Robert Benfield
Encyclopedia
Robert Benfield was a seventeenth-century actor, noted for his longtime membership in the King's Men
in the years and decades after William Shakespeare
's retirement and death.
Nothing is known of Benfield's early life. He was most likely with the Lady Elizabeth's Men
in 1613
, and acted in their productions of Fletcher's
The Coxcomb
and the Fletcher/Massinger
play The Honest Man's Fortune
in that year. Benfield soon joined the King's Men, possibly to replace William Ostler
, who died unexpectedly in December 1614. He acted in the company's production of John Webster
's The Duchess of Malfi
c. 1621.
He was a shareholder in the company by 1619, when he is listed in the renewed patent for the King's Men issued in that year. Benfield also eventually became a sharer in both the Globe
and Blackfriars
theatres, but only after a conflict: in 1635 he was one of three King's Men (the others were Thomas Pollard
and Eliard Swanston
) who petitioned the Lord Chamberlain
, Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke
, for the right to buy shares from fellow King's Man John Shank
and from Cuthbert Burbage
.
Benfield was one of the ten King's Men who signed the dedication of the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio
of 1647
. In the 25 cast lists added to the second Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1679
, Benfield is mentioned 18 times:
Benfield's total equals those of Joseph Taylor
and John Underwood
, and is second only to John Lowin
's 21.
Benfield played Junius Rusticus in The Roman Actor
, Doctor Makewell in The Soddered Citizen
, Ladislaus the King of Hungary in The Picture, Marcellus in Believe as You List
, the King in The Deserving Favourite
, and Antharis in The Swisser
.
The parish records of St. Giles without Cripplegate
in London, close to the Fortune Playhouse
and the home of many actors in Benfield's era, record a few facts of Benfield's personal life. A son, James, was christened on 1 January 1628 (all dates new style
). Benfield buried his wife Mary on 21 January 1629 and his son Bartholomew and daughter Elizabeth on 21 July and 1 August 1631 respectively. His own funeral occurred on 28 July 1649.
The twentieth-century scholar T. W. Baldwin developed a hypothesis that the King's Men assigned specific actors to specific stock roles: Taylor played "hero" parts, Lowin played "tyrant" parts, etc. In Baldwin's schema (which has been treated skeptically by many other commentators), Benfield's specialty lay in "dignitary" roles.
King's Men (playing company)
The King's Men was the company of actors to which William Shakespeare belonged through most of his career. Formerly known as The Lord Chamberlain's Men during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, it became The King's Men in 1603 when King James ascended the throne and became the company's patron.The...
in the years and decades after 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"...
's retirement and death.
Nothing is known of Benfield's early life. He was most likely with the Lady Elizabeth's Men
Lady Elizabeth's Men
The Lady Elizabeth's Men, or Princess Elizabeth's Men, was a company of actors in Jacobean London, formed under the patronage of King James I's daughter Princess Elizabeth. From 1618 on, the company was called The Queen of Bohemia's Men, after Elizabeth and her husband the Elector Palatine had...
in 1613
1613 in literature
The year 1613 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*English poet Francis Quarles becomes cupbearer to Princess Elizabeth....
, and acted in their productions of Fletcher's
John Fletcher (playwright)
John Fletcher was a Jacobean playwright. Following William Shakespeare as house playwright for the King's Men, he was among the most prolific and influential dramatists of his day; both during his lifetime and in the early Restoration, his fame rivalled Shakespeare's...
The Coxcomb
The Coxcomb
The Coxcomb is an early Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. It was initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647.-Date and performance:...
and the Fletcher/Massinger
Philip Massinger
Philip Massinger was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including A New Way to Pay Old Debts, The City Madam and The Roman Actor, are noted for their satire and realism, and their political and social themes.-Early life:The son of Arthur Massinger or Messenger, he was baptized at St....
play The Honest Man's Fortune
The Honest Man's Fortune
The Honest Man's Fortune is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Nathan Field, John Fletcher, and Philip Massinger. It was apparently the earliest of the works produced by this trio of writers, the others being The Queen of Corinth and The Knight of Malta.-Texts:The Honest Man's...
in that year. Benfield soon joined the King's Men, possibly to replace William Ostler
William Ostler
William Ostler was an actor in English Renaissance theatre, a member of the King's Men, the company of William Shakespeare....
, who died unexpectedly in December 1614. He acted in the company's production of John Webster
John Webster
John Webster was an English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi, which are often regarded as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. He was a contemporary of William Shakespeare.- Biography :Webster's life is obscure, and the dates...
