Robert Greene (16th century)
Encyclopedia
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.
in 1583 before moving to London
, where he arguably became the first professional author in England. Greene published in many genres including autobiography
, plays
, and romances
, while capitalizing on a scandalous reputation.
, and became an M.A. of Oxford
in 1588. Greene claimed to have married a well-off woman named Doll, and to have later abandoned her, after spending a considerable sum of her money.
In London
, Greene managed to support himself through his own writing. He lived as a notorious intellectual and rascal, cultivating this reputation himself in pamphlets describing his adventures amid the seamier characters of Elizabethan England, and through a memorable appearance, with fashionable clothing and his pointy red beard.
He died on 3 September 1592, from what Nashe called a "banquet of Rhenish wine and pickled herring," perhaps having written on his death bed the famous Groatsworth of Wit Bought with a Million of Repentance and having dispatched a letter to his wife asking her to forgive him and to settle his debts.
written in a highly wrought style, reaching his highest level in Pandosto
(1588) and Menaphon (1589). Short poems and songs incorporated in some of the romances gave him high rank as a lyrical poet also. By rapid production of such works Greene became one of the first authors in England to support himself with his pen.
Greene wrote prolifically, struggling to support himself (and his recreational habits) in an age when professional authorship was virtually unknown. In his notorious "Coney-Catching
" pamphlets, Greene fashioned himself into a well-known public figure, by telling colorful inside stories of rake
s and rascals duping solid citizens out of their hard-earned money. These stories are always told from the perspective of a repentant former rascal, incorporating many facts of his own life thinly veiled as fiction. He pictures his early riotous living, his marriage and desertion of his wife and child for the sister of a notorious character of the London underworld, his dealings with players, and his success in the production of plays for them.
Greene wrote in a variety of genres. In addition to prose romances, Greene composed numerous moral dialogs, and even some scientific writings on the properties of stones and other matters.
Greene's plays include The Scottish History of James IV, Alphonsus, and his greatest popular success, Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay
(c. 1589), as well as Orlando Furioso, based on Ludovico Ariosto
's epic poem
. He may also have had a hand in numerous other plays, and may have written a second part to Friar Bacon, (which may survive as John of Bordeaux
).
In addition to his acknowledged plays, Greene has been proposed as the author of a range of other dramas, including The Troublesome Reign of King John
, George a Greene, Fair Em
, A Knack to Know a Knave, Locrine
, Selimus
, and Edward III
, among others – even Shakespeare's
Titus Andronicus
.
The dramatist is most familiar to Shakespeare scholars for his pamphlet Greene's Groats-Worth of Wit (full title: Greene's Groats-worth of Wit bought with a Million of Repentance), which the majority of scholars agree contains the earliest known mention of Shakespeare as a member of Elizabethan London's dramatic community. In it, Greene disparages Shakespeare, for being an actor who has the temerity to write plays, and for committing plagiarism
. The passage quotes a line which is purportedly from Shakespeare's play Henry VI, part 3
, but scholars are not agreed on exactly what is meant by this cryptic allusion:
Greene evidently complains of an actor who believes he can write as well as university-trained playwrights, alludes to the actor with a quotation from a Shakespearean play, and uses the term "Shake-scene," a unique term never used before or after Greene's screed, to refer to the actor. Though anti-Stratfordians argue that the early date of Greene's remark precludes a reference to Shakespeare (who in 1592 had no published works to his name), most scholars think that Greene's comment refers to Shakespeare, who would in this period have been an "upstart" as an actor who is writing and contributing to plays such as Henry VI, Parts 1-3
and King John, which were most likely written and produced (though not published) before Greene's death. Others argue that it is a reference to another actor, Edward Alleyn, whom Greene had attacked in an earlier pamphlet, using much the same language.
Some scholars think that all or part of the Groats-Worth may have been written shortly after Greene's death by one of his fellow writers (the pamphlet's printer, Henry Chettle
, being the favoured candidate) hoping to capitalize on a lurid tale of death-bed repentance.
Greene's colourful and irresponsible character have led some, including Stephen Greenblatt
, to speculate that Greene may have served as the model for Shakespeare's Falstaff
.
Other works:
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
author best known for a posthumous pamphlet attributed to him, 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...
, widely believed to contain a polemic attack on 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"...
. He was born in Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
and attended Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, receiving a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1580, and an M.A.
Master of Arts (Oxbridge)
In the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts of these universities are admitted to the degree of Master of Arts or Master in Arts on application after six or seven years' seniority as members of the university .There is no examination or study required for the degree...
in 1583 before moving to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he arguably became the first professional author in England. Greene published in many genres including autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, plays
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, and romances
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
, while capitalizing on a scandalous reputation.
Life
Greene was born in Norwich in 1558; however, biographers disagree whether Greene was the son of a humble saddler or of a more prosperous innkeeper with landowning relatives. He took his B.A. in 1580 and his M.A. in 1583 at St John's College, CambridgeSt John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
, and became an M.A. of Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
in 1588. Greene claimed to have married a well-off woman named Doll, and to have later abandoned her, after spending a considerable sum of her money.
