A Life of William Shakespeare with portraits and facsimiles

This work is based on the article on Shakespeare which I contributed last year to the fifty-first volume of the 'Dictionary of National Biography.' But the changes and additions which the article has undergone during my revision of it for separate publication are so numerous as to give the book a title to be regarded as an independent venture. In its general aims, however, the present life of Shakespeare endeavours loyally to adhere to the principles that are inherent in the scheme of the 'Dictionary of National Biography.' I have endeavoured to set before my readers a plain and practical narrative of the great dramatist's personal history as concisely as the needs of clearness and completeness would permit. I have sought to provide students of Shakespeare with a full record of the duly attested facts and dates of their master's career. I have avoided merely aesthetic criticism. My estimates of the value of Shakespeare's plays and poems are intended solely to fulfil the obligation that lies on the biographer of indicating succinctly the character of the successive labours which were woven into the texture of his hero's life. AEsthetic studies of Shakespeare abound, and to increase their number is a work of supererogation. But Shakespearean literature, as far as it is known to me, still lacks a book that shall supply within a brief compass an exhaustive and well-arranged statement of the facts of Shakespeare's career, achievement, and reputation, that shall reduce conjecture to the smallest dimensions consistent with coherence, and shall give verifiable references to all the original sources of information. After studying Elizabethan literature, history, and bibliography for more than eighteen years, I believed that I might, without exposing myself to a charge of presumption, attempt something in the way of filling this gap, and that I might be able to supply, at least tentatively, a guide-book to Shakespeare's life and work that should be, within its limits, complete and trustworthy. How far my belief was justified the readers of this volume will decide.

I cannot promise my readers any startling revelations. But my researches have enabled me to remove some ambiguities which puzzled my predecessors, and to throw light on one or two topics that have hitherto obscured the course of Shakespeare's career. Particulars that have not been before incorporated in Shakespeare's biography will be found in my treatment of the following subjects: the conditions under which 'Love's Labour's Lost' and the 'Merchant of Venice' were written; the references in Shakespeare's plays to his native town and county; his father's applications to the Heralds' College for coat-armour; his relations with Ben Jonson and the boy actors in 1601; the favour extended to his work by James I and his Court; the circumstances which led to the publication of the First Folio, and the history of the dramatist's portraits. I have somewhat expanded the notices of Shakespeare's financial affairs which have already appeared in the article in the 'Dictionary of National Biography,' and a few new facts will be found in my revised estimate of the poet's pecuniary position.

In my treatment of the sonnets I have pursued what I believe to be an original line of investigation. The strictly autobiographical interpretation that critics have of late placed on these poems compelled me, as Shakespeare's biographer, to submit them to a very narrow scrutiny. My conclusion is adverse to the claim of the sonnets to rank as autobiographical documents, but I have felt bound, out of respect to writers from whose views I dissent, to give in detail the evidence on which I base my judgment. Matthew Arnold sagaciously laid down the maxim that 'the criticism which alone can much help us for the future is a criticism which regards Europe as being, for intellectual and artistic {vii} purposes, one great confederation, bound to a joint action and working to a common result.' It is criticism inspired by this liberalising principle that is especially applicable to the vast sonnet-literature which was produced by Shakespeare and his contemporaries. It is criticism of the type that Arnold recommended that can alone lead to any accurate and profitable conclusion respecting the intention of the vast sonnet-literature of the Elizabethan era. In accordance with Arnold's suggestion, I have studied Shakespeare's sonnets comparatively with those in vogue in England, France, and Italy at the time he wrote. I have endeavoured to learn the view that was taken of such literary endeavours by contemporary critics and readers throughout Europe. My researches have covered a very small portion of the wide field. But I have gone far enough, I think, to justify the conviction that Shakespeare's collection of sonnets has no reasonable title to be regarded as a personal or autobiographical narrative.