's The Duchess of Malfi
The Duchess of Malfi
The Duchess of Malfi is a macabre, tragic play written by the English dramatist John Webster in 1612–13. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theatre, then before a more general audience at The Globe, in 1613-14...
c. 1621.
He was a shareholder in the company by 1619, when he is listed in the renewed patent for the King's Men issued in that year. Benfield also eventually became a sharer in both the Globe
Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...
and Blackfriars
Blackfriars Theatre
Blackfriars Theatre was the name of a theatre in the Blackfriars district of the City of London during the Renaissance. The theatre began as a venue for child actors associated with the Queen's chapel choirs; in this function, the theatre hosted some of the most innovative drama of Elizabeth and...
theatres, but only after a conflict: in 1635 he was one of three King's Men (the others were Thomas Pollard
Thomas Pollard
Thomas Pollard was an actor in the King's Men — a prominent comedian in the acting troupe of William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage....
and Eliard Swanston
Eliard Swanston
Eliard Swanston , alternatively spelled Heliard, Hilliard, Elyard, Ellyardt, Ellyaerdt, and Eyloerdt, was an English actor in the Caroline era. He became a leading man in the King's Men, the company of William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage, in the final phase of its existence.-Career:Swanston...
) who petitioned the Lord Chamberlain
Lord Chamberlain
The Lord Chamberlain or Lord Chamberlain of the Household is one of the chief officers of the Royal Household in the United Kingdom and is to be distinguished from the Lord Great Chamberlain, one of the Great Officers of State....
, Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke
Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke
Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke and 1st Earl of Montgomery KG was an English courtier and politician active during the reigns of James I and Charles I...
, for the right to buy shares from fellow King's Man John Shank
John Shank
John Shank was an actor in English Renaissance theatre, a leading comedian in the King's Men during the 1620s and 1630s.-Early career:...
and from Cuthbert Burbage
Cuthbert Burbage
Cuthbert Burbage was an English theatrical figure, son of impresario James Burbage and elder brother of famous actor Richard Burbage...
.
Benfield was one of the ten King's Men who signed the dedication of the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio
Beaumont and Fletcher folios
The Beaumont and Fletcher folios were two large folio collections of the stage plays of John Fletcher and his collaborators. The first was issued in 1647, and the second in 1679. The two collections were important in preserving many works of English Renaissance drama.-The first folio, 1647:The 1647...
of 1647
1647 in literature
The year 1647 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* Thomas Hobbes becomes tutor to the future Charles II of England.* Plagiarist Robert Baron publishes his Deorum Dona, a masque, and Gripus and Hegio, a pastoral, which draw heavily on the poems of Edmund Waller and John Webster's...
. In the 25 cast lists added to the second Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1679
1679 in literature
This article lists some of the most significant events of the year 1679 in literature.-Events:*John Locke returns to England from France.*Étienne Baluze becomes almoner to King Louis XIV of France....
, Benfield is mentioned 18 times:
- The CoxcombThe CoxcombThe Coxcomb is an early Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. It was initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647.-Date and performance:...
- The Custom of the CountryThe Custom of the Country (1647 play)The Custom of the Country is a Jacobean stage play, a tragicomedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger, originally published in 1647 in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio.-Date and sources:The play is usually dated to c. 1619–23...
- The Double MarriageThe Double MarriageThe Double Marriage is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger, and initially printed in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647.-Date and performance:...
- The False OneThe False OneThe False One is a late Jacobean era stage play, written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger. Generally categorized as a "classical history," the play tells part of the story of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra....
- The Honest Man's FortuneThe Honest Man's FortuneThe Honest Man's Fortune is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Nathan Field, John Fletcher, and Philip Massinger. It was apparently the earliest of the works produced by this trio of writers, the others being The Queen of Corinth and The Knight of Malta.-Texts:The Honest Man's...
- The Humorous LieutenantThe Humorous LieutenantThe Humorous Lieutenant, also known as The Noble Enemies or Demetrius and Enanthe, is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by John Fletcher...
- The Island PrincessThe Island PrincessThe Island Princess is a late Jacobean tragicomedy by John Fletcher, initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647.-The play:...
- The Knight of MaltaThe Knight of MaltaThe Knight of Malta is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators. It was initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647.-Date and source:...
- The Little French LawyerThe Little French LawyerThe Little French Lawyer is a Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger. It was initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647.-Date:...
- The Lovers' ProgressThe Lovers' ProgressThe Lovers' Progress, also known as The Wandering Lovers, or Cleander, or Lisander and Calista, is an early seventeenth-century stage play, a tragicomedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger...
