Henry Chettle
Encyclopedia
Henry Chettle was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer of the Elizabethan era
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...

.

The son of Robert Chettle, a London dyer, he was apprenticed in 1577 and became a member of the Stationer's Company
Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers
The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was founded in 1403; it received a Royal Charter in 1557...

 in 1584, traveling to Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...

 on their behalf in 1588. His career as a printer and author is shadowy. He may have set up some of the tracts printed in response to Martin Marprelate
Martin Marprelate
Martin Marprelate was the name used by the anonymous author or authors of the seven Marprelate tracts which circulated illegally in England in the years 1588 and 1589...

. In 1591, he entered into partnership with William Hoskins and John Danter, two stationers. They published a good many ballads, and some plays, including a surreptitious and botched first quarto
Quarto
Quarto could refer to:* Quarto, a size or format of a book in which four leaves of a book are created from a standard size sheet of paper* For specific information about quarto texts of William Shakespeare's works, see:...

 of Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...

, to which it is suggested Chettle added lines and stage directions.

In 1592 Greene's Groats-Worth of Wit
Greene's Groats-Worth of Wit
Greenes, Groats-worth of Witte, bought with a million of Repentance is a tract published as the work of the recently deceased playwright Robert Greene...

, supposedly the work of the recently deceased, and very popular, Robert Greene
Robert Greene (16th century)
Robert Greene was an English author best known for a posthumous pamphlet attributed to him, Greene's Groats-Worth of Wit, widely believed to contain a polemic attack on William Shakespeare. He was born in Norwich and attended Cambridge University, receiving a B.A. in 1580, and an M.A...

, was published, having been entered in the register of the Stationer's Company "at the peril of Henry Chettle". This offended at least two contemporary writers, who were probably Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...

 and William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

, causing Chettle to deny the charge in the preface to his Kind Heart's Dream, published later that year:

About three months since died M. Robert Greene, leaving many papers in sundry booksellers' hands, among other his Groatsworth of Wit, in which a letter written to divers play-makers is offensively by one or two of them taken, and because on the dead they cannot be avenged, they willfully forge in their conceits a living author [...] With neither of them that take offence was I acquainted, and with one of them I care not if I never be. The other, whom at that time I did not so much spare as since I wish I had, for that, as I have moderated the heat of living writers and might have used my own discretion (especially in such a case, the author being dead), that I did not I am as sorry as if the original fault had been my fault, because myself have seen his demeanor no less civil than he excellent in the quality he professes. Besides, the diver of worship have reported his uprightness of dealing, which argues his honesty, and his facetious grace in writing that approves his art.


Chettle was widely suspected of having been the author of the original attack. The general tenor of his work with Hoskins and Danter also suggests the plausibility of such a deceit.

He seems to have been generally in debt, judging from numerous entries in Philip Henslowe
Philip Henslowe
Philip Henslowe was an Elizabethan theatrical entrepreneur and impresario. Henslowe's modern reputation rests on the survival of his diary, a primary source for information about the theatrical world of Renaissance London...

's diary of advances for various purposes, on one occasion (January 17, 1599) to pay his expenses in the Marshalsea
Marshalsea
The Marshalsea was a prison on the south bank of the River Thames in Southwark, now part of London. From the 14th century until it closed in 1842, it housed men under court martial for crimes at sea, including those accused of "unnatural crimes", political figures and intellectuals accused of...

 prison, on another (March 7, 1603) to get his play out of pawn. He made a greater number of small borrowings from Henslowe than any other person. These and Henslowe’s casual records of them suggest some friendship between them, though in 1602 Chettle seems to have been writing for both Worcester's Company and the Admiral's, despite signing a bond to write exclusively for the latter.

As early as 1598 Francis Meres
Francis Meres
Francis Meres was an English churchman and author.He was born at Kirton in the Holland division of Lincolnshire in 1565. He was educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he received a B.A. in 1587 and an M.A. in 1591. Two years later he was incorporated an M.A. of Oxford...

 includes Chettle in his Palladis Tamia as one of the "best for comedy", and Henslowe lists payments to him for thirty-six plays between 1598 and 1603, and he may have been involved in as many as fifty plays, although only a dozen seem to be his alone. Chettle had regular association with Henry Porter, Thomas Dekker, and after 1600 with John Day
John Day (dramatist)
John Day was an English dramatist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods.-Life:He was born at Cawston, Norfolk, and educated at Ely. He became a sizar of Caius College, Cambridge, in 1592, but was expelled in the next year for stealing a book...