In the Appendix (Sections III. and IV.) I have supplied a memoir of Shakespeare's patron, the Earl of Southampton, and an account of the Earl's relations with the contemporary world of letters. Apart from Southampton's association with the sonnets, he promoted Shakespeare's welfare at an early stage of the dramatist's career, and I can quote the authority of Malone, who appended a sketch of Southampton's history to his biography of Shakespeare (in the 'Variorum' edition of 1821), for treating a knowledge of Southampton's life as essential to a full knowledge of Shakespeare's. I have also printed in the Appendix a detailed statement of the precise circumstances under which Shakespeare's sonnets were published by Thomas Thorpe in 1609 (Section V.), and a review of the facts that seem to me to confute the popular theory that Shakespeare was a friend and protege of William Herbert, third Earl of Pembroke, who has been put forward quite unwarrantably as the hero of the sonnets (Sections VI., VII., VIII.) {ix} I have also included in the Appendix (Sections IX. and X.) a survey of the voluminous sonnet-literature of the Elizabethan poets between 1591 and 1597, with which Shakespeare's sonnetteering efforts were very closely allied, as well as a bibliographical note on a corresponding feature of French and Italian literature between 1550 and 1600.

Since the publication of the article on Shakespeare in the 'Dictionary of National Biography,' I have received from correspondents many criticisms and suggestions which have enabled me to correct some errors. But a few of my correspondents have exhibited so ingenuous a faith in those forged documents relating to Shakespeare and forged references to his works, which were promulgated chiefly by John Payne Collier more than half a century ago, that I have attached a list of the misleading records to my chapter on 'The Sources of Biographical Information' in the Appendix (Section I.) I believe the list to be fuller than any to be met with elsewhere.

The six illustrations which appear in this volume have been chosen on grounds of practical utility rather than of artistic merit. My reasons for selecting as the frontispiece the newly discovered 'Droeshout' painting of Shakespeare (now in the Shakespeare Memorial Gallery at Stratford-on-Avon) can be gathered from the history of the painting and of its discovery which I give on pages 288-90. I have to thank Mr. Edgar Flower and the other members of the Council of the Shakespeare Memorial at Stratford for permission to reproduce the picture. The portrait of Southampton in early life is now at Welbeck Abbey, and the Duke of Portland not only permitted the portrait to be engraved for this volume, but lent me the negative from which the plate has been prepared. The Committee of the Garrick Club gave permission to photograph the interesting bust of Shakespeare in their possession, {x} but, owing to the fact that it is moulded in black terra-cotta no satisfactory negative could be obtained; the engraving I have used is from a photograph of a white plaster cast of the original bust, now in the Memorial Gallery at Stratford. The five autographs of Shakespeare's signature--all that exist of unquestioned authenticity--appear in the three remaining plates. The three signatures on the will have been photographed from the original document at Somerset House, by permission of Sir Francis Jenne, President of the Probate Court; the autograph on the deed of purchase by Shakespeare in 1613 of the house in Blackfriars has been photographed from the original document in the Guildhall Library, by permission of the Library Committee of the City of London; and the autograph on the deed of mortgage relating to the same property, also dated in 1613, has been photographed from the original document in the British Museum, by permission of the Trustees. Shakespeare's coat-of-arms and motto, which are stamped on the cover of this volume, are copied from the trickings in the margin of the draft-grants of arms now in the Heralds' College.

The Baroness Burdett-Coutts has kindly given me ample opportunities of examining the two peculiarly interesting and valuable copies of the First Folio {xi} in her possession. Mr. Richard Savage, of Stratford-on-Avon, the Secretary of the Birthplace Trustees, and Mr. W. Salt Brassington, the Librarian of the Shakespeare Memorial at Stratford, have courteously replied to the many inquiries that I have addressed to them verbally or by letter. Mr. Lionel Cust, the Director of the National Portrait Gallery, has helped me to estimate the authenticity of Shakespeare's portraits. I have also benefited, while the work has been passing through the press, by the valuable suggestions of my friends the Rev. H. C. Beeching and Mr. W. J. Craig, and I have to thank Mr. Thomas Seccombe for the zealous aid he has rendered me while correcting the final proofs.

October 12, 1898.

