ENGLISH DRAMATIC LITERATURE

WARD

VOL. III.

A

HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY Gift of the

OVERSEERS COMMITTEE

to Visit the

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

Nov. 18,1920

First Edition, 1875. Second Edition, 1899.

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31

OXFORD: HORACE HART PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY

CONTENTS OF VOL. III

CHAPTER VIII.

THE END OF THE OLD DRAMA.

PHILIP MASSINGER (1583-1640) .

His life, 2: his difficulties, 3; Massinger and Fletcher, 4; his patrons,

6; his collision with the Licenser, 8; his relations with other

dramatists, 9; his death, 10.- His religious and political tone,

ib. His character as a literary man, 11.-His plays: Massinger

and Dekker's The Virgin Martyr, 12; Massinger's The Duke of

Milan, 14; The Unnatural Combat, 15; The Bondman, 16; The

Renegado, 17; The Parliament of Love, 18; The Maid of Honour,

19; A New Way to Pay Old Debts, 21; The Roman Actor, 24; The

Picture, 27; The Great Duke of Florence, 28; The Emperor of the

East, 29; Believe as You List, 31; The City Madam, 34; The

Guardian, 35; The Bashful Lover, 36.—Joint plays by Massinger

and Fletcher: Henry VIII and The Two Noble Kinsmen, 38;

Massinger and Fletcher's (?) A Very Woman, or The Prince of

Tarent, ib.-Joint plays by Massinger and other writers: Massinger

and Field's The Fatal Dowry, 39; Middleton, William Rowley, and

Massinger's (?) The Old Law, 41.- Massinger's characteristics: his

moral earnestness an element in his dramatic power, ib.; his themes,

and the principles illustrated by them, 42; his defectiveness in

characterisation, ib.; in humour, 43; and in pathos, 44; rhetorical

character of his genius, ib.; his diction, 45; Massinger and Shak-

spere, ib.; Massinger's versification, ib.; his constructive skill, 46;

his various and frequently happy choice of subjects, ib.

PAGE

1-47

47-51

His life, and celebrity as an actor, 47.-His plays: A Woman is

a Weathercock, 48; Amends for Ladies, 50.

His life, 51. Data of his career as a dramatist, 52.- His co-opera-
tion with other playwrights, ib.- His literary friends and patrons,
ib.-Joint and doubtful plays by Webster and others: Webster
and William Rowley's A Cure for a Cuckold, 54; Webster (?) and
William Rowley's (?) The Thracian Wonder, 55; Webster (?) and

Dekker's (?) The Weakest Goeth to the Wall, 55.- Plays by Webster

only: The White Devil, or Vittoria Corombona, 56; The Duchess of

Malfi, 59; The Devil's Law-Case, 61; Appius and Virginia, 62.-

Webster's chief characteristics as a dramatist: the intensity of his

imagination, and the elaborateness of his workmanship, in the

sphere of the Terrible, 63; his insight into human nature, ib.; his

humour, and poetic feeling, 64; Webster and Shakspere, ib.;

Webster deficient in characterisation, 65.

CYRIL TOURNEUR (fl. 1603-1613 c.)

PAGE

66-71

His early productions, 66. — His plays: The Atheist's Tragedy, 67;

The Revenger's Tragedy, 69.

JOHN FORD (1586–1640 c. or post)

71-89

His life and literary labours, 71.-Joint plays by Ford and other

dramatists: Ford, Dekker, and William Rowley's The Witch of

Edmonton, 74; other joint productions by Dekker and Ford, 75;

Ford and Webster's A Murder of a Son upon a Mother, 76.- Plays

written by Ford alone: The Lover's Melancholy, ib. ; 'Tis Pity She's

a Whore, 77; The Broken Heart, 79; Love's Sacrifice, 81; The

Fancies Chaste and Noble, 83; The Lady's Trial, ib.; Perkin

Warbeck, 84; lost plays, 86.—Ford's characteristics as a dramatist :

his want of comic power, ib.; exceptional merits of his single

historical drama, ib.; his versification and construction, 87; his

strength to be sought in the intensity of particular situations and

passages, ib.; contrasts of passion and sweetness, 88; his tragedy

fails to purify the emotions, ib.; his choice of themes at times as

unsound as his treatment of them, 89.

JAMES SHIRLEY (1596-1666)

-

-

89-125

His life, 89. His tragedies: The Maid's Revenge, 95; The Traitor,

ib.; Love's Cruelty, 97; The Duke's Mistress, ib.; The Politician, ib.;

The Cardinal, 98. — General character of Shirley's other plays, 99.