. Of the thirteen plays usually attributed to Chettle's sole authorship only one was printed. This was The Tragedy of Hoffmann: or a Revenge for a Father (played 1602; printed 1631). It has been suggested that this piece was put forward as a rival to Shakespeare's Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

. There is also evidence that Chettle contributed to the play Sir Thomas More
Sir Thomas More (play)
Sir Thomas More is a collaborative Elizabethan play by Anthony Munday and others depicting the life and death of Thomas More. It survives only in a single manuscript, now owned by the British Library...

 (c. 1592–1593), which is famous for containing a scene which many scholars believe to be authored by Shakespeare.

Chettle's non-dramatic writings include (besides Kind Heart's Dream) Piers Plainnes Seaven Yeres Prentiship (1595), the story of a fictitious apprenticeship in Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

 and Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...

, and England's Mourning Garment (1603), in which are included some verses alluding to the chief poets of the time.

He died before 1607, when Dekker in his Knight's Conjurer described him joining the poets in Elysium
Elysium
Elysium is a conception of the afterlife that evolved over time and was maintained by certain Greek religious and philosophical sects, and cults. Initially separate from Hades, admission was initially reserved for mortals related to the gods and other heroes...

: “in comes Chettle sweating and blowing by reason of his fatness”.

List of plays

  1. The Valiant Welchman, by Michael Drayton
    Michael Drayton
    Michael Drayton was an English poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era.-Early life:He was born at Hartshill, near Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. Almost nothing is known about his early life, beyond the fact that in 1580 he was in the service of Thomas Goodere of Collingham,...

     and Henry Chettle, February 1597-8. Printed in 1615.
  2. Earl Goodwin and his Three Sons, Part I, by Michael Drayton
    Michael Drayton
    Michael Drayton was an English poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era.-Early life:He was born at Hartshill, near Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. Almost nothing is known about his early life, beyond the fact that in 1580 he was in the service of Thomas Goodere of Collingham,...

    , Henry Chettle, Thomas Dekker, and Robert Wilson
    Robert Wilson (dramatist)
    Robert Wilson , was an Elizabethan dramatist who worked primarily in the 1580s and 1590s. He is also believed to have been an actor who specialized in clown roles....

    , March 1598. Not printed.
  3. Earl Goodwin, Part II, by the same authors, and under the same date in Henslowe's papers. Not printed.
  4. Piers of Exton, by the same authors, same date. Not printed.
  5. Black Batman of the North, Part I, by Henry Chettle, April 1598. Not printed.
  6. Black Batman of the North, Part II, by Henry Chettle and Robert Wilson
    Robert Wilson (dramatist)
    Robert Wilson , was an Elizabethan dramatist who worked primarily in the 1580s and 1590s. He is also believed to have been an actor who specialized in clown roles....

    . Same date. Not printed. It is mentioned in Henslowe's diary in April 1598. No extant copies of the play are known.
  7. The Play of a Woman, by Henry Chettle, July 1598. Not printed.
  8. The Conquest of Brute with the first finding of the Bath, by John Day, Henry Chettle, and John Singer. Same date. Not printed.
  9. Hot Anger Soon Cold
    Hot Anger Soon Cold
    Hot Anger Soon Cold is a play written by Henry Chettle, Henry Porter and Ben Jonson. It is mentioned in Philip Henslowe's diary in August 1598. No extant copies of the play are known....

    , by Henry Porter, Henry Chettle, and Ben Jonson
    Ben Jonson
    Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...

    , August 1598. Not printed.
  10. Catiline's Conspiracy, by Robert Wilson
    Robert Wilson (dramatist)
    Robert Wilson , was an Elizabethan dramatist who worked primarily in the 1580s and 1590s. He is also believed to have been an actor who specialized in clown roles....

     and Henry Chettle. Same Date. Not printed.
  11. Tis no Deceit to Deceive the Deceiver, by Henry Chettle, September 1598. Not printed.
  12. Aeneas' Revenge, with the Tragedy of Polyphemus, by Henry Chettle, February 1598-9. Not printed.
  13. Agamemnon
    Agamemnon
    In Greek mythology, Agamemnon was the son of King Atreus and Queen Aerope of Mycenae, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra, and the father of Electra and Orestes. Mythical legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area...

    , by Henry Chettle and Thomas Dekker, June 1599. Not printed. Malone thought that this was the same play as "Troilus and Cressida" before mentioned.
  14. The Stepmother's Tragedy
    The Stepmother's Tragedy
    The Stepmother's Tragedy is a play written by Henry Chettle and Thomas Dekker. It is mentioned in Philip Henslowe's diary in August 1599. No extant copies of the play are known....