CONTENTS I--PARENTAGE AND BIRTH Distribution of the 1 name of Shakespeare The poet's ancestry 2 The poet's father 4 His settlement at 5 Stratford The poet's mother 6 1564, April The poet's birth and 8 baptism Alleged birthplace 8 II--CHILDHOOD, EDUCATION, AND MARRIAGE The father in 10 municipal office Brothers and sisters 11 The father's 12 financial difficulties 1571-7 Shakespeare's 13 education His classical 15 equipment Shakespeare's 16 knowledge of the Bible 1575 Queen Elizabeth at 17 Kenilworth 1577 Withdrawal from 18 school 1582, Dec. The poet's marriage 18 Richard Hathaway of 19 Shottery Anne Hathaway 19 Anne Hathaway's 19 cottage The bond against 20 impediments 1583, May Birth of the poet's 22 daughter Susanna Formal betrothal 23 probably dispensed with III--THE FAREWELL TO STRATFORD Early married life 25 Poaching at 27 Charlecote Unwarranted doubts of 28 the tradition Justice Shallow 29 1585 The flight from 29 Stratford IV--ON THE LONDON STAGE 1586 The journey to London 31 Richard Field, 32 Shakespeare townsman Theatrical employment 32 A playhouse servitor 32 The acting companies 34 The Lord 35 Chamberlain's company Shakespeare, a member 36 of the Lord Chamberlain's company The London theatres 36 Place of residence in 38 London Actors' provincial 39 tours Shakespeare's alleged 40 travels In Scotland 41 In Italy 42 Shakespeare's roles 43 His alleged scorn of 45 an actor's calling V--EARLY DRAMATIC WORK The period of his 46 dramatic work, 1591-1611 His borrowed plots 47 The revision of plays 47 Chronology of the 48 plays Metrical tests 49 1591 Love's Labour's 50 Lost 1591 Two Gentlemen of 52 Verona 1592 Comedy of Errors 53 1592 Romeo and Juliet 55 1592, March Henry VI 56 1592, Sept. Greene's attack on 57 Shakespeare Chettle's apology 58 Divided authorship of 59 Henry VI Shakespeare's 60 coadjutors Shakespeare's 61 assimilative power Lyly's influence in 61 comedy Marlowe's influence 63 in tragedy 1593 Richard III 63 1593 Richard II 64 Shakespeare's 64 acknowledgments to Marlowe 1593 Titus Andronicus 65 1594, August The Merchant of 66 Venice Shylock and Roderigo 68 Lopez 1594 King John 69 1594, Dec. Comedy of Errors in 70 Gray's Inn Hall Early plays 71 doubtfully assigned to Shakespeare Arden of Feversham 71 (1592) Edward III 72 Mucedorus 72 Faire Em (1592) 73 VI--THE FIRST APPEAL TO THE READING PUBLIC 1593, April Publication of Venus 74 and Adonis 1594, May Publication of 76 Lucrece Enthusiastic 78 reception of the poems Shakespeare and 79 Spenser Patrons at Court 81 VII--THE SONNETS AND THEIR LITERARY HISTORY The vogue of the 83 Elizabethan sonnet Shakespeare's first 84 experiments 1594 Majority of his 85 Shakespeare's composed Their literary value 87 Circulation in 88 manuscript Their piratical 89 publication in 1609 A Lover's Complaint 91 Thomas Thorpe and 91 'Mr. W. H.' The form of 95 Shakespeare's sonnets Their want of 96 continuity The two 'groups' 96 Main topics of the 98 first 'group' Main topics of the 99 second 'group' The order of the 100 sonnets in the edition of 1640 Lack of genuine 100 sentiment in Elizabethan sonnets Their dependence on 101 French and Italian models Sonnetteers' 105 admissions of insincerity Contemporary censure 106 of sonnetteers' false sentiment Shakespeare's 108 scornful allusions to sonnets in his plays VIII--THE BORROWED CONCEITS OF THE SONNETS Slender 109 autobiographical element in Shakespeare's sonnets The imitative element 109 Shakespeare's claims 113 of immortality for his sonnets a borrowed conceit Conceits in sonnets 117 addressed to a woman The praise of 118 'blackness' The sonnets of 120 vituperation Gabriel Harvey's 121 Amorous