., 2 to Massinger. + +A. H. C.: Massinger can be clearly traced in Act I., 1, Act V., 1; not in +Act V., 3. The trial scene (Act III, 3), though on slighter lines than he +uses as a rule, may be due to him. + +19. _The Fair Maid of the Inn._ (Massinger and Fletcher.) + +M.: Act I.; Act III., 2; Act V., 3. + +A. H. B. attributes to Rowley and Massinger, and thinks Fletcher’s share +very small. + +Macaulay assigns to “Massinger and another (not Fletcher).” + +A. H. C.: Massinger wrote Act I., Act V., 3 as far as Clarissa’s speech. +Fletcher wrote Act II., Act III., Act IV., Act V., 1, 2. The mother’s +device to save her son is the sort of improbability from which Fletcher +does not shrink. + +20. _A Very Woman._ (Massinger and Fletcher.) + +M.: Act I.; Act II., 1, 2, 3 down to “Enter Pedro”; Act IV., 1, 3. + +A. H. B. identifies this play with _The Woman’s Plot_, acted at Court in +1621. In its present state it is a version of a play by Fletcher, revised +for a revival by Massinger in 1634. + +Macaulay assigns Act III. and Act IV., 1, 2, 3 to Fletcher. For a +discussion of this play _cf._ pp. 129-131. + +21. _The Second Maiden’s Tragedy._ (Massinger, Tourneur.) + +M.: Act I., Act II. + +In _Eng. Stud._, ix. 234, Boyle, with some hesitation, regards this play +as “an early, anonymous, and unsuccessful attempt of Massinger’s.” Whoever +wrote it, the work is immature. + +A. H. C. I find no trace of Massinger in this play, but a great deal of +Tourneur’s manner. _Cf._ Appendix XIII. + +22. _Love’s Cure._ (Massinger and (?) Middleton.) + +M.: Act I.; Act IV.; Act V., 1, 2. + +A. H. B. agrees that the play is due to Massinger and Middleton. + +Fleay thinks that Massinger altered a play by Beaumont and Fletcher. + +A. H. C.: It is to be noted that the Prologue expressly attributes the +play to Beaumont and Fletcher. I find nothing like Massinger except a few +touches in Act I., 1 and 3. The lightheartedness of the play reminds us +alike of Fletcher and Middleton; the romantic atmosphere reminds us of the +former, the inferiority of the metre of the latter. + +23. _The Fatal Dowry._ (Massinger and Field.) + +M.: Act I.; Act III. (to “Enter Novall junior”); Act IV., 2, 3, 4; Act V., +1, 2. + +For further discussion _cf._ Appendix XI. + +24. _The Virgin Martyr._ (Massinger and Dekker.) + +M.: Act I.; Act III., 1, 2; Act IV., 3; Act V., 2. + +For a discussion of this verdict _cf._ Appendix X. + +25. _The Old Law._ (Massinger, Middleton, Rowley.) + +Massinger’s share was slight, and can only have consisted in revision for +a later performance. _Cf._ supra, pp. 141-2. + +OTHER PLAYS ATTRIBUTED IN PART TO MASSINGER. + +26. _The Laws of Candy._ + +A. H. B. thinks a large part was written by Massinger, and that Fletcher +cannot be traced. + +Boyle (_Eng. Stud._, vii. 75) thinks that though the metrical treatment is +like Beaumont’s, the play is evidently later in date, perhaps due to +Shirley. Fleay (_Eng. Stud._, ix. 23) assigns it to Massinger and Field. + +Macaulay says “probably by Massinger and another author (not Fletcher).” + +A. H. C.: I find no trace here of the Massinger that we know. + +27. _The Captain._ + +Macaulay: “By Fletcher and another, perhaps Massinger.” + +A. H. C.: This is one of the many plays in the Fletcher corpus which +begins admirably and falls away into improbability. I find no trace of +Massinger here, though the incident in Act IV., 5 reminds one of the +banquet in _The Guardian_, Act III., 6. + +28. _The Cure for a Cuckold_, “a pleasant comedy written by John Webster +and William Rowley; London, 1661.” + +It has been supposed by Fleay that the first act is due to Massinger. It +must be pointed out that a large part of the play is written in prose, and +that the verse parts are not like Massinger. If one or two phrases remind +us of his style the stage is too crowded to make it likely that it is his +design. The real reason, no doubt, for the assumption is that the incident +of Clare and Lessingham is similar to one in _The Parliament of Love_. +Clare sends a letter to Lessingham in which she tells him she will marry +him if he will kill his dearest friend. + + + Prove all thy friends, find out the best and nearest, + Kill for my sake that friend that loves thee dearest. + + +But even so the incident is worked out with much variety in detail. + +Mr. Rupert Brooke in his _Study on Webster_ (Appendix J) arrives at the +conclusion that Webster’s play is subsequent to Massinger’s, both of them +bearing a general resemblance to Marston’s _Dutch Courtesan_. The stinging +and incisive vigour of Marston’s play is a great contrast to the romantic +treatment of the subject in _The Parliament of Love_. + +29. _The Island Princess._ + +This is rather a dull play, though it contains some fine passages and +isolated lines. It is well constructed, and contains one or two touches, +such as “I love a soldier” (I., 2) and “something shall be thought on” +(II., 7), which recall Massinger. And compare “When the streams flow clear +and fair, what are the fountains?” (V., 2) with _The Bondman_, I., 3, 282. +The King in gaol reminds us of _Believe as You List_; the attempt of the +Queen Quisara to convert Armusia to her faith reminds us of _The +Renegado_. On the other hand, the metre is singularly like Fletcher’s +throughout; the diction in many details is unlike Massinger, and there are +no parentheses. Perhaps Fletcher was helped in this play by some young man +such as Brome who was acquainted with Massinger’s style. + +30. _The Double Falsehood, or The Distressed Lovers._ + +This play scarcely deserves serious consideration. _Cf._ Appendix XV. + +It will at once be seen how precarious and subjective is much of this +attribution. For example, to trace four styles in a play is a difficult +feat, yet Boyle does this in (2) and (3). Brander Matthews, in discussing +the relation of Massinger and Fletcher, has some interesting remarks, +illustrated by modern parallels. He points out that collaboration may be +either a chemical union or a mechanical mixture of the authors’ qualities, +so that it is hard to decide which process has taken place in a particular +play. These considerations lead him to doubt the finality of Boyle’s +distribution of scenes. + +Boyle’s strong points are his argument from metrical details and his +intimate knowledge of the texts. I feel, however, that the metrical test +is open to the charge of being mechanical when weighed against the +impressions which we gain from the evidence of construction, style, and +expressions. Massinger constructed his plays well, and modelled his +characters carefully, whereas Fletcher, while excelling in isolated +scenes, shrank from no improbability which might be necessary to carry the +plot through. I am more conservative, therefore, than Professor Gayley, +who says that “in _The Spanish Curate_, _The Little French Lawyer_, _The +Prophetess_, and _The Beggars’ Bush_ Massinger’s contribution was fully as +important as Fletcher’s. The general design appears to be the work of the +former. Fletcher fills in the details of comic business”;(535) and that +“he has no doubt about Massinger’s part in _The Knight of Malta_, _The +Lover’s Progress_, and _The Elder Brother_.”(536) + +Next, with regard to style and expression, when we remember the intimacy +of the two men, it is quite possible that Massinger imitated Fletcher +consciously or unconsciously at some time of his life, and _vice versa_. +Or we may put it in this way: there was a certain amount of conventional +stock-in-trade common to the two writers, such a phrase, for instance, as, +“To the temple” when the inevitable marriage ceremony is to take place. It +would be absurd to suppose that Fletcher never used such a phrase as +“write nil ultra,” which is no doubt a distinguishing mark of Massinger’s +style. Again, Fletcher may have worked over drafts of scenes in the first +instance written by Massinger, and there is evidence for supposing that in +many cases revision for a revival rather than co-operation is the clue. +Massinger’s good judgment would make him an excellent reviser. + +It must, however, be allowed that the large amount of agreement between +two experts such as Boyle and Bullen is remarkable. We cannot acquit those +who produced the Folio of Beaumont and Fletcher in 1647 of negligence in +omitting to give their due to Massinger and other collaborators. On the +other hand, it might be argued that if Massinger’s share in Fletcher’s +plays were as large as Boyle believes it to have been, the Folio would for +very shame have acknowledged it; and it must be pointed out that the large +mass of commendatory verses prefixed to the Folio entertains no doubt of +the traditional authorship.(537) + +Believing that the matter of first importance is to estimate Massinger +from the plays which he undoubtedly wrote, I have not given above my +evidence in full for the impressions which I have formed of the +“collaborated” plays. The results of my study of these plays may be +summarised as follows: Massinger wrote considerable portions of _The +Prophetess_, _The False One_, and _Sir John Van Olden Barnavelt_. His work +can be traced in _Thierry and Theodoret_ and _The Bloody Brother_. He +wrote the greater part of Acts I. and V. of _The Queen of Corinth_, and of +Acts I. and V. of _The Elder Brother_. He wrote much of the same acts in +_The Little French Lawyer_, _The Spanish Curate_, _The Fair Maid of the +Inn_. He may have assisted in _The Knight of Malta_. He revised for +subsequent performance _The Custom of the Country_ and _The Lover’s +Progress_. He had nothing to do with _The Honest Man’s Fortune_, _The Sea +Voyage_, _The Double Marriage_, _The Beggars’ Bush_, _Love’s Cure_, _The +Laws of Candy_, _The Captain_, _The Cure for a Cuckold_, _The Island +Princess_. In my opinion, Massinger’s hand can be most clearly discerned +in (1) serious plays; (2) the serious parts of plays; (3) the first and +last acts of a joint composition.(538) + + + + + +APPENDIX IV. ON THE INFLUENCE OF SHAKSPERE + + +The instances quoted in the text can be supplemented by many others. +Compare the diction and thought of the following passages: + + + _Maid of Honour_, IV., 3, 61: + + Ministers of mercy, + Mock not calamity. + + _Hamlet_, I., 4, 39: + + Angels and ministers of grace defend us! + + _Maid of Honour_, V., 1, 133: + + And I to make all know I am not shallow, + Will have my points of cochineal and yellow. + + _Twelfth Night_, II., 5, 169: + + Remember who commended thy yellow stockings. + + _Virgin Martyr_, I., 1, 177: + + All kind of tortures; part of which they suffer’d + With Roman constancy. + + _Julius Cæsar_, II., 1, 226: + + Let not our looks put on our purposes, + But bear it as our Roman actors do, + With untired spirits and formal constancy. + + (_Cf._ _Duke of Milan_, V., 1, 128.) + + _Parliament of Love_, II., 2, 37: + + Yet since thou art + So spaniel-like affected. + + _Midsummer-Night’s Dream_, II., 1, 205: + + Use me but as your spaniel, spurn me, strike me. + + _Two Gentlemen of Verona_, IV., 2, 14: + + Yet, spaniel-like, the more she spurns my love, + The more it grows and fawneth on her still. + + _Emperor of the East_, IV., 5, 105: + + Methinks I find Paulinus on her lips. + + _Othello_, III., 3, 341: + + I found not Cassio’s kisses on her lips. + + _Emperor of the East_, V., 2, 103: + + Can I call back yesterday, with all their aids + That bow unto my sceptre? or restore + My mind to that tranquillity and peace + It then enjoyed? + + _Othello_, III., 3, 330: + + Not poppy, nor mandragora, + Nor all the drowsy syrups of the world, + Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet sleep + Which thou owedst yesterday. + + _Othello_, III., 3, 347: + + O, now for ever + Farewell the tranquil mind! farewell content! + + _Virgin Martyr_, I., 1, 342: + + An humble modesty, that would not match + A molehill with Olympus. + + _Great Duke of Florence_, IV., 2, 305: + + As the lowly shrub is to the lofty cedar, + Or a molehill to Olympus, if compar’d, + I am to you, Sir. + + _Roman Actor_, III., 1, 3: + + If you but compare + What I have suffered with your injuries + (Though great ones, I confess), they will appear + Like molehills to Olympus. + + (_Cf._ also _Duke of Milan_, I., 3, 193.)(539) + + _Coriolanus_, V., 3, 29: + + My mother bows; + As if Olympus to a molehill should + In supplication nod. + + _Duke of Milan_, III., 1, 204: + + Thou didst not borrow of Vice her indirect, + Crooked, and abject means. + + _2 Henry IV_, IV., 5, 184: + + God knows, my son, + By what by-paths and indirect crook’d ways + I met this crown.(540) + + _Great Duke of Florence_, II., 2, 12: + + Yes, and drink more in two hours + Than the Dutchman or the Dane in four and twenty. + + _Hamlet_, I., 4, 18: + + This heavy-headed revel east and west + Makes us traduced and tax’d of other nations. + They clepe us drunkards, and with swinish phrase + Soil our addition. + + (_Cf._ also _Othello_, II., 3, 78-87.) + + _Parliament of Love_, IV., 5, 137: + + Now, as a schoolboy, + Does kiss the rod that gave him chastisement. + + _Richard II_, V., 1, 31: + + And wilt thou, pupil-like, + Take thy correction mildly, kiss the rod? + + _Two Gentlemen of Verona_, I., 2, 58: + + That, like a testy babe, will scratch the nurse, + And presently, all humbled, kiss the rod. + + _Unnatural Combat_, IV., 2, 6: + + Let his passion work, and like a hot-reined horse + ’Twill quickly tire itself. + + _Henry VIII_, I., 1, 132-4: + + Anger is like + A full-hot horse, who being allow’d his way + Self-mettle tires him. + + _Emperor of the East_, III., 1, 2: + + A sudden fever + Kept me at home. + + _Henry VIII_, I., 1, 5: + + An untimely ague + Stay’d me a prisoner in my chamber. + + _A Very Woman_, II., 1, 20: + + The furnace of your father’s anger. + + _Bondman_, III., 3, 170: + + Or yield up + Our bodies to the furnace of their fury, + Thrice heated with revenge. + + _Henry VIII_, I., 1, 140: + + Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot + That it do singe yourself. + + _Virgin Martyr_, V., 2, 158: + + And now, in the evening, + When thou should’st pass with honour to thy rest, + Wilt thou fall like a meteor? + + _Henry VIII_, III., 2, 226: + + I shall fall + Like a bright exhalation in the evening, + And no man see me more. + + _Guardian_, V., 4, 115: + + In this casket are + Inestimable jewels. + + _Richard III_, I., 4, 27: + + Inestimable stones, unvalued jewels. + + _Picture_, I., 2, 17: + + Since this bubble honour + (Which is indeed the nothing soldiers fight for) + With the loss of limbs or life, is in my judgment + Too dear a purchase. + + _As You Like It_, II., 7, 152: + + Seeking the bubble reputation + Even in the cannon’s mouth. + + _Picture_, II., 2, 136: + + It continuing doubtful + Upon whose tents plum’d victory would take + Her glorious stand. + + _Othello_, III., 3, 349: + + Farewell the plumèd troops, and the big wars, + That make ambition virtue! + + _Virgin Martyr_, V., 2, 82: + + There is a scene that I must act alone. + + _Romeo and Juliet_, IV., 3, 19: + + My dismal scene I needs must act alone. + + _Great Duke of Florence_, III., 1, 57: + + What you deliver to me shall be lock’d up + In a strong cabinet, of which you yourself + Shall keep the key. + + _Hamlet_, I., 3, 85. + + ’Tis in my memory locked, + And you yourself shall keep the key of it. + + _Believe as You List_, I., 2, 18: + + When he smiles, let such + Beware as have to do with him, for then, + Sans doubt, he’s bent on mischief. + + _Hamlet_, I., 5, 107: + + Meet it is I set it down, + That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain. + + _Old Law_, IV., 1, 36: + + Besides, there will be charges saved too; the same rosemary that + serves for the funeral will serve for the wedding.(541) + + _Hamlet_, I., 2, 180: + + Thrift, thrift, Horatio! the funeral baked meats + Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables. + + _Parliament of Love_, III., 3, 133: + + A hurtful vow + Is in the breach of it better commended, + Than in the keeping. + + _Hamlet_, I., 4, 15: + + It is a custom + More honour’d in the breach than the observance. + + _Guardian_, V., 1, 44: + + These woods, Severino, + Shall more than seem to me a populous city. + + _Othello_, I., 1, 77: + + The fire is spied + In populous cities. + + (_Cf._ also IV., 1, 64.) + + +We may infer that Massinger studied the Folio of 1623 carefully. + + + + + +APPENDIX V. WARBURTON’S LIST + + +(_Lansdowne MSS., B. M., 807._) + +This volume contains three plays, the only survivors of Warburton’s +collection: _The Queen of Corsica_, by Fran. Jaques, _The Second Maiden’s +Tragedy_, and _The Bugbears_, together with a fragment of a fourth, R. +Wild’s _Benefice_. + +On the back of the first leaf of this volume is attached the list of +Warburton’s collection, in his own hand. The entries referring to +Massinger are as follows: I preserve the spelling. + +_Minerva’s Sacrifice._ Phill. Masenger. +_The Forc’d Lady a T._ Phill. Massinger. +_Antonio & Vallia_, by Phill. Massinger. +_The Woman’s Plott._ Phill. Massinger. +_The Tyrant_, a tragedy, by Phill. Massenger. +_Philenzo and Hipolito_, a C. by Phill. Massenger. +_The Judge_, a C. by Phill. Massenger. +_Fast and Welcome_, by Phill. Massinger. +_Believe as You List_, C. by Phill. Massinger. +_The Honour of Women_, a C. by P. Massinger. +_Alexius or the Chaste Gallant_, T. P. Massinger. +_The Noble Choise_, T.C. P. Massinger. + +_The Parliament of Love_ is attributed to Wm. Rowley. The versification of +the play which we have under that name is far above Rowley’s powers, nor +are there signs of collaboration in the play, as far as we can tell. + +The list has been carefully discussed by Mr. W. W. Greg in his article, +“The Bakings of Betsy,” in _The Library_ (July, 1911). + +He puts the matter thus: Warburton enters _Minerva’s Sacrifice_ and _The +Forc’d Lady_ as above. In the _Stationers’ Register_, Sept. 9, 1653, these +titles are given as alternatives for the same play. This might mean that +Moseley was trying to smuggle through two plays for a single fee. Mr. Greg +is inclined to give Moseley the benefit of the doubt, and to suppose that +there were plays existing in divergent versions, which would justify the +double titles. If, however, Moseley was honest, Warburton cannot be +correct. Mr. Greg suggests that Warburton, being interested in old plays, +and having access to the _Stationers’ Register_, drew up for his own use a +list, mainly based on Moseley’s entries, containing the titles of such +pieces as he thought it might be possible to recover, and added the names +of those in his possession. The cook destroyed some of the plays, and +Warburton, discovering his loss, added the famous memorandum to the text +without remembering that it contained the names of plays which he did not +possess. In this case the damage done by “Betsy” would not be so extensive +as has been believed. + + + + + +APPENDIX VI. A METRICAL PECULIARITY IN MASSINGER + + +Our dramatic writers must have often felt that their metre required +variety to relieve it from the dangers of facility and monotony. No doubt +the same problem suggested itself to Homer and the Greek dramatists. In +the former, the frequent pauses after the first foot or in the middle of +the second foot, in the latter, the much-discussed pauses after the first +foot, are as likely to be due to a desire for variety as to any special +emphasis on the particular words thus singled out.(542) + +In what ways did the Elizabethans secure variety?(543) + +1. By the use of rhyme. This was the early solution. Massinger does not +often resort to rhyme, though in some of his plays, notably in _The Roman +Actor_, he several times employs the well-known couplet at the end of a +scene. + +2. By the free use of the eleven-syllable line. This was Fletcher’s +solution. It is astonishing how the pleasure which the occasional use of +this licence gives us turns to a feeling of satiety and weakness when it +is too freely employed, so that many passages in Fletcher sound like a +horse with a fit of roaring. + +3. In the free use of trisyllabic feet. This fact has been recently +brought before the public by Mr. Bayfield in connexion with Shakspere. +There is no need to quote instances of this common and easy expedient. + +4. By the occasional use of short lines. As has been pointed out +above,(544) Massinger is a strict metrist, and does not often resort to +this liberty, even in rapid conversation. + +5. By skilful variation of pauses, such as we find in Milton, Tennyson, +and most of our modern writers of blank verse. Massinger’s flexible and +meandering sentences contain many examples of such variation. + +I believe that he had another shaft in his quiver. He occasionally +suppressed a short syllable at the close of the line, and more rarely in +the early part, with the result that an anapaestic lilt of some +effectiveness makes its appearance. An example from _The Emperor of the +East_ will make this clear. + + + PULCHERIA. What ís thy náme? + + ATHENAIS. The forlorn Áthenáis (I., 1, 342). + + +If the stresses are placed as above, it is clear that there is a syllable +suppressed after the word “forlorn,” a three-syllable foot in the third +place, and an anapaestic lilt, “the forlorn.” + +Nor is Massinger alone in this device; instances from other poets are +quoted below. This theory conflicts with the dictum of Schmidt in his +Shaksperian lexicon, that words like “forlorn,” “complete,” “supreme,” +“conceal’d,” can be stressed either on the first or second syllable, the +stress being on the first syllable when the stress in the following word +falls on the first syllable. Presumably Schmidt would have scanned the +line in question thus: + + + What ís thy náme? The fórlorn Áthenáis. + + +Schmidt’s dictum, however, will not explain all the cases quoted below, +and it is worth considering whether it is not a simpler solution of the +problem to suppose that our Elizabethan poets combined uniformity of +accent with variety in the metre, sometimes applied more than once in the +same line. It is clear that lines which contain a past participle like +“condemned” cannot be used for the purposes of this argument, as such +words may have been scanned as two syllables or three. + +The following cases will support my suggestion. The list does not profess +to be a complete summary of the evidence. + +1. _The Emperor of the East_, III., 4, 139: + + + To búild me úp a compléte^prínce, ’tis gránted. + + +2. _The Duke of Milan_, III., 1, 32: + + + Mónkeys and páraquíttos consúme^thóusands. + + +(Here the first foot is a trochee. _Cf._ _infra_, Nos. 6, 8, 20, 21, 36, +43, 48.) + +3. _The Bondman_, I., 1, 65: + + + Of stránge and resérved párts; but a gréat^sóldier. + + +4. _The Bondman_, II., 1, 143: + + + Which súllied wíth the tóuch of impúre^hánds. + + +5. _The Bondman_, III., 3, 89: + + + Were thís sad spéctaclé for secúre^gréatness. + + +6. _The Bondman_, IV., 3, 192: + + + Máde for your sátisfáction, the póor^wrétch. + + +7. _The Bondman_, V., 2, 20: + + + All éngines tó assáult him. Indéed^vírtue. + + +8. _The Renegado_, I., 1, 81: + + + Ín a relígious schóol, where divíne^máxims. + + +9. _The Renegado_, I., 3, 152: + + + Have cálled your ánger ón, in a frówn^shów it. + + +10. _The Renegado_, II., 4, 58: + + + Displéasures agaínst^thóse, withóut whose mércy. + + +11. _The Renegado_, III., 2, 36: + + + I é’er had íreful fiérceness, a stéel’d^héart. + + +12. _The Renegado_, IV., 3, 79: + + + Forsáke a sevére,^náy, impérious místress. + + +13. _The Renegado_, V., 1, 7: + + + That wíll for éver árm me agaínst^féars. + + +14. _The Great Duke of Florence_, I., 1, 127: + + + And íf my grácious úncle, the gréat^dúke. + + +15. _The Great Duke of Florence_, I., 2, 29: + + + To thínk her wórthy of yóu, besídes^chíldren. + + +16. _The Great Duke of Florence_, II., 1, 133: + + + And máke a pláin discóvery. The dúke’s^cáre. + + +17. _The Great Duke of Florence_, II., 3, 66: + + + The swéetness óf her bréath. Such a bráve^státure. + + +18. _The Great Duke of Florence_, III., 1, 66: + + + On whát desígn, or whíther, the dúke’s^wíll. + + +19. _The Great Duke of Florence_, IV., 1, 102: + + + And píety bé forgótten. The dúke’s^lúst. + + +20. _The Great Duke of Florence_, V., 2, 3: + + + Ín the great státes it cóvers. The dúke’s^pléasure. + + +21. _The Great Duke of Florence_, V., 3, 127: + + + Équal offénders, whát we shall spéak^poínts. + + +22. _The City Madam_, III., 3, 78: + + + Relígious chárity; to sénd^ínfidéls. + + +23. _The Bashful Lover_, III., 3, 90: + + + And sénsual báseness; íf thy profáne^hánd. + + +24. _The Bashful Lover_, IV., 2, 60: + + + ’Tis ímpióus in mán to prescríbe^límits. + + +25. _The Bashful Lover_, V., 3, 179: + + + There’s nó conténding agáinst^déstiný. + + +26. _A Very Woman_, II., 3, 42: + + + Not fár off dístant, appéars^dím with énvy. + + +27. _The Unnatural Combat_, IV., 1, 35: + + + Yet wáking, I’ ne’er chérished obscéne^hópes. + + +28. _Believe as You List_, I., 1, 144: + + + And secúre^gréatness wíth the trúe relátion. + + +29. _Believe as You List_, I., 2, 10: + + + A póint of jústice, his wórds^fúll in méasure. + + +30. _Believe as You List_, II., 2, 265: + + + Undergó the sáme^púnishmént which óthers. + + +31. _The Guardian_, I., 1, 285: + + + This profáne^lánguage. Práy you, bé a mán. + + +32. _The Guardian_, I., 2, 21: + + + Your hónour detésts^fláttery, Í might sáy. + + +33. Epilogue 2: + + + Tó the still dóubtful áuthor, at whát^ráte. + + +34. _The Parliament of Love_, II., 3, 26: + + + You nów expréss yoursélf a compléte^lóver. + + +35. _The Parliament of Love_, III., 2, 149: + + + To háve the gréatest bléssing, a trúe^fríend. + + +36. _The Parliament of Love_, IV., 1, 95: + + + Cást yourself ón her cóuch. Oh, divíne^dóctor! + + +37. _The Parliament of Love_, V., 1, 69: + + + The módern víces. Begín;^réad the bílls. + + +38. _The Parliament of Love_, V., 1, 184: + + + The ápplicátion, ánd in a pláin^stýle. + + +39. _The Parliament of Love_, V., 1, 520: + + + Led thríce through Páris; thén at the cóurt,^gáte. + + +40. _The Picture_, I., 1, 48: + + + Of the sóuls^rávishing músic; the sáme^áge. + + +(A highly irregular line.) + +41. _The Picture_, I., 2, 73: + + + Are búried in hér; the lóud^nóise of|wár. + + +42. _The Picture_, I., 2, 106: + + + Her kíngly cáptive abóve^áll the wórld. + + +43. _The Picture_, I., 2, 184: + + + Dóted on thís Semiramís, a kíng’s^wífe. + + +(The third foot here is u u u u.) + +44. _The Picture_, I., 2, 248: + + + Beyónd my júst propórtion. Abóve^wónder! + + +45. _The Picture_, II., 1, 35: + + + Appéar, and, what’s móre, appéar^pérfect, híss me. + + +46. _The Picture_, II., 1, 66: + + + Their fáirest íssue to méet^sénsuálly. + + +47. _The Picture_, II., 1, 165: + + + My énd must bé to stánd in a córn^fíeld. + + +48. _The Picture_, II., 2, 286: + + + Í should fix hére, where bléssings beyónd^hópe. + + +49. _The Picture_, III., 2, 40: + + + They thánk’d the bríngers óf it. The póor^lády. + + +50. _The Picture_, III., 5, 161: + + + What cán you stáke against it. A quéen’s^fáme. + + +51. _The Picture_, IV., 4, 64: + + + If thís take nót, I am chéated. To slíp^ónce. + + +52. _The Picture_, V., 3, 11: + + + Befóre he góes to súpper. Ha! Is my hóuse^túrn’d. + + +(The fourth foot is u u u —.) + +53. _The Picture_, V., 3, 40: + + + And néed no tútor. Thís is the gréat^kíng. + + +It will be noted that the rhythm often occurs in a broken line—_i.e._, a +line divided between two speakers. _Cf._ Nos. 7, 20, 36, 44, 50, 51, 52, +53. (_Cf._ also _The Emperor of the East_, I., 1, 342.) + +_Cf._ _The False One_, I., 1: + + + What néarer plédges chállenge: résign^ráther. + + +_The False One_, V., 4: + + + The stóry óf a supréme^mónarchý. + + +_The Prophetess_, I., 3: + + + Chéerful and gráteful tákers the góds^lóve. + + +_The Prophetess_, I., 3: + + + Nor múst I revéal^fúrther, till you cléar it. + + +_The Prophetess_, III., 1: + + + For ládies of high^márk, for divíne^beáuties. + + +_The Lover’s Progress_, I., 1: + + + To Cúpid agáinst^Hýmen! Óh, mine hónour. + + +_The Fair Maid of the Inn_, I., 1: + + + A compléte^cóurtier! máy I livé to sée him. + + +_Thierry and Theodoret_, IV., 2: + + + Thou dóst throw chárms upón me, agáinst^whích. + + +_Thierry and Theodoret_, IV., 2: + + + Aṅd the place whére, the pálace, agáinst,^áll. + + +_Jew of Malta_, I., 2: + + + And extréme^tórtures óf the fíery déep. + + +_Dr. Faustus_, I., 1: + + + And Í that háve with concíse^sýllogísms. + + +_Nero_, I., 4: + + + O sevére^ánger óf the highest góds. + + +_Rule a Wife_, I., 1: + + + For thére I dáre be bóld to appéar^óften. + + +_The Maid in the Mill_, I., 3: + + + Now by’ the sóul of lóve, a divíne^créature. + + +_Henry VIII_, II., 1, 11: + + + I’ll téll you ín a líttle. The gréat^dúke. + + +I believe that many of the rhythms from Shakespeare quoted by Schmidt and +by Mr. R. Bridges in his “Milton’s Prosody,” can be explained in this way. + + + + + +APPENDIX VII. “BELIEVE AS YOU LIST” + + +This play was edited by Mr. T. Crofton Croker, with a short Preface, in +the Percy Society’s Publications, Vol. XXVII., 1849. The Tudor Society has +published a photographic facsimile of the MS., now in the British Museum +(Egerton MSS., 2828). _Cf._ B.M. Catalogue of Additions, 1907, p. 384. The +MS. was purchased for the Museum at a sale on November 27, 1900, for £69. +It is of paper. The original document, measuring 12-1/2 inches by 7-1/2 +inches, comprises folios 5 to 29; folios 2 and 3 are the old vellum cover. + +Mr. Croker’s account of the MS. (Pref., p. ix) runs as follows: + +“The MS., from its commencement to the termination of the licence, was +written on forty-eight pages of foolscap paper, in a small hand, sometimes +not easy to be read. Of the second leaf only an inconsiderable portion +remains, and the top and bottom of the paper have been injured in some +places by damp. In four additional pages after the licence, the Prologue, +Epilogue, and property directions are preserved. The MS. is stitched up in +a parchment cover, which appears to have been a cancelled ‘Indenture’ of +Elizabeth’s reign. On the outside page of this parchment, or back of the +cancelled indenture, is written the title, in what I agree with Mr. Beltz +in regarding as Massinger’s autograph.”