48; and 77, 78, see p. 110); also lines 56, 57 might be compared with "A Midsummer Night's Dream," IV. i. 47, the figure "To be mine own attorney in this case” (1. 166) will be repeated half a dozen times in the plays of Shakespeare's first period; again, the line (192) “And natural graces that extinguish art" contains a thought which is repeated in one form or another perhaps more than a dozen times in Shakespeare's writings. Still, I attach little importance to parallel passages in this scene; yet from other thoughts and expressions that bear the mark of Shakespeare, I may select: To be a queen in bondage is more vile Or, if not by Shakespeare, such lines must be the work of Marlowe; but again, I lay no undue stress on the evidence of single lines. I must not give more space to this subject, yet I have but suggested what may be done; for I must add that these resemblances to other passages, especially in the earlier plays of Shakespeare, are to be met with elsewhere in this "First Part of Henry VI" (e.g., IV. v.), and sometimes in more convincing numbers. We will now examine the third passage—notably Sc. v., vi., and vii., Act IV. Here we have mostly couplets, not dramatically justified, but experimental, or, at the least, conventional; they recall an older style of tragic drama, and Shakespeare gives us another example in "Hamlet," where, however, they are introduced advisedly. The tragic couplets before us are not without merit; they are impressive, though not so characteristic as the other two passages. I see no reason why they should not be the work of Shakespeare-an experiment, I repeat. We have yet to consider the Joan of Arc scenes, especially V. iv.; here we are prejudiced not so much against the verse, as against the treatment of the fair maid of France, as we now know her; we hope the writer is not Shakespeare; we might hope it could be no writer at all. I will state some considerations for and against; Shakespeare, at any rate, has sanctioned the presence of this scene; that goes for a good deal; next, (1) many English characters meet with harsh treatment in these early chronicles and plays, and Joan was not English, but French; (2) more important still, she was regarded as a witch; (3) the sketch of Joan in this play, if not less repulsive than that of the chronicles, makes some attempt at justice (lines 36-53); (4) we may fairly say that the writer of the drama would be compelled either to omit the character altogether (which was impossible), or to bow before (a) the Chronicles, (b) popular belief and prejudice, (c) what was probably, at least in part, his own mistaken conviction. However, for the relief of any who may think Shakespeare's honour is threatened by this scene, I may add that if we place it under the microscope we find that only the lines above mentioned, 36-53, bear any distinct marks of Shakespeare's handling; again I will support my general statement: lines 52, 53, Whose maiden blood, thus rigorously effused, Will cry for vengeance at the gates of heaven, may be compared with "Richard II," I. i. 116-118: Whose blood, like sacrificing Abel's, cries Even from the tongueless caverns of the earth แ and in the same play "Heaven" will "rain hot vengeance" on offenders' heads. (For "Abel" see I Henry VI," I. iii. 40.) On the other hand, in the remainder of the scene we have a large proportion of words: "miser" (i.e.," wretch"), "bachelorship," "preciseness," "reflex" ("reflect"?), that are not elsewhere found in Shakespeare; also a number"Decrepit," "collop," "ratsbane," "a-field," "juggling," 66 "obstacle" (unless a perversion for "obstinate," in the manner of Mrs. Quickly), "Pyramus," " Astraea,” “Adonis' gardens," "homicides," "Machiavel" that are rarely found; but I lay no great stress on the evidence of vocabulary; Shakespeare often made experiments in vocables that were afterwards abandoned; and "misconceived" (1. 