Odious sonnet Jodelle's Contr' 122 Amours IX--THE PATRONAGE OF THE EARL OF SOUTHAMPTON Biographic fact in 125 the 'dedicatory' sonnets The Earl of 126 Southampton the poet's sole patron Rivals in 130 Southampton's favour Shakespeare's fear of 132 another poet Barnabe Barnes 133 probably the chief rival Other theories as to 134 the chief rival's identity Sonnets of friendship 136 Extravagances of 138 literary compliment Patrons habitually 139 addressed in affectionate terms Direct references to 142 Southampton in the sonnets of friendship His youthfulness 143 The evidence of 144 portraits Sonnet cvii. the last 147 of the series Allusions to Queen 147 Elizabeth's death Allusions to 149 Southampton's release from prison X--THE SUPPOSED STORY OF INTRIGUE IN THE SONNETS Sonnets of melancholy 151 and self-reproach The youth's relations 153 with the poet's mistress Willobie his Avisa 155 (1594) Summary of 158 conclusions respecting the sonnets XI--THE DEVELOPMENT OF DRAMATIC POWER 1594-95 Midsummer Night's 161 Dream 1595 All's Well that Ends 162 Well 1595 The Taming of The 163 Shrew Stratford allusions 164 in the Induction Wincot 165 1597 Henry IV 167 Falstaff 199 1597 The Merry Wives of 171 Windsor 1598 Henry V 173 Essex and the 174 rebellion of 1601 Shakespeare's 176 popularity and influence Shakespeare's 176 friendship with Ben Jonson The Mermaid meetings 177 1598 Meres's eulogy 178 Value of his name to 179 publishers 1599 The Passionate 182 Pilgrim 1601 The Phoenix and the 183 Turtle XII--THE PRACTICAL AFFAIRS OF LIFE Shakespeare's 185 practical temperament His father's 186 difficulties His wife's debt 187 1596-9 The coat of arms 188 1597, May 4. The purchase of New 193 Place 1598 Fellow-townsmen 195 appear to Shakespeare for aid Shakespeare's 196 financial position before 1599 Shakespeare's 200 financial position after 1599 His later income 202 Incomes of fellow 203 actors 1601-1610 Shakespeare's 204 formation of his estate at Stratford 1605 The Stratford tithes 205 1600-1609 Recovery of small 206 debts XIII--MATURITY OF GENIUS Literary work in 1599 207 1599 Much Ado about 208 Nothing 1599 As You Like It 209 1600 Twelfth Night 209 1601 Julius Caesar 211 The strife between 213 adult actors and boy actors Shakespeare's 216 references to the struggle 1601 Ben Jonson's 217 Poetaster Shakespeare's alleged 219 partisanship in the theatrical warfare 1602 Hamlet 221 The problem of its 222 publication The First Quarto, 222 1603 The Second Quarto, 223 1604 The Folio version, 223 1623 Popularity of 224 Hamlet 1603 Troilus and 225 Cressida Treatment of the 227 theme 1603, March 26 Queen Elizabeth's 229 death James I's patronage 230 XIV--THE HIGHEST THEMES OF TRAGEDY 1604, Nov. Othello 235 1604, Dec. Measure for Measure 237 1606 Macbeth 239 1607 King Lear 241 1608 Timon of Athens 242 1608 Pericles 243 1608 Antony and 245 Cleopatra 1609 Coriolanus 247 XV--THE LATEST PLAYS The placid temper of 248 the latest plays 1610 Cymbeline 249 1611 A Winter's Tale 251 1611 The Tempest 252 Fanciful 256 interpretations of The Tempest Unfinished plays 258 The lost play of 258 Cardenio The Two Noble 259 Kinsmen Henry VIII 261 The burning of the 262 Globe Theatre XVI--THE CLOSE OF LIFE Plays at Court in 264 1613 Actor-friends 264 1611 Final settlement at 266 Stratford Domestic affairs 266 1613, March Purchase of a house 267 in Blackfriars 1614, Oct. Attempt to enclose 269 the Stratford common fields 1616, April 23rd. Shakespeare's death 272 1616, April 25th. Shakespeare's burial 272 The will 273 Shakespeare's bequest 273 to his wife Shakespeare's heiress 275 Legacies to friends 276 The tomb in Stratford 276 Church