    , by Henry Chettle, August 1599. Not printed.
  15. Patient Grissel, by Thomas Dekker, Henry Chettle, and William Haughton
    William Haughton
    William Haughton was an English playwright in the age of English Renaissance theatre. During the years 1597 to 1602 he collaborated in many plays with Henry Chettle, Thomas Dekker, John Day, Richard Hathwaye and Wentworth Smith....

    , December 1599. Printed in 1603.
  16. The Arcadian Virgin, by Henry Chettle and William Haughton
    William Haughton
    William Haughton was an English playwright in the age of English Renaissance theatre. During the years 1597 to 1602 he collaborated in many plays with Henry Chettle, Thomas Dekker, John Day, Richard Hathwaye and Wentworth Smith....

    . Same date. Not printed. Mentioned in Philip Henslowe
    Philip Henslowe
    Philip Henslowe was an Elizabethan theatrical entrepreneur and impresario. Henslowe's modern reputation rests on the survival of his diary, a primary source for information about the theatrical world of Renaissance London...

    's diary in December 1599.
  17. Damon and Pithias, by Henry Chettle, January 1599-1600. Not printed.
  18. The Seven Wise Masters, by Henry Chettle, Thomas Dekker, William Haughton
    William Haughton
    William Haughton was an English playwright in the age of English Renaissance theatre. During the years 1597 to 1602 he collaborated in many plays with Henry Chettle, Thomas Dekker, John Day, Richard Hathwaye and Wentworth Smith....

    , and John Day, March 1599-1600. Not printed.
  19. The Golden Ass and Cupid and Psyche, by Thomas Dekker, John Day, and Henry Chettle, April 1600. Not printed.
  20. The Wooing of Death, by Henry Chettle. Same date. Not printed.
  21. The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green, by Henry Chettle and John Day. Same date. Printed in 1659.
  22. All is not Gold that Glisters, by Samuel Rowley and Henry Chettle, March 1600. Not printed.
  23. Sebastian, King of Portugal, by Henry Chettle and Thomas Dekker, April 1601. Not printed.
  24. Cardinal Wolsey, Part I, by Henry Chettle, August 1601. Not printed.
  25. Cardinal Wolsey, Part II, by Henry Chettle, May 1602. Not printed.
  26. The Orphan's Tragedy, by Henry Chettle, September 1601. Not printed.
  27. Too Good to be True, by Henry Chettle, Richard Hathwaye, and Wentworth Smith
    Wentworth Smith
    Wentworth Smith , was a minor English dramatist of the Elizabethan period who may have been responsible for some of the plays in the Shakespeare Apocrypha, though no work known to be his is extant.-Life and career:...

    , November 1601. Not printed.
  28. Love Parts Friendship, by Henry Chettle and Wentworth Smith
    Wentworth Smith
    Wentworth Smith , was a minor English dramatist of the Elizabethan period who may have been responsible for some of the plays in the Shakespeare Apocrypha, though no work known to be his is extant.-Life and career:...

    , May 1602. Not printed.
  29. Tobyas, by Henry Chettle. Same date. Not printed.
  30. Jeptha, by Henry Chettle. Same date. Not printed.
  31. A Danish Tragedy, by Henry Chettle. Same date. Not printed.
  32. Femelanco, by Henry Chettle and ---- Robinson, September 1602. Not printed.
  33. Lady Jane, Part I, by Henry Chettle, Thomas Dekker, Thomas Heywood
    Thomas Heywood
    Thomas Heywood was a prominent English playwright, actor, and author whose peak period of activity falls between late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre.-Early years:...

    , Wentworth Smith
    Wentworth Smith
    Wentworth Smith , was a minor English dramatist of the Elizabethan period who may have been responsible for some of the plays in the Shakespeare Apocrypha, though no work known to be his is extant.-Life and career:...

    , and John Webster, November 1602. Not printed.
  34. Lady Jane, Part II, by the same authors, Smith excepted. Same date. Not printed.
  35. The London Florentine, Part I, by Thomas Heywood
    Thomas Heywood
    Thomas Heywood was a prominent English playwright, actor, and author whose peak period of activity falls between late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre.-Early years:...

     and Henry Chettle, December 1602. Not printed.
  36. The London Florentine, Part II, by the same authors. Same date. Not printed.
  37. The Tragedy of Hoffman, by Henry Chettle. Same date. Printed in 1631.
  38. Jane Shore
    Jane Shore
    Elizabeth "Jane" Shore was one of the many mistresses of King Edward IV of England, the first of the three whom he described respectively as "the merriest, the wiliest, and the holiest harlots" in his realm...

    , by Henry Chettle and John Day, March 1602-3. Not printed.
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