49, “misjudging one") is a single instance of the word. Yet I may note that these rare words (rare at least in Shakespeare), "practisants," "corrosive," "extirped," "expulsed," "periapts," "repugn," "disanimate" -occur chiefly in the Joan of Arc scenes, and are almost altogether absent from the scene of the Temple Garden and the quaint lament of the rhyming couplets. But again, for other signs of Shakespeare's work, whether original or of supervision, I have no space; yet I must conclude with the important reflection that we have no evidence to show when he made this or that revision or addition; for all we know to the contrary these corrections may be separated by intervals of several years; and this applies yet more forcibly to many others of the plays we now proceed to examine. (8) KING HENRY VI, PART II, 1592 Historical Particulars "The Second Part of Henry the Sixth," as it appears in the Folio of 1623, is based on a play which was entered in the Stationers' Register, 12th March, 1593, and was published in Quarto in the year 1594. This is "The First Part of the Contention betwixt the two famous Houses of Yorke and Lancaster, with the death of the Good Duke Humphrey And the Banishment and Death of the Duke of Suffolke, and the Tragicall End of the proud Cardinall of Winchester, with the notable Rebellion of Jacke Cade, and the Duke of Yorkes first Claime unto the Croune. Printed by Thomas Creede for Thomas Millington, 1594." This was reprinted in 1600, and in 1619 was published with Shakespeare's name. The Folio version differs greatly from "The First Part of the Contention"; among its more than 3,000 lines are some 520 lines of the older play, and about 840 altered lines; the remainder, about 1,700 lines, being new. The materials of these plays are again taken mainly from Hall and Holinshed, but other authorities were consulted. Occasionally, the facts of history are departed from, or distorted, or enlarged. We may add that the time of the play of "2 Henry VI" (on the stage) is fourteen days, with intervals representing about two years; an approximate date is 1592. Critical Remarks Glancing back at the former part of "Henry VI," and then again on this drama, we are astonished at the general advance it displays in both literary and dramatic craft; and we welcome the evident and abundant genius of Shakespeare. Next we examine "The First Part of the Contention," and we miss most of all the poetry of the Folio version; of this a very large proportion is absent; it is as though the transcriber of the former play skipped or stripped ornament; for example, where Warwick (III. ii. 160-178) describes the appearance of Duke Humphrey's corpse, the older play reduces the nineteen lines to eight, and further mutilates them: His fingers spred abroad as one that graspt for life, Yet was by strength surprisde; the least of these are probable. On the other hand, certain passages in "The First Part of the Contention" appear to have been re-written, enlarged, and improved; I should instance the speech of Eleanor in II. iv. 27, beginning in each version with the line: "Ah, Gloster, teach me to forget myself"; but the Folio, which makes it just twice as long, enriches it more over with gems from Greek tragedy. Thirdly, as we have seen (page 112), those minor improvements have been effected which testify to a comprehensive and careful revision of an original text. From all this we infer that the reviser of the Folio version may or may not have had by him a copy of "The Second Part of the Contention," but some older MS. of the play of which the latter was a piratical and a clumsy transcript. As to this original manuscript, besides the work and general authorship of Shakespeare, it almost certainly included contributions from Marlowe, and less certainly from Greene; and some would add Peele. Perhaps we may suppose that Marlowe and Greene had worked together at the earlier play; that Marlowe subsequently called in Shakespeare to assist him in revising it; and that ultimately Shakespeare re-wrote the piece as we find it in the Folio of 1623. This theory explains the bitterness of Greene's remarks on Shakespeare which are referred to in the next Section. Beyond this general admission of the possible collaboration or contribution on the part of other dramatists, I shall make little reference to the subject; for when we set aside all the passages that we may reasonably identify as Shakespeare's, there will not be very much left even for Marlowe. Resemblances of thought and diction, especially and of course to such early histories as "Richard III" and "Richard II," are abundant; they are still more abundant in the next play; but these I will avoid; I will now cite something quite different; it shall be the speech of Clifford (V. iii. 31-65); here is an example of Shakespeare's later, almost his best, tragic style-the style of Macbeth, for instance; indeed, I will depart from my usual cautious methods, and confine my remarks to a single line: "The silver livery of advised age; " I will not 1 There is none of this in "The First Part of the Contention." A good example of Marlowe's style will be found in "2 Henry VI," IV. i. |