(545) + +From the letter of Mr. S. Beltz, given by Mr. Crofton Croker, we learn +that Gifford had more than once lamented to Mr. Croker the disappearance +of this MS., which Colley Cibber had seen;(546) and that the MS. had +formerly been in David Garrick’s hands. Mr. S. Beltz also says: “It is +well known from other sources that the play was acted on May 7, 1631.” + +The MS. had belonged to George Beltz, Lancaster Herald, and executor of +Garrick’s widow. His brother Samuel found it among “a mass of rubbish.” It +was in the possession of J. O. Halliwell Phillips at one time. This +well-known Shaksperian scholar inserted a note about it on p. 1, in which +he says, _inter alia_: “This is one of the few play-house copies of any +English plays before the suppression of theatres known to exist. I +strongly suspect it has some corrections in Massinger’s own autograph.” + +Sir George F. Warner, in the _Athenæum_ (January 19, 1901) discusses the +MS. He believes it is in Massinger’s own hand, as the alterations are made +_currente calamo_. This fact can easily be verified from a perusal of the +MS. Sir G. Warner, after comparing the MS. with the Henslowe document at +Dulwich, arrived at the conviction that the writing was Massinger’s. He +considers that the title and marginal stage-directions are due to the +manager, and that the Prologue and Epilogue are in a third hand. He points +out that “Carthage” is written over “Venice” (Crofton Croker, p. 41), +“Affricque” over “Europe” (p. 44), and “Berecinthius” over “Sampayo” (p. +79).(547) He proceeds to explain the reason for these alterations, and +then emends some of Mr. Croker’s mistakes. + +With all due deference to the great authority of Sir G. Warner, I do not +feel certain that this hand is that of the appeal to Henslow. On the other +hand, we must remember that seventeen years had elapsed, and that it is +unlikely that a poor man like Massinger would have employed an amanuensis. +Capital “I,” “s,” “f,” and “e” are alike in the two documents; but “ve” in +“have ever” did not seem to me to be the same, nor did any of the “r’s” at +Dulwich resemble the hand in the play.(548) + +There are few mistakes in the MS. beyond those which the writer has +corrected himself. The corrections and additions all appear to be in the +same hand. The simplest explanation of the MS. is to suppose that +Massinger had before him the MS. of the play which had been condemned by +the Censor, and that he copied it out again, making the necessary changes +of name, etc. This would account for one or two mistakes which the writer +has corrected.(549) In other passages we can see his judgment at work, +altering the phraseology,(550) or expanding one line into two.(551) +Sometimes a word is repeated from a previous line and then cancelled,(552) +as if the writer had been tired, as he might well be. The writing combines +German and Italian forms. + +The play was remodelled from its original form by order of the +Censor.(553) Sir G. Warner has pointed out that it is derived from “the +strangest adventure that ever happened, either in the ages passed or +present: containing a discourse concerning the successe of the King of +Portugal, Dom Sebastian. London: printed for Frances Henson, dwelling in +the Blackfriers, 1601.”(554) + +This book is the story of a claimant to the throne of Portugal. On p. 78 +we have “the markes and signes which the King of Portugall Dom Sebastian +beares naturally on his body.” Twenty-two in all are given. Among them +are: + + + (1) He hath the right hand greater than the left. + + (2) The right arme longer than the left. + + (5) The right legge is longer than the left. + + (6) The right foote greater than the other. + + +Compare these statements with the words erased in the MS., folio 8.(555) + + + 1 MARCHANT: + + His verie hand legge and foote, and the lefte side + Shorter than on the right. + + (12) He hath little pimples on his face and hands. + + _Cf._ 2 MARCHANT: + + The moles upon + His face and hands(556) + + (21) Another marke or wound upon the head. + + (22) Another upon the right eye-brow. + + _Cf._ 3 MARCHANT: + + The scarres, caused by his hurts, + On his right browe and head.(557) + + (14) He lackes one tooth on the right side in the neather jaw. + + _Cf._ BERECINTHIUS: + + The hollownesse + Of his under jawe, occasion’d by the losse + Of a tooth pull’d out by his chirurgion.(558) + + (18) The lip of Austriche,(559) like his + Grandfather Charles the Fift, Emperor, + Father to his mother, and of his + Grandmother, Catherine, Queen of + Portugall, mother to his father, sister + To the said Charles the Fift. + + +Compare the original reading in the play,(560) “His nose! his German +lippe!” Over German “very” has been written, and underneath is traceable +the “A” of Austrian. + +These passages leave no doubt as to the derivation of the earlier part of +the story which Massinger dramatised. + +On p. 45 of _The Strangest Adventure_ we read that Dom Sebastian comes to +Venice “very poorely, and robbed by five of his own servants, which he +entertained in Cicilie.” This incident occurs in _Believe as You List_, +Act I. At Venice he was persecuted by the “embassadour of Castile,” whose +name is not given, but whose place in the play is taken by Flaminius. On +p. 49 he is said to have been beaten by the Moors in Africa in 1578, and +to be now (1600) a prisoner at Venice. In _Believe as You List_ the period +of twenty-two years is referred to as the interval during which Antiochus +has been travelling about the world.(561) On p. 50 Dom Sebastian arrives +at Venice with “but one poor gazete.” In the play Antiochus, after being +robbed by his servants, finds “a waste paper” lying near him, and speaks +as follows: + + + There is something writ more. + Why this small piece of silver? What I read may + Reveal the mystery: “Forget thou wert ever + Called King Antiochus. With this charity + I enter thee a beggar.”(562) + + +On p. 67 Sebastian is set free, and on p. 86 he goes to Florence, on his +way to Marseilles, with some talk of trying to establish his identity in +Holland. But the narrative closes abruptly, and we know no more of the +claimant to the Portuguese throne from _The Strangest Adventure_. + +The ineffectiveness of the play may be partly due to the necessity of +altering the original modern setting to an ancient one. It is hard, for +example, to see how the monk Sampayo was metamorphosed into Berecinthius, +the fat priest of Cybele. + +Mr. Croker’s reprint was the cause of a very pretty literary quarrel +between the Shakespeare Society and the Percy Society. A writer who signed +himself “A Member of both Societies” published a pamphlet animadverting on +Mr. Croker’s abilities as an editor,(563) and Mr. Croker replied in no +measured terms. The documents may be seen at the British Museum. + +The anonymous writer, working on the many indications given in the +marginal notes, reconstructed the cast of _Believe as You List_.(564) “My +cast,” he says, “has been a work of difficulty, and, in the case of some +of the minor performers, a matter of considerable doubt, more especially +as a few of them doubled or even trebled their parts; and as we here see +(the only instance of the kind I am acquainted with), perhaps exchanged +characters during the progress of the play. + +Antiochus J. Taylor.(565) +Flaminius J. Lowin. +Lentulus R. Robinson. +Marcellus R. Benfield. +Berecinthius T. Pollard. +Chrysalus E. Swanston. +Demetrius W. Patrick. +Amilcar — Rowland. +1 Merchant J. Honeyman. +2 Merchant W. Penn. +3 Merchant — Curt. +Calistus T. Hobbes. +Titus R. Baxter. +Queen to Prusias — Ball. +Cornelia — Nick. +Courtesan — Boy. + +“With regard to the three female parts, and another of a Moorish +woman,(566) we are left much in the dark, and I have placed names against +them with considerable hesitation. + +“The actors who doubled their parts were W. Penn, who was also a Jailor; +Rowland, who was also King Prusias; Patrick, who was also a Captain; and +Baxter, who was also an officer and a servant, besides, as well as we can +judge, delivering a speech or two as Demetrius. Rowland must also have +trebled his small parts. Besides these, we hear in the course of the play +of W. Mago, Gascoine, Herbert, and Harry Wilson; the last was a singer.... +It need hardly be added that the ’tragedy’ was got up and acted by the +Company called the King’s Players, all the names being those of performers +in that association in 1631.” + + + + + +APPENDIX VIII. COLLATION OF MS. OF “BELIEVE AS YOU LIST” + + +This play is accessible to the general public at present in Colonel +Cunningham’s edition of Massinger, and in Mr. Arthur Symons’s edition in +“The Mermaid Series.” An examination of the original MS., now in the +British Museum, shows that Cunningham’s text is not always correct. Though +an exhaustive collation of the MS. is not necessary, several points of +interest emerge from a study of the original document, which I have +digested here. (C. = Cunningham’s edition; MS. = Manuscript reading. +Brackets signify Cunningham’s conjectural additions, which he has not +always taken the trouble to indicate.) + +Page 595. There is no list of dramatis personae in MS. + +I., 1.—C.: Enter Antiochus and a Stoic. The three servants enter after +line 118. + +MS.: Antiochus Stoic in philosopher’s habits; Chrysalus with a writing, +Syrus, Geta, bondmen. + +I., 1, 26.—C.: Stoic. + +MS.: Stoic: Hermit (cancelled). + +I., 1, 56.—C.: + + + Old (He) sper with his fierce beams (scorch)ing in vain + Their (wives, their sisters and their tender daughters). + + +MS.: The line is much damaged, being the last on the page. A mention of +the old after the young (lines 52 to 55) seems to be required. + +I read it thus: Olde men with sil ... in vain. There is no trace of 57, +but it is required by the sense. + +I., 1, 60.—MS.: The soldiers’ greedy lusts. “Greedy” deleted. + +I., 1, 85.—C.: A prey so precious and so dearly purchased. + +MS.: A prey so precious and dearly purchased. + +“Precious” is scanned as a trisyllable. + +I., 1, 117.—C.: + + + The imperious waves + (Of my) calamities have already fallen. + + +MS.: “Of my” is not in MS. The last word of 118 is “Swollen.” The word +“Marvell” can be seen at the end of a line after 118. + +Here comes a hiatus of two pages. No doubt Antiochus had a fairly long +soliloquy. It is impossible to tell how many lines are lost here, as the +characters seem to be conducting a rapid dialogue, in which it is not +necessary to suppose that a whole line was assigned to each speaker at a +time. + +I., 1, 119.—C.: + + + Despair with sable wings + (Sail-stretch’d ab)ove my head. + + +MS.: Ore my head. A verb is wanted. (?) Sail-stretch’d flies o’er my head. + +I., 1, 121.—MS.: ... ius furnished me. The line begins with a name to +which there is no clue, probably introduced in the part now lost. + +I., 1, 122.—C.: (And) make my first appearance like myself. + + + MS.: Made ? Which made, etc. + + +I., 1, 123.—C.: (Have these) disloyal villains ravished from me. Addition +required by sense. + +I., 1, 124.—C.: (Wret)ch that I was. + +MS.: “ch” at end of a word which has disappeared. “Wretch” gives the +sense. + +I., 1, 125.—C.: (With) such a purchase. + +MS.: Such a purchase. The first word in the line has disappeared. + +I., 1, 126.—C.: Without (the) gold to fee an advocate. + +MS.: Without gold to fee an advocate. The first word in the line has +disappeared. (?) And. + +I., 1, 127.—C.: (To) plead my royal title, nourish hope. + +MS.: Plead my royal title, nourish hope. The first word in the line has +disappeared. “To” is required. + +I., 1, 129.—C.: Wanting the outer gloss. + +MS.: Wanting the outward gloss. + +I., 1, 153.—C.: + + + Bids me become a beggar. But complaints are weak + And womanish. I will like a palm-tree grow + Under my (own) huge weight. + + MS.: Bids me become a beggar. But complaints + Are weak and womanish. I will, like a palm-tree, + Grow under my huge weight. + + +I., 1, 155.—C.: + + + Nor shall the fear + Of death or torture that dejection bring + Make me (or) live or die less than a king! + + +MS. has: To make me live or die less than a king!—_i.e._, “that” in 156 is +the demonstrative, not the relative. + +I., 2, 2.—C.: Keeps us at such (a) distance. + +MS.: Keeps us off at such distance. + +I., 2, 20.—C.: Sans doubt, he’s bent on mischief. + +MS.: Sans doubt he’s bent to mischief. + +I., 2, 24.—C.: + + + He shall find I can + Think, and aloud too. + + +MS.: Chant, and aloud too. + +I., 2, 53.—C.: ’T had perfected thy life. + +MS.: It had. + +I., 2, 66.—C.: (to task). Not in MS. Traces of a word in the beginning of +a line now lost at the foot of 66. + +I., 2, 67.—C.: + + + If arrogantly you presume to take + The Roman government, your goddess cannot + Give privilege to it, and you’ll find and feel + ’Tis little less than treason, Flamen. + + MS.: If arrogantly you presume to tax + The Roman government, you’ll find and feel your goddess cannot + Give privilege to it, and you’ll find and feel + ’Tis little less than treason, Flamen. + + +“You’ll find and feel” cancelled in line 68—_i.e._, the author changed his +mind as he wrote. + +I., 2, 72.—C.: These Asiatic merchants whom you look on. + +MS.: These Asiatic merchants whom you look upon. + +“Merchants” added afterwards above the line, and the first syllable of +“upon” deleted. + +I., 2, 90.—C.: To it again. + +MS.: To it again now. + +I., 2, 139.—C.: Yet you repine and rather choose to pay. + +MS.: Yet you repined and rather chose to pay. + +I., 2, 151.—C.: And this is my last caution. + +MS.: Since this is my last caution. + +I., 2, 161.—C.: (On) which. + +MS.: Mutilated at beginning. “On” makes sense. + +I., 2, 186.—C.: His nose, his very lip. + +MS.: His nose, his German lip. “German” scratched out, and underneath +appears a word beginning with “A,” Asian or Austrian?(567) “Very” is +written above “German.” + +I., 2, 187.—C.: + + + His very hand, leg and foot! + The moles upon + His face and hands. + + MS.: His own (?) hand, leg and foot, and the left side + Shorter than on the right. + The moles upon + His face and hands. + + +“His own” down to “the right” is cancelled in MS. + +I., 2, 191.—C: + + + 1 M. To confirm us, tell us your chirurgeon’s name + When he served you. + + A. You all knew him as I + Do you, Demetrius Castor. + + 2 M. Strange. + + 3 M. But + Most infallibly true. + + +MS.: + + + 1 M. To confirm us, + Tell us his name when he served you. + + A. You all know him, + As I do you: Demetrius Castor. + + 2 M. Strange. + + 3 M. But most infallibly true. + + +In line 192 “his” has been altered to “the chirurgeon’s” to the detriment +of the metre. + +I., 2, 196.—C.: We’ll pay for our distrust. + +MS.: We sin in our distrust. + +II., _ad initium._—Stage-manager’s note in left-hand margin, “Long.” + +II., 1, 6.—C: I will exact + +MS.: ’Twill exact. + +II., 1, 47.—MS.: + + + We hold it fit you should have the first honour notice, + That you may have the honour to prevent it. + + +“Honour” in 47 deleted. + +II., 1, 51.—MS.: In the shape of King Antiochus. Under King can be seen +“Don Sebastian.” + +II., 2, 45.—C: With due invitation, and remember. + +MS.: With a due invitation and remember. + +II., 2, 49.—C.: + + + And though the Punic faith is branded by + Our enemies, our confederates and friends + And seventeen kings, our feodaries found it + As firm as fate. + + MS.: And though the Punic faith is branded by + Our enemies, our confederates and friends + Found it as firm as fate, and seventeen kings + Our feodaries. + + +II., 2, 52.—MS.: + + + Our strength at sea superior upon the sea + Exceeding theirs. + + +“At sea superior” deleted. A clear case of the author’s alteration as he +went. + +II., 2, 56.—C.: + + + And then for our cavallery, in the champaign + How often have they brake their piles. + + MS.: And then for our cavallery, how often, in the champaign + How they brake often have they brake their piles. + + +“How often” in line 56. and the first “they brake” deleted. Author’s +alterations again. + +II., 2, 59.—C.: If so we find it. + +MS. If so, as we find it. + +II., 2, 67.—MS.: By yielding up a man. + +Written over something of which the first words are “in a,” the last word +“king.” + +II., 2, 98.—MS.: By the conquered Asiatics this impost in their hopes. + +“This impost” deleted. “This impostor” occurs just above in line 97. + +II., 2, 108.—C.: By her. + +MS.: By his. + +II., 2, 138.—C.: He bears him like a king. + +MS.: He bears himself like a king. + +II., 2, 142.—MS.: Ceutha deleted before Afric. + +II., 2, 165.—C.: Cannot near you. + +MS.: Cannot hear you. + +II., 2, 205.—C.: Filled. + +MS.: Filed. + +II., 2, 209.—MS.: And hath keeps a whore in Corinth. + +“Hath” deleted. + +II., 2, 217.—MS.: In the royal monument of Hib the Asian kings. + +(?) The author started to write “Hiberian kings.” + +II., 2, 240.—MS.: Rebellion delivery or restoring. + +“Rebellion” deleted; it occurred in the previous line. + +II., 2, 253.—C.: + + + With reverence to + This place, thou liest. + + MS.: Setting aside, with reverence to + Thy place, the state, thou liest. + + +“Setting aside” and “thy place” deleted. + +II., 2, 255.—C.: By being ... + + + MS.: By being libb’d, and my disability + To deflower thy sisters. + + +II., 2, 256.—C.: I (bow to) your goddess. + +MS.: Thank your goddess. + +“Thy” deleted under “your.” + +II., 2, 285.—MS.: + + + Of brave and able men that might have stood + In opposition for the defence. + + +“That might” down to “opposition” inserted in same hand above the line. + +II., 2, 289.—C.: For my confed’rates. + +MS.: For my confederates. + +Required by metre. + +II., 2, 328.—MS.: Word deleted before Antiochus. Sebastian would scan. + +II., 2, 335.—MS.: With your accustomed clemency wisdom you’ll perceive. + +“Clemency” deleted. + +II., 2, 346.—MS.: Such depositions as they pleased knew would make. + +“Pleased” deleted. + +II., 2, 368.—MS.: Word deleted under “Carthage.” (?) Venice. + +III., 1, 20.—MS.: “Europe” deleted under “Afric.” + +III., 1, 22.—MS.: “To the good king Hiero” deleted under “To the +pro-consul Marcellus.” + +III., 1, 47.—C.: You’ll find there that they. + +MS.: You shall find there that. + +(A nominative is wanted; unless for “there” we read “them”) + +III., 1, 62.—C.: To my (aid). + +MS.: To my wish. + +III., 1, 91.—MS.: There’s thy reward. + +Underneath “there’s,” “take” deleted. + +III., 1, 103.—C.: + + + Your travail’s ended, mine begins; I take my leave. + Formality of manner now is useless. + + MS.: Your travail’s ended, mine begins, and therefore + Sans ceremonie I will take my leave. + + +“Sans ceremonie” deleted, and “formality ... useless” added at the end of +the line. The author omitted to cancel “I take my leave.” + +III., 2, 31.—C.: Thou thin gut! + +MS.: You thin gut! + +III., 2, 35.—MS.: Cancels from “Jove! if thou art” to 38, “They come.” + +III., 2, 36.—C.: Change not Jove’s purpose. + +MS.: Change not you Jove’s purpose. + +III., 2, 106.—MS.: + + + I will conjure him + If revenge hath any spells. + + +Cancelled in MS. + +III., 3, 132.—C.: Will but—I spare comparisons. + +(?) Punctuate: Will—but I spare comparisons. + +III., 3, 150.—MS.: Of such such as are. + +Second “such” deleted. + +III., 3, 151.—MS.: Bithynia covered with our knights armies. + +“Knights” deleted. + +III., 3, 166.—MS.: And more than my his caution to you; but now peace or +war. + +“And more than my” deleted. The previous line had begun with these words. +Was the author copying a former draft of the scene? + +III., 3, 229.—C.: To cross your purpose. + +MS.: To cross your purposes. + +III., 3, 234.—MS.: The warrant and authority of a wife your queen. + +“A wife” deleted. + +III., 3, 244.—C.: These (eyes) pull’d out. + +MS.: These pulled out. + +“Eyes” is required by the sense, and “these” and “eyes” are much alike in +this hand. + +_Ibid._—C.: Do then. + +MS.: Do you then. + +III., 3, 248.—C.: Born deaf. + +MS.: Born dumb. + +Act IV.—Stage-manager’s note in left-hand margin of 186, “Long.” _Cf._ Act +II. + +IV., 1.—C.: A street in Callipolis. + +Not in MS. + +MS.: Sempronius a Capturion—_i.e._, “captain” altered to “centurion.” + +IV., 1, 2.—MS.: I heard such. + +“Such” deleted. It begins the next line. + +IV., 1, 5.—MS.: He promised me a visit, if his designs as I desire they +may. + +“He” deleted and “who by his letters” written above it. + +For similar expansion of one line into two, _cf._ II., 2, 285. + +IV., 1, 7.—MS.: Till he arrive you behold him. + +“He arrive” deleted. + +IV., 1, 23.—MS.: “My” deleted before “yourself.” + +IV., 1, 29.—C.: Lips. + +MS.: Lip. + +IV., 1, 34.—C.: Tacks on “he” to this line. + +MS.: “He” begins line 35. + +IV., 1, 45.—Enter Flaminius. + +(?) “Ferdinand” deleted below. + +IV., 1, 90.—C.: And may prove fortunate. + +MS.: And it may prove fortunate. + +IV., 2, 5.—C.: (Why), the sufferings of this miserable man. + +MS.: No trace of “why.” + +IV., 2, 11.—C.: Tacks on “to” at the end. + +MS.: It begins line 12. + +IV., 2, 29.—C.: And know that not the reverence that waits. + +MS.: And though I know the reverence that waits. + +IV., 2, 33.—C.: Or iron. + +MS.: Or fire. + +IV., 2, 58.—C.: They aim at. + +MS.: They aimed at. + +IV., 2, 60.—C.: A few more hours. + +MS.: A few hours more. + +IV., 2, 66.—MS.: For the pretty tempting friend I brought; my life on’t. + +Under “tempting,” “beauty” (?) deleted. + +IV., 2, 87.—MS.: Crack not with the weight of deer, and far-fetched +dainties. + +“Not” spoils the metre and the sense; it occurs in line 88. “Dispute not +with heaven’s bounties.” + +IV., 2, 90.—C.: Homely cakes. + +MS.: Homely cates. + + + IV., 2, 96.—MS.: I have already + Acquainted her with her cue. The music ushers + Her personal appearance. + + +Scratched out at top of 20_b_, and inserted at foot of 20_a_. + +IV., 2, 127.—C.: Pray, what are you? + +MS.: Pray you, what are you? + +IV., 2, 147.—C.: That, (sir), is. + +MS.: “Sir” not visible owing to mutilation. (?) Sir, that is. + +IV., 2, 158.—MS.: And met your wishes. + +“And met” deleted before “and met.” + +IV., 2, 226.—MS.: To pluck your eyes out. + +Last half of line deleted. Last word (?) “thoughtes.” + +IV., 2, 228.—MS.: Add a deleted line: + +Dieted with gourd water.(568) Oh! the furies! + +C.: leaves out. + +IV., 3, 1.—MS.: Officers leading in Berecinthius. + +“Sampayo” deleted under “Berecinthius.” + +C.: Place of execution at Callipolis. + +MS.: Does not mention Callipolis. + +IV., 3, 28.