In London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Greene managed to support himself through his own writing. He lived as a notorious intellectual and rascal, cultivating this reputation himself in pamphlets describing his adventures amid the seamier characters of Elizabethan England, and through a memorable appearance, with fashionable clothing and his pointy red beard.
He died on 3 September 1592, from what Nashe called a "banquet of Rhenish wine and pickled herring," perhaps having written on his death bed the famous Groatsworth of Wit Bought with a Million of Repentance and having dispatched a letter to his wife asking her to forgive him and to settle his debts.
Writing
By 1583 Greene had begun his literary career with the publication of a long romance, Mamillia, licensed in 1580. He continued to produce romancesRomance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
written in a highly wrought style, reaching his highest level in Pandosto
Pandosto
Pandosto: The Triumph of Time is a prose romance written by the English author Robert Greene, first published in 1588. A later edition of 1607 was re-titled Dorastus and Fawnia. Popular during the time of William Shakespeare, the work's plot was an inspiration for that of Shakespeare's play The...
(1588) and Menaphon (1589). Short poems and songs incorporated in some of the romances gave him high rank as a lyrical poet also. By rapid production of such works Greene became one of the first authors in England to support himself with his pen.
Greene wrote prolifically, struggling to support himself (and his recreational habits) in an age when professional authorship was virtually unknown. In his notorious "Coney-Catching
Coney
-Places:* Coney Arm, a settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador* Coney Beach Pleasure Park, an amusement park in Wales* Coney's Castle, a fort in Dorset, England* Coneygar, a suburb of Bridport, Devon, England* Coneyhurst, a hamlet in West Sussex, England...
" pamphlets, Greene fashioned himself into a well-known public figure, by telling colorful inside stories of rake
Rake
Rake may refer to:* Rake , a horticultural implement, a long-handled tool with tines* Rake or hay rake, a farm implement* Rake or castor angle – various fork offset angles in bicycle and motorcycle geometry...
s and rascals duping solid citizens out of their hard-earned money. These stories are always told from the perspective of a repentant former rascal, incorporating many facts of his own life thinly veiled as fiction. He pictures his early riotous living, his marriage and desertion of his wife and child for the sister of a notorious character of the London underworld, his dealings with players, and his success in the production of plays for them.
Greene wrote in a variety of genres. In addition to prose romances, Greene composed numerous moral dialogs, and even some scientific writings on the properties of stones and other matters.
Greene's plays include The Scottish History of James IV, Alphonsus, and his greatest popular success, Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay
Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay
The Honourable History of Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay is an Elizabethan era stage play, a comedy written by Robert Greene. Widely regarded as Greene's best and most significant play, it has received more critical attention than any other of Greene's dramas.-Date:The date of authorship of Friar...
(c. 1589), as well as Orlando Furioso, based on Ludovico Ariosto
Ludovico Ariosto
Ludovico Ariosto was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic Orlando Furioso . The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato, describes the adventures of Charlemagne, Orlando, and the Franks as they battle against the Saracens with diversions...
's epic poem
Orlando Furioso
Orlando Furioso is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its complete form until 1532...
. He may also have had a hand in numerous other plays, and may have written a second part to Friar Bacon, (which may survive as John of Bordeaux
John of Bordeaux
John of Bordeaux, or The Second Part of Friar Bacon is an Elizabethan era stage play, the anonymous sequel to Robert Greene's Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay....
).
In addition to his acknowledged plays, Greene has been proposed as the author of a range of other dramas, including The Troublesome Reign of King John
The Troublesome Reign of King John
The Troublesome Reign of King John is an Elizabethan history play, generally accepted by scholars as the source and model that William Shakespeare employed for his own King John ....
, George a Greene, Fair Em
Fair Em
Fair Em, the Miller's Daughter of Manchester, is an Elizabethan era stage play, a comedy written c. 1590. It was bound together with Mucedorus and The Merry Devil of Edmonton in a volume labelled "Shakespeare. Vol...
, A Knack to Know a Knave, Locrine
Locrine
Locrine is an Elizabethan play depicting the legendary Trojan founders of the nation of England and of Troynovant . The play presents a cluster of complex and unresolved problems for scholars of English Renaissance theatre.-Date:...
, Selimus
Selimus (play)
Selimus, Emperor of the Turks is a tragedy attributed to Robert Greene. It was published in 1594 and is loosely based on a historical figure named Selimus who was ruler of the Ottoman Empire....
, and Edward III
Edward III (play)
The Reign of King Edward the Third is an Elizabethan play printed anonymously in 1596. It has frequently been claimed that it was at least partly written by William Shakespeare, a view that Shakespeare scholars have increasingly endorsed. The rest of the play was probably written by Thomas Kyd...
, among others – even Shakespeare's
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"...
Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, and possibly George Peele, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy, and is often seen as his attempt to emulate the violent and bloody revenge plays of his contemporaries, which were...
.