- Plays of an exceptional kind: St. Patrick for Ireland, ib.; Honoria

and Mammon, 101; A Contention for Honour and Riches, ib.; The

Arcadia, 102.-His comedies, ib.: Love-Tricks, 103; The Wedding,

b.; The Brothers, 104; The Witty Fair One, ib.; The Grateful

Servant, 105; Changes, or Love in a Maze, ib.; Hyde Park, 106;

Shirley (and Chapman)'s The Ball, 107; The Bird in a Cage, 108;

The Young Admiral, ib.; The Gamester, 109; The Example, 111;

The Opportunity, 112; Shirley's (and Fletcher's?) The Coronation,

ib.; The Lady of Pleasure, 114; The Constant Maid, or Love will

find out the Way, ib.; The Royal Master, 115; The Doubtful Heir,

116; The Gentleman of Venice, 117; The Imposture, ib.; The Sisters,

118; The Humorous Courtier, ib.; The Court Secret, 119.- Plays

attributed to Shirley, 120. —Shirley's characteristics as a dramatist,

ib. the originality of his plots, and their unity, 121; the variety

of his themes, 122; his debts to others not such as to interfere

with his independence as a dramatic poet, ib.; his numerous

:

passages of poetic and picturesque beauty, 123; his comic powers,

b.; his comedy differs from that of the post-Restoration period,

124; his morality likewise differs from that of his successors, ib.

Minor dramatists of this period

PAGE

125-164

RICHARD BROME (d. 1652-3), 125: his modesty and his self-

consciousness as a dramatist, 127; his comedies of manners, 128;

his romantic comedies and dramas of intrigue, 129; A Jovial Crew

and The Antipodes, 130; Brome a type of the skilful playwright

without original genius, ib. — THOmas Randolph (1605-1635), 131:

The Jealous Lovers, 133; The Muses' Looking-Glass, 134; Amyntas,

135; plays ascribed to Randolph on unsatisfactory evidence, 136.-

WILLIAM CARTWRIGHT (1611-1643), 137; his 'tragi-comedies':

The Royal Slave, 138; The Lady Errant, 139; The Siege, ib.; The

Ordinary, ib.-JASPER MAYNE (1604-1672), 140: The City-Match,

141; The Amorous War, ib.-THOMAS MAY (1595-1650): The

Heir, 142; The Old Couple, 143; his tragedies on classical subjects,

ib.; May's (?) Nero, ib.—SIR JOHN SUCKLING (1609–1641 or 1642):

The Goblins, 144; Aglaura, 145; The Sad One, ib.; Brennoralt,

146.-SHACKERLEY MARMION (1603–1639), ib.: Holland's Leaguer,

147; A Fine Companion, ib.; The Antiquary, ib.-SIR JOHN Denham

(1615-1688): The Sophy, 148.-WILLIAM HABINGTON (1605-1654),

149: The Queen of Arragon, 150.-HENRY GLAPTHORNE (temp.

Charles I), 151. His plays: Argalus and Parthenia, ib.; The

Ladies' Privilege, ib.; Albertus Wallenstein, 152. His comedies :

The Hollander, 153; Wit in a Constable, ib.; Glapthorne's (?) The

Lady Mother, 154. His fondness for poetic imagery, ib.; his

connexion with the Court party, ib.-Other dramatists of the first

two Stuart reigns: Robert Daborne (d. 1628), 155; Lewis Machin

and Gervase Markham (1568-c. 1637), ib.; Robert Tailor, 157;

Lodowick Barry, ib.; Henry Shirley, ib.; Robert Davenport, ib. ;

Thomas Goffe (1591-1629), 158; William Bowyer (?), 159; Lodo-

wick Carlell, 160; Thomas Rawlins, 161; William Heminge, ib.;

Nathaniel Richards, 162; Joseph Rutter, ib.; Lewis Sharpe, ib.;

Henry Killigrew, 163; Sir William Berkeley, ib.; Richard Love-

lace, 164.

Dramatists who wrote both before and after the Civil War and Common-

wealth periods

.

164-173

THOMAS KILLIGREW (1612-1683), 165.-SIR WILLIAM D'AVENANT

(1606-1668): his life, 166; his ideas on dramatic composition, 167;

character of his earlier plays, 169; Albovine, ib.; The Cruel Brother,

170; The Just Italian, ib.; The Platonic Lovers, ib.; The Wits, 171;

Love and Honour, 172; The Unfortunate Lovers, ib.; The Siege,

173; News from Plymouth, ib.; The Fair Favourite, ib.; The Dis-

tresses, ib.; his masques, ib.

J. Tomkis' (?) Lingua, 174.-B. Holyday's Technogamia, 176. —