—MS.: My bark you see wants stowage. + +“Balance” deleted before “stowage.” + +IV., 3, 29.—C.: But give me half a dozen hens. + +MS.: But give me half a dozen of hens. + +IV., 3, 39.—MS.: “Helped me” _bis._ The first one deleted. + +IV., 3, 44.—MS.: To make three sops for his three heads; may serve for a +breakfast. + +“that” inserted after “heads,” and “something more than an ordinary” after +“serve for.” One line converted into two, as above, IV., 1, 5. + +IV., 3, 46.—MS.: The cur is vengeance devilish hungry. + +“Vengeance” deleted. + +IV., 3, 48.—C.: Provided for my frame. + +MS.: Provided for my fame. + +IV., 3, 53.—MS.: That no covetous Roman, after I am dead. + +“Needie” deleted under “covetous.” + +IV., 4, 13.—C: His faults are inscribed. + +MS.: His fault’s inscribed. + +IV., 4, 22.—C.: But in one thing most remarkable. + +MS.: But one thing most remarkable. + +IV., 4, 45.—MS.: Of kings deposed, and some in triumph led. + +“Read” deleted before “led.” It is the last word of line 44. + +IV., 4, 48.—C: Is of worse condition, and Rome. + +MS.: Is of a worse condition, and Rome. + +V., 1, 28.—MS.: “rows” deleted before “is chained.” + +V., 1, 98.—C: In the world. + +MS.: Of the world. + +V., 1, 102.—C: Since I am term’d a soldier. + +MS.: Since I am turn’d soldier. + +V., 1, 116.—C: Grant you like (opportunity, but why), + +MS.: Grant you like; + +C.’s addition required by the sense. + +V., 1, 137.—C.: In which, my lord being a suitor with (me). + +MS.: In which, my lord being a suitor with. Addition required. + +V., 1, 143.—C.: And though it needs not, for further proof. + +MS.: And though it needs it not, for further proof. + +V., 1, 157.—C.: They find. + +MS.: May find. + +“May” required by the sense. + +V., 1, 172.—MS.: Swim down the torrent stream but to oppose the torrent. + +“Torrent” before “stream” deleted. + +V., 2, 14.—C.: I will make this good. + +MS.: I will mock this good. + +V., 2, 30.—C.: That noble Roman. By h(im you are sent for). + +MS.: That noble Roman. By h.... Addition required. + +V., 2, 33.—C.: Though I grand him. + +MS.: Though I grac’d him. + +V., 2, 46.—C.: ANTONIUS. Forbear. + +MS.: MARCELLUS. Forbear. + +V.,2, 59.—MS.: “Marcell” deleted before “King Antiochus.” + +V., 2, 124.—C.: (The armlet). + +Koeppel points out that in Cayet it is a ring.(569) + +V., 2, 125.—C.: Which you wear on your sl(eeve). + +MS.: Which you wear on your——slight traces of “sl.” + +V., 2, 125.—C.: I ack(nowledge). + +MS.: I ack ... + +V., 2, 155.—C.: + + + My power to justify the ill, and pressed + You with mountainous promises of love and service. + + MS.: My power to justify the ill, and pressed you + With mountainous promises of love and service. + + +V., 2, 166-7.—MS.: As far as “faithfully” in one line, but all written at +the same time. + +V., 2, 173.—C.: The violence of your passion. + +MS.: .... l .. ce of your passion. + +V., 2, 174.—C.: Cornelia. (Do) but (expre)ss. + +MS.: Cornelia has a line which has disappeared; towards the end are traces +of “but” and “ss.” + +V., 2, 175.—C.: Your thankfulness for his so m(any favours). + +MS.: Your thankfulness for his so m ... + +V., 2, 176.—C.: And labour that the senate may restore h(im). + +MS.: And labour that the senate may restore h ... Addition required. + +V., 2, 212.—C.: Yield an account without appeal for wha(t). + +MS.: Yield an account without appeal for wha ... + +V., 2, 213.—C.: You have already done. You may p(eru)se. (Does it.) + +MS.: You have already done. You may p ... se. + +No need for “Does it.” + +V., 2, 214.—C.: Do you f(i)nd I ha(ve). + +MS.: Do you f ... nd e I ha ... Addition required. + +V., 2, 215.—C.: (The warran)t. (C)all in the Asian merchants. + +MS.: ... all in the Asian marchants. + +(?) “The document” would scan better. + +V., 2, 216.—C.: 2 MERCHANT. Now to be hanged. + +MS. has space above 216 for half a line to be said by someone else. + +V., 2, 217.—C.: 3 MERCHANT. Him that pities thee. + +MS. gives no clue to the speaker. + +_Ibid._—C.: Flaminius. Accusers. + +MS.: ... sers. It is the last word of line 217? + +V., 2, 218.—C.: ... die, and will prove that you took bribes. + +I suggest as restoration of lines 215-218: + + + Call in the Asian merchants; + Let’s hear them speak. + + 1 MERCHANT: + + ’Tis thy turn now to be hanged. + And shame to him that pities thee. + + MARC: + + Th’ accusers + Are ready, and will prove, etc. + + +V., 2, 232.—C.: (’Tis) a Roman. + +MS.: A Roman. + +(C.’s addition required by the sense.) + +PROLOGUE—1.—C.: (So far our) author. + +MS.: ... author. + + + + + +APPENDIX IX. “THE PARLIAMENT OF LOVE” + + +The MS. (No. 39 in the Dyce Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum) +comprises nineteen leaves of the same size as those of _Believe as You +List_. It has suffered much from damp, and is in a brittle, dilapidated +state. In several passages the MS. has suffered since Gifford’s collation +(_e.g._, II., 2, 15). The lacunae in the text—_e.g._, at I., 4, 55; I., 5, +7; and I., 5, 74—are all caused by the mutilation of the lower edge of the +MS. The hand seems to be the same throughout, but bears no resemblance to +that in which _Believe as You List_ is written, nor is it so easy to +decipher. There are very few corrections in the text, and no marginal +notes of any kind except the customary entrances and departures of the +characters, which are duplicated as in _Believe as You List_, but in the +same hand. The licence on folio 19_a_ has been cut off. On folio 19_b_ is +written in a largish hand, _The Parliament of Love_, without any author’s +name. Gifford believed that this MS. was in Massinger’s hand, and says +“this has since been confirmed.” He does not say how. One thing is +certain; the same hand did not write _The Parliament of Love_ and _Believe +as You List_. One instance out of many can be give in proof of this: the +letter C, small and capital, in _The Parliament of Love_ is constantly +written thus, ⊕. A marked feature of the MS. is the doubling of +consonants—_e.g._, tollerable, vallor, quallities, cullors. It looks as +if, while it was in Gifford’s hands, ink had been used to restore letters +here and there, and towards the end of the play there are several +substitutions of words in a later ink. Gifford’s collation where I have +tested it is correct in the main but I noted one or two mistakes—_e.g._: + +I., 5, 87.—MS.: Sudainely. + +G.: Speedily. + +II., 3, 58.—MS.: The graces from the Idalian greene [_sic_]. + +G.: The Loves and Graces. This would make the line scan. + +III., 2, 15.—MS.: If I compared it to an Indian slave’s. + +G.: with. + +V., 1, 158.—MS.: Have. + +G.: Had. + +V., 1, 292.—“To” in MS. begins line 293. + +The sort of mistake which we find in this MS. lends support to two +hypotheses, between which, as far as I can see, there is nothing to +decide; either, as we saw there was ground for supposing in _Believe as +You List_, the author altered his diction as he composed, or he was +dictating to an amanuensis. The earlier corrections are all made in the +same ink. In favour of the former hypothesis are such passages as the +following: + +I., 4, 84: “May you suc prosper.” “Succeed” was the original word, but +cancelled for one which scans better. + +I., 5, 23: “Clarindore” cancelled at end of line, “Cleremond” substituted. +Clarindore is mentioned in the next line. + +I., 5, 66: “Summer’s sunne”: “heate” substituted for “sunne.” + +II., 1. 81: “That” deleted after “assurance”; the line thereby runs more +smoothly. + +II., 3, 5: “Thy selfe”: “selfe” deleted before “strengthe.” + +III., 2, 16: “That with incessant labour to searche out.” After “labour” +“searche” is deleted. In other words, the construction is changed: the +main verb being “dives” in the next line, instead of the original +intention, “searches.” + +III., 3, 124: “Perform’d” deleted before “expir’d.” + +V., 1, 111: “In hell’s most uglie cullors.” “Horrid coullors” is deleted +before the last two words. + +V., 1, 189: “Nor did I scorn”: “him” after “scorn” is deleted, as if the +syntax had been changed. + +V., 1, 206: “Acknowledged” deleted before “appointed.” + +The sort of mistake that an amanuensis might make, either in copying or by +dictation, occurs in: + +II., 2, 12: “The scorne darts of scorne”; first “scorne” deleted. + +II., 2, 111: After “Absolve me” “only can” deleted; it makes no sense, but +had occurred in the previous line. + +II., 3, 16: “But never thought: come, I must have thee mine.” + +First three words deleted: they had occurred in the previous line. + +III., 1, 120: “Blanque” deleted before “blanket.” + +III., 3, 37: “A seeming courts”: “courts” deleted before “anger.” +“Courtship” occurs at the end of the line. + +V., 1, 46: “Weake weake men”; first “weake” underlined in later ink.(570) + +V., 1, 190: “For truth is truth is truth.” All deleted. The sense +requires: “for truth is truth.” + +V., 1, 505: “Neglegt” deleted before “neglect.” + +I add one or two notes of interest in correction of Cunningham’s edition. + +II., 2, 156 should read thus, as in MS.: + + + “then to practise + To find some means that he deserves thee best.”(571) + + +C. reads in I., 157: “he that,” which makes no sense. + +At III., 3, 8 (folio 8_b_) there is a considerable blank in the MS. +scrabbled over, but line 8 is completed at the top of folio 9_a_. + +V., 1, 116 should read thus, as in MS.: “And not to be replied to.” C. +misprints: “replied be.” + +V., 1, 129: The MS. reads thus: + + + For that deitie + (Such our affection makes him) whose dread power + Tooke forthe choicest arrows, headed with + Not loose but loyall flames, who aymed at mee + Ame with greedie haste to meete the shaft. + + +C. reads line 131: ... the choicest arrow, headed with. + +line 133: Who came with greedy haste to meet the shaft. + +In 131 “the” is obviously left out by homoeoteleuton. The grammar of the +passage is defective. It is all cancelled in the old ink. + +Similarly, 138 is cancelled: “Of gold, nor of pale lead that breeds +disdain.” + +178-185 down to the word “matter” are cancelled. + +294-296 are cancelled in the old ink. + +V., 1, 371: MS. “to whore me.” A modern hand has written above “abuse.” + +V., 1, 531: There is an addition in the original hand which will not scan. + +“And gratious spectators.” + +Gifford in his note (II., 312) on _Parliament of Love_, V., 1, 129, refers +to a corrected copy of _The Duke of Milan_, which proves the writing of +the _Parliament of Love_ to be Massinger’s. _Cf._ also Advertisement to +his second edition, Vol. I., and the facsimile of the dedication of _The +Duke of Milan_ to Sir Francis Foljambe (IV., 593). Where is this copy now? +It was at one time in Gifford’s possession. + + + + + +APPENDIX X. THE AUTHORSHIP OF “THE VIRGIN MARTYR” + + +Boyle assigns to Massinger, Act I., Act III., 1, 2, Act IV., 3, Act V., 2, +a total of slightly less than half the play. As far as it goes, I agree +with this assignation, but it does not seem to me quite satisfactory. It +is true that there are serious passages in _The Virgin Martyr_ which do +not resemble the rest of Massinger’s work; it does not therefore follow +that they are due, like the comic parts, to Dekker. In the first place, +the exaltation which breathes from these passages may be due to the +rapture of youth. Why should Massinger not have shown in what must have +been a youthful work an emotional brilliancy which he lost later? And +secondly, it is a mistake to say that Massinger’s style is absolutely +uniform; we could only lay this proposition down positively if we had all +his works in our hands, and among those we possess I am much mistaken if +differences, slight though real, cannot be detected. _A Very Woman_ and +_The Bashful Lover_ stand apart from the rest of his plays by virtue of +their greater degree of romantic nobility. In the third place, the serious +scenes assigned by Boyle and others to Dekker do not seem to me to +resemble the serious style of that author, except that there are certain +passages where rhymed couplets are employed. Here again we might argue +that Massinger was making an experiment which he dropped in his later +work. The fact is that, as is usually the case in these matters, we have +not enough evidence to prove one thing or the other. + +The ascription of the play to Massinger and Dekker on the title-page of +the 1622 edition might be held to prove that the lion’s share in it is due +to the former, especially when we remember that he was the younger and +presumably the less-known author of the two. I should not, however, wish +to deny the possibility that Dekker contributed some of the serious parts. +I feel rather disposed to suggest that in one or two of the scenes in +question both authors were at work. There is nothing impossible or +improbable in this hypothesis. + +Charles Lamb says about the scene between Dorothea and Angelo, beginning +Act II., 1, line 224, that “it has beauties of so very high an order, that +with all my respect for Massinger, I do not think he had poetical +enthusiasm capable of furnishing them. His associate Dekker, who wrote +_Old Fortunatus_, had poetry enough for anything.” This is one of Lamb’s +many unfair remarks about our author; he had discovered so many treasures +in the Elizabethan goldfield that he was disposed to underrate the +favourite of the eighteenth century. One rises from a perusal of the works +of Dekker with a feeling that he was in many respects an engaging, +child-like mind, with a gift for drawing character, but with an imperfect +sense of technique and structure. If he had written anything in his +undoubted works as good as this scene, it would be natural to adjudge it +to him. + +I should be inclined to assign II., 2, to Massinger; great stress is laid +in it on the lack of courtesy shown in scanty greetings, which is a +familiar line of thought in our author. Theophilus’ speech, “Have I +invented tortures,” sounds to me like Massinger. The structure of II., 3, +reminds one of several similar incidents in Massinger, though it is clear +that no poet can claim the monopoly of introducing auditors of love-scenes +in the gallery above the stage. On the other hand, the ravings of +Theophilus (_ibid._, 116-123) read like Dekker; as does the rhymed passage +(_ibid._, 131-136). Perhaps the scene is composite. + +The same remark applies to IV., 1. The first sixty lines are certainly +Massinger’s, and much of the rest; notice especially Antoninus’ sudden +change of mind at line 102. On the other hand, the speech of the British +slave (_ibid._, 136-147) might be Dekker’s work. + +If Massinger can be accredited with Dorothea’s farewell speech in IV., 3, +69-92, I do not see why he should not have written the famous passage in +II., 1. They seem to me to have the same thrill of emotion. + +Lastly, V., 1, seems to be constructed on the lines of a Massinger scene, +and to contain traces of his vocabulary; _cf._ the use of “horror” in line +41, and of “to thy centre” in line 146. The conversion of Theophilus, like +that of Antoninus in a previous scene, is effected rapidly, in Massinger’s +manner. + +To sum up, I should be inclined to say that Massinger had, at any rate, a +considerable share in the following scenes: II., 1, II., 2, II., 3, IV., +1, V., 1. + + + + + +APPENDIX XI. THE AUTHORSHIP OF “THE FATAL DOWRY” + + +Boyle assigns to Massinger, Act I.; Act III. as far as line 315 (enter +Novall, junr.); Act IV., 2, 3, 4; Act V. This amounts to about +three-fifths of the play. On metrical grounds I reluctantly concede that +Field wrote the famous funeral scene, Act II., 1. But there are clear +traces of Massinger’s style in the part of Act II., 2, which follows the +prose passage. Thus, Romont’s speech, beginning at line 201, seems to show +traces of Massinger; likewise Pontalier’s, beginning at line 370. It is +probable that Field wrote the prose scenes in the play, and possibly the +songs; nor would I deny that the regular ten-syllable blank verse of such +passages as Act II., 2, 178-187 (ROCHFORT. Why, how now, Beaumelle? ... +nothing but good and fit), and Act II., 2, 318-328 (This is my only child +... were multiplied tenfold), is Field’s work. In the two plays which have +come down to us from Field there is much passable blank verse. It is +important to remember, however, that we have so little of Field left that +it is hazardous to base material tests on it; and secondly, the authors +may have collaborated in individual scenes in such a way as to escape +analysis. This is what probably has taken place in Act II., 2. Nor do I +feel certain that the latter part of Act III. is wholly due to Field; +lines 438-478 contain much that is like Massinger, though the ugly line +464 is not in his style. + + + “I not accuse thy wife of act, but would + Prevent her precipice to thy dishonour.” + + +On the other hand, the rhymed couplet (lines 375-6) is probably Field’s. + +The pert page in Act IV., 1, reminds us of a similar character in _Woman’s +a Weathercock_, and is probably Field’s handiwork. On the other hand, +Pontalier’s speech in the same scene (lines 119-140) reads to me like +Massinger. + +These instances may serve to show how hard it is to dissect the play +satisfactorily. + + + + + +APPENDIX XII. THE TRAGEDY OF “SIR JOHN VAN OLDEN BARNAVELT” + + +This play is to be found in Bullen’s _Old Plays_, vol. ii. It was printed +from B.M. Add. MSS. 18653, a folio of thirty-one leaves in a small clear +hand. + +Mr. Bullen thinks that Massinger wrote III., 2; III., 6; IV. (the trial +scene); V., 1. He ascribes the concluding scene to Fletcher. These +ascriptions seem to me correct. There is much fine poetry in the play, +notably in the Leidenberg scene. But Fleay goes too far when he calls the +play “magnificent.” It is a “piece of occasion,”(572) written shortly +after the tragic death of Barnavelt, in such a way, however, that it would +not interest a later generation, who had forgotten the sensation of the +time. In the second place, it has no unity, a fact no doubt partly due to +the dual authorship. We do not know if we are intended to sympathise with +Orange or Barnavelt. Such a specimen of the historical drama pure and +simple makes us feel that more than a mere narrative of events is needed +in a play; we look to the author to guide our sympathies, and have a view +of his own about his theme.(573) + + + + + +APPENDIX XIII. “THE SECOND MAIDEN’S TRAGEDY” + + +This play was reprinted by the Malone Society in 1909.(574) The writing of +the original MS. in the British Museum is remarkably good. It is No. 807 +in the Lansdowne Collection, and comes to us from the famous Warburton +MSS. The play was licensed by Sir George Buck, October 31st, 1611, and +acted by the King’s men. At the end is inscribed: “by Thomas Goffe,(575) +George Chapman, by Will Shakspear. A tragedy indeed!” + +The last phrase is true. The first two names are erased; the third name +has been added by a late seventeenth or eighteenth century hand. + +The underplot, according to Boyle, is derived from Cervantes’ _Curious +Impertinent_, and in Acts I. and II. passages “are literally taken from +that novel.” There is an incident at the end of the play which reminds us +of _The Duke of Milan_. The “Tyrant” removes the body of the heroine from +her tomb, and sends for a painter to give colour to her face and lips. +Govianus, her husband, comes in disguise to do the deed, and the Tyrant is +killed by the poison which Govianus has put on the lips of the corpse. + +Massinger may therefore have known the play, but I differ entirely from +Boyle’s estimate. He thinks Massinger wrote Acts I. and II., Tourneur Acts +III., IV., V. I see no trace of Massinger in Act I., except the reference +in line 541 to a “cup of nectar.” The sudden repentance of the heroine’s +father Helvetius, in Act II., 1, 253, reminds us of a trait of Massinger +referred to above;(576) but the style of the first two acts is too feeble +and vague, and the metre too halting for him.(577) I cannot suppose that +at the age of twenty-seven Massinger could have taken part in writing a +play where “A voice from within” the tomb says to the mourning husband, “I +am not here!”(578) + + + + + +APPENDIX XIV. “THE POWERFUL FAVORITE”(579) + + +“_The Powerful Favorite_, or the life of Aelius Sejanus, by P. M., printed +at Paris, 1628.” So runs the title in the English translation. + +Two translations of Pierre Matthieu’s book, “Histoire d’Aelius Sejanus,” +appeared in the same year. One is padded out with additions; in the +shorter and more exact translation, the initials on the title-page of the +Bodleian copy have been filled out thus: P. Massinger. + +We know that Massinger’s political sympathies were against the Duke of +Buckingham, and it is probable that a Life of Sejanus may have attracted +attention at a time when the parallel was drawn and the unpopularity +great; but it is simpler to suppose that P. M. stands for the French +author. It would require some courage to publish under one’s own name or +initials a translation of the book. + +It is noteworthy that in 1632, after Buckingham’s death, a translation +appeared by Sir T. Hawkins. The title which he gave his book was “Unhappy +prosperitie expressed in the histories of Aelius Sejanus and Philippa, the +Catanian.” Underneath he adds the words: “Written in French by P. +Matthieu.” + + + + + +APPENDIX XV. “DOUBLE FALSEHOOD” + + +In 1728 there appeared at London a play with the following title: “Double +Falsehood, or The Distressed Lovers; written originally by W. Shakespeare, +and now revised and adapted to the stage by Mr. Theobald, the author of +_Shakespeare Restor’d_.” + +It was dedicated to the Rt. Hon. George Dodington, Esq. In the Preface +Theobald states that one of the copies in MS. is of above sixty years’ +standing. He goes on to say that there is a tradition that Shakspere wrote +it—“in the time of his retirement from the stage.” The story is taken from +a novel in _Don Quixote_, which appeared in 1611, five years before +Shakspere’s death. Theobald professes to allow that the colouring, +diction, and characters come nearer to the style and manner of Fletcher. + +Some writers(580) have supposed that Theobald in compiling this play used +materials from a lost play by Massinger. The first thing we notice in it +is that there are a good many prose scenes. This is unlike Massinger. In +the second place, the metre is unlike Massinger’s; it is simple and +regular, and contains very few double endings or run-on lines. In Act II., +4, Leonora gives an important letter to her lover Julio, out of a window, +to a “citizen” whom she does not know, by night. Is this improbable +incident the sort of thing that Massinger would write?(581) + +The whole play is an eighteenth-century effusion in the manner of Rowe. +There is no trace of Fletcher or Massinger here. + + + + + +APPENDIX XVI. MIDDLETON’S “A TRICK TO CATCH THE OLD ONE” + + +_A Trick to catch the Old One_ is a lively play, mainly written in prose, +in which an air of plausibility is skilfully cast around a farcical plot. +There can be no doubt that Massinger borrowed the idea of _A New Way_ from +Middleton, as well as a few expressions.(582) In both plays there are an +uncle who has strained the law to deprive his nephew of his lands, a rich +widow whose supposed affection for the nephew converts the uncle to make +reparation, and creditors who have to be satisfied. The servants (_A +Trick_, IV., 4) who are to discharge their duties in Hoard’s new household +may have suggested the group in Lady Allworth’s house who supply a comic +element. On the other hand, the two plays are constructed on very +different lines. The central point of _A Trick_ is the hatred of the two +usurers, Lucre and Hoard, for one another, both being in the end cheated +by the hero Witgood. In _A New Way_ there is only one usurer, Sir Giles. +_A Trick_, though well constructed, has a lame and hurried conclusion; and +it is overloaded with minor characters, who help the action but little—in +particular, the usurer Dampit seems to be introduced for no particular +reason except to fill up the time with mediocre fun. The part played by +the heroine, Joyce, is small and obscure. Then again, there can be no +comparison between the slight figure of Hoard and the powerful creation of +Sir Giles Overreach. Wellborn does nothing in the play that misbecomes a +gentleman; the ingenuity with which he frames a plan to deceive his uncle +leads us to believe that when he has repented his wild life he has the +capacity to make good. His prototype, Witgood, on the other hand, is +merely an amusing adventurer. Indeed, Middleton seems throughout to be +pursuing with his vengeance the sharp practices of those who lend money to +fast young men, and we certainly sympathize with his castigation of Lucre, +Hoard, and Dampit. Massinger’s widow is a lady of birth and title; +Middleton’s is a courtesan in disguise. When she marries Hoard, though we +feel some satisfaction at the deception which has been practised on him, +we cannot help asking ourselves as the characters retire to the +conventional “wedding dinner” of an Elizabethan comedy, whether the +solution would have worked in real life. The answer is, that while we have +been much amused, we have been cheated by the author’s great skill and +vivacity into accepting an improbable plot. Massinger’s play, on the other +hand, contains little that might not have happened, and the conclusion is +so arranged that there is every prospect of the characters living happily +hereafter. While Middleton’s play is a charming extravaganza, Massinger’s +has held the stage ever since. The one play can be acted now, the other +cannot. This is not merely due to the fact that _A New Way_ has more +dignity and refinement than its predecessor, but it is because Massinger’s +characters behave like real beings.