- The Mad LoverThe Mad LoverThe Mad Lover is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy by John Fletcher that was initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647....
- The Maid in the MillThe Maid in the MillThe Maid in the Mill is a late Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher and William Rowley. It was initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647.-Performance:...
- The PilgrimThe Pilgrim (play)The Pilgrim is a late Jacobean era stage play, a comedy by John Fletcher that was originally published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647.The play was acted by the King's Men; they performed it at Court in 1621 Christmas season...
- The Prophetess
- The Spanish CurateThe Spanish CurateThe Spanish Curate is a late Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger. It premiered on the stage in 1622, and was first published in 1647.-Date and source:...
- The Wild Goose ChaseThe Wild Goose ChaseThe Wild Goose Chase is a late Jacobean stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher, first published in 1621. It is often classed among Fletcher's most effective and best-constructed plays; Edmund Gosse called it "one of the brightest and most coherent of Fletcher's comedies, a play which it is...
- A Wife for a MonthA Wife for a MonthA Wife for a Month is a late Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by John Fletcher and originally published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647....
- Women PleasedWomen PleasedWomen Pleased is a late Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy by John Fletcher that was originally published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647.-Date and performance:...
Benfield's total equals those of Joseph Taylor
Joseph Taylor (17th-century actor)
Joseph Taylor was a 17th-century actor. As the successor of Richard Burbage with the King's Men, he was arguably the most important actor in the later Jacobean and the Caroline eras....
and John Underwood
John Underwood (actor)
John Underwood was an early 17th century actor, a member of the King's Men, the company of William Shakespeare.-Career:Underwood began as a boy player with the Children of the Chapel, and was cast in that company's productions of Ben Jonson's Cynthia's Revels and The Poetaster...
, and is second only to John Lowin
John Lowin
John Lowin was an English actor born in the St Giles-without-Cripplegate, London, the son of a tanner. Like Robert Armin, he was apprenticed to a goldsmith. While he is not recorded as a free citizen of this company, he did perform as a goldsmith, Leofstane, in a 1611 city pageant written by...
's 21.
Benfield played Junius Rusticus in The Roman Actor
The Roman Actor
The Roman Actor is a Caroline era stage play, a tragedy written by Philip Massinger; it was first performed in 1626, and first published in 1629...
, Doctor Makewell in The Soddered Citizen
The Soddered Citizen
The Soddered Citizen is a Caroline era stage play, a city comedy now attributed to John Clavell. The play was lost for three centuries; the sole surviving manuscript was rediscovered and published in the twentieth century....
, Ladislaus the King of Hungary in The Picture, Marcellus in Believe as You List
Believe as You List
Believe as You List is a Caroline era tragedy by Philip Massinger, famous as a case of theatrical censorship.-Censorship:The play originally dealt with the legend that Sebastian of Portugal had survived the battle of Alcácer Quibir, and the efforts of Philip II of Spain to suppress the "false...
, the King in The Deserving Favourite
The Deserving Favourite
The Deserving Favourite is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Lodowick Carlell that was first published in 1629. The earliest of Carlell's plays "and also the best," it is notable for its influence on other plays of the Caroline era....
, and Antharis in The Swisser
The Swisser
The Swisser is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Arthur Wilson. It was performed by the King's Men in the Blackfriars Theatre in 1631, and is notable for the light in throws on the workings of the premier acting company of its time....
.
The parish records of St. Giles without Cripplegate
Cripplegate
Cripplegate was a city gate in the London Wall and a name for the region of the City of London outside the gate. The area was almost entirely destroyed by bombing in World War II and today is the site of the Barbican Estate and Barbican Centre...
in London, close to the Fortune Playhouse
Fortune Playhouse
The Fortune Playhouse was an historic theatre in London. It was located between Whitecross Street and the modern Golden Lane, just outside the City of London...
and the home of many actors in Benfield's era, record a few facts of Benfield's personal life. A son, James, was christened on 1 January 1628 (all dates new style
Old Style and New Style dates
Old Style and New Style are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year has been adjusted to start on 1 January even though documents written at the time use a different start of year ; or to indicate that a date conforms to the Julian...
). Benfield buried his wife Mary on 21 January 1629 and his son Bartholomew and daughter Elizabeth on 21 July and 1 August 1631 respectively. His own funeral occurred on 28 July 1649.
The twentieth-century scholar T. W. Baldwin developed a hypothesis that the King's Men assigned specific actors to specific stock roles: Taylor played "hero" parts, Lowin played "tyrant" parts, etc. In Baldwin's schema (which has been treated skeptically by many other commentators), Benfield's specialty lay in "dignitary" roles.