Shakespeare's 277 personal character XVII--SURVIVORS AND DESCENDANTS Mrs. Judith Quiney, 280 (1585-1662) Mrs. Susanna Hall 281 (1583-1649) The last descendant 282 Shakespeare's 283 brothers, Edmund, Richard, and Gilbert XVIII--AUTOGRAPHS, PORTRAITS, AND MEMORIALS Spelling of the 284 poet's name Autograph signatures 284 Shakespeare's 286 portraits The Stratford bust 286 The 'Stratford 287 portrait' Droeshout's engraving 287 The 'Droeshout' 288 painting Later portraits 291 The Chandos portrait 292 The 'Jansen' portrait 294 The 'Felton' portrait 294 The 'Soest' portrait 294 Miniatures 295 The Garrick Club bust 295 Alleged death-mask 296 Memorials in 297 sculpture Memorials at 297 Stratford XIX--BIBLIOGRAPHY Quartos of the poems 299 in the poet's lifetime Posthumous quartos of 300 the poems The 'Poems' of 1640 300 Quartos of the plays 300 in the poet's lifetime Posthumous quartos of 300 the plays 1623 The First Folio 303 The publishing 303 syndicate The prefatory matter 306 The value of the text 307 The order of the 307 plays The typography 308 Unique copies 308 The Sheldon copy 309 Estimated number of 310 extant copies Reprints of the First 311 Folio 1632 The Second Folio 312 1663-4 The Third Folio 312 1685 The Fourth Folio 313 Eighteenth-century 313 editions Nicholas Rowe 314 (1674-1718) Alexander Pope 315 (1688-1744) Lewis Theobald 317 (1688-1744) Sir Thomas Hanmer 317 (1677-1746) Bishop Warburton 318 (1698-1779) Dr. Johnson 319 (1709-1783) Edward Capell 319 (1713-1781) George Steevens 320 (1736-1800) Edmund Malone 322 (1741-1812) Variorum editions 322 Nineteenth-century 323 editors Alexander Dyce 323 (1798-1869) Howard Staunton 324 (1810-1874) Nikolaus Delius 324 (1813-1888) The Cambridge edition 324 (1863-6) Other 324 nineteenth-century editions XX--POSTHUMOUS REPUTATION Views of 326 Shakespeare's contemporaries Ben Jonson tribute 327 English opinion 329 between 1660 and 1702 Dryden's view 330 Restoration 331 adaptations English opinion from 332 1702 onwards Stratford festivals 334 Shakespeare on the 334 English stage The first appearance 334 of actresses in Shakespearean parts David Garrick 336 (1717-1779) John Philip Kemble 337 (1757-1823) Mrs. Sarah Siddons 337 (1755-1831) Edmund Kean 338 (1787-1833) William Charles 339 Macready (1793-1873) Recent revivals 339 Shakespeare in 340 English music and art Boydell's Shakespeare 341 Gallery Shakespeare in 341 America Translations 342 Shakespeare in 342 Germany German translations 343 Modern German critics 345 Shakespeare on the 345 German stage Shakespeare in France 347 Voltaire's strictures 348 French critics' 349 gradual emancipation from Voltairean influence Shakespeare on the 350 French stage Shakespeare in Italy 352 In Holland 354 In Russia 353 In Poland 353 In Hungary 353 In other countries 354 XXI--GENERAL ESTIMATES General estimate 355 Shakespeare's defects 355 Character of 356 Shakespeare's achievement Its universal 357 recognition APPENDIX I--THE SOURCES OF BIOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGE Contemporary records 361 abundant First efforts in 361 biography Biographers of the 362 nineteenth century Stratford topography 363 Specialised studies 363 in biography Epitomes 364 Aids to study of 364 plots and text Concordances 364 Bibliographies 365 Critical studies 365 Shakespearean 365 forgeries John Jordan 366 (1746-1809) The Ireland forgeries 366 (1796) List of forgeries 367 promulgated by Collier and others (1835-1849) II--THE BACON-SHAKESPEARE CONTROVERSY Its source 370 Toby Matthew's letter 371 of 1621 Chief exponents of 371 the theory Its vogue in America 372 Extent of the 372 literature Absurdity of the 373 