(583) + + + + + +APPENDIX XVII + + +These two poems are copied from a folio MS. in the library of Trinity +College, Dublin (G, 2, 21), containing compositions of Donne and other +poets of the seventeenth century. They are to be found on pages 554-559. +The handwriting is that of the seventeenth century. I have reproduced the +original punctuation and spelling. Mr. Grosart published the poems in +_Englische Studien_, No. xxvi. He says that the librarian of Trinity, Dr. +T. K. Abbot, had grounds for supposing that the MS. had been in the +possession of Trinity College for a century; he does not, however, state +what the grounds are. As far as the dates go which are indicated in the +volume, it might have passed into the library with other books from +Archbishop Ussher’s collection. + +From the tone of line 16 of the first poem we may assume that it was +addressed by Massinger when quite young to William, the third Earl of +Pembroke. + + + I + + The Copie of a Letter written upon occasion to the Earle of + Pembrooke Lo: Chamberlaine + + My Lord + + p. 554 + + Soe subiect to the worser fame + Are even the best that clayme a Poets name: + Especially poore they that serve the stage + Though worthily in this Verse-halting Age. + And that dread curse soe heavie yet doth lie + Wch the wrong’d Fates falne out wth Mercurie + Pronounc’d for ever to attend upon + All such as onely dreame of Helicon. + That durst I sweare cheated by selfe opinion + I were Apolloes or the Muses Mynion 10 + Reason would yet assure me, ’tis decreed + Such as are Poets borne, are borne to need. + If the most worthy then, whose pay’s but praise + Or a few spriggs from the now withering bayes + Grone underneath their wants what hope have I + Scarce yet allowed one of the Company— 16 + + p. 555 + + When(584) thou sighst, thou sigh’st not wind, but sigh’st my soule + away + When thou weep’st unkindly kind, my lifes blud doth decay + It cannot bee + That thou lov’est mee as thou sai’est, if in thine my life thou + wast, + Thou art the best of mee.(585) + In some high mynded Ladies grace to stand + Ever provided that her liberall hand 30 + Pay for the Vertues they bestow upon her + And soe long shees the miracle and the honor + Of her whole Sex, and has forsooth more worth + Then was in any Sparta e’re brought forth + But when the Bounty failes a change is neare + And shee’s not then what once shee did appeare + For the new Giver shee dead must inherit + What was by purchase gott and not by merit + Lett them write well that doo this and in grace + I would not for a pension or A place 40 + + Part soe wth myne owne Candor, lett me rather p. 556 + Live poorely on those toyes I would not father + Not knowne beyond A Player or A Man + That does pursue the course that I have ran + Ere soe grow famous: yet wth any paine + Or honest industry could I obteyne + A noble Favorer, I might write and doo + Like others of more name and gett one too + Or els my Genius is false. I know + That Johnson much of what he has does owe 50 + To you and to your familie, and is never + Slow to professe it, nor had Fletcher ever + Such Reputation, and credit nonne + But by his honord Patron, Huntington + Unimitable Spencer ne’re had been + Soe famous for his matchlesse Fairie Queene + Had he not found a Spencer Sydney to preferr [_sic_] + His plaine way in his Shepheards Calender + Nay Virgills selfe (or Martiall does lye) + Could hardly frame a poore Gnatts Elegie 60 + Before Mecænas cherisht him; and then + He streight conceiv’d Æneas and the men + That found out Italic Those are Presidents(586) + I cite wth reverence: my lowe intents + Looke not soe high, yet some worke I might frame + That should nor wrong my duty nor your Name. p. 557 + Were but your Lopp pleas’d to cast an eye + Of favour on my trodd downe povertie + How ever I confesse myselfe to be + Ever most bound for your best charitie 70 + To others that feed on it, and will pay + My prayers wth theirs that as yu doe yu may + Live long, belov’d and honor’d doubtles then + Soe cleere a life will find a worthier Penn. + For me I rest assur’d besides the glory + T’wold make a Poet but to write your story. 76 + + Phill: Messinger. + + p. 557 + + II + + A New yeares Guift presented to my + Lady and M:rs the then Lady + Katherine Stanhop now Countesse + of Chesterfield. + + By Phill: Messinger. + + Madame + + Before I ow’d to you the name + Of Servant, to your birth, your worth your fame + I was soe, and t’was fitt since all stand bound + To honour Vertue in meane persons found + Much more in you, that as borne great, are good + Wch is more then to come of noble blood + Or be A Hastings; it being too well knowne + + p. 558 + + An Empresse cannot challenge as her oune + Her Grandsires glories; And too many staine + Wth their bad Actions the noble straine 10 + From whence they come. But as in you to be + A branch to add fresh honor to the tree + By vertue planted, and adorne it new + Is graunted unto none or very few + To speake you further would appeare in me + Presumption or a servants flattery + But there may be a tyme when I shall dare + To tell the world and boldly what yu are + Nor sleight it Madame, since what some in me + Esteeme a blemish, is a guift as free 20 + As their best fortunes, this tooke from the grave + Penelopies chastitie, and to it gave + Still living Honors; this made Aiax strong + Ulisses wise: such power lies in a Song + Wch Phaebus smiles on, wch can find noe Urne + While the Sea his course, or starrs observe their turne + Yet ’tis not in the power of tinckling Rime + That(587) takes rash iudgments and deceive the tyme + Wth Mountebanke showes a worke that shold indure + Must have a genius in it, strong, as pure 30 + But you beginne to smile, as wondring why + I should write thus much to yu now since I + Have heretofore been silent may yu please + To know + + To know the course it is noe new disease p. 559 + Groune in my iudgment, nor am I of those + That thinke good wishes cannot thrive in prose + As well as Verse: but that this New yeares day + All in their loves and duties, what they may + Present unto you; though perhaps some burne + Wth expectation of a glad returne 40 + Of what they venture for. But such I leave + To their deceiptfull guifts given to deceive + What I give I am rich in, and can spare + Nor part for hope wth ought deserves my care + He that hath little and gives nought at all + To them that have is truly liberall. 46 + + + + + +APPENDIX XVIII. ALLITERATION IN MASSINGER + + +The art with which Massinger employs alliteration escapes all but the most +careful perusal; but once noticed, it attracts attention as one of his +favourite expedients. Perhaps the best way to exemplify its use is to give +a complete collection of instances from one of the plays: I take for this +purpose _The Unnatural Combat_. + + + I., 1, 150: Impartial judges, and not sway’d with spleen. + + " 158: Not lustful fires, but fair and lawful flames. + + " 189: Our goods made prize, our sailors sold for slaves. + + " 217: He that leaves + To follow as you lead, will lose himself. + + " 286: Their lives, their liberties. + + " 308: Both what and when to do, but makes against you. + + " 309: For had your care and courage been the same. + + " 342: He may have leave and liberty to decide it. + + II., 1, 14: With my best curiousness and care observed him. + + " 23: A sudden flash of fury did dry up. + + " 94: But dare and do, as they derive their courage. + + " 143: In a moment raz’d and ruin’d. + + " 157: In one short syllable yield satisfaction. + + " 170: With scorn on death and danger. + + " 177: But what is weak and womanish, thine own. + + " 183: As a serpent swoll’n with poison. + + " 226: Marseilles owes the freedom of her fears. + + " 241: That will vouchsafe not one sad sigh or tear. + + " 267: And with all circumstance and ceremony. + + II., 3, 67: Nor should you with more curiousness and care. + + III., 1, 10: It being a serious and solemn meeting. + + " 17: I’ll undertake to stand at push of pike. + + " 21: When the dresser, the cook’s drum, thunders, + Come on! + + III., 1, 23: As tall a trencher-man. + + " 32: The only drilling is to eat devoutly + And to be ever drinking. + + " 57: Delay is dangerous. + + " 88: Continue constant + To this one suit. + + " 90: Every cast commander. + + " 100: And so by consequence grow contemptible. + + " 117: For his own sake, shift a shirt! + + III., 2, 46: The colonels, commissioners, and captains. + + " 78: That losing her own servile shape and name. + + " 85: Believe my black brood swans. + + " 95: As I have heard, loved the lobby. + + " 150: Of her fair features, that, should we defer it. + + " 160: And serves as a perpetual preface to. + + III., 3, 43: The curiousness and cost on Trajan’s birthday. + + " 78: I’ve charged through fire that would have singed your + sables. + + " 82: Such only are admired that come adorn’d. + + " 93: Does make your cupboards crack. + + " 114: For want of means shall, in their present payment. + + " 149: With my son, her servant. + + III., 4, 89: And he shall find and feel, if he excuse not. + + IV., 1, 53: And liked and loath’d with your eyes, I beseech you. + + " 91: A loathsome leprosy had spread itself. + + " 101: Sir, you have liked and loved them, and oft forc’d. + + " 119: My ranks of reason. + + " 132: Thy virtues vices. + + " 133: Far worse than stubborn sullenness and pride. + + " 206: In your fame and fortunes. + + IV., 2, 47: Against my oath, being a cashier’d captain. + + " 68: Your lords + Of dirt and dunghills. + + " 118: My corslet to a cradle. + + " 120: Or to sell my sword and spurs, for soap and candles? + + IV., 2. 135: Fair France is proud of. + + " 148: Such as have power to punish. + + V., 2, 35: Or our later laws forbid. + + " 38: And solemn superstitious fools prescribe. + + " 57: Into some close cave or desert. + + " 58: Our lusts and lives together. + + " 165: But to have power to punish, and yet pardon, + Peculiar to princes. + + " 248: Accuse or argue with me. + + " 307: To season my silks. + + + + + +APPENDIX XIX + + +By the kindness of Mr. Edmund Gosse I have been enabled to examine and +collate the manuscript notes in copies of the first quartos of the +following plays in his possession: _The Duke of Milan_, _The Bondman_, +_The Roman Actor_, _The Renegado_, _The Picture_, _The Fatal Dowry_, _The +Emperor of the East_, _The Maid of Honour_. The dates of these quartos +range from 1623 to 1632. The poet Swinburne had no doubt that the +manuscript notes were due to Massinger himself; the resemblance of the +handwriting is certainly indubitable, but as we have no other evidence +than that of the corrections themselves, we are forced to be content with +the conclusion that the insertions are of a contemporary date. I take the +plays in the above order. + +_The Duke of Milan_ + +I., 1, 23.—This, the last line on the page, has suffered from the binding, +and is written in the margin.(588) + +I., 1, 56.—The same thing has happened here. + +In both cases the writing resembles that of the poet. It may be argued, on +the other hand, that it is unlikely that the play should have suffered so +soon from binding; it is, however, of course not impossible that the eight +plays were bound up together shortly after the year 1632. + +V., 2, 203.—Forza. S. inserted before F. (So _infra_, 218, 234, 256.) + +At the end of the play occurs a symbol M which might represent the poet’s +initial. + + + _The Bondman_ + + I., 1: Timagorus bis in stage-directions, us corrected to as + and also in + I., 1,5 + + I., 1, 37: I love live + + I., 2, 2: I cannot brooke with this + gadding + + I., 3, 83: As to the supreame Magistrates Sicilie + surely tenders + + " 161: And yet the chu rl added + + " 181: made glorious by Achon Action + + " 182: gave warrant to her ailes added + couns + + " 183: hand heard + + " 206: nor defence noe + + " 295: ? at end ? deleted + + " 319: of slaves our + + II., 1, 71: fam’d fann’d + + " 87: vayle y deleted + + " 144: loose both sent and th inserted after + beauty “loose,” and c in + “sent” + + " 153: owe awe + + II., 2, 16: manners; yet this morning for + + " 57: cunning coḿinge + + " 62: ? added + + III., 3, 99: too too large second “too” + deleted + + " 135: leave her off stand her of + + " 165: during daring + + III., 4, 29: Timandra Timag + + " 51: cares feares + + IV., 1, 21: still you + + IV., 2, 128: when where + + " 140: “Pray you, leave + mee” + added at end to + complete + the line + + IV., 3, 145: tempter second t deleted + + V., 3, 9: not be deni’de to inserted before + “be” + + " 38: howsoere the fortune thy + + " 103: gods and fautors his + + " 193: ) inserted after + devices + + " 245: Gra. inserted at + beginning + of line, (_i.e._, + Graccho) + + +All these corrections are manifestly right, except possibly III., 3, 135 +and IV., 1, 21. The addition in IV., 2, 140, though not especially +appropriate to the situation, presents us with a type of line much +favoured by Massinger. + + + _The Roman Actor_ + + I., 1, 6: stocke socc (_i.e._, sock) + + " 25: parenthesis + inserted + after “vice” + + " 37: gald l + + " 44: The Catta and the Dacie Catti ... Daci + + " 46: Jove hasten it ? added + + " 49: we obey you full stop added + + " 51: the sceane Scaene + + " 79: is to eb(589) guilty bee + + " 115: grieve greive (“give” is + required + by the sense) + + I., 2: Enter Domitia and Parthenius “with a letter” + added + + I., 2, 33: for to be thankfull I woulde + + " 44: his plea its + + " 86: new workes that dare not Monarches. Pa: + added, + do (_i.e._, + Parthenius) + + " 88: Parth. Will you dispute Parth. deleted and + ? + added. + + I., 3, 44: ( ) added + + I., 3, 53-4: ( ) added + + " 67: condemne condemnd + + " 78: which with + + " 78: redde (_i.e._, read) ) added + + " 86: Cancillus Camillus + + I., 4, 13: Fulcinius and prisoners “and” deleted + led by him + + II., 1, 4: yours ; added + + " 16: though ( added + + " 21: purple ! added + + " 22: my heyre ? added + + " 182-3: ( ) added + + " 217: promped prompted + + " 372: ( ) added + + " 386: ( ) added + + III., 1, 30: words swordes + + " 52: retch reach + + " 58: the mortall powers iḿortall + + " 78: tyrannie tyrant + + " 163: steepie steep + + " 205: ! added + + IV., 1, 8: I thinke not “not” deleted, and + added after “respects” + in 9 + + " 95: compliant complaint + + " 149: ? added + + IV., 2, 12: lesse; ; deleted + + " 27: pe bee + + " 28: you command to me ever you coḿand me + + " 39: tremele tremble + + " 44: geeat great + + " 70: Hypollitus one l substituted + + " 123: express thee stop added + + " 127: To render me that was ( ) added before + before I hugg’d thee “that” and + An adder in my bosome “before,” and after + “thee” and + “bosome” + + IV., 2, 130: Thy pomp and pride— 163 Perpetual vexation + shall not fall. + + Note at top of p. 31_b_: “This page follows the + later.” + + Note at top of p. 32_a_: “This page misplac’d.” + + " 182: would coulde + + " 190: the iu ice st inverted inserted + here between “iu” + and “ice” + + " 191: had with h inverted had + + " 196: if yf + + " 229: act are + + " 242: grim death “grim” deleted + + " 295: ( ) added + + V., 1, 115: assure as sure + + " 142: still’d stil’d + + " 228: pinn’d pinion’d + + V., 2, 22: iumpe impe + + " 78: this murther ’tis + + " 85: to sentence her inserted after “to” + + +I have compared the Malone quarto in the Bodleian Library and find that +the mistakes are identical. In other words, _The Roman Actor_ was +carelessly printed. Nearly all the corrections made, alike of sense and +punctuation, are improvements. The emendation at IV., 2, 28 reads like one +made by the author. On the other hand, a careful study of IV., 2, 127 will +reveal the fact that the writer’s sense has been mistaken, and the +omission of “grim” in IV., 2, 242 spoils the rhythm. The curious thing is +that the play is full of misprints, which have not been corrected—_e.g._, +III., 2, 143, Anaxerete (and in several other lines); line 154, +“Epethite,” for “epithet”; 258, Heccuba. Take again IV., 2, 181: An e is +inverted and not corrected; 188, “bttchered” stands for “butchered”; and +189, “lacriledge” for “sacrilege.” + + + _The Renegado_ + + I., 3, 159: receive least losse “the” inserted after + “least.” It spoils the + metre + + II., 5, 46: up to the bre a c breache + " ? added + + III., 3, 1: I will ’Twill + " 89: like a neighing gennet to mare to her proud + her stallion stallion + + III., 5, 114: well made galley mann’d + + IV., 1, 114: witnesse of my change “of” deleted: “good” + inserted after “my” + + V., 2, 79: Franci. inserted (= + Francisco) + + V., 3, 111: Vitelli inserted + + +III., 3, 89 reads like an author’s emendation. On the other hand, the +alteration in IV., 1, 114 is not in Massinger’s style. + + + _The Picture_ + + Line 37, Poem by T. Jay: + of to heare or + " 38: write neere writ + " 40: admir’d admire + I., 1, 31: satisfie satietie + " 40: ( ) added + " 53: If I am so rich or Sir + " 120: wone him o inserted after “o” + " 154: wracke w deleted + " 190: ere the fight begun s added after “fight” + (=is) + + I., 2, 13: bravel ye added + " 71: but deleted and added + again in margin + + " 170: examp le added + + II., 1, 82: A post. deleted + " 83: “Aside. A Post.” + added in margin + + II., 2, 98: “In one here” printed “In one here” deleted + in a separate line after (_vide_ Gifford) + this line + + " 103: resolve s added + + II., 2, 103: lords of her, like acres + " 174: fierce dame n inserted before “m.” + dame=dam + " 255: solder soldier + " 260: tosses trifles + + +Here it will be noted that two good emendations are made—I., 1, 53 and +II., 2, 103. On the other hand, no notes are made on the last three acts: +such a misprint as “ijgobobs” in V., 3, 161 escaping comment. + + + _The Fatal Dowry_ + + Nil. + + _The Emperor of the East_ + + I., 1, 83: musicke? ? deleted, and “Sir?” + added + + I., 2, 169: too to + " 178: Constantinople courte + " 242: them feare their + " 291: care feare + " 323: Nimph Umph + " 347: wooned d deleted + + II., 1, 114: in knowledge “the” inserted after + “in” + + III., 2, 62: ( ) added + " 93: heaven is most gratious “to you” deleted + to you, madam + " 111: with a kinde impotence “of” inserted after + “kinde” + " 138: I speak it ) added + " 139: I I (so III., 4, 145, + 163; + IV., 1, 13) + " 199: ransone m + + III., 4, 19: how .sister: !! added + " 29: str stirre + " 44: beg pardon a inserted after “beg” + " 60: my pity t added above “t” + " 80: ? added + + III., 4, 132: observe handle + " 146: royall sir comma added + + IV., 1, 14: Princesse Empresse + + IV., 3, 36: they hee + " 43: fraide defray’d + " 62: camer cancer + " 132: this admiration thie + + V., 3, 47: flights s deleted + " 85: niggle iuggle + " 111: I fever if ever + " 190: my grace on all cancelled + + +The corrections in this play are nearly all good: thus the metre is +restored at I., 2, 178, and III., 2, 93, and improved in III., 4, 132. V., +3, 85 is an excellent emendation. On the other hand, I do not think the +author would have made such a stupid mistake as the one found at IV., 1, +14, for Chrysapius is there addressing the Empress, about Pulcheria. + +_The Maid of Honour_ + +Nil. + +NOTE BY MR. EDMUND GOSSE. + +In 1877, when he was breaking up his home at Clifton, and disposing of his +books, John Addington Symonds gave Mr. Edmund Gosse a thick volume +containing eight first editions of plays by Massinger. The book was bound +in worn old calf of the period, and had stamped on the back the author’s +name. Symonds, in giving the book to Mr. Gosse, called his attention to +the contemporary corrections in ink, and said there was “a tradition” that +they were in the handwriting of Massinger himself. Mr. Gosse, +unfortunately, broke up the volume and had the eight plays separately +bound, but the old binding had contained no further indication. In 1882 +Swinburne made a careful examination of the corrections, and again in +1883, when he urged that they should be published. He became persuaded +that they were made by Massinger himself. Nothing, however, has until now +been done with them. The volume came from the Harbord library at Gunton in +Norfolk, and was sold, with other old books, at the death of the fourth +Lord Suffield in 1853. Symonds bought it of an Oxford bookseller when he +was an undergraduate. + + + + + +APPENDIX XX. BIBLIOGRAPHY + + +W. ARCHER: “The Elizabethan Stage” (Quarterly Review, No. 415, April, +1908). + +R. BOYLE: Dictionary of National Biography: “Massinger.” + +" Englische Studien (Heilbronn): “On Beaumont, Fletcher, and Massinger,” +v. 74, vii, 66, viii. 39, ix. 209, x. 383. + +" New Shakespeare Society Transactions, part ii., 1880-85, xviii., pp. +371-399: “Massinger and The Two Noble Kinsmen.” (_Cf._ Discussion on March +9, 1883, p. 66.) + +" New Shakespeare Society Transactions, 1880-86, xxi., pp. 443-488: +“Henry the Eighth.” + +" New Shakespeare Society Transactions, 1886, xxvi., pp. 579-628. + +A. C. BRADLEY: Oxford Lectures on Poetry: “Shakespeare the Man, and +Shakespeare’s Theatre and Audience.” + +A. H. BULLEN: Dictionary of National Biography: “Fletcher.” + +H. COLERIDGE: Preface to Massinger and Ford. 1840. + +S. T. COLERIDGE: Lectures on Shakespeare and the Poets (T. Ashe, 1883), +pp. 403-407, 427, 432, 437, 534, 540. + +W. T. COURTHOPE: History of English Poetry, vol. iv., pp. 348-369. + +T. COXETER: The dramatic works of P. Massinger: 1761. + +LIEUT.-COL. F. CUNNINGHAM: The plays of P. Massinger: Chatto and Windus: +1870. + +DOWNES: Roscius Anglicanus. + +EDINBURGH REVIEW, No. 23, 1808. (Review of Gifford’s edition.) + +F. G. FLEAY: Biographical Chronicle of the English Drama. + +" Chronicle History of the London Stage, 1559-1642. + +F. G. FLEAY: Chronicle History of W. Shakespeare. + +" New Shakespeare Society Transactions, 1874, vol. i., No. 2: “On +Metrical Tests as applied to Dramatic Poetry” (Fletcher, Beaumont, +Massinger.) + +" Shakespeare Manual. + +GARDINER: “The Political Element in Massinger.” (Contemporary Review, +August, 1876): reprinted in New Shakespeare Society Transactions, 1875, +No. xi., pp. 314-332. (_Cf._ also History of England, 1884, vol. vii., pp. +327 and 337) + +GARNETT AND GOSSE: English Literature: an Illustrated Record. Heinemann. + +GAYLEY AND BRANDER MATTHEWS: Representative English Comedies, vol. iii. +New York, 1914. + +W. GIFFORD: 1805. Second edition, 1813. + +W. W. GREG: Henslowe’s Diary, vol. ii., pp. 165, 171, 224. 1904-08. + +" Henslowe Papers, pp. 66, 70, 74, 85. 1907. + +" List of English Plays written before 1643 and printed before 1700. +Bibliographical Society, 1900. + +HALLAM: Literature of Europe, part iii., chap. vi. + +HAZLITT: Lectures on Elizabethan Literature, pp. 131-136. + +E. KOEPPEL: Cambridge History of English Literature, vol. vi., chap, vi.: +“Massinger.” + +" Quellen Studien zu den Dramen George Chapman’s, Philip Massinger’s, +und John Ford’s. + +C. LAMB: Specimens of English Dramatic Poets.