PREFACE. ERTAIN periods in British history have been marked by the prevalence of particular forms of literature. The present age, for example, is characterized by the superabundance of prose fiction; this is the period of the novel. During the early half of last century, the most popular and common form of literature was the short essay, which appeared in shoals in such periodicals as the Spectator and Tatler. It is not difficult to account for the shower of pamphlets which deluged the period comprehended in the greater part of the reign of Charles I. and the time of the Commonwealth; while the latter half of the sixteenth, and the beginning of the seventeenth century, was emphatically the period of the drama, during which this form of imaginative literature held supreme and unexampled sway. It would be interesting to inquire into the causes which in each age determine the groove in which its popular literature will run; for although, as in the case of the pamphleteering period, these do not always lie on the surface, still no doubt a close scrutiny would prove that they are always clear and well defined, depending mainly upon the political, social, religious, and commercial state of the country at the time. Why the reigns of Elizabeth and James should have given birth to so many men of high and prolific genius, and why those men should spontaneously adopt the drama as the form of literature best adapted to afford an outlet for their wellingup thoughts and fancies, we have not the space, even if we had the requisite knowledge and insight, to attempt to discover. We believe it would be found that the drama was the channel most suited to receive the overflowings of the abundant intellectual energy of the age; although those who adopted it did not cut it out for themselves, but found it ready made to their hands. Indeed, it will be found that a great genius seldom, if ever, creates a new form of literature, into which to throw the products of his intellect; he generally adopts that which is already popular, and consecrates it to his purpose. During the reign of Elizabeth our country had got fairly over the turmoils and distractions of the Reformation; it had become 'a land of settled government;' it was a time of great commercial prosperity and of comparative peace; an era of unprecedented intellectual and religious freedom had dawned upon men; all the old beliefs had been shaken, and many of them dethroned. The forces which had been so vigorously at work to bring about all this were now unemployed; a new-born spirit of restless, inquisitive, vigorous mental activity was abroad, prying into all things, divine and human, and bound to take some tangible form. All the circumstances of the time being considered, we think no more suitable form could have been found than the drama, peculiarly the literature of action, of restless many-sided human life, by means of which to give utterance to the multitudinous and strange thoughts and fancies engendered of this restless, unrestrainable, abundant mental energy. Whatever may have been the causes at work, for about sixty years after 1570, hundreds of dramas, many of them of supreme excellence, laden with deep and striking thoughts as well as rich and exquisite fancies, were produced by a race of authors, of many of the greatest of whom almost all we know is their names; even the biography of the very greatest among them is little else than a series of unsatisfactory conjectures. These dramatists appear to have formed a class by themselves, mixing little with general society; but most of them leading a strange kind of wild'' Bohemian' existence, having no fixed abode, living mostly in taverns and other strange places, and forming themselves into clubs for drinking, smoking, 'quipping,' and contriving plays. Whether this was a consequence or a cause of their being tabooed from respectable society, we cannot say. What little we know of the lives of most of them is rather saddening: few of them lived long; most of them were penniless, and generally in debt to the managers; and many of them died from excessive indulgence in eating, drinking, and other gratifications. Nevertheless, they have left behind them much that men ought not 'willingly to let die.' Of the many hundred works produced by these old dramatists, comparatively few have reached our time, although those extant might still be counted by the hundred. Possibly we need not regret the loss, as only the most vigorous may have survived. It is needless for us to show here why those extant works of the Elizabethan dramatists are worthy of attention, and deserving of admiration; it is long since this has been allowed by all competent critics; and it is quite customary for all who pretend to any knowledge of English literature, to accord to them, as to other literary masterpieces, as a matter of course, the highest praise, although, we fear, many of those who talk thus do so without knowledge. However, few men perhaps are to be blamed for the want of a thorough acquaintance with the works of these dramatists, considering the many all-important matters demanding attention in the present, the great number of the dramas extant, and to men of moderate means, the comparatively great expense of even the cheapest editions. Many, too, would not care to read through the whole works of any one dramatist, and to most, such a task would be tiresome and profitless; and therefore to such, as well as to all who desire to know wherein the glory of these old writers consisted, it is hoped the present volume will prove acceptable. The editor, assisted by the criticisms of those writers most competent to judge, has endeavoured to select from the works of the greatest of the Elizabethan dramatists those which display the highest genius, are most characteristic of their authors, and are best fitted for general perusal. With regard to this last point, he has found that the best dramas are generally the freest from impurity, and in the following pages almost nothing has been thought necessary in the way of purgation. As any one who can spare a sixpence can purchase the works of Shakespeare, they have been excluded from the selection. To ensure correctness of text, the best editions-in the case of Ben Jonson, the original quartohave been used. Prefixed to each selection is a brief biography of the author, which, sad to say, is generally little more than a confession of inability to write a biography for lack of material. Where no good purpose was to be served by retaining the antiquated spelling, it has been modernized; and wherever it was thought necessary to the understanding of the text by an ordinary reader, notes have been appended at the foot of the page. The editor has avoided wasting space by indulging in the note critical, or by pointing out to the reader-what he is no doubt able enough to discover for himself the beauties of an author, and the feelings which it has been generally thought they are fitted to call forth. The notes are purely explanatory; and where the editor has been unable to throw light on a word or passage, he has seldom attempted a conjecture which might be misleading. Those notes which are not his own, the editor has always endeavoured to remember to acknowledge, although, no doubt, he has occasionally omitted to do so; and to the labours of the editors of the various excellent editions of the dramatists he has been indebted for much valuable assistance. It is hoped that these notes will be found conducive to the purpose which this volume is designed to serve, viz. to enable the general reader to form an intelligent acquaintance with, and appreciation of, the best works of our greatest dramatists. It has been thought appropriate to prefix a short Introduction, giving a brief account of the origin and early history of the British Drama; and as the book is meant mainly for general readers, the editor has deemed it not out of place to begin by describing what is generally allowed to be the origin of the Greek, the parent of the European Drama. The chief purpose of the Introduction, however, is to endeavour to discover the germs from which arose the early British Drama, and to trace its history down to the time when what is known as the 'legitimate dramaʼ had taken firm root in our literature, i.e. down to about the date of our first specimen from John Lilly. Of course, with the small space which could be allotted to this purpose, the editor has been compelled to restrict himself to a brief statement of facts; and many things have been necessarily omitted which are highly interesting in connection with our dramatic history, but which would have been out of place in a book of this kind. All the best and most recent authorities have been consulted to obtain material for the Introduction; but any one at all acquainted with the subject, knows that any writer on the early history of our Drama must be largely indebted to the invaluable work of Mr. J. P. Collier. In conclusion, both publisher and editor hope that, as a whole, this volume will be found adapted to the purpose for which it is intended. J. S. K. EDINBURGH, February 1870. |