theory III--THE YOUTHFUL CAREER OF THE EARL OF SOUTHAMPTON Shakespeare and 374 Southampton Southampton's 374 parentage 1573, Oct. 6 Southampton's birth 375 His education 375 Recognition of 377 Southampton's beauty in youth His reluctance to 378 marry Intrigue with 379 Elizabeth Vernon 1598 Southampton's 379 marriage 1601-3 Southampton's 380 imprisonment Later career 380 1624, Nov. 10 His death 381 IV--THE EARL OF SOUTHAMPTON AS A LITERARY PATRON Southampton's 382 collection of books References in his 382 letters to poems and plays His love of the 383 theatre Poetic adulation 384 1593 Barnabe Barnes's 384 sonnet Tom Nash's addresses 385 1595 Gervase Markham's 387 sonnet 1598 Florio's address 387 The congratulations 387 of the poets in 1603 Elegies on 389 Southampton V--THE TRUE HISTORY OF THOMAS THORPE AND 'MR. W. H.' The publication of 390 the 'Sonnets' in 1609 The text of the 391 dedication Publishers' 392 dedications Thorpe's early life 393 His ownership of the 393 manuscript of Marlowe's Lucan His dedicatory 394 address to Edward Blount in 1600 Character of his 395 business Shakespeare's 396 sufferings at publishers hands The use of initials 397 in dedications of Elizabethan and Jacobean books Frequency of wishes 398 for 'happiness' and 'eternity' in dedicatory greetings Five dedications by 399 Thorpe 'W. H.' signs 400 dedication of Southwell's 'Poems' 'W. H.' and Mr. 402 William Hall The 'onlie begetter' 403 means 'only procurer' VI--'MR. WILLIAM HERBERT' Origin of the notion 406 that 'Mr. W. H.' stands for William Herbert The Earl of Pembroke 407 known only as Lord Herbert in youth Thorpe's mode of 408 addressing the Earl of Pembroke VII--SHAKESPEARE AND THE EARL OF PEMBROKE Shakespeare with the 411 acting company at Wilton in 1603 The dedication of the 412 First Folio in 1623 No suggestion in the 413 sonnets of the youth's identity with Pembroke Aubrey's ignorance of 414 any relation between Shakespeare and Pembroke VIII--THE 'WILL' SONNETS Elizabethan meanings 416 of 'will' Shakespeare's uses of 417 the word Shakespeare's puns on 418 the word Arbitrary and 419 irregular use of italics by Elizabethan and Jacobean printers The conceits of 420 Sonnets cxxxv.-vi. interpreted Sonnet cxxxv 421 Sonnet cxxxvi 422 Sonnet cxxxiv 425 Sonnet cxliii 426 IX--THE VOGUE OF THE ELIZABETHAN SONNET, 1591-1597 1557 Wyatt's and Surrey's 427 Sonnets published 1582 Watson's Centurie of 428 Love 1591 Sidney's Astrophel 428 and Stella I. Collected sonnets of 429 feigned love 1592 Daniel's Delia 430 Fame of Daniel's 431 sonnets 1592 Constable's Diana 431 1593 Barnabe Barne's 432 sonnets 1593 Watson's Tears of 433 Fancie 1593 Giles Fletcher's 433 Licia 1593 Lodge's Phillis 433 1594 Drayton's Idea 434 1594 Percy's Coelia 435 1594 Zepheria 435 1595 Barnfield's sonnets 435 to Ganymede 1595 Spenser's Amoretti 435 1595 Emaricdulfe 436 1595 Sir John Davies's 436 Gullinge Sonnets 1596 Linche's Diella 437 1596 Griffin Fidessa 437 1596 Thomas Campion's 437 sonnets 1596 William Smith's 437 Chloris 1597 Robert Tofte's 438 Laura Sir William 438 Alexander's Aurora Sir Fulke Greville's 438 Coelica Estimate of number of 439 love-sonnets issued between 1591 and 1597 II. Sonnets to patrons, 440 1591-1597 III. Sonnets on philosophy 440 and religion X--BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE ON THE SONNET IN FRANCE, 1550-1600 Ronsard (1524-1585) 442 and 'La Pleiade' The Italian 442_n_. sonnetteers of the sixteenth century Philippe Desportes 443 (1546-1606) Chief collections of 444 French sonnets published between 1550 and 1584 Minor collections of 444 French sonnets published between 1553 and 1605 INDEX 447