(590) + +G. C. MACAULAY: Cambridge History of English Literature, vol. vi., chap. +v.: “Beaumont and Fletcher.” + +J. MONCK MASON: Dramatic Works, 1779. + +E. H. C. OLIPHANT: Englische Studien, xiv., xv., xvi. + +" Modern Language Review, iii., 337-355; iv., 190-199, 342-351. + +" Problems of Authorship in the Elizabethan Drama. Chicago, 1911. + +J. PHELAN: Dissertation (Halle), 1878. This careful performance contains +information about Massinger’s family. (_Cf._, however, Furnivall’s Protest +in Anglia, ii., p. 504.) + +J. M. ROBERTSON: The Baconian Heresy, chap. iii. + +G. SAINTSBURY: Cambridge History of English Literature, vol. v., chap, +viii.: “Shakespeare.” + +SCHELLING: Elizabethan Drama, 1908. + +SHAKESPEARE’S ENGLAND: Oxford University Press, 1916. + +L. STEPHEN: Hours in a Library, vol. ii. + +A. C. SWINBURNE: Contemporaries of Shakespeare (Gosse and Wise). + +" Fortnightly Review, July, 1889. + +" Letters (Gosse and Wise), Nos. lxii. and lxxiii. + +A. SYMONS: Mermaid Series, two volumes. + +ASHLEY H. THORNDIKE: Tragedy. Constable, 1908. + +L. WANN: Shakespeare Studies (University of Wisconsin), vii.: “The +Collaboration of Beaumont, Fletcher, and Massinger.” + +SIR A. W. WARD: Cambridge History of English Literature, vol. v., chap. +xiv. + +" History of English Dramatic Literature, especially vol. iii., pp. 1-47. + + + + + +INDEX + + +A + +AESCHYLUS, 149, 169 + +Alliteration in M., 121 _n._ 1, App. XVIII. + +Aristophanes, 61, 70, 149 + +Aristotle, 27 _n._ 1, 28 _n._ 2, 75, 76, 110 _n._ 1, 140 + +Armada, 18 + +Aubrey, 5 _n._ 2 + +À Wood, A., 2, 6 + +B + +_Bashful Lover, The_, 48, 50, 57, 58, 75, 98, 131, 147, 199 + +Beaumont, 21 _n._ 5, 25, 57, 59 _n._ 1, 70, 94, 99 _n._ 2, 110, 129 _n._ 1 + +Beethoven, 76 + +_Believe as You List_, 15, 54, 93, 140, App. VII., App. VIII. + +Besant, Sir W., 7 + +Boccaccio, 9 _n._ 1, 11 _n._ 1, 76 _n._ 3 + +_Bondman, The_, 15, 24, 27, 31, 32 _n._ 1, 35, 36, 48, 61, 73, 75, 104, + 108, 134, 145, 150 + +Boyle, 2 _n._ 3, 20, 21, 25, 55, 56, 62 _n._ 1, 70 _n._ 1, 88, 96, 97-104, + 109, 122 _n._ 3, 129, 131, App. III., 198, 200 + +Bradley, A. C., 14, 26 _n._ 3, 28 _n._ 4, 65 _n._ 3, 80 _n._ 16 + +Bridges, R., 69 _n._ 1, 175 + +Brooke, R., 111, 159 + +Brooke, Tucker, 95-97 + +Browne, Sir T., 82, 119 + +Buckingham, Duke of, 16, 204 + +Bullen, A. H., 70, 95 _n._ 2, App. III., 178 _n._ 6, 201 + +Bunyan, 108 _n._ 1 + +C + +Catalogue lines, 54, 91 _n._ 1 + +Cayet, 178 _n._ 6, 193 + +Cervantes, 5 _n._ 5, 203 + +Chapman, 15 _n._ 2, 66 _n._ 2, 117, 139, 202 + +Charles I., 7, 15 + +Cibber, Colley, 176, 181 _n._ 3 + +_City Madam, The_, 10, 11, 13, 31, 32 _n._ 1, 43, 53, 54, 55, 73, 113, + 116, 133 + +Cokaine, Sir A., 22 + +Coleridge, S. T., 55, 64, 71, 76 _n._ 3 + +Collier, J., 24 + +Corneille, 43 + +Courthope, 96 + +Croker, T. Crofton, 175 + +Cunningham, F., 7 _n._ 1, 24, 133 _n._ 1, 182 + +D + +Daborne, 2 + +Davies, 123 + +Dekker, 20, 44 _n._ 1, 123, 135 _n._ 2, 147, App. X., 199, 200 + +Diderot, 110 _n._ 1 + +Dostoevsky, 61 + +_Double Falsehood, The_, App. XV. + +Downes, 24 _n._ 3 + +Dryden, 24, 116 + +Dublin MS., App. XVII. + +_Duke of Milan, The_, 16, 31, 32 _n._ 1, 41, 52, 81, 82, 135, 145, 203 + +E + +_Emperor of the East, The_, 17, 27, 28, 32 _n._ 1, 43 _n._ 2, 48, 51, 54, + 72, 82, 101, 102, 108, 128, 146, 148, 149, 170 + +Euripides, 27, 32, 33, 75, 77, 110 _n._ 1, 169 _n._ 1 + +F + +_Fair Penitent, The_, 137 + +_Fatal Dowry, The_, 8, 20, 28 _n._ 4, 36, 49, 53, 56 _n._ 2, 119, App:. + XI. + +Field, 21, 138, App. XI. + +Fielding, 63, 77 + +Fleay, F. G., 5 _n._ 5, 20, 33 _n._ 2, 56 _n._ 2, 57 _n._ 1, 159, 202 + +Fletcher, 3, 10, 19, 21 _n._ 1, 28, 59 _n._ 2, 66, 71, 84 _n._ 1, 91, 97, + 98, 109, 123, 129, 130, 133, 135, 147, App. III., 170 + +Ford, 8, 13 _n._ 5, 13 _n._ 6, 33 _n._ 2, 59 _n._ 1, 62, 63 _n._ 3, 65 + _n._ 3, 81, 120, 205 _n._ 2 + +G + +Gardiner, 7 + +Garrick, 124 _n._ 4, 176 + +Gayley, 26 _n._ 4, 141 _n._ 1, 160 + +Georgian Poets, The, 61 + +Gibbon, 28 + +Gifford, 7 _n._ 1, 25, 176, App. IX., 198, 220 + +Goffe, 77 _n._ 3, 202 + +Gosse, E., App. XIX. + +Gounod, 109 _n._ 1, 137 _n._ 3 + +_Great Duke of Florence, The_, 16 _n._ 1, 25, 47, 54, 102, 103, 150 + +Greene, 102 _n._ 5 + +Greg, W. W., 24 _n._ 2, 67 _n._ 2, 168 + +Grosart, 6 _n._ 1, 208 + +_Guardian, The_, 4, 12, 24, 27, 28, 49, 74, 120, 134, 148 + +H + +Hallam, 70 + +Hazlitt, 25, 124 _n._ 4, 137 _n._ 3 + +_Henry VIII._, 11 _n._ 5, 20, 22, 71, 73 _n._ 1, 84-91, 128, 141 _n._ 1 + +Henslowe, 4, 177 + +Herbert, Sir H., 15 + +Heywood, 117 + +Homer, 169 + +Hroswitha, 124 _n._ 3 + +J + +James I., 7 + +Johnson, S., 121 n. 2 + +Jonson, Ben, 6 _n._ 2, 12, 43 _n._ 2, 69 _n._ 4, 70, 72, 77 _n._ 3, + 113-116, 118, 128, 133, 185 _n._ 1 + +K + +Kean, 124 _n._ 4 + +Kemble, 124 _n._ 4 + +_Knacke to Know a Knave, A_, 208 _n._ 1 + +Koeppel, 28, 178 _n._ 6, 193 + +Kyd, 127 + +L + +Lamb, C., 25, 33, 122 _n._ 3, 199 + +Langbaine, 2 _n._ 2, 34 + +Lee, Sir Sidney, 77 _n._ 2, 112 + +_Love Lost in the Dark_, 24 + +Lyly, 117 + +M + +Macaulay, G. C., 21 _n._ 5, 65 _n._ 1, App. III. + +_Maid of Honour, The_, 16, 18, 27, 28, 40, 74, 103, 132, 146 + +Malone, 15 _n._ 1, 15 _n._ 3, 24, 176 + +Marlowe, 29 _n._ 1, 110, 117, 150 _n._ 10 + +Marston, 62, 112 _n._ 1, 159 + +Massinger, Arthur, 1 + +Massinger, Philip: life, 2; + religion, 3; + knowledge of Spanish, 5 _n._ 5; + death, 7; + politics, 14; + stagecraft, 26; + style, 33; + versification, 55; + faults, 60; + imitation of Shakspere, 77; + introduction of doctors, 81; + method, 104; + favourite words, 106; + character, 118; + use of epithets, 120 _n._ 5; + use of assonances, 121 _n._ 1; + knowledge of Greek, App. II.; + a metrical peculiarity, App. VI.; + use of alliteration, App. XVIII. + +Matthews, Brander, 25, 45, 64, 71, 123 _n._ 4, 142 _n._ 3, 160 + +Matthieu, P., 6 _n._ 2, App. XIV. + +Middleton, 21, 28, 62, 65 _n._ 3, 124, 127, 141 _n._ 1, 147, 158, App. + XVI. + +Milton, 32 _n._ 3, 51, 55, 69 + +Monck Mason, 25, 123, 134 + +Montgomery, Philip, Earl of Pembroke and, 5, 14 + +Mozart, 76, 88 + +N + +_New Way to Pay Old Debts, A_, 12, 20, 25, 47 _n._ 3, 48, 52, 70, 108, + 115, 122, 124, 142 _n._ 3 + +Nichol Smith, 77 _n._ 1 + +O + +_Old Law, The_, 21, 141, 158 + +Oliphant, E. H. C., 59 _n._ 2, 162 _n._ 2 + +Ovid, 34, 105 _n._ 3, 151 + +P + +_Parliament of Love, The_, 42, 50, 59, 60, 82, 83, 92, 139, 146, App. IX. + +Peele, 142 _n._ + +Pembroke, second Earl of, 2 + +Pembroke, third Earl of, 6 + +Pepys, 24 + +Phelan, 137 _n._ 3, 203 _n._ 2 + +Philipps, Halliwell, 24 _n._ 2, 176 + +_Picture, The_, 8, 9, 29, 50, 54, 73, 74, 82, 111 _n._ 1, 140, 146 + +Plautus, 2, 67 _n._ 2, 104 + +_Powerful Favourite, The_, 6 _n._ 2, App. XIV. + +_Prince of Tarent, The_, vide _A Very Woman_ + +Prynne, 65 _n._ 3 + +Puritans, 10, 45 + +R + +_Renegado, The_, 3, 13, 24, 27, 31, 53, 65, 74, 75, 134, 145, 149 + +Repetition of words and phrases, 54, 197 _n._ 1 + +Richardson, 135 + +_Roman Actor, The_, 28, 33, 38, 52, 66, 72, 82, 116, 126, 137, 146 + +Rosenbach, 5 _n._ 5 + +Rowe, 56 _n._ 2, 137 + +Rowley, W., 21, 141 _n._ 1, 142, 168 + +S + +Schelling, 5 _n._ 5, 65 _n._ 1 + +Schmidt, 43 _n._ 2, 171, 175 + +Scott, Sir W., 68 + +Sea scenes, 28 + +_Second Maiden’s Tragedy, The_, App. XIII. + +_Sero sed Serio_, 5 _n._ 1 + +Shakspere, 3, 12 _n._ 3, 18, 20, 29, 32, 33 _n._ 1, 43 _n._ 1, 43 _n._ 2, + 45, + 49, 56 _n._ 2, 63, 69, 70, 72, 73, 77-80, 83, 85, 87, 90, 91, 98, 99, + 101, 109, 113, 118, 121-123, 125, 128, 130, 135 _n._ 1, 137, 147, 153, + App. IV. + +Shelley, 31 + +Shirley, 116, 126 _n._ 2, 147, 180 _n._ 1 + +Signorelli, Luca, 61 + +Simpson, P., 65 _n._ 3, 133 _n._ 1, 203 _n._ 2 + +_Sir J. V. O. Barnavelt_, 8, 9, 52, 139 _n._ 3, 177 _n._ 2, App. XII. + +Sophocles, 150 + +Stephen, Sir Leslie, 45, 68, 76 _n._ 2, 76 _n._ 3, 132 + +Stevenson, 64 + +_Strangest Adventure, The_, 178 + +Subordinates combined, 29 + +Swinburne, 52, 151, 215 + +Sykes, Dugdale, 93, 94, 96 + +Symonds, J. A., 222 + +T + +Taylor, J., 124 _n._ 2 + +Theobald, 204 + +Torture on stage, 28 + +Tourneur, 20, 55, 62, 157, 203 + +Turks, 9 + +_Two Noble Kinsmen, The_, 20, 22, 23 _n._ 1, 92-104 + +U + +_Unnatural Combat, The_, 8, 28, 31, 54, 69, 138, App. XVIII. + +V + +_Very Woman, A_, 21, 42, 50, 81, 82, 84, 100, 102, 108, 129 + +Virgil, 127 _n._ 3 + +_Virgin Martyr_, _The_, 3, 18, 20, 24, 31, 32, 33, 46, 47 _n._ 3, 62, 72, + 73, 81, 120, 123, 142, 149, App. X. + +Vocabulary of M., 106 + +W + +Warburton, 23, App. V. + +Ward, Sir A., 25, 65 _n._ 1, 110 + +Warner, Sir G. F., 177 + +Weber, 21 _n._ 6 + +Webster, 5, 29 _n._ 2, 111-113, 159 + +_Wit and Fancy in a Maze_, 77 _n._ 3 + +Z + +Zielinski, 50 + + + + + + +FOOTNOTES + + + 1 It is much to be wished that someone would essay the same task for + Beaumont and Fletcher, though there the work would be less easy, + partly from the looseness of the metres, partly from the corruption + of the text, but chiefly from the presence of prose-passages + bordering on verse. + + 2 A. à Wood’s _Fasti Oxonienses_, p. 313. + + 3 Herein he resembled F. Beaumont. G. Langbaine, on the other hand, + says that the Earl sent Massinger to Oxford, where he “closely + pursued his studies.” But we must be careful how we believe + Langbaine; his account of our poet begins thus: “This author was + born at Salisbury, in the reign of King Charles the First, being son + to Philip Massinger, a gentleman belonging to the Earl of + Montgomery.” Here are three gross blunders at once. + + 4 Boyle (_N. S. S._, xxi., p. 472) says that “Massinger’s inveterate + habit of repeating himself arose probably from his profession as an + actor.” I know of no evidence for this hypothesis. _Cf._, however, + p. 6, note 1. + +_ 5 Cf._ Mommsen’s _History of Rome_, English translation, vol. ii., p. + 440. + + 6 Thus in the play of _Lady Jane_, of which _The Famous History of Sir + T. Wyatt_ is a fragment, we find five authors concerned. It will be + remembered that Eupolis contributed to the _Knights_ of + Aristophanes. + + 7 For some account of Field see Appendix XI. + + 8 Daborne’s letters bulk large in the Henslowe Correspondence. We have + two plays of his: _A Christian turn’d Turke_, based on the story of + the pirate Ward; and _The Poor Man’s Comfort_, a tragi-comedy. Like + Marston, he abandoned the stage in middle life and took orders, + before 1618. It is therefore unlikely that he collaborated with + Massinger in any of the plays which we possess. + + 9 Such a reference to _Acta Sanctorum_ as is contained in these lines + might be made by an Anglican: + + ANTONINUS. It may be, the duty + And loyal service, with which I pursued her, + And sealed it with my death, will be remember’d + Among her blessed _actions_.—_V. M._, IV., 3, 28. + + More stress might be laid on the metaphor contained in these lines: + + THEOPHILUS. O! mark it, therefore, and with that attention, As you + would hear an embassy from heaven, _By a wing’d legate_.—_V. M._, + V., 2, 103. + + 10 No doubt it required courage to present a Jesuit in this way so soon + after Gunpowder Plot; and the curious argument in _The Renegado_, + V., 1, 28-41, in favour of lay-baptism certainly shows a mind + interested in ecclesiastical problems. + +_ 11 The Renegado_, I., 1, 24-32. + +_ 12 Two Gentlemen of Verona_, V., 1. + + 13 Friar Paulo takes an important part in _The Maid of Honour_, ad + finem. Octavio, disguised as a priest, elicits Alonzo’s repentance + in _The Bashful Lover_, IV., 2. The same expedient occurs in _The + Emperor of the East_, V., 3, where Theodosius, disguised as a friar, + convinces himself of his wife’s innocence. Shakspere disguises the + Duke as a friar in _Measure for Measure_, II., 3, III., 1, 2, IV., + 1, 2, 3. + + 14 See the photograph at the beginning of the book. _Cf._ also Greg’s + Henslowe Papers, article 68. Fleay identifies the play referred to + in the document as _The Honest Man of Fortune_, acted in 1613. In + the first Dublin poem, after referring to the patronage which had + befriended Jonson and Fletcher, Massinger goes on thus: + + “These are precedents + I cite with reverence; my low intents + Look not so high; yet some work I might frame + That should not wrong my duty, nor your name; + Were but your lordship pleased to cast an eye + Of favour on my trod-down poverty.” + +_ 15 Cf._ W. W. Greg’s _Henslowe’s Diary_, vol. ii., pp. 110-147. Mr. + Greg points out (p. 113) that “there is no record of any + speculations of Henslowe’s own as far as the evidence of the Diary + is concerned. The accounts are company accounts”—_i.e._, of The Rose + and Fortune Theatres. + + We have also at Dulwich a bond from R. Daborne and P. Massinger to + Philip Henslowe for payment of £3, dated July 4th, 1615. _Cf._ + Greg’s Henslowe Papers, article 102. + + 16 Licensed March 4th, 1631. + + 17 Licensed May 6th, 1631. + + 18 See poem “Sero sed serio” (Cunningham, p. 628); _Picture_, II., 2, + 37; _City Madam_, I., 2, 116; _Emperor of the East_, II., 1, 45. + _Cf._ _Catiline_; II, 1. + + 19 Aubrey, in his _Natural History of Wiltshire_ (ed. J. Britton, 1847, + p. 31), distinctly says that the poet had a pension of twenty or + thirty pounds per annum, which was “payed to his wife after his + decease.” + + 20 Younger brother of William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke. + + 21 The dedication begins thus: “However I could never arrive at the + happiness to be made known to your lordship,” etc. + + 22 No doubt he knew some foreign languages. His plays come from various + sources, French, Italian, and Spanish, some of which, however, had + been translated into English. _The Renegado_ is traceable to a + comedy of Cervantes, _Los Baños de Argel_, printed in 1615. _The + Emperor of the East_ is derived from a French translation of + Zonaras. If, which is doubtful, _The Duke of Milan_ owes anything to + Guicciardini, his history had appeared in an English translation by + Sir Geoffrey Fenton in 1579. Fleay has a curious theory that where + French scenes are found in Fletcher they are due to Massinger. + + Much interesting information on the great debt which Fletcher and + other dramatists owed to Spanish literature will be found in F. E. + Schelling’s _Elizabethan Drama_, vol. ii., pp. 205-218 and 530. + Schelling comes to the conclusion that Fletcher did not know + Spanish; but he quotes an unpublished dictum of his friend Dr. + Rosenbach, who holds it as certain that Massinger knew Spanish. _The + Island Princess_ is based on a Spanish play, of which no translation + is known, _Conquista de las islas Malucas_, by De Argensola, 1609. + Rosenbach attributes the play to Massinger! It is clear, however, + that a translation may have been in circulation from which Fletcher + took his materials, or somebody may have seen the play acted in + Spain, and reported it to him. Further, _Love’s Cure_ is based on + the _Comedia de la Fuerza de la Costumbre_, by Guillen De Castro, + licensed at Valencia, February 7th, 1625, and published three months + later. Fletcher died in August, 1625, and Stiefel thinks that he + read Spanish, and that this is his last work. Rosenbach and Bullen + assign the play to Massinger (_cf._ Appendix III., No. 29). It is + highly desirable that the grounds which led Rosenbach to believe + that Massinger knew Spanish should be made public. + + 23 Lines 39-45 run thus: + + Let them write well that do this, and in grace. + I would not for a pension or a place + Part so with over candour: let me rather + Live poorly on those toys I would not father; + Not known beyond a player or a man, + That does pursue the course that I have ran. + Ere so grow famous. + + Lines 41-42 are interesting as seeming to hint that Massinger + preferred to waive publicity as to his collaboration with Fletcher + and others. The poem was published by A. B. Grosart in _Englische + Studien_, xxvi., pp. 1-7, and will be found with the original + spelling and punctuation in Appendix XVII. + +_ 24 A. O._, ii., 654-656. A. à Wood includes in the list of Massinger’s + plays _Powerful Favourite, or the Life of Sejanus_. As Massinger was + but nineteen in 1603 he cannot have been the “happy genius” referred + to in the address “to the readers” of Ben Jonson’s play. For the + explanation of the mistaken attribution of _The Powerful Favourite_, + _cf._ Appendix XIV. + + 25 Gifford was right as to the date and Cunningham wrong. The entry in + question is as follows: “March 18th, 1639 [_i.e._, old style], + Philip Massenger, a stranger.” The entry about Fletcher runs thus: + “Aug. 29, 1625, John Ffletcher [sic], a man, in the church.” Entries + such as “a man,” “a boy,” “a girl” are not unusual in the book, and + the practice of burial “in the church” was comparatively common at + the time. + + 26 The stone inscribed with his name in the chancel of St. Saviour’s + does not mark the place of his burial, which is unknown. + + 27 By a charming if undesigned coincidence the Massinger window stands + next to that of Shakspere. It represents two scenes from _The Virgin + Martyr_, and, unfortunately, repeats the erroneous date (1639) of + the poet’s death, and gives 1583 as the year of his birth. + +_ 28 Contemporary Review_, August, 1876. + + 29 II., 2, 140. + + 30 Intercourse with the Low Countries is referred to in the _New Way_ + (I., 2, 75). The monastery to which Sir John Frugal retires is at + “Lovain” (_City Madam_, III., 2, 58). _Cf._ also for the University + of “Lovain” _The Elder Brother_, II., 1. + + 31 III., 1, 38. _Cf._ also Frank Wellborn’s petition, V., 1, _ad + finem_. Compare the part played in _Sir John Barnavelt_ by the + English mercenaries in Holland; and especially IV., 2. + + ORANGE. I have sent patents out for the choicest companies + Hither to be remov’d, first Colonel Vere’s + From Dort, next Sir Charles Morgan’s, a stout Company. + + IV., 3. BARNAVELT (_to his daughter_): + + What! wouldst thou have a husband? + Go marry an English Captain, and he’ll teach thee + How to defy thy father and his fortune. + + II., 1. BARNAVELT: + + But have you tried by any means (it skills not + How much you promise) to win th’ old soldier + (The English Companies in chief I aim at) + To stand firm for us? + +_ 32 Unnatural Combat_, I., 1, 243, 278; _Great Duke of Florence_, I., + 2, 62; II., 1, 145; _Picture_, I., 1, 3-5; _Guardian_, II., 1, 84; + V., 4, 160; _Very Woman_, V., 5, 28. _Cf._ in Marlowe, + _Tamburlaine_, Pt. I., III., 3; Pt. II., I., 2; _Jew of Malta_, I., + 1; II. 2. For a Christian pirate _cf._ _Decameron_, II. 4. + +_ 33 Bondman_, IV., 3, 77; _Renegado_, IV., 1, 99-102; II., 6, 32. + +_ 34 A Very Woman_, III., 1. + +_ 35 Cf._ _The Unnatural Combat_ and _The Renegado_. + +_ 36 Guardian_, II., 1, 84. Similarly in _The Bashful Lover_, V., 3, + 110, Matilda warns Lorenzo that “Heaven’s liberal hand” has designed + him to fight rather against the Turk than a Christian + neighbour-king. Compare _The Devil’s Law-case_ (p. 138_b_). + + ERCOLE. When our bloods + Embrac’d each other, then I pitied + That so much valour should be hazarded + On the fortune of a single rapier + And not spent against the Turk. + +_ 37 Renegado_, II., 5, 24 and 64-73. Bertoldo, the Knight of Malta, is + the hero of _The Maid of Honour_. _Cf._ also Fletcher’s play of that + name; and _Guardian_, V., 4, 143-145. + +_ 38 Unnatural Combat_, V., 2, 230. We find a similar emphasis on the + Turk and pirates in Webster’s _White Devil_ and_ Devil’s Law-case_. + + 39 The “zealous coblers” and “learned botchers” who preach at Amsterdam + are mentioned in _Renegado_, I., 1, 30-32. In _The Unnatural + Combat_, III., 1, 75, the “Hugonots” are referred to as using the + word “mortified.” “Geneva print” is mentioned in _Duke of Milan_, + I., 1, 11; “precisians” in _New Way_, I., 1, 6, use the word + “verity.” + +_ 40 Fair Maid_, IV., 2. + +_ 41 Very Woman_, III., 1, 124: + + MERCHANT. They have a city, Sir—I have been in it. + And therefore dare affirm it—where if you saw + With what a load of vanity ’tis fraughted, + How like an everlasting morris-dance it looks, + Nothing but hobby-horse and Maid Marian, + You would start indeed. + +_ 42 Old Law_, IV., 1, 20; _New Way_, III., 2, 169; _Very Woman_, III., + 5, 29 and 70; _Renegado_, I., 3, 74. _Cf._ _Decameron_, II. 5. + + 43 For the influence of the masque on Massinger, _cf._ _Picture_, II., + 2; _City Madam_, V., 3; _Guardian_, IV., 2. + +_ 44 Cf._ the characters of Simonides in _The Old Law_ and young Novall + in _The Fatal Dowry_, II., 2; _Emperor of the East_, I., 2, 21; + _Picture_, II., 2, 29-36; _Very Woman_, III., 1, 131-2. Compare also + _Henry VIII._, I., 3. + +_ 45 Renegado_, III., 1, 57; _Guardian_, II., 1, 81. _Cf._ _Merchant of + Venice_, I., 2, 78-81; _As You Like It_, IV., 1, 34-40. + + 46 The play ends thus: + + Make you good + Your promised reformation, and instruct + Our city dames, whom wealth makes proud, to move + In their own spheres, and willingly to confess, + In their habits, manners, and their highest port, + A distance ’twixt the city and the court. + + _Cf._ also _Maid of Honour_, III., 1, 84; _City Madam_, III., 2, + 153; IV., 4, 43; _New Way_, II., 1, 81 and 88. In _The Renegado_, + I., 2, distinctions are drawn between the county ladies, the city + dames, and the court ladies of England. Compare also the epilogue to + _Henry VIII_: + + Others, to hear the city + Abused extremely, and to cry “that’s witty.” + + _Rape of Lucrece_, II., 1; II., 3; _The Devil is an Ass_, III., 1; + _Westward Ho!_ I., 1; “I tell thee, there is equality enough between + a lady and a city dame if their hair be but of a colour.” Ford + contrasts the ladies of the city and the court in _The Broken + Heart_, II., 1. In Dekker’s _Shoemaker’s Holiday_, I., 1, the Lord + Mayor says: + + Too mean is my poor girl for his high birth, + Poor citizens must not with courtiers wed. + + _Cf._ also _A Chaste Maid in Cheapside_, I., 1: + + MAUDLIN. Besides, you have a presence, sweet Sir Walter, + Able to dance a maid brought up in the city; + A brave court-spirit makes our virgins quiver. + + _Eastward Ho!_ deals with the same contrast. _Cf._ also the + Induction to _The Knight of the Burning Pestle_, and _ib._, IV., 5; + Induction to _Four Plays in One_. + +_ 47 Renegado_, I., 3, 92-94; _City Madam_, I., 2, 34. _Cf._ _Henry + VIII._, V., 4; _Shoemaker’s Holiday_, V., 2; _The Honest Whore_, Pt. + I., III., 1; _Sir Thomas More_, II., 1. + +_ 48 Parliament of Love_, IV., 5, 12; _New Way_, II., 1, 142. _Cf._ + _Epicoene_, V., 1 _bis_; _Elder Brother_, IV., 3; _Honest Man’s + Fortune_, V., 3; _Thierry and Theodoret_, II., 3. + +_ 49 Unnatural Combat_, III., 3, 35; IV., 2, 35; _Parliament of Love_, + IV., 5, 125, 126; _Bondman_, V., 3, 245-252; _Guardian_, III., 3, 8; + _City Madam_, IV., 1, 74; _Duke of Milan_, III., 2, 18. _Cf._ _1 + Henry IV._, II., 2, 49; III., 1, 130; _2 Henry IV._, IV., 3, 52-54; + _Winter’s Tale_, IV., 3, 181-263; V., 2, 25-27; _Antony and + Cleopatra_, V., 2, 215; _Queen of Corinth_, III., 1; _Spanish + Curate_, IV., 7; _False One_, I., 1; _Elder Brother_, IV., 4; _The + White Devil_, p. 23b; _The Devil’s Law-case_, pp. 131_b_ and 143_b_; + _Love’s Sacrifice_, III., 1; IV., 1; _The Honest Whore_, Pt. I, I., + 1; _Bartholomew Fair_, Induction; II., 1; and III., 1; _Rape of + Lucrece_, II., 1; _Edward II._, II., 2; _Orlando Furioso_, IV., 1; + _George a Greene_, IV., 2; _Parliament of Bees_, ch. v. + +_ 50 Renegado_, II., 4, 1. _Cf._ _Much Ado about Nothing_, V.,1, + 295-297; _A King and No King_, I., 2; IV., 2; _Four Plays in One_; + _Triumph of Love_, 4; _Little French Lawyer_, III., 2; _The False + One_, III., 2; IV., 3; _Lover’s Progress_, I., 1; III., 4; V., 3; + _Cupid’s Revenge_, II., 4; _James IV._, 1, 2. + +_ 51 New Way_, especially II., 1; for the difficulty of getting justice + done for the poor, _cf._ _Unnatural Combat_, I., 1; _Fatal Dowry_, + I., 1, especially lines 67-80. + + 52 II.; 4, 79-106. The reference to the mills is as follows: + + Builders of iron mills, that grub up forests + With timber trees for shipping. + + _Cf._ _Volpone_, I., 1, 33-36. + + 53 I., 1, 290-340. + +_ 54 E.g._, in _The New Way_ and _The Guardian_. + +_ 55 City Madam._ + + 56 Thus Ford, in an interesting passage in _Love’s Sacrifice_, I., 1, + refers to the national love of self-depreciation among the English. + _Cf._ also _Rape of Lucrece_, III., 5. + + 57 I., 2, 22-49. _Cf._ also _Very Woman_, III., 1, 133-135; and + Webster’s _Westward Ho!_ I., 1, and III., 3. + +_ 58 Cf._ _The Honest Whore_, Pt. II., IV., 1: + + MATHEO. England is the only hell for horses, and only paradise for + women. Also Lamira’s words in _The Honest Man’s Fortune_, III., 3. + +_ 59 Cf._ _Duke of Milan_, _Picture_, and _Roman Actor_. The Duke of + “Pavy” in Ford’s _Love’s Sacrifice_ is a slighter sketch of the same + type. The worthlessness of Bianca in the same play is a measure of + the moral gap between Massinger and Ford. + +_ 60 Renegado_, IV., 2, 116-143. + + 61 Oxford Lectures on Poetry, pp. 363-365. _Cf._ also pp. 392-3. + +_ 62 Cf._ op. cit., p. 381. _Cf._ Prologue to _Henry VIII._, line 13; + Prologue to _Romeo and Juliet_, line 12, and Chorus to Act I. in + _The Mayor of Queensborough_. + + If all my powers + Can win the grace of two poor hours, + Well apaid I go to rest. + + Also Prologues to _Two Noble Kinsmen_, lines 28, 29; _Alchemist_, + line 1; _Love’s Pilgrimage_, line 8; _Lover’s Progress_, line 18 + (“_three_ short hours”); and Shirley’s Preface to the Folio of + Beaumont and Fletcher. + +_ 63 Cf._ Malone’s _Shakspere_ (edition 1790), vol. i., pt. 2, p. 226. + _Believe as You List_ probably represents an adaptation of this + play, with classical names and setting substituted for the original + plot. _Cf._ Appendix VII. + + 64 Chapman had to suppress a considerable part of _The Tragedy of + Byron_, which referred to quite recent events in France. But the + censorship seems to have become much more stringent in Massinger’s + days. + +_ 65 The King and the Subject_; now lost. The play was performed, after + alterations had been made, under another title. Sir H. Herbert + wrote, “Received of Mr. Lowen’s for my paines about Massinger’s play + called _The King and the Subject_, 2nd June, 1638, £1.” + + 66 Malone’s _Shakspere_ (ed. 1790), vol. i., pt. 2, p. 235. + +_ 67 Bondman_, I., 3. + + 68 I., 1, 49-56. _Cf._ also _Great Duke of Florence_, I., 1, 75-84. + Sanazarro is one of the better type of favourites. + + 69 I., 1, 23-36. + + 70 III., 1, 10-17. + + 71 III., 3, 135. + + 72 IV., 5, 52. _Cf._ also _Great Duke of Florence_, I., 1, 73-84. + +_ 73 Cf._ especially the offer made by the Informer to Paulinus, I., 2, + 69-89. + + 74 1st quarto, “pole.” + + 75 I., 2, 236-257. + + 76 IV., 1, 136-147. + + 77 I., 1, 220-233. + + 78 Middleton refers to “the great Armada” in _A Trick to Catch the Old + One_, III., 4; Dampit: “In Anno ’88, when the great Armada was + coming.” _Cf._ _The Alchemist_, IV., 2. + +_ 79 Cf._ Champernal in _The Little French Lawyer_, and Alberto in _The + Fair Maid of the Inn_. Notice too the zest with which Valerio (_A + Wife for a Month_, V., 3) describes the sea-action with the Turks. + + 80 The question whether Massinger knew Greek is discussed in Appendix + II. To take one play only, _The Maid of Honour_, we find classical + allusions in I., 1, 240; I., 2, 36, 107-128; II., 1, 48; II., 2, 23; + II., 3, 26; II., 4, 17; II., 5, 13, 28; III., I, 29; III., I, 194; + IV., 4, 13; IV., 4, 97, 108, 109; IV., 4, 140-145. + +_ 81 N. S. S._, xxvi., p. 581. + +_ 82 Englische Studien_, V., 93. + + 83 I., 2, 27. + + 84 Also called _The Prince of Tarent_. It would have been easier for + Fletcher to imitate Massinger than for Massinger to imitate + Fletcher. The pathos and comedy of the latter were alike out of our + author’s range. + + 85 III., 1, 39. + + 86 See discussion on p. 141. + +_ 87 Cf._ Appendix III. + + 88 The question suggests itself at once: Did Massinger ever collaborate + with Beaumont? Mr. Macaulay does not face this problem in his + interesting monograph on Beaumont; indeed, he ignores Massinger’s + undoubted claims to have collaborated with Fletcher, though he makes + full amends for this omission in his article in the _Cambridge + History of English Literature_. Boyle at one time thought that + Massinger worked with Beaumont and Fletcher in _The Honest Man’s + Fortune_ and _The Knight of Malta_ (_N. S. S._, pp. 589-590). + + 89 From the nature of the case the idea is not new; thus Weber, in the + Preface to the 1812 Edinburgh edition of Beaumont and Fletcher, + attributes the completion of _The Lover’s Progress_, _Love’s + Pilgrimage_, and the character of Septimius in _The False One_ to + Massinger. Fleay (_Shakespeare Manual_, p. 152) makes out a list of + ten of Fletcher’s plays in which he traces Massinger’s hand. _Cf._ + Appendix III. + +_ 90 Eng. St._, VII., 75. + + 91 Reprinted 1877. Congleton. A copy of the original book is to be seen + at Shakspere’s birthhouse, Stratford-on-Avon. + + 92 An inauspicious date for such a publication! + + 93 There are many touches in _Henry VIII_ which remind one of + Massinger; and not a few passages in Massinger remind one of _Henry + VIII_. Take as an example _City Madam_, III., 2, 111. + + LUKE. O my lord! + This heap of wealth, which you possess me of, + Which to a worldly man had been a blessing, + And to the messenger might with justice challenge + A kind of adoration, is to me + A curse I cannot thank you for; and, much less + Rejoice in that tranquillity of mind + My brother’s vows must purchase. I have made + A dear exchange with him: he now enjoys + My peace and poverty, the trouble of + His wealth conferr’d on me; and that a burthen + Too heavy for my weak shoulders. + + LORD LACY. Honest Soul, + With what feeling he receives it! + + Or this from _The Bashful Lover_, IV., 2, 87. + + ALONSO. She cause, alas! + Her innocence knew no guilt, but too much favour. + To me unworthy of it; ’twas my baseness, + My foul ingratitude—what shall I say more? + The good Octavio no sooner fell + In the displeasure of his prince, his state + Confiscated, and he forced to leave the Court, + And she exposed to want; but all my oaths + And protestation of service to her, + Like seeming flames, raised by enchantment, vanish’d; + This, this sits heavy here. + + _Cf._ also _City Madam_, I., 2,126-134. I feel inclined to say that + Massinger knew _Henry VIII_ by heart. _Cf. infra_, pp. 84, 85. + +_ 94 The Two Noble Kinsmen_ is a remarkable play, full of fine poetry + and lofty thought. On the other hand, its technique is very + immature. The Gaoler’s daughter’s soliloquies are inartistic, and at + times ludicrous. The play has at once the dignity of an early period + and the complexity of style with which we are familiar in + Shakspere’s later manner. One thing is clear: Act I. is by a + different hand from the rest. Perhaps Shakspere and Fletcher touched + up an old anonymous play. + + See, however, discussion _infra_, pp. 84-104. + +_ 95 Cf._ Appendix V. + + 96 Mr. Halliwell Philipps, in his MS. note to _Believe as You List_, + now in the British Museum, expresses himself as sceptical of the + Warburton legend. _Cf._ Greg’s _Bakings of Betsy_ (_Library_, July, + 1911). + + 97 Shakspere, III., p. 275. _Cf._ Downes’ _Roscius Anglicanus_, pp. 18, + 52. + + 98 Diary, 1848 edition, I., p. 192; IV., p. 373. + + 99 Gayley’s _Representative English Comedies_, p. 319. + + 100 Gifford’s edition of Massinger, in four volumes, is one of the + classics of our literature, though careless in details. + + 101 To Hazlitt, however, we owe, in his estimate of Sir Giles Overreach, + one of the most brilliant pieces of English prose that we possess. + + 102 (_E. D. L._, iii., p. 42) “In Massinger we seem to recognize a man + who firmly believes in the eternal difference between right and + wrong, and never consciously swerves aside from the canon he + acknowledges.” + +_ 103 N. S. S._, xxvi., p. 586. + +_ 104 Iphigenia auf Tauris_, IV., 4: “Ich untersuche nicht, ich fühle + nur.” + + 105 Dr. Bradley (_Oxford Lectures_, p. 383) points out that “the average + play of Shakspere’s day has great merits of a strictly dramatic + kind, but it is not ‘well-built,’ it is not what we mean by ‘a good + play.’ ” He traces this fault to the multiplication of scenes, which + the absence of scenery in those days made easy. + + 106 Gayley points out (_R. E. C._, p. xci.) that, “Shakspere and + Fletcher excepted, Massinger has been adjudged by posterity the most + successful of the practical dramatists of the early seventeenth + century.” He suggests (_R. E. C._, p. xcv.) that with slight and + judicious modification an enterprising actor-manager might + successfully produce _A New Way_, _The Maid of Honour_, _The City + Madam_, and perhaps _The Bondman_. + + 107 Aristotle, _Rhetoric_, III., p. 1404_b_. + + 108 IV., 2. On the other hand, we should remember that our author did + not invent this incident, but took it from Byzantine history. _Cf._ + Gibbon’s _Decline and Fall_, chapter xxxii. + +_ 109 Bondman_, II., 1, 187. _Cf._ ὁ ἄφωνος in Ar. _Poetics_, 1460 a. 32. + +_ 110 Cf._ _The Sea Voyage_ and _The Double Marriage_. + +_ 111 Roman Actor_, III., 2, 71; _Virgin Martyr_, V., 2, 206. _Cf._ Dr. + Bradley’s remarks (_Oxford Lectures_, p. 366, note) on the blinding + of Gloucester in _King Lear_. When the Duke in Ford’s _Love’s + Sacrifice_ (V., 3) stabs himself and cries aloud: + + Sprightful flood, + Run out in rivers! O, that these thick streams + Could gather head, and make a standing pool, + That jealous husbands here might bathe in blood; + + the words can only produce an anticlimax in the spectator’s mind, + however effective they may be to the reader. Massinger is more + dexterous in _The Fatal Dowry_, IV., 4, 154: “Yes, sir; this is her + heart’s blood, is it not? I think it be.” There is a similar + difficulty about D’Amville in _The Atheist’s Tragedy_ (V., 2) + knocking out his brains with the executioner’s axe; and about + Scaevola in _The Rape of Lucrece_ (V. 4) burning off his hand. _Cf._ + also Bajazet and Zabina in _Tamburlaine_, Pt. I., V., 1, and + Tamburlaine himself in Pt. II., III., 2. + + 112 Needless to say, the idea is not original; it is already a marked + feature of Marlowe’s _Tamburlaine_ and _Faustus_; but the device + does not often work so smoothly as in Massinger. + + 113 II., 2, 59-77. _Cf._ _The Virgin Martyr_, I., 1 (the three kings); + _Emperor of the East_, II., 1 (Theodosius and his courtiers); _A New + Way_, I., 3, 43 (the servants); _City Madam_, IV., 1 (Luke and the + three creditors); IV., 2 (Luke and the two apprentices); _Bashful + Lover_, I., 1 (Matilda and the waiting-women); V., 1 (Octavio and + three friends); _Bondman_, I., 3 (Timoleon and four senators); + _Unnatural Combat_, II., 2 (Theocrine and three attendants); _Great + Duke of Florence_, I., 2 (three councillors); II., 2; V., 2 and 3 + (Cozimo and courtiers); _Guardian_, IV., 4 (Severino and four + banditti); _Maid of Honour_, I., 1 (Bertoldo and the two heirs “city + bred”); _Roman Actor_, IV., 1, 98; V., 1, 213 (the three tribunes); + V. 2, 1-19 (the conspirators); _Duke of Milan_ I., 3, _ad init._ + (three gentlemen). We find this method again and again in Webster; + _cf._ _The Duchess of Malfi_, p. 63_a_; p. 78_b_; p. 80_b_; _The + White Devil_, p. 56; p. 42_a_; _The Devil’s Law-case_, p. 111_b_; p. + 116_a_. _Cf._ also Cymbal and Fitton in _The Staple of News_, I., 2; + and the three courtiers in _Cupid’s Revenge_. + + 114 The exact cause of the son’s anger is the murder of his mother by + his father. The secret is not revealed until Act V., 2, 122, though + it is hinted at in II., 1, 118-120. The son knows nothing of the + other terrible charge. + + 115 In _The Renegado_ the brother and sister are not revealed until V., + 4. + + 116 IV., 3. + + 117 I., 1. + + 118 The best instance of Euripidean art is the scene in _The Emperor of + the East_ (II., 1), where all the arguments for the Emperor’s speedy + marriage are cleverly amassed. _Cf._ also Luke’s appeal for mercy to + the creditors in _The City Madam_, I., 3; the long preparation which + Sforza makes in _The Duke of Milan_, I., 3, 268; the skill which + leads up to the disclosure of Marullo’s name in _The Bondman_ (IV., + 3, 124), and the way in which he persuades the slaves to revolt + (II., 3). For other instances of what we may call the gradual + method, compare _The Virgin Martyr_, I., 1, 294, and _A Very Woman_, + V., 4, 91. + +_ 119 Cf._ _Fatal Dowry_, I., 2; IV., 4; V., 2; _Roman Actor_, I., 3; + _Bondman_, I., 3; _Parliament of Love_, V., 1; _Great Duke of + Florence_, V., 3. + + 120 Here he incurs the censure of Milton on such plays (Preface to + _Samson Agonistes_): “This is mentioned to vindicate tragedy from + the small esteem, or rather infamy, which in the account of many it + undergoes at this day with other common interludes; happening + through the poet’s error of intertwining comic stuff with tragic + sadness and gravity; or introducing trivial and vulgar persons, + which by all judicious hath been counted absurd, and brought in + without discretion, corruptly to gratify the people!” + +_ 121 Cf._ Shakspere’s _Julius Caesar_, where the hero dies in the third + act; but the plot is not felt to have exhausted itself until Brutus + and Cassius are disposed of. + + 122 Massinger is very sparing in his use of prose in his plays, though + Fleay goes too far when he says: “Neither Fletcher nor Massinger + admits prose” (_Shakespeare Manual_, p. 71). The grace of + Massinger’s dedications is very marked when compared with the + stilted and obscure style of Ford’s. + + 123 C. Lamb. + + 124 Lines referring to Massinger quoted by Langbaine. + +_ 125 Bondman_, IV., 2, 51-88. + + 126 I., 2, 147. + + 127 I., 3, 268-30 6. + + 128 I., 3, 49-142. + + 129 II., 4, 22-35. + + 130 I., 3, 51-74. + + 131 IV., 3, 124-138. + + 132 V., 1, 42-60. + +_ 133 Cf._ Prologue to _Henry V_, line 4, a passage imitated and expanded + in _The Virgin Martyr_, V., 2, 98-102. + + 134 We have a Somersetshire rustic in _The Emperor of the East_, IV., 2. + _Cf._ Schmidt’s _Shakespeare Lexicon_, Appendix II., p. 1424. “In + general it can be said that Shakspere abstains from the use of + provincial dialects, as characteristic of his dramatical persons.... + It is only on one occasion that he seems to imitate the peculiar + speech of a certain dialect: _King Lear_, IV., 6, 239-251. + Concerning the particular county there referred to English scholars + have been of different opinions. Steevens pleads for Somersetshire, + in the dialect of which rustics were commonly introduced by ancient + writers; Collier inclines to decide in favour of the North.” _Cf._ + Mr. H. Bradley’s remarks in _Shakspere’s England_, II., p. 570. In + _Bartholomew Fair_, IV., 3, a contrast is drawn between the dialect + of a rustic from the West and one from the North. Urania’s dialect + in _Cupid’s Revenge_ cannot be pronounced a success, or Antonio’s + Irish in _The Coxcomb_. + +_ 135 City Madam_, II., 2, 128. Among the things which Anne demands from + her suitor, is: + + A fresh habit, + Of a fashion never seen before, to draw + The gallants’ eyes, that sit on the stage, upon me. + + _Cf._ also Induction to _The Malcontent_; Induction to _The Staple + of News_; Induction to _Cynthia’s Revels_; Fitzdottrel in _The Devil + is an Ass_, I., 3; Induction to _Knight of the Burning Pestle_; + _Woman-Hater_, I., 3; Prologue to _All Fools_; and Dekker’s _The + Guls Horne-booke_, Chapter VI. + +_ 136 Hours in a Library_, ii., p. 171. Leslie Stephen elsewhere (pp. + 167-171) does justice to Massinger’s “romantic tendency.” “The + chivalrous ideal of morality involves a reverence for women which + may be exaggerated or affected, but which has at least a genuine + element in it. The same vein of chivalrous sentiment gives a fine + tone to some of Massinger’s other plays; to _The Bondman_, for + example, and _The Great Duke of Florence_, in both of which the + treatment of lovers’ devotion shows a higher sense of the virtue of + feminine dignity and purity than is common in the contemporary + stage.” + +_ 137 The Virgin Martyr_, IV., 3, 72-92. _Cf. Believe As You List_, IV., + 2, 183-204. + + 138 I., 1, 103-114. The whole play exhibits this element of grace more + than any other of our author. It should be acted by Lysis and + Charicles, Glaucon and Adeimantus. + + 139 IV., 3, 175. It is to be noted that great courtesy is observed and + expected in greetings and leave-takings in Massinger’s plays. Thus + in _The Virgin Martyr_, II., 2, Macrinus gets into trouble for the + curtness of his salutation; similarly, Wellborn in _A New Way_, V., + 1, 114. Compare also _Roman Actor_, IV., 1, 67; _A Very Woman_, I., + l, 147. + + 140 I., 1, 246. + + 141 I., 2, 36. + + 142 II., 2, 71. + + 143 I., 1, 77. + + 144 IV., 2, 96. + + 145 III., 2, 92. + + 146 V., 2, 51. + + 147 I., 2, 162-175. + + 148 II., 3, 28-32. + + 149 I., 2, 136-141. + + 150 IV., 2, 46. + + 151 I., 2, 17. + + 152 I., 5, 44. The longest series of parentheses in Massinger is to be + found in Cardenes’ speech in _A Very Woman_ (I., 1, 240-256). For + clumsy periods see _Fatal Dowry_, IV., 2, 99-104; V., 2, 23-34; + _Roman Actor_, IV., 2, 123-128. + +_ 153 Our Debt to Antiquity_, Eng. trans, by Strong and Stewart, p. 75. + + 154 It is needless to say how common this idiom is in Shakspere, + Webster, Shirley, and other authors of the period. I only mention it + because it lends itself in a peculiar way to the suppleness of + Massinger’s style. + + 155 I., 1, 18-32. + + 156 I., 3, 339. + + 157 V., 1, 25. + + 158 III., 3, 4. + + 159 V., 2, 22. + +_ 160 Contemporaries of Shakespeare_, p. 183. Though I do not accept all + Mr. Swinburne’s estimates, I am at once pleased and humiliated at + the thought that he has expressed so much better than myself many of + my conclusions about Massinger. + + 161 V., 1, 51. + + 162 III., 1, 302. + +_ 163 The Renegado_, III., 1, 30-39. + + 164 Oliphant (_Englische Studien_, xiv., 60) notes this feature as + Fletcherian. + + 165 Boyle, _N. S. S._, Trans., p. 378. + +_ 166 Op. cit._, p. 403. + +_ 167 E. S._, vii. 70. + +_ 168 N. S. S._, xxvi. 584. The “run-on” line ends with a preposition or + other word which syntactically requires the next line. Take as an + example _Fatal Dowry_, V., 2, 255: + + For the fact, as of + The former, I confess it; but with what + Base wrongs I was unwillingly drawn to it, + To my few words there are some other proofs + To witness this for truth. + + The “double” or “feminine” ending is the outstanding feature of + Fletcher’s verse. _Cf._ _Fatal Dowry_, V., 2, 137: + + ROCHFORT. You say you are sorry for him; + A grief in which I must not have a partner. + ’Tis I alone am sorry, that when I raised + The building of my life, for seventy years, + Upon so sure a ground, that all the vices + Practised to ruin man, though brought against me, + Could never undermine, and no way left + To send these grey hairs to the grave with sorrow, + Virtue, that was my patroness, betrayed me. + + (Gifford inserts “when” in that third line.) + + Five instances in nine lines. Fleay (_Shakespeare Manual_, p. 171) + points out that in Shakspere’s part of _Henry VIII_ the proportion + of double endings to blank verse is 1 to 3; in Fletcher’s, 1 to 1·7. + The weak and sugary effect of double endings is very apparent in + Rowe’s _Fair Penitent_, the eighteenth-century play, based on _The + Fatal Dowry_. + + Boyle (_E. S._, v. 74) takes six of Massinger’s plays: _The + Unnatural Combat_, _The Duke of Milan_, _The Bondman_, _The City + Madam_, _The Bashful Lover_, and _The Guardian_. These are his + conclusions: “The plays show in general a high percentage of double + endings, generally 40 per cent, or more. The percentage of run-on + lines is a little lower, but seldom sinks for more than a scene + below 30 per cent. The light and weak endings together make 5 to 7 + per cent. The versification is exquisitely musical. There are very + few rhymes.” The corresponding figures for Fletcher are: double + endings, over 50 per cent.; run-on lines, under 20 per cent.; and + light and weak endings almost negligible; rhyme, rare. Shakspere in + his later manner (e.g., _The Tempest_) has 33 per cent. double + endings. (_E. S._, vi. 71.) + + 169 Fleay (_Shakespeare Manual_, p. 123) takes a piece of Dryden’s _All + for Love_, and rewrites it, as far as metre (and metre only) is + concerned, in the styles of Fletcher, Beaumont, Massinger, Greene, + and Rowley. + + 170 IV., 3, 5-24. + + 171 I., 2, 49-71. + + 172 In this respect Massinger resembles Beaumont and Ford, whose metre + in divided lines, unlike Webster’s and Fletcher’s, is very regular. + Shirley’s plays are full of lame lines. For strict division _cf._ + _City Madam_, I., 3, 44; II., 1, 109; V., 1, 4 and 70; V., 2, 66; + V., 3, 126; _Guardian_, I., 1, 80, 221, 308; II., 3, 116; III., 2, + 61; IV., 3, 16; _New Way_, I., 2, 48 and 63; II., 2, 151; III., 2, + 241; V., 1, 233; _Very Woman_, I., 1, 26 and 147; V., 6, 31; + _Bashful Lover_, I., 1, 114, 163, and 207; II., 2, 36, 37; II., 3, + 9; II., 4, 42; III., 1, 99; III., 3, 71 and 80; V., 1, 39, 40, 48, + 50, 176; _Roman Actor_, I., 3, 32. Instances can be given of lines + divided between four speakers—e.g., _Very Woman_, V., 3, 23; V., 4, + 167; _Bashful Lover_, II., 7, 20; _Roman Actor_, I., 4, 50; IV., 1, + 83; _Guardian_, V., 4, 209. The carelessness of the metre in _The + Old Law_ is in itself proof that Massinger had little to do with it. + + 173 An instance of “emphatic” double-ending (_Oliphant_, _E. S._, xiv., + 71), common in Fletcher, rare in Massinger. + + 174 I., 5, 38. + + 175 V., 1, 226. + +_ 176 Cf._ also Matilda in _The Bashful Lover_ (IV., 3, 170), and Olinda + in _The Lovers’ Progress_. + +_ 177 Frogs_, l. 1413. + +_ 178 Cf._ the dialogue in _A Very Woman_, I., 1, 1-24. “Heaven’s + greatest blessings” (line 21) is a very characteristic phrase. _Cf._ + also _Emperor of the East_, II., 1, 216. + + 179 Boyle (_N. S. S._, 385-88) is severe but not, to my mind, + convincing. Reading between the lines, one arrives at the conclusion + that Boyle admired Massinger enormously, and would have allowed none + else to abuse him except himself. _Cf._ his spirited attack on + Charles Lamb’s “unfair judgment” (pp. 371-2). + + 180 Rubens took his wives as models for his art; let us hope that + Massinger’s portrait of the imperious woman was not drawn from his + wife. We happen to know that he was married. + + 181 I., 1. _Cf._ also Matilda in _The Bashful Lover_ (III., 3, 147), and + Donusa in _The Renegado_ (II., 4). + + 182 IV., 1; V., 4. _Cf._ also Thamasta in Ford’s _Lover’s Melancholy_ + (III., 2), Calantha’s request to her father in _The Broken Heart_ + (IV., 3), Fiormonda in _Love’s Sacrifice_ (I., 2), Hidaspes in + _Cupid’s Revenge_ (I., 3). + + 183 Act I., 3. + + 184 III., 1, 161. _Cf._ also _Romeo and Juliet_, I., 5, 95. + + 185 The situation is not unknown in modern fiction; take, for example, + _Dr. Breen’s Practice_ and _The House of Lynch_. _Cf._ Jebb’s + _Bentley_, p. 197. + +_ 186 Op. cit._, p. 317. + + 187 A favourite phrase of Massinger’s—e.g., _Emperor of the East_, II., + 1, 345; V., 2, 83; _Great Duke of Florence_, II., 3, 112; _Unnatural + Combat_, I., 1, 312; IV., 1, 110; _Parliament of Love_, II., 3, 77. + + 188 B. Matthews, p. 318. + + 189 Especially Sir A. W. Ward (_English Dramatic Literature_, iii., pp. + 41-42). _Cf._ also G. C. Macaulay in _Cambridge History of English + Literature_, vol. vi., p. 121, and Schelling’s verdict. + + 190 The Venetian in _The Renegado_. + + 191 Dr. Bradley (_Oxford Lectures_, pp. 373-4) minimizes the objections + to this custom, without, however, dwelling on the moral problem. + _Cf._ also Mr. Percy Simpson’s remarks in _Shakspere’s England_, + ii., p. 246. Prynne deals with it (_Histriomastix_, ed. 1633, pp. + 214-216). He allows, reluctantly, that “men actors in women’s attire + are not altogether so bad, so discommendable as women + stage-players,” but goes on to say: “since both of them are evill, + yea extremely vitious, neither of them necessary, both superfluous + as all playes and players are; the superabundant sinfulnesse of the + one, can neither justifie the lawfulnesse, nor extenuate the + wickednesse of the other.... This should rather bee the conclusion, + both of them are abominable, both intolerable, neither of them + laudable or necessary; therefore both of them to bee abandoned, + neither of them henceforth to be tollerated among Christians.” + + Ford, in _Love’s Sacrifice_ (III., 2), refers to the novelty of + women-antics—_i.e._, of women acting in masques. It is clear that + Queen Henrietta Maria, with her passion for appearing on the stage + in masques, however much she may have been before the times, must + have caused great scandal to the Puritan party. The complications + which sometimes arise from the use of men for female parts may be + illustrated from Middleton’s amusing play, _The Widow_, where Martia + is disguised as a man, Ansaldo, and, to escape further + complications, is subsequently disguised as a woman, _being a boy + all the time_. We find the same thing in the second Luce in _The + Wise Woman of Hogsdon_. + +_ 192 Supra_, p. 38. + + 193 Though Massinger does not owe much to Chapman, it is to be noted + that this trick of repeating a phrase occurs several times in + Chapman’s popular play, _Bussy d’Ambois_. _Cf._ III., 1., “He shall + confess all, and you then may hang him,” and towards the end of the + same Act, “Ay, anything but killing of the King;” and in _The + Conspiracy of Byron_, Act II., in La Fin’s speech, “I can make good” + four times at the end of the line. _Cf._ “Behold the Turk and his + great Empress” in _Tamburlaine_, pt. I., V., 1; “I love my lord; let + that suffice for me” in Greene’s _Orlando Furioso_, I., 1. + +_ 194 A Very Woman_, III., 4. + + 195 A few instances of γνῶμαι may be given from Massinger; his debt to + Shakspere will be clear: + + _Fatal Dowry_, I., 1, 20: + + There is a minute + When a man’s presence speaks in his own cause + More than the tongues of twenty advocates. + + _Guardian_, I., 1, 241: + + For a flying foe + Discreet and provident conquerors build up + A bridge of gold. + + _Guardian_, IV., 1, 99: + + O dear madam, + We are all the balls of time, toss’d to and fro, + From the plough unto the throne, and back again; + Under the swing of destiny mankind suffers. + + (_Cf._ _Plautus’ Captivi_, Prologue, 22, “Enimvero di nos quasi + pilas homines habent;” _Pericles_, II., 1, 63; and _The Duchess of + Malfi_, p. 99_a_; _Parliament of Bees_, char, vii.) + + _Bashful Lover_, IV., 1, 69: + + Fortune rules all; + We are her tennis-balls. + + (_Cf._ also Greg’s _Henslowe Papers_, p. 143.) + + _Bashful Lover_, III., 2, 3: + + A diamond, + Though set in horn, is still a diamond + And sparkles, as in purest gold. + + _Very Woman_, IV., 1, 90: + + Revenge, that thirsty dropsy of our souls, + Which makes us covet that which hurts us most, + Is not alone sweet, but partakes of tartness. + + _Duke of Milan_, I., 1, 60: + + Dangers that we see + To threaten ruin, are with ease prevented; + But those strike deadly that come unexpected. + + _Great Duke of Florence_, III., 1, 138: + + Love + Steals sometimes through the ear into the heart, + As well as by the eye. + + _Picture_, II., 1, 79: + + Ill news, madam, + Are swallow-wing’d, but what’s good walks on crutches. + + _Virgin Martyr_, IV., 1, 103: + + Pleasures forc’d + Are unripe apples; sour, not worth the plucking. + + _A New Way_, IV., 1, 187: + + Though I must grant + Riches, well-got, to be a useful servant, + But a bad master. + + _Bondman_, I., 3, 100: + + He that would govern others, first should be + The master of himself, richly endu’d + With depth of understanding, height of courage, + And those remarkable graces which I dare not + Ascribe unto myself. + + _Bondman_, III., 1, 6: + + But turbulent spirits, raised beyond themselves + With ease, are not so soon laid; they oft prove + Dangerous to him that call’d them up. + +_ 196 Hours in a Library_, i., p. 167. + +_ 197 Poetics_, 1460_b_, 4. + +_ 198 Cf._ Appendix VI. and the discussion in Robert Bridges’ _Milton_, + Appendix D, pp. 56-57. The same thing is found again and again in + Shirley’s _Lady of Pleasure_. + + 199 For a rhymed passage _cf._ _A Very Woman_, IV., 1, 141-152. + + 200 We have a few unimportant poems in rhyme from his pen, which show + the same characteristics of style as his blank verse, though + fettered by the restraints of the couplet. Some of his songs are not + at all bad; _cf._; for example, _Emperor of the East_, V., 3: “Why + art thou slow, thou rest of trouble, Death?” _Guardian_, IV., 2, The + songs of Juno and Hymen; V., 1, the “entertainment of the Forest’s + Queen.” _Picture_, II., 2, the song of Pallas; III., 5, song + beginning, “The blushing rose and purple flower.” It must, however, + be conceded that these songs are commonplace. + +_ 201 Maid of Honour._ The same name is found in Ben Jonson’s unfortunate + _New Inn_, produced in 1629. _Cf._ also _City Madam_, II., 2, 182: + + MARY. Whose sheep are these, whose oxen? The Lady Plenty’s. + + PLENTY. A plentiful pox upon you. + + _New Way_, IV., 2, 2: + + Did not Master Marrall + (He has marr’d all I am sure) strictly command us? + + _New Way_, IV., 2, 68: + + No, though the great Turk came, instead of turkies + To beg any favour, I am inexorable. + + 202 Belgrade in _The Unnatural Combat_. + + 203 Boyle (_N. S. S._, pp. 588-9) points out that Massinger “succeeds + admirably in depicting the witty pertness of a saucy page.” It does + not, therefore, follow that he had been one himself, as has been + supposed by some. + + 204 In _The New Way_ and _City Madam_. + + 205 Mr. Ben Greet’s Company has from time to time given a charming + alfresco performance of _The Great Duke of Florence_. + + 206 Preface to Sir John V. O. Barnavelt (_Old Plays_, vol. ii., p. 204). + +_ 207 Op. cit._, p. 405. + +_ 208 Op. cit._, p. 312. + +_ 209 Cf._ Sforza in _The Duke of Milan_; Theodosius in _The Emperor of + the East_; and especially, Leosthenes in _The Bondman_. + + 210 The first quarto of _Othello_ appeared in 1622, _The Duke_ in 1623. + + 211 Perhaps Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are the only instances. Notice in + _Henry VIII_ various rapid changes of mind—_e.g._, III., 2, 336: + SURREY. “I forgive him”; V., 2, 172: GARDINER. “With a true heart + and brother love I do it.” Henry V and Antony are other instances + which will occur to everyone. In the case of the former, at any + rate, I for one feel that Shakspere cuts the Gordian knot. + + 212 The soliloquy of Luke over his brother’s wealth is one of the most + splendid efforts of eloquence in English. (_City Madam_, III., 3.) + +_ 213 Guardian_, I. + + 214 I., 1. + + 215 I., 2. + + 216 V., 2, 129. + + 217 IV., 3, 133: + + VITELLI. Your intent to win me + To be of your belief, proceeded from + Your fear to die. Can there be strength in that + Religion, that suffers us to tremble + At that which every day, nay hour, we haste to? + + DONUSA. This is unanswerable, and there’s something tells me + I err in my opinion. + +_ 218 Virgin Martyr_, III., 1, 186. + + 219 IV., V. _Cf._ especially IV., 1, 138: + + LORENZO. Stay, I feel + A sudden alteration. + + MARTINO. Here are fine whimsies. + +_ 220 Poetics_, 1454_a_, 33. + + 221 III., 3; V., 3, 33. After all, Corisca does not repent of her worst + faults, only of her luxury and cruelty to her slaves. _Cf._ also The + Projector in _The Emperor of the East_, I., 2, 257. On the other + hand, the conversion of the courtiers in the same play (II., 1, 154) + is according to character. + +_ 222 Poetics_, 1454_a_, 26. + +_ 223 Poetics_, 1454_a_, 28. + + 224 Leslie Stephen has anticipated me here. “The truth seems to be that + Massinger is subject to an illusion natural enough to a man who is + more of the rhetorician than the seer. He fancies that eloquence + must be irresistible. He takes the change of mood produced by an + elevated appeal to the feelings for a change of character” (_Hours + in a Library_, ii., p. 164). + + 225 Here again I find myself in agreement with Leslie Stephen. + “Massinger’s plays are a gradual unravelling of a series of + incidents, each following intelligibly from the preceding situation, + and suggestive of many eloquent observations, though not + developments of one master thought. We often feel, that if external + circumstances had been propitious, he would have expressed himself + more naturally, in the form of a prose romance than in a drama” + (_Op. cit._, ii., p. 157). _Cf._ also Coleridge’s remark that + Massinger’s plays are “as interesting as novels.” How much + character-drawing is there in Boccaccio or Paynter? + + 226 Mr. Nichol Smith (_Shakspere’s England_, ii., p. 202) doubts the + “association of Pembroke with Shakspere.” + + 227 Sir Sidney Lee (_Life of W. Shakespeare_, 1915, p. 441) notes “the + almost magical success” with which Massinger echoes Shakspere’s + tones. + + 228 In a “mock” romance published at London in 1656, _Wit and Fancy in a + Maze_ (Book 2, chapter iv.), the Enchantress Lamia and the hero Don + Zara del Fogo go to Elysium and find everything in an uproar. Ajax + and Ulysses are quarrelling; Homer and Hesiod; Statius and Virgil. + Last of all Ben Jonson “had openly vaunted himself the first and + best of English poets.” This is much resented by Chaucer, Chapman, + and Spenser; last of all Shakspere and Fletcher appear “with a + strong party” to claim the first place. Among “their life guard” are + mentioned Goffe, Massinger, Dekker, Webster, Suckling, Cartwright, + Carew. Did Ben Jonson dislike Massinger as Mr. Phelan conjectures? + + 229 II., 1, 100. + + 230 IV., 2. + + 231 IV., 3. + + 232 I., 3. + + 233 III., 1, 261. + + 234 III., 1. + + 235 II., 4. The good brigand goes back beyond Robin Hood to Herodotus, + VI. 16. + + 236 IV., 1. + + 237 Compare especially V., 2, 104 with _Midsummer Night’s Dream_, II., + 2, 145. + + 238 II., 1, 22. + + 239 II., 4. + + 240 III., 1, 24. + + 241 II., 7. + +_ 242 Unnatural Combat_, III., 2, 13. + + 243 IV., 3. + + 244 III., 3, 91-2. + + 245 IV., 1. + + 246 IV., 5. + + 247 III., 4. + + 248 II., 2, 93. + +_ 249 Othello_, III., 3. + + 250 V., 1, 376. _Cf._ also Security in prison in _Eastward Ho_ (Act V.); + Grimaldi in _The Renegado_ (IV., 1, 4). + + 251 III., 4, 148. On the other hand, Paulo in _A Very Woman_ (III., 3, + 5) observes: + + To choke up his spirits in a dark room, + Is far more dangerous. + + 252 II., 3. + + 253 V., 2. + + 254 V., 1. + + 255 I., 3, 49. Rowley uses the metaphor in the dedication of _A Fair + Quarrel_. + + 256 II., 7. + + 257 III., 1, 49. + + 258 IV., 1. The language of Ding’em in _The City Madam_ (IV.; 1, 15) + takes us back to Pistol: + + Thy word’s a law, + And I obey. Live, scrape-shoe, and be thankful, + Thou man of muck and money, for as such + I now salute thee; the suburbian gamesters + Have heard thy fortunes, and I am, in person, + Sent to congratulate. + + _Cf._ also _A New Way_, I., 2, 59: + + FURNACE. “I am appeased, and Furnace now grows cool.” + + 259 I., 2, 318. _Cf._ _Prophetess_, I., 2, 31: + + I presently, inspired with holy fire, + And my prophetic spirit burning in me, + Gave answer from the gods. + + _Double Marriage_, II., 4, 30: + + Who stole her? Oh! my prophetic soul! + + 260 I., 5, 40. + + 261 IV., 2, 39. + +_ 262 Virgin Martyr_, III., 3, 46. + + 263 III., 1, 118. + + 264 V., 1, 170. + + 265 II., 1, 99. _Cf._ also _Roman Actor_, III., 2, 35. + + 266 IV., 1, 1. + + 267 III., 2, 18. + +_ 268 Coriolanus_, I., 1, 99. + + 269 I., 2, 40. _Cf._ also _A New Way_, I., 3, 88, and _Emperor of the + East_, V., 2, 83: + + I am flesh and blood, as you are, sensible + Of heat and cold, as much a slave unto + The tyranny of my passions as the meanest + Of my poor subjects. + + 270 III., 1. + + 271 IV., 1, 103. + + 272 II., 1, 54. + + 273 II., 5. + + 274 IV., 3, 131-137. + + 275 II., 1, 38. _Cf._ Bradley, _Shakspearean Tragedy_, p. 268. + + 276 Thus, to take an instance at random, the madness of the Englishman + is referred to in Webster’s _Malcontent_ (III. 1). + +_ 277 Cf._ also Appendix IV. + + 278 IV., 1. + + 279 IV., 1, 1. The last line shows how prosaic Massinger could on + occasion be. In judging our older writers, however, it is important + to remember that words change their poetical value with time; it is + clear, for example, that in James I.’s age, “undertaker,” + “proceedings,” “punctually,” “aunt,” were regarded as legitimate in + poetry. + + 280 V., 2, 49-54. + + 281 II., 2, 23. + +_ 282 A Very Woman_, II., 2, 96. + + 283 IV., 4. + + 284 V., 2. + + 285 II., 1. + + 286 II., 2, 84-98; _cf._ also _A Very Woman_, II., 2, 2; _Bondman_, I., + 3, 216; _Emperor of the East_, III., 2, 54; _Guardian_, III., 1, 23; + _Parliament of Love_, I., 4, 23; _Believe as You List_, V., 1, 69; + _Unnatural Combat_, IV., 1, 131 and 231. + + 287 III., 1, 12-16. + +_ 288 Cf._ also _Bondman_, II., 2, 36; IV., 4, 22; _Bashful Lover_, V., + 1, 72-156; _Emperor of the East_, IV., 3, 39; _Duke of Milan_, IV., + 3, 97; _Unnatural Combat_, IV., 1, 199; _Parliament of Love_, V., 1, + 526-7; _Guardian_, I., 1, 13; II., 5, 56; _Picture_, III., 4, 21. + +_ 289 New Way_, II., 2, 17-22; _Picture_, IV., 2, 26-33. + +_ 290 Picture_, I., 2, 30; IV., 2, 79; _Bondman_, I., 2, 36; IV., 2, 44; + IV., 4, 21; _A New Way_, II., 2, 20; IV., 2, 99; _Emperor of the + East_, I., 2, 223; _Parliament of Love_, IV., 1, 49; _Guardian_, I., + 1, 297. + + 291 III., 1, 26; III., 1, 32. + +_ 292 Cf._ _New Way_ and _City Madam_, _passim_. + +_ 293 Cf._ Churton Collins’ _Studies in Shakspere: No. V._, “Was + Shakspere a lawyer?” Mr. Arthur Underhill, in _Shakspere’s England_, + Vol. i, No. xiii., decides that Shakspere’s “knowledge of law was + neither profound nor accurate.” + +_ 294 A Very Woman_, II., 2, 60-64. It is to be noted that doctors are + common also in Fletcher, the reason being that there are so many + duels, and unexpected recoveries, in that author. Thus, the surgeon + diets the Duke of Sesse in _The Double Marriage_ (II., 4); and in + the same play the doctor plays tricks on Castruccio’s food (V., 1). + In _The Sea Voyage_ (III., 1) the surgeon is introduced merely to + make fun of his apparatus. Doctors, chirurgeons, and apothecaries + appear in fifteen of the plays of Beaumont and Fletcher. The same + remark applies to Webster; _cf._ _The Duchess of Malfi_, _The White + Devil_, and especially _The Devil’s Law-case_. + +_ 295 Henry VIII_, I., 1, 75; I., 2, 42; III., 2, 171. + + 296 II., 3, 42 and 72; III., 2, 305, 307, 353. + + 297 II., 3, 93. + + 298 III., 2, 37; _cf._ III., 4, 69. Beaumont observes a similar + strictness. + +_ 299 E.g._, I., 1; III., 2. + +_ 300 E.g._, III., 2, 336; IV., 2, 73; V., 4, 172. + + 301 II., 1, 88-94. + + 302 II., 2, 143. + + 303 III., 2, 297-8. + + 304 III., 2, 365. + +_ 305 E.g._, I., 1, 39-44; II., 3, 13-16, 18-22, 32; II., 4, 70-73, 78, + 79, 129, 130; IV., 1, 56-59; V., 1, 2-5, 11-16, 36; V., 3, 1012, + 20-31, 43-45. + + 306 IV., 2, 45. + + 307 V., 3, 10. + + 308 II., 4, 238. + + 309 III., 2, 447. + + 310 IV., 1, 103. + +_ 311 Cf._ II., 3, 77; III., 2, 50—both instances of the method of + anticipation referred to above. + + 312 II., 1, 88. + + 313 III., 2, 393. + + 314 IV., 2, 125. + + 315 Thus Gardiner’s dislike of Anne Boleyn (V., 1, 22) is true to + history, though artistically a blemish on the play, because + redundant. + + The way in which in IV., 1, and elsewhere, historical details are + dragged in is quite unlike Massinger, and very like Shakspere. _Cf._ + lines 17-19, 24-29, 38-42, 47-49, 51, 52, 101-103. + +_ 316 New Shakspere Society’s Transactions_, 1880-86, xxi. + + 317 See Discussion on January 16th, 1885. + +_ 318 Ibid._, p. 447. + + 319 For other instances see II., 4, 208; III., 2, 39-42, 55-56, 96, 159; + V., 1, 22-3, 36, 109-11; V., 3, 43-45. + + 320 The same remark applies to V., 3, 8. + + 321 Compare such a line as V., 3, 94. + + 322 See p. 87, n. 4. + + 323 For “catalogue lines,” _cf._ I., 2, 33; II., 1. 116; II., 3, 29; + III., 2, 342; V., 5, 48. For assonances, _cf._ I., 3, 25, 27, 31, + 35, 41; II., 1, 126; II., 2, 28, 48; II., 3, 86; II., 4, 92; III., + 2, 125, 129, 213, 214, 236, 255, 259; V., 2, 32; V., 3, 23, 60, 72, + 103; V., 4, 94; V., 5, 30. For repetitions of words, _cf._ III., 1, + 110; III., 2, 29; V., 1, 98, 138. Passages which remind us of + Massinger are I., 4, 101; II., 3, 93; V., 1, 62, 70, and 71; + Epilogue, 5. + + 324 V., 1, 1-7. + +_ 325 Modern Language Review_, April, 1916. + + 326 I., 1, 124. My numeration in _The Two Noble Kinsmen_ is Mr. Tucker + Brooke’s. + + 327 III., 2, 14. + +_ 328 Op. cit._, p. 143. + +_ 329 The Two Noble Kinsmen_, I., 3, 8. + + 330 V., 1, 161. + + 331 II., 1 reads to me like Shakspere. + + 332 A Danish scholar, Dr. Bierfreund, maintains this thesis (Tucker + Brooke, Introd., p. xlv). + + 333 II., 3; III., 5. + + 334 This is perhaps what Mr. Bullen believes about the play. + +_ 335 The Shakespeare Apocrypha._ + + 336 I., 1, 209. + + 337 III., 1, 74. + +_ 338 H. E. L._, iv., p. 361. + +_ 339 New Shakspere Society’s Transactions_, 1880-5, pt. 2, xviii. + + 340 Page 372. + + 341 Page 373. + + 342 Pages 375-6. + + 343 Page 381. + + 344 I., 1, 76. + +_ 345 E.g._, _Roman Actor_, I., 4, 41; _Picture_, II., 2, 112; _Bondman_, + I., 1, 13. _Cf._ _Tamburlaine_, pt. II., III., 2; _Orlando Furioso_, + V., 2. + +_ 346 Macbeth_, I., 1, 54. + + 347 Page 387. + + 348 Page 393. + + 349 Page 393. + + 350 Page 394. + + 351 I., 3, 76. + + 352 II., 4, 134. + + 353 Notice in passing that Beaumont is fond of using intransitive verbs + transitively. He also has the phrase “twinning cherries.” + + 354 I., 1, 195-206. + + 355 I., 1, 209-213. + + 356 Page 395. + + 357 I., 2. + + 358 Page 397. + + 359 Pages 380-391. + + 360 I., 1, 165; V., 1, 160. Shakspere has “the wheaten garland” of + peace in _Hamlet_, V., 2, 41. + +_ 361 Bashful Lover_, I., 1, 279; IV., 3, 164; _Maid of Honour_, I., 2, + 116. + + 362 I., 1, 82. + +_ 363 Picture_, III., 4, 61. + + 364 I., 1, 141. The exact phrase occurs in _Merchant of Venice_, II., 1, + 44. “The temple” is part of Fletcher’s stock-in-trade. + +_ 365 Maid of Honour_, V., 2, 45; _Picture_, I., 2, 306. + + 366 II., 1, 13. + + 367 I., 1, 77. + +_ 368 Twelfth Night_, III., 4, 349. + +_ 369 Renegado_, III., 3, 78; _New Way_, V., 1, 27. + + 370 1., 2, 47, 48. + + 371 I., 2, 275-278. + + 372 I., 3, 91. + + 373 IV., 2, 50. + + 374 II., 1,66. _Cf._ Margaret in _Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay_, I., 3, + _ad finem_. + + 375 II., 3, 151. + + 376 III., 1, 10. + + 377 I., 1, 49. _Cf. Bashful Lover_, I., 1, 54; III., 3, 132. + + 378 I., 1, 178-181. + + 379 V., 2, 51. _Cf._ also _Unnatural Combat_, III., 2, 157; _Duke of + Milan_, V., 2, 82; _Bondman_, IV., 2, 75; _City Madam_, V., 3, 108; + _Guardian_, I., 1, 191. In these last instances marriage is not + referred to, nor is the word “despatched” used. + + 380 V., 1, 106. + + 381 II., 1, 128. + +_ 382 Picture_, II., 2, 159, 163; _Unnatural Combat_, I., 1, 4; III., 2, + 70; IV., 1, 103; _Great Duke of Florence_, I., 2, 75 and 155; II., + 1, 186; IV., 2, 88; V., 3, 40; _Guardian_, I., 2, 142; II., 3, 47; + III., 5, 34: IV., 1, 86; _Maid of Honour_, I., 1, 175; III., 3, 214, + 221 and 234; _Duke of Milan_, I., 3, 30; _Parliament of Love_, II., + 2, 23; III., 3, 150; _A Very Woman_, II., 2, 28; IV., 3, 99; + _Bashful Lover_, III., 3, 68; _New Way_, I., 1, 31; III., 1, 17; + III., 2, 49; _Virgin Martyr_, I., 1, 321; _Fatal Dowry_, I., 1, 85; + II., 2, 107 and 313; _Emperor of the East_, Prol., 2, 14; II., 1, + 324; _Bondman_, I., 3, 290; _Renegado_, II., 1, 66. It is true that + blushing plays a great part in all our old dramatists. Compare in + Fletcher, _False One_, II., 3, _ad finem_; II., 6, 22; Leandro, in + _The Spanish Curate_, I., 1; and in Shakspere, _Henry V_, V., 2, + 253; _Much Ado_, IV., 1, 35, 160-163; _Antony and Cleopatra_, I., 1, + 29; V., 2,149. _Cf._ also _Eastward Ho_, I., 1. “Give me a little + box on the ear, that I may seem to blush”; II., 1. “As I am a lady, + if he did not make me blush so that mine eyes stood awater.” _Every + Man in his Humour_, V., 1. “Nay, Mistress Bridget, blush not.” _The + Devil is an Ass_, I., 3; _Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay_, I., 2; + _James IV._, III., 3. + +_ 383 Guardian_, III., 6, 55; IV., 2, 52; _Old Law_, III., 1, 272; + _Emperor of the East_, IV., 5, 202. + +_ 384 Picture_, I., 1, 43; II., 1, 71-75; _Maid of Honour_, I., 1, 157; + II., 2, 119; V., 2, 267-270: _Unnatural Combat_, II., 1, 135 and + 220: II., 3. 29; _Bondman_, III., 3, 98-102; III., 4, 65; + _Renegado_, II., 1, 31-34; IV., 1, 147; V., 3, 76-81; _Guardian_, + III., 1, 8-10 and 42: III., 6, 6; IV., 1, 13 and 21; _Emperor of the + East_, IV., 1, 59; IV., 3, 22; V., 3, 137; _New Way_, III., 2, 220; + IV., 3, 4; _A Very Woman_, V., 3, 21; _Bashful Lover_, V., 2, 12; + V., 3, 146; _Duke of Milan_, II., 1, 420: _Believe as You List_, I., + 1, 117; IV., 3, 27. + +_ 385 Picture_, II., 2, 336: + + HONORIA. I am full of thoughts, + And something there is here I must give form to, + Though yet an embryon. + + _Bondman_, I., 3, 315; II., 1, 74-77; V., 2, 103; _Renegado_, III., + 3, 97; _The Virgin Martyr_, III., 2, 98; _Guardian_, II., 3, 140; + _Emperor of the East_, V., 1, 129; _Bashful Lover_, IV., 1, 200; + _Roman Actor_, IV., 2, 105. _Cf._ also _Emperor of the East_, III., + 3, 13; _Thierry and Theodoret_, I., 2. + + It is a touch which goes back to Ovid’s _Metamorphoses_, vi. 619: + “Magnum quodcumque paravi: quid sit, adhuc dubito.” + +_ 386 Believe as You List_, V., 1, 129; V., 2, 143; _Picture_, I., 2, + 127-129 and 152-153; III., 6, 34; IV., 1, 104; IV., 4, 16; V., 3, + 48; _Maid of Honour_, V., 1, 20; _Roman Actor_, I., 2, 14; _Great + Duke of Florence_, II., 1, 44; IV., 1, 38; _Bondman_, III., 2, 59; + III., 3, 26; _Parliament of Love_, II., 3, 82; _Emperor of the + East_, I., 1, 95; I., 2, 148; II., 1, 158 and 334; _New Way_, II., + 2, 84; _Bashful Lover_, V., 1, 39; _City Madam_, III., 1, 67. _Cf._ + also _Duke of Milan_, IV., 1, 46; _Renegado_, III., 3, 79; IV., 2, + 104. Hortensio “kisses the ground” in _Bashful Lover_, III., 3, 124. + This may merely mean to kneel (_cf. ibid._, IV., 1, 168, and + _Thierry and Theodoret_, II., 3); but _cf. Roman Actor_, III., 2, + 193. + +_ 387 Old Law_, I., 1, 565;_ Believe as You List_, IV., 2, 58-60, 90-92; + _Guardian_, II., 4, 11-13; _Bashful Lover_, II., 6, 13; _Maid of + Honour_, II., 4, 18; IV., 3, 127; _A Very Woman_, II., 1, 71; IV., + 2, 151. Donusa, the Turkish princess, recommends it in _The + Renegado_, III., 2, 83. _Cf._ also _Duke of Milan_, I., 3, 210-212. + +_ 388 Guardian_, II., 1, 79-85; _A Very Woman_, V., 6, 40-54. Fletcher is + full of duels; thus the plot of _The Little French Lawyer_ in + largely concerned with a duel. In _Love’s Progress_ we have a duel + in which the seconds fight; they want to do so in _The Honest Man’s + Fortune_. In _Love’s Cure_, V., 3, a duel with seconds is commanded + by the State. The illegality of duels is referred to in _The Maid’s + Tragedy_, V., 4. + + 389 It is true that this use is not confined to Massinger, being a + common idiom of the day. I quote the passages where the word is not + used in a religious sense: _Maid of Honour_, IV., 3, 81; _Unnatural + Combat_, I., 1, 356; _City Madam_, I., 3, 126; V., 3, 135; + _Guardian_, I., 1, 176; _New Way_, IV., 1, 154. For Webster’s + similar use of the word _cf. The Duchess of Malfi_, p. 61_a_; _The + White Devil_, pp. 29_b_ and 47_a_. + +_ 390 Maid of Honour_, III., 3, 142; _Roman Actor_, I., 1. 87; II., 1, + 186; IV., 2, 85; _Great Duke of Florence_, I., 1, 135; III., 1, 14; + V., 3, 10; _Fatal Dowry_, V., 2, 187; _Parliament of Love_, IV., 1, + 8; IV., 4, 18; _Guardian_, II., 1, 53; III., 4, 6; _A Very Woman_, + II., 2, 60; _Picture_, I., 3, 176; II., 2, 158, 307; V., 3, 47; + _Duke of Milan_, I., 1, 74; III., 1, 221; V., 4, 18; _Emperor of the + East_, II., 1, 73, 147; III., 1, 28; III., 2, 82; V., 3, 189; + _Renegado_, I., 2, 78; II., 4, 95. _Cf._ also _Beggar’s Bush_, V., + 2. Ford uses “royal magnificence” in the same way in _Perkin + Warbeck_ (II., 1). In Ben Jonson’s _Staple of News_ (IV., 1) we find + “very communicative and liberal, and began to be magnificent.” In + Greene’s _James IV_, I., 1: + + Your mightiness is so magnificent, + You cannot choose but cast some gift apart. + + The word “munificent” occurs in _New Way_, IV., 2, 109. + +_ 391 Maid of Honour_, IV., 3, 100; _Unnatural Combat_, II., 3, 49; + _Renegado_, IV., 3, 42; _Parliament of Love_, II., 3, 70; + _Guardian_, V., 4, 231; _New Way_, IV., 1, 103; _Bashful Lover_, I., + 1, 217; _cf. Prophetess_, IV., 6, 57. + +_ 392 Unnatural Combat_, I., 1, 251, 393; _Virgin Martyr_, III., 1, 28; + IV., 3, 62; V., 2, 52; _Renegado_, I., 1, 138; IV., 3, 159; _Believe + as You List_, II., 2, 107 and 325; V., 1, 8. + +_ 393 Great Duke of Florence_, III., 1, 358; _Guardian_, II., 3, 141; + _Bashful Lover_, IV., 1, 200; _Picture_, II., 2, 337; _Believe as + You List_, I., 2, 44. _Cf. Thierry and Theodoret_, II., 3. + +_ 394 Unnatural Combat_, V., 1, 37; _Parliament of Love_, V., 1, 115; + _Guardian_, IV., 1, 77; _Duke of Milan_, II., 1, 138; _Believe as + You List_, IV., 4, 30. _Cf. Cupid’s Revenge_, II., 2, _ad finem_. + +_ 395 Unnatural Combat_, I., 1, 283; _Bondman_, I., 3, 23. _Cf. + Prophetess_, II., 3, 1. + +_ 396 Unnatural Combat_, V., 2, 234; _Bondman_, III., 2, 17; IV., 3, 34; + _Parliament of Love_, V., 1, 221; _Guardian_, I., 1, 192; III., 6, + 17; V., 2, 132; _Bashful Lover_, III., 3, 88; _Picture_, III., 4, + 46; _Duke of Milan_, II., 1, 288. + +_ 397 Maid of Honour_, IV., 4, 93-95; V., 1, 14; _Roman Actor_, I., 2, + 64; II., 1, 198; _Duke of Milan_, I., 3, 206; V., 2, 212; + _Parliament of Love_, II., 3, 94; _Guardian_, II., 5, 59; V., 2, 52; + _Emperor of the East_, II., 1, 355; IV., 5, 106; _New Way_, III., 1, + 75; _Bashful Lover_, III., 3, 33; _Picture_, I., 3, 128; III., 5, + 71. _Cf. Love’s Cure_, I., 3. + +_ 398 Maid of Honour_, IV., 4, 107; _Roman Actor_, IV., 1, 121; + _Parliament of Love_, III., 2, 17; _Guardian_, III., 6, 29; _Virgin + Martyr_, V., 2, 238; _Emperor of the East_, V., 3, 109; _Renegado_, + II., 5, 159; _Unnatural Combat_, V., 2, 266. _Cf. Hamlet_, II., 2, + 159; _Troilus and Cressida_, I., 3, 85. _Cf._ also _Prophetess_, + II., 1; V., 2; _Spanish Curate_, I., 2; _Atheist’s Tragedy_, IV., 4; + _Honest Whore_, IV., 1; _Parliament of Bees_, char. vii. + +_ 399 City Madam_, I., 2, 75; _Unnatural Combat_, I., 1, 223; II., 1, + 145; V., 2, 293; _Great Duke of Florence_, II., 1, 142; III., 1, 13; + V., 3, 113; _Parliament of Love_, V., 1, 102; _Believe as You List_, + I., 1, 73; I., 2, 147; II., 1, 65; III., 3, 143; _Bondman_, III., 2, + 1; III., 3, 162; IV., 3, 6; V., 3, 156; _Renegado_, III., 5, 44; + _Picture_, I., 1, 79; II., 2, 130 and 155; IV., 1, 65; _Guardian_, + III., 6, 31; _Emperor of the East_, III., 4, 55; V., 3, 105; _A Very + Woman_, IV., 3, 210; _Bashful Lover_, II., 6, 19, and 50; IV., 2, + 58; _Roman Actor_, II., 1, 178; III., 2, 116; V., 2, 67; _Duke of + Milan_, I., 1, 49; I., 3, 374; II., 1, 411; V., 2, 117. + +_ 400 Roman Actor_, III., 2, 94; _Bondman_, V., 3, 144; _Parliament of + Love_, II., 2, 70. Bunyan has the phrase in _The Pilgrim’s + Progress_, pt. ii.: “They saw one Fool and one Want-Wit washing of + an Ethiopian with intention to make him white, but the more they + washed him, the blacker he was.” Warner, in his translation of _The + Menaechmi_ (1595), line 247, has “This is the washing of a + Blackamore.” The expression goes back to Lucian _adv. Indoct._, 28, + Αἰθίοπα σμήχειν. It occurs in _Love’s Cure_, II., 2. + +_ 401 New Way_, V., I, 349. + +_ 402 Emperor of the East_, IV., 5, 213. + +_ 403 Bondman_, V., 3, 95. _Cf. Maid of Honour_, II., 2, 180; _The + Bashful Lover_, IV., 1, 138; V., 1, 56; _A New Way_, I., 1, 52; + III., 1, 81; _Emperor of the East_, III., 3, 25. + +_ 404 The Picture_, II., 1, 123. + +_ 405 A Very Woman_, I., 1, 404. _Cf._ also _Parliament of Love_, V., 1, + 149. We cannot but remember poor Valentine’s prolonged but vocal + agony in Gounod’s opera. + + 406 II., 1, 84. + + 407 III., 2, 115. + + 408 IV., 7, 72. + + 409 Take as an example the death-bed scene in _The Spanish Curate_, IV., + 5. + +_ 410 E. S._, VIII., 2. + + 411 Some idea of the way in which the two poets collaborated may be + obtained from the facts collected in Appendix III. Diderot, in a + passage quoted by Twining, in his edition of Aristotle’s _Poetics_ + (p. 253), recommends collaboration: “On seroit tenté de croire qu’un + drame devrait être l’ouvrage de deux hommes de génie, l’un qui + arrangeât, et l’autre qui fit parler” (_De la Poés. Dram._, p. 288). + What Euripides thought of the arrangement will be seen in The + Andromache, lines 476-77: + + τόνων θ᾽ ὕμνου συνεργάταιν δυοῖν + ἔριν Μοῦσαι φιλοῦσι κραίειν. + + It is clear that the early death of Beaumont was a disaster to + Fletcher. + + 412 Massinger’s only attempt at burlesque—Hilario in _The + Picture_—though ludicrous, is dramatically impossible. + + 413 It is generally believed now that Marston wrote this play. He was an + author of surprising vigour, and a master of strong English, but his + taste is bad, and all his work lacks finish. + +_ 414 D. N. B._, _s.v._ + + 415 Dorothea’s story of the King of Egypt (_Virgin Martyr_, III., 1, + 163-182) reminds us of an expedient familiar in Webster. + + 416 IV., 8. + +_ 417 Epicoene_, IV., 2. + + 418 II., 3. + +_ 419 The Devil is an Ass_, IV., 1. _Cf._ the light touch of Massinger + when dealing with the toilet of a lady in _A Very Woman_, I., 1, + 30-59. + +_ 420 Staple of News_, I., 1; III., 1—_Emperor of the East_, I., 1, 118; + III., 2, 58. + +_ 421 Ibid._, I., 2—_Fatal Dowry_, II., 1, 51. + +_ 422 Ibid._, II., 1—_Roman Actor_, IV., 2, 103. _Cf._ _The Alchemist_, + IV., 2. + +_ 423 Ibid._, IV., 1—_passim_ in Massinger. + +_ 424 Ibid._, IV., 1—_passim_ in Massinger. + +_ 425 Ibid._, IV., 1—_Parliament of Love_, IV., 5, 12. + +_ 426 Ibid._, IV., 1—_Renegado_, I., 1, 31. + +_ 427 Ibid._, IV., 1—_New Way_, I., 2, 25. (_Cf._ also Prologue to _A + Wife for a Month_.) + + 428 IV., 5—_A Very Woman_, IV., 1, 155; _Believe as You List_, V., 2, + 17. + + 429 III., 2—_Roman Actor_, I., 3, 95. + +_ 430 Sejanus_, V., 7—_Roman Actor_, V., 2, 61. + + 431 Courthope lays far too much stress on Massinger’s imitation of the + Morality (_History of English Poetry_, vol. iv., p. 352). It only + appears in _The Virgin Martyr_. + + 432 There are no signs in Massinger of literary or other private + quarrels. One or two passages seem to be inspired by sarcasm + directed on the gossip of the day—_e.g._, _Duke of Milan_, III., 2, + 18-55. + + 433 Stress is laid more than once on Massinger’s modesty in the + commendatory verses from his friends. _Cf._ Sir Thomas Jay’s verses + prefixed to _A New Way_, and Prologue to _A Very Woman_, lines 5, 6; + Prologue to _The Bashful Lover_, line 4. This feature may account + for a lack of worldly wisdom and self-assertion, which prevented him + from reaping the full fruits of the fame which he deserved as + Fletcher’s collaborator in so many plays. Gerard Langbaine, in his + _Account of the English Dramatic Poets_ (Oxford, 1691), pp. 353-60, + deals thus with Massinger: “He was extremely beloved by the poets of + that age, and there were few but what took it as an honour to club + with him in a play—witness Middleton, Rowley, Field, and Dekker, all + which join’d with him in several labours. Nay further, to shew his + excellency, the ingenious Fletcher took him in as a partner in + several plays. He was a man of much modesty and extraordinary + parts.” In _The New Year’s Gift_ to his patroness, to be found in + MS. in the library of Trinity College, Dublin, we have an indication + that Massinger was ashamed of the profession of author; we read + (lines 19-21): + + Nor slight it, Madam, since what some in me + Esteem a blemish, is a gift as free + As their best fortunes. + + The last lines of the poem (43-46) show the familiar combination of + modesty and independence: + + What I give I am rich in, and can spare; + Nor part for hope with aught deserves my care; + He that hath little and gives nought at all + To them that have, is truly liberal. + + 434 There are some fine friendships in Massinger—_e.g._, Charalois and + Romont in _The Fatal Dowry_; Farnese and Uberti in _The Bashful + Lover_; Cleremond and Montrose in _The Parliament of Love_; + Antoninus and Macrinus in _The Virgin Martyr_; Pedro and Antonio in + _A Very Woman_. + +_ 435 Cf._ the Prologues to _The Guardian_ and _The Emperor of the East_. + He speaks with feeling of the ungratefulness of courtiers. (_Bashful + Lover_, V., 1, 52; _Maid of Honour_, II., 2, 110.) + +_ 436 Cf._ _Picture_, II., 2, 255; _Bondman_, I., 3, 300; _Unnatural + Combat_, I., 1, 404; _Bashful Lover_, I., 1, 34; _Great Duke of + Florence_, II., 1, 138; _Sir J. V. O. Barnavelt_, I., 1 (p. 215, + Bullen’s Old Plays); also the character of the Captain in _A Very + Woman_. _Cf._ _Knight of Malta_, III., 2. + + 437 Very significant are the words of Paulo in _A Very Woman_ (IV., 1, + 153): + + Who fights + With passions, and o’ercomes them is endued + With the best virtue, passive fortitude. + + _Cf._ _Roman Actor_, I., 1, 118; III., 1, 113; _Duke of Milan_, + III., 1, 73; and _Renegado_, I., 1, 79: + + All that I challenge + Is manly patience. + + _Cf._ _Sejanus_, quoted above, p. 115, n. 11. _Queen of Corinth_, + III, 2: + + EUPHANES. To shew the passive fortitude the best. + + And _Lover’s Progress_, IV., 4: + + ALCIDON. With all care put on + The surest armour, anvil’d in the shop + Of passive fortitude. + + This point is emphasized in Swinburne’s excellent sonnet on + Massinger. + + 438 IV., 2, 17-31, where Charalois declares, “I never was an enemy to ’t + [_i.e._, music], Beaumont,” and ends by saying: “I love it to the + worth of ’t and no further.” + + 439 I., 1. + +_ 440 Cf._ also V., 2, 130-37. + + 441 IV., 2, 1-14. + + 442 Massinger has some notable compound epithets from time to time; take + as examples, “pale-cheek’d stars” in _Parliament of Love_, IV., 2, + 61; “on black-sail’d wings of loose and base desires,” _Parliament + of Love_, V., 1, 215; “Such is my full-sail’d confidence in her + virtue,” _Picture_, II., 2, 318; “the brass-leaved book of fate,” + _Believe as You List_, I., 2, 136. + + “Your must and will + Shall in your full-sailed confidence deceive you,” + + _A Very Woman_, II., 2, 21. + + 443 We find not a few assonances and alliterations in Massinger, + generally contained in two words: _Emperor of the East_, I., 2, 16, + “gallows and galleys”; (_Cf. Renegado_, V., 2, 162, “the gallies or + the gallows,” and Webster’s _White Devil_, p. 11a); _Believe as You + List_, Prologue 14, “toss’d and turned”; _A New Way_, I., 1, 109, + “sue and send”; _Emperor of the East_, IV., 1, 37, “sway and swing” + (so in _Great Duke of Florence_, II., 2, 46); _Fatal Dowry_, IV., 1, + 193, “confessor and confounder”; _Old Law_, III., 2, 45, “die and + dye”; _ibid._, 157, “venues in Venice glasses”; IV., 1, 61, “Siren + and Hiren”; _City Madam_, I., 1, 36, “hole and hell”; V., 2, 77, + “lords or lowns”; _Guardian_, I., 1, 60, “house and home”; II., 2, + 23, “board and bed”; II., 5, 46, “fair and free”; III., 5, 76, “page + or porter”; _Picture_, IV., 1, 65, “horns and horror”; _Bondman_, + II., 1, 119, “hell and horror”; _Roman Actor_, I., 4, 63, “graced + and greased”; II., 1, 376, “carke and caring”; _Renegado_, III., 4, + 54, “toss and touse”; _Parliament of Love_, II., 1, 8, “tractable + and tactable”; _Duke of Milan_, III., 1, 199, “palm or privilege”; + III., 2, 46, “curvet or caper.” + +_ 444 Cf._ Johnson’s Preface to Shakspere (p. 19), “A quibble is to + Shakspere what luminous vapours are to the traveller; he follows it + at all adventures; it is sure to lead him out of his way, and sure + to engulf him in the mire.” The whole paragraph is worth reading. + +_ 445 A New Way_, I., 3, 22; II., 1, 31, etc. The repetition of Graccho’s + name in _Duke of Milan_, V., 1, is intentional and effective. _Cf._ + Kitely’s repetition of “Thomas” in _Every Man in His Humour_, III., + 2; “Sir Michael” in _1 Henry IV_, IV., 4, and “Sir Thomas” in _Henry + VIII_, V., 1. + + 446 Boyle (_N. S. S._, 371-372), severe as he is on Massinger’s + characters, both male and female, agrees with this verdict. He + traces the unjust depreciation of Massinger in part to Charles + Lamb’s “unfair judgment.” “The hard fate that accompanied the ’stage + poet’ through life has clung to him up to the present time, and in + spite of warm advocates, like Gifford and Cunningham, prevented him + from occupying his legitimate position as a dramatist immediately + after Shakspere.” + + 447 Preface, p. lvii. of Monck Mason’s edition. + + 448 For another explanation, see Appendix X. + + 449 Alinda, the heroine of Fletcher’s _Pilgrim_, is equally + indiscriminate in her bounty (Act I., 1, 2). We may compare J. + Taylor’s _Holy Living_, Sec. VIII., Alms: “Trust not your alms to + intermedial uncertain and under-dispensers.” + + 450 Where did he get her name from? A lady of the name is a subordinate + character in Hroswitha’s _Gallicanus_. The plays of Hroswitha have + obvious affinities with _The Virgin Martyr_, but I cannot trace any + other indications of borrowing. + + 451 Brander Matthews, as a fellow-countryman of Jay Gould and + Rockefeller, is well qualified to estimate Sir Giles Overreach; he + points out that he is an instance of what the French call, “l’homme + fort.” The part has been taken by many of our great actors, notably + Garrick, who revived it in 1745. _Cf._ W. Hazlitt’s _Dramatic + Essays_ for the performances of Kean and Kemble in 1816 (pp. 78-80, + 91-92, 97-100). The two great actors had a different conception of + Sir Giles; and Hazlitt is very severe upon Kemble. Kean was at Drury + Lane, Kemble at Covent Garden. + +_ 452 Cf._ II., 1, 81 and 88. + + 453 I., 1, 146. + + 454 III., 1, 72. + + 455 See the Dedication: “I ever held this the most perfect birth of my + Minerva.” It was printed in 1629. It is interesting to compare it + with _The Cardinal_, for which Shirley had a similar affection. + +_ 456 Cf._ Domitian’s speech in II., 1, 160-168; and that of Rusticus in + III., 2, 59-68. + + 457 As, for instance, Paris’ speech in I., 1, 21-26, and Stephanos’ + words in V., 1, 99-101. + + 458 I., 4, where the Imperial princesses push one another about in + seeking for a front place in the street as Domitian passes, is an + example of this fault. We have already referred to the difficulties + which are involved in the infliction of torture on the stage, as in + III., 2. Again, it is improbable that the actors should have been + waiting, as in IV., 1, outside the private gardens, ready to perform + the very play which suited Domitian’s purpose. We are also + disconcerted to find the ghosts in Act V., 1, stealing the bust of + Minerva. (_Cf._, however, Virgil _Æneid_, II., 294.) + + 459 Prologue 2, 7: + + In each part, + With his best of fancy, judgment, language, art, + Fashion’d and form’d so, as might well, and may + Deserve a welcome, and no vulgar way. + +_ 460 Cf._ IV., 1, 28, and IV., 5, 216. + + 461 I., 2. + + 462 The way in which the apple circulates reminds us of the Umbrana in + Beaumont’s amusing _Woman-Hater_. + + 463 The reference to an architect in IV., 2, 178, suggests that in the + first draft of the play Paulo had appeared in that character. + + 464 IV., 2. + + 465 III., 1. + + 466 III., 4. + + 467 IV., 3. + + 468 III., 2, 69. + + 469 IV., 1, 17. + + 470 IV., 3, 196; V., 3, 53. + + 471 V., 5, 42. + + 472 III., 1, 162. + + 473 V., 5. + + 474 II., 1, 35. + +_ 475 Cf._ _The Virgin Martyr_, I., 1, 405 and V., 2, 4. + + 476 Epilogue, line 9. + + 477 There is too much kneeling in this play; Hortensio kneels, I., 1, + 200; Matilda, III., 3, 60 and 123; Lorenzo, IV., 1, 167; Matilda + again, IV., 1, 184; Alonzo and Pisano, V., 1, 180; Matilda again, + V., 3, 101; the Ambassador, V., 3, 169. + +_ 478 I.e._, the “emphatic” double ending. _Cf._ II., 4, 21; II., 6, 51; + II., 7, 69: III., 1, 114; IV., 3, 81; IV, 3, 155. + +_ 479 N. S. S._, p. 393. + + 480 The disappointment which we feel at Camiola’s lot may be paralleled + by Bellario in _Philaster_. + +_ 481 The City Madam_ was printed in 1658. Perhaps this accounts for + Colley Gibber’s statement that Massinger died in 1659. The editor of + the play, Andrew Pennycuicke, “one of the actors,” being, as the + name would seem to imply, a canny Scot, dedicated the first edition + “to the truly noble John North Esquire,” and the second, _totidem + verbis_, “to the truly noble and virtuous Lady Anne, Countess of + Oxford.” I owe this fact to the kindness of Mr. P. Simpson. It is to + be noted that both editions read “out-conquered,” whereas Cunningham + has printed “not-conquered.” + + 482 Hilario is Massinger’s one attempt at the Shaksperian “fool”; but + what a contrast there is between Hilario and Touchstone or Feste! + + 483 Dekker’s word. + + 484 II., 1, 20. + + 485 Notice the skill with which Sforza, in I., 3, works up to his + unexpected and terrible request. + + 486 A clever passage is that where Francisco points out that nothing + succeeds like success (IV., 1, 16-36). + + 487 V., 2, 256. _Cf._ IV., 2, 75: + + Hold but thy nature, Duke, and be but rash, + And violent enough. + + _Cf._ also I., 2, 30; I., 3, 369; III., 3, 252. + + 488 I., 1, 111-125. + + 489 III., 3. + + 490 II., 1, 121. + + 491 Though Rowe behaved badly in concealing his theft from Massinger, + the critics have been unfair to his play. It is very instructive to + compare the simple structure of _The Fair Penitent_, written on + French lines, with the larger scheme and wealth of incident in _The + Fatal Dowry_. We are reminded of the contrast between an English and + a Dutch garden. After all, some people prefer their yew-trees cut + into cocks and hens, while others do not. I can imagine a being who + would prefer Gounod’s _Romeo and Juliet_ to Shakspere’s. In _The + Fair Penitent_, the law-court scene, the father’s funeral, and the + music-master disappear. We get the “gay Lothario” from this once + popular play. Mr. Phelan (p. 60) has properly pointed out that “for + Lothario we entertain a latent regard, for his elegant and gallant + bearing,” whereas Novall, junr., “is not calculated to gain love.” + In other words, while Massinger’s moral is superior, Rowe is more + true to life. _Cf._ some interesting remarks by Hazlitt (_Dramatic + Essays_, pp. 93-95) on Rowe’s play and Miss O’Neill as Calista. + +_ 492 Cf._ _Unnatural Combat_, III., 2, 144, and Fletcher, _passim_. + +_ 493 Cf._ I., 1, 203. + + 494 Novall never meant to marry Beaumelle. _Cf._ IV., 1, 100; V., 2, + 264. + + 495 For a discussion of the authorship of the play, see Appendix XI. + + 496 There is much in Act III. of _A King and No King_ which reminds us + of Malefort’s passion; but Massinger is a better moralist than the + authors of that brilliant play. + + 497 Beaufort senior’s words in III., 2, 32-41, should, however, be + carefully observed. + + 498 IV., 2, 87. _Cf._, however, Sir John Van Olden Barnavelt, III., 2. + +_ 499 E.g._, Charles’s speech about Cupid, V., 1, 33-60. + + 500 Act V. We must allow that Cleremond and Leonora are too long-winded. + + 501 We may conjecture that the missing part of Act I. contained (_a_) a + scene in which “three citizens” described the situation, and the + absence of the King; (_b_) a scene of love-making between Cleremond + and Leonora, containing the incident referred to in II., 2, 93-100; + (_c_) a scene in which Beaupré obtained Chamont’s protection, and + asked for an introduction to Bellisant (_cf._ V., 1, 470). Bellisant + may also have appeared before I., 4, as her denunciations of the + gallants are referred to in II., 1, 23. And Bellisant knows in III., + 3, 145, that Clarindore had “cast off” Beaupré. Clarindore is the + sort of man who might have boasted of this. + + 502 V., 1, 520. Massinger did not like people who cannot keep a secret. + _Cf._ _A Very Woman_, IV., 2, 142. + + 503 For a fuller discussion of this play and the MS., see Appendixes + VII. and VIII. + +_ 504 Poetics_, 1451_a_, 16, 1451_b_, 34. + + 505 Touches which remind one of Massinger occur, but they are few and + far between—_e.g._: + + I., 1, 30-70, reminds us of him here and there. (The same applies to + Cleanthes’ speech, I., 1, 323-345.) + + I., 1, 248: “personal opposition.” (_Cf._ _Believe as You List_, + IV., 2, 98.) + + I., 1,362: + + CLEANTHES. How do you fare, sir? + + LEONIDES. Cleanthes, never better. + + (In the _Henry VIII_ manner.) + + II., 1, 41-61: The first courtier’s speech. + + II., 2, 73-94: Lysander’s speech. + + IV., 2, 1-130: see especially lines 3, 41, 72, 109. + + V., 1, 54-82. + + V., 1, 119-132: Lysander’s speech. + + V., 1, 156-175. + + V., 1, 232-250: Cleanthes’ speech. (Notice the parenthesis in lines + 246-7.) + + The play is usually assigned to 1599, on the strength of the passage + where Gnotho gets the clerk to alter the Parish Chronicle (III., 1). + Gayley thinks the mention of 1599 “purely dramatic” (_R. E. C._, + III., p. lv). He says the style is not like that of Middleton in + 1599, and points out that Rowley was only fourteen years of age in + that year. “If Massinger had any share in the play, it was in + revision, after Middleton’s death in 1627.” Gayley dates the play + 1614-16. It must be pointed out, however, that it is not easy to + alter 40 to 39. The author could have chosen a date whose figures + were more easy to deal with. I therefore think the usually accepted + date is right, though it does not, of course, settle the question of + authorship. + + Massinger was fond of scenes in courts of justice, and it is highly + probable that he elaborated the details of Act V. + + 506 We find “horror” in IV., 2, 72 and 160; a certain number of the + alliterations referred to above (p. 121), I., 1, 66; II., 1, 210, + 265; II., 2, 119; V., 1, 546, 550, 605, 650; and words doubled (I., + 1, 67, 88, 206, 220, 268, 354, 389; II., 1, 154, 275; II., 2, 91; + III., 1, 304, 363). + +_ 507 Believe as You List_, IV., 1; _Love’s Triumph through Callipolis_; + Peele’s _Battle of Alcazar_. + + 508 Dodsley’s _Old Plays_, vol. x. (Hazlitt). + + 509 There is a good edition of _A New Way to pay Old Debts_ by K. + Deighton (G. Bell, 1893). Brander Matthews has also edited the play, + prefixing a valuable estimate of the poet. + + 510 V., 3, 148: + + O Philanax, as thy name + Interpreted speaks thee, thou hast ever been + A lover of the King. + +_ 511 Picture_, I., 1, 6. + + 512 III., 1, 7. _Cf._ Ben Jonson’s _Staple of News_, IV., 4 Pennyboy + junior: + + Thou appears’t + κατ᾽ ἐξοχήν, a canter. + + 513 III., 1, 102-3. + +_ 514 Emperor of the East_, II., 1, 278 and 294. + + 515 III., 4, 40. + + 516 σκάνδικά μοι δός, μητρόθεν δεδεγμένος. (l. 478). + + 517 II., 5, 96. + + 518 Telephus frag., 722: + + Σπάρταν ἔλαχες, κείνην κόσμει; + τὰς δὲ Μυκήνας ἡμεῖς ἰδίᾳ. + + 519 V., 1, 5. + + 520 ὡς γραφεύς τ᾽ ἀποσταθείς. + + 521 IV., 5, 61. + + 522 ἐπὶ δὲ καρδίαν ἔδραμε κροκοβαφὴς σταγών (l. 1121). + +_ 523 Cf._ _Shakspere’s England_, Vol. I., ix., “Scholarship,” by Sir J. + E. Sandys. + + 524 It may be noted that the end of _The Knight of Malta_ is modelled on + the last scene of the _Alcestis_. The play has been attributed in + part to Massinger, but the fact cited, though interesting, does not + prove acquaintance either on the part of Fletcher or Massinger with + Greek at first hand. + + 525 III., 1., 92-106. + + 526 IV., 2. + + 527 IV., 3. + + 528 II., 5. + + 529 I have not succeeded in finding the passage referred to. + + 530 I., 1, 47. (Chreocopia, in I., 1, 54, may be scanned with the accent + on the penultimate.) + + 531 I., 2, 21 and 29; III., 2, 110. Eudocia in _The Emperor of the East_ + is more doubtful. _Cf._ IV., 5, 83; V., 1, 122; V., 2, 105; V., 3, + 170. + + 532 Notice that in all these false quantities the stress is laid on the + syllable which bears the Greek accent; that is to say, the words are + scanned as a Byzantine Greek of the time would have pronounced them. + _Cf._ in Marlowe’s _Tamburlaine_, Pt. II., IV., 4: “As in the + theoria of the world.” A similar suggestion is anonymously made in + _The Times Literary Supplement_, March 20th, 1919, for another line + of Marlowe: “Our Pythagôras’ Metempsýchosis.” + + “Academy,” in _The Emperor of the East_, I., 1, 45, seems accented + on the last syllable. + +_ 533 Cf._ p. 19, n. 2. + + 534 Boyle’s ascription is in each case printed first; M. signifies the + portions of each play which he allots to Massinger. A. H. B. = Mr. + Bullen, A. H. C. = the writer. Macaulay’s views will be found in + _The Cambridge History of English Literature_, vol. vi., Appendix to + Chapter V. + +_ 535 R. E. C._, p. lxxxii. + +_ 536 R. E. C._, pp. lxxxiii-lxxxiv. + + 537 In particular G. Hill’s poem deserves attention. + + 538 I have read with interest and care E. H. C. Oliphant’s articles in + _Englische Studien_ (xiv., xv., xvi.). He finds more work of + Beaumont in the plays than other scholars. Though his knowledge of + the whole subject is great, his analysis seems to me too subtle; + thus in _The Fair Maid of the Inn_ we find, according to Mr. + Oliphant, scenes written by (1) Massinger, (2) Massinger and Rowley, + (3) Beaumont and Massinger, (4) Beaumont, Fletcher, and Massinger. + Fletcher’s part in the play is ultimately reduced to a few lines in + IV., 1! I cannot agree with him that Massinger wrote any of _The + Coxcomb_, _The Faithful Friends_, or _Love’s Pilgrimage_. In _The + Faithful Friends_ the metre is very careless, and the occasional + bursts of bombast are not like Massinger. There are touches of his + style in the play, which suggest that a pupil may have helped + Fletcher. _The Coxcomb_ and _Love’s Pilgrimage_ seem to me very + characteristic works of Beaumont and Fletcher. Mr. Oliphant has also + discovered (_Modern Language Review_, III., pp. 337-355) that + Massinger wrote a considerable portion of _The Tempest_ and + _Cymbeline_. It is not long since that we were reminded, in other + departments of art, of Lucas and Leonardo, of Ozias Humfrey and + Romney. The critical scent which Mr. Oliphant requires of his + readers postulates a super-dog careering through the literary + thickets of the English language. Let us rather read and enjoy our + composite plays, without meticulous analysis. + +_ 539 Cf._ _A Woman killed with Kindness_, III., 1: + + And in this ground, increased this molehill + Unto that mountain which my father left me. + + _The Maid in the Mill_, V., 2, Bustopha: + + Oh mountain, shalt thou call a molehill a scab upon the face of the + earth? + +_ 540 Cf._ _False One_, III., 1, 28: + + Let indirect and crooked counsels vanish. + + 541 Compare also _Eastward Ho!_ Act II.: GOLDING. Let me beseech you, + no, sir: the superfluity and cold meat left at their nuptials will + with bounty furnish ours.—Act III., 2: QUICKSILVER. Your father, and + some one more, stole to church with them in all the haste, that the + cold meat left at your wedding might serve to furnish their nuptial + table. + + 542 For this frequent effect in Homer _cf._ _Iliad_, I., lines 100, 103, + 132, 139, 144, 160, 184, 195, etc. In the _Agamemnon_ and + _Alcestis_, to take no other plays, note the following: _Agamemnon_ + 15, 1047, 1079, 1123; _Alcestis_, 154, 181, 203, 339, 347, 619. + + 543 The quadrisyllabic scansion of such a word as “remission” + (_Parliament of Love_, II., 2, 107) has not, in my opinion, any + metrical significance in Massinger. It is, indeed, very frequently + found, so frequently as to be no criterion of his style. I fancy + that it may be more often found in passages which he wrote against + time, or when his head was tired. + + 544 Page 59, n. 1. + + 545 The autograph and Herbert’s Imprimatur are reproduced in facsimile + in the Percy Society volume. But would Massinger have referred to + himself as _Mr._ Massenger [_sic_]? + +_ 546 Apology_, ii. 203. C. Cibber, in a list of dramatic authors, makes + reference to Massinger’s plays. He says: “Mr. Massinger, I believe, + was author of several other dramatic pieces: one I have seen in MS., + which I am assured was acted, by the proper quotations, etc. The + title runs thus: ‘Believe as you list, written by Mr. Massinger, + with the following licence: “This play, called ‘Believe as you + list,’ may be acted this 6th of May, 1631. Henry Herbert.” ’ ” + Malone (_Shakspere_, vol. iii., p. 230) gives the date (_i.e._, of + the actual performance as May 7th, 1631. + + 547 The references are as follows: II., 2, 368; III., 1, 20; IV., 3, + initial stage direction. + + 548 Beside the Henslow document there are to be seen at Dulwich College + four signatures of Massinger, in a beautiful clear hand; three of + these are attached to leases of Alleyn’s, and the fourth is added to + Daborne’s signature to the document mentioned by Cunningham in his + Preface (p. xii.). The poem “_Sero sed serio_” is to be found in + B.M. Royal MSS. XVIII., A. 20. The signature is identical with the + Dulwich signatures. The poem itself is in another hand, with many + flourishes. + + The only reason for supposing it to be the poet’s, besides his + poverty, is an erasure in line 14, which runs thus: + + then + Being,^silent then, + + which looks like a correction made by the author himself, _currente + calamo_. The hand of _The Second Maiden’s Tragedy_ does not resemble + that of _Believe as You List_. The hand of _Sir John Van Olden + Barnavelt_ is uniform throughout. It is neat and full of flourishes, + especially in the letter L. It is, of course, possible that + Massinger wrote this in 1619. The stage directions are in a bolder + hand and deep black ink. They are plainly part of the MS., and not + later insertions like those in _Believe as You List_. I incline to + think the writing is all due to an amanuensis. There is very little + correction in the play, except that several long passages are very + thoroughly scrawled out. + +_ 549 Cf._ Appendix VIII.: I., 1, 26; I., 2, 186; II., 1, 51; II., 2, + 217; II., 2, 368; III., 1, 20; IV., 3, stage direction. + +_ 550 Cf._ Appendix VIII.: I., 1, 60; I., 2, 67; I., 2, 72; II., 2, 52; + II., 2, 56; III., 3, 151; III., 3, 234; IV., 1, 7. + +_ 551 Cf._ Appendix VIII.: II., 2, 285; IV., 1, 5; IV., 3, 44. + +_ 552 Cf._ Appendix VIII.: II., 2, 98; II., 2, 240; III., 3, 166; IV., 4, + 45. + +_ 553 Cf._ p. 15, n. 1. + + 554 Koeppel (_Quellen-Studien_) traces the story to P. V. P. Cayet’s + _Chronologie Septenaire_, Paris, 1605. He does not seem to have + consulted _The Strangest Adventure_, a copy of which may be seen in + the British Museum. _The True History of the Late and Lamentable + Adventures of D. S._ (London, 1602) begins with the imprisonment at + Naples, and agrees with Cayet almost verbally until the latter part. + _The Continuation of the Lamentable Adventures_ (London, 1603) is + very dull, and contributes nothing except the advice of an old man + to Sebastian, which may have suggested the first scene of the play. + The two tracts are to be found in Harleian Miscellany (iv., 403; v., + 443). _Cf._ also Scott-Saintsbury’s _Dryden_, vii., p. 309, _n._ The + English pamphlets are based on the _Aventure Amirable_, published in + 1601. (_Cf._ Bullen’s _Peele_, i, 227.) Massinger must have used + Cayet for the incidents in the latter part of the play. + + 555 After Berecinthius says “His stature! speech!” in I., 2, 186. + + 556 I., 2, 187. + + 557 I., 2, 188. + + 558 I., 2, 189. + + 559 The “Austrian lip” is one of the features Mistress Carol ascribes to + Fairfield in Shirley’s _Hyde Park_ (III., 2). + + 560 I., 2, 186. + + 561 I., 1, 64. + + 562 I., 1, 135. + +_ 563 Shakespeare Society’s Papers_, vol. iv., art. xiv. + +_ 564 Shakespeare Society’s Papers_, p. 138. + + 565 Famous names. “Taylor acted Hamlet incomparably well.” Colley + Cibber’s _Apology_, 2, 142 + + 566 V., 2, 139. + + 567 See p. 180, n. 1, and _cf._ _The Alchemist_, IV., 1. + +_ 568 Cf._ _The Sea Voyage_, III. 1. + +_ 569 Cf._ 178, n. 6. + + 570 For repetition of a word _cf._ II., 3, 51; III., 2, 31; III., 3, + 105; IV., 5, 27, 45, 85, 98, 142. + + 571 The line would make better sense if it were emended thus: + + I’ll have no other penance _than_ to practise, + To find some means that he deserves thee best. + + 572 Mr. Bullen (vol. iv., App., p. 381) shows that the play was produced + in August, 1619, after some objections had been raised to it by the + Bishop of London. + +_ 573 Old Plays_, vol. ii., App. 2, contains much information from Boyle + about Massinger’s style. _Inter alia_, he says, “Fletcher as usual + spoiled Massinger’s fine conception of Barnavelt, and made him whine + like Buckingham in _Henry VIII_.” + + 574 It is also to be found in Dodsley’s _Old English Plays_, ed. W. C. + Hazlitt, 1875, vol. x. + + 575 The name Goffe is so carefully obliterated that it is uncertain; but + it is curious to note that Goffe and Massinger are in juxtaposition + in the passage of _Don Zara del Fogo_ referred to _supra_, p. 77 n. + 3. + +_ 576 Supra_, p. 74. + + 577 Mr. Phelan (pp. 48-49) argues that this play is really the lost play + by Massinger, entitled _The Tyrant_. Tieck translated the play as + being by Massinger. Mr. P. Simpson has pointed out to me that _The + Second Maiden’s Tragedy_ is entered on the Stationers’ Register for + September 9th, 1653, immediately after several of Massinger’s plays. + He justly observes that the juxtaposition is fortuitous. + + 578 Act IV., 4. + +_ 579 Cf._ Phelan, _op. cit._, p. 3. + + 580 Sir A. W. Ward (II., 5282) seems disposed to assign it to Shirley. + + 581 Compare this with the scene in Ford’s _’Tis Pity She’s a Whore_ + where Annabella gives the Friar a letter from an upper window. + + 582 Compare _A Trick_, I., 1: + + What trick is not an embryon at first? + + “Embryon” is a favourite word of Massinger’s. + + I., 1: WITGOOD. I shall go nigh to catch that old fox, mine Uncle; + though he make but some amends for my undoing, yet there’s some + comfort in’t, he cannot otherwise choose, though it be but in hope + to cozen me again, but supply any hasty want that I bring to town + with me. + + II., 1: LUCRE. There may be hope some of the widow’s lands too may + one day fall upon me if things be carried wisely. + + _A New Way_, IV., 1, 77: + + OVERREACH. ’Tis not alone + The Lady Allworth’s land, for these once Wellborn’s, + As by her dotage on him I know they will be, + Shall soon be mine. + + _A Trick_, I., 2: WITGOOD. Thou knowest I have a wealthy uncle, i’ + th’ city, somewhat the wealthier for my follies. + + _A Trick_, I., 3: HOARD. Thou that canst defeat thy own nephew, + Lucre, lay his lands into bonds, and take the extremity of thy + kindred’s forfeitures. + + _A New Way_, I., 1, 48: + + TAPWELL. Which your uncle, Sir Giles Overreach, observing + (Resolving not to lose a drop of them) + On foolish mortgages, statutes, and bonds, + For a while supplied your looseness, and then left you. + + II., 1, 81: + + OVERREACH. And ’tis my glory, though I come from the city, + To have their issue whom I have undone, + To kneel to mine as bondslaves. + + _A Trick_, II., 1: Lucre. You’ve a fault, nephew; you’re a stranger + here; well, heaven give you joy. + + _A New Way_, III., 2, 276: + + OVERREACH. My nephew! + He has been too long a stranger; faith you have! + Pray, let it be mended. + + _A Trick_, III., 1: I would forswear ... muscadine and eggs at + midnight. + + _A New Way_, IV., 2, 84: + + CREDITOR. Your worship broke me + With trusting you with muscadine and eggs. + + _A Trick_, IV., 4: Hoard’s anticipations of his future pomp may have + suggested the thoughts which Sir Giles entertains about his + daughter’s future estate when married to Lord Lovel. + + _Cf._ _A New Way_, IV., 3, 130-141. + + _A Trick_, IV., 5: + + SIR LAUNCELOT. I would entreat your worship’s device in a just and + honest cause, sir. + + DAMPIT. I meddle with no such matters. + + _A New Way_, II., 1, 23: + + OVERREACH. The other wisdom, + That does prescribe us a well-governed life, + And to do right to others, as ourselves, + I value not an atom. + + 583 Compare the way in which Massinger, in _The Great Duke of Florence_, + transfers to Italy _A Knacke to Know a Knave_. (Hazlitt’s _Dodsley_, + vi.) + + 584 Lines in another hand inserted in a space left blank at the top of + p. 555. + + 585 Marginal note in a third hand. + +_ 586 I.e._, precedents. + + 587 To take. + + 588 In the Malone copy in the Bodleian line 23 has disappeared, and at + the end of line 22 rather less of the letters is preserved than at + the beginning. + + 589 The misprint is in the original. + + 590 Add references in Letters, edited by C. Ainger, vol. i., pp. 23, 24, + 136, 154. + + + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PHILIP MASSINGER*** + + + +CREDITS + + +February 23, 2011 + + Project Gutenberg TEI edition 1 + Produced by Robert Cicconetti, David King, and the Online + Distributed Proofreading Team at <http://www.pgdp.net/>. 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