Greene and Shakespeare
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
. The passage quotes a line which is purportedly from Shakespeare's play Henry VI, part 3
Henry VI, part 3
Henry VI, Part 3 or The Third Part of Henry the Sixt is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1591, and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England...
, but scholars are not agreed on exactly what is meant by this cryptic allusion:
- "...for there is an upstart Crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his Tygers hart wrapt in a Players hyde, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blanke verse as the best of you: and being an absolute Johannes fac totumJack of all trades, master of none"Jack of all trades, master of none" is a figure of speech used in reference to a person that is competent with many skills but is not necessarily outstanding in any particular one....
, is in his owne conceit the onely Shake-scene in a countrey".
Greene evidently complains of an actor who believes he can write as well as university-trained playwrights, alludes to the actor with a quotation from a Shakespearean play, and uses the term "Shake-scene," a unique term never used before or after Greene's screed, to refer to the actor. Though anti-Stratfordians argue that the early date of Greene's remark precludes a reference to Shakespeare (who in 1592 had no published works to his name), most scholars think that Greene's comment refers to Shakespeare, who would in this period have been an "upstart" as an actor who is writing and contributing to plays such as Henry VI, Parts 1-3
Henry VI, part 1
Henry VI, Part 1 or The First Part of Henry the Sixt is a history play by William Shakespeare, and possibly Thomas Nashe, believed to have been written in 1591, and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England...
and King John, which were most likely written and produced (though not published) before Greene's death. Others argue that it is a reference to another actor, Edward Alleyn, whom Greene had attacked in an earlier pamphlet, using much the same language.
Some scholars think that all or part of the Groats-Worth may have been written shortly after Greene's death by one of his fellow writers (the pamphlet's printer, Henry Chettle
Henry Chettle
Henry Chettle was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer of the Elizabethan era.The son of Robert Chettle, a London dyer, he was apprenticed in 1577 and became a member of the Stationer's Company in 1584, traveling to Cambridge on their behalf in 1588. His career as a printer and author is...
, being the favoured candidate) hoping to capitalize on a lurid tale of death-bed repentance.
Greene's colourful and irresponsible character have led some, including Stephen Greenblatt
Stephen Greenblatt
Stephen Jay Greenblatt is a literary critic, theorist and scholar.Greenblatt is regarded by many as one of the founders of New Historicism, a set of critical practices that he often refers to as "cultural poetics"; his works have been influential since the early 1980s when he introduced the term...
, to speculate that Greene may have served as the model for Shakespeare's Falstaff
Falstaff
Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare. In the two Henry IV plays, he is a companion to Prince Hal, the future King Henry V. A fat, vain, boastful, and cowardly knight, Falstaff leads the apparently wayward Prince Hal into trouble, and is...
.
Works
Plays:- Friar Bacon and Friar BungayFriar Bacon and Friar BungayThe Honourable History of Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay is an Elizabethan era stage play, a comedy written by Robert Greene. Widely regarded as Greene's best and most significant play, it has received more critical attention than any other of Greene's dramas.-Date:The date of authorship of Friar...
(circa 1590) - The History of Orlando Furioso (circa 1590)
- A Looking Glass for London and England (with Thomas Lodge) (circa 1590)
- The Scottish History of James the Fourth (circa 1590)
- The Comical History of Alphonsus, King of Aragon (circa 1590)
- Selimus, Emperor of the Turks (1594)
Other works:
- Mamillia(pt. 1) (circa 1580)
- Mamillia: The Triumph of Pallas(pt. 2)(1583)
- The Myrrour of Modestie (1584)
- The History of Arbasto, King of Denmarke (1584)
- Gwydonius (1584)
- Morando, the Tritameron of Love (1584)
- Planetomachia (1585)
- Morando, the Tritameron of Love (pt. 2)(1586)
- Euphues: His Censure to Philautus (1587)
- Greene's Farewell to Folly (circa 1587)
- Penelope’s Web (1587)
- Alcida (1588)
- Greenes Orpharion (1588)
- Pandosto (1588)
- Perimedes (1588)
- Ciceronis Amor (1589)
- Menaphon (1589)
- The Spanish Masquerado (1589)
- Greene's Mourning Garment (1590)
- Greene's Never Too Late (pts. 1&2)(1590)
- Greene's Vision (1590)
- The Royal Exchange* (1590)
- A Notable Discovery of Coosnage (1591)
- The Second Part of Conycatching (1591)
- The Black Books Messenger (1592)
- A Disputation Between a Hee Conny-Catcher and a Shee Conny-Catcher (1592)
- A Groatsworth of Wit Bought with a Million of Repentance (1592)
- Philomela (1592)
- A Quip for an Upstart Courtier (1592)
- The Third and Last Part of Conycatching (1592)
External links
- The Dramatic Works of Robert Greene (1831), vol. 1 Dyce, ed., at Google Books.
- The Dramatic Works of Robert Greene (1831), vol. 2 Dyce, ed., at Google Books.
- The Plays and Poems of Robert Greene (1905) vol. 1 Churton Collins ed., at the Internet Archives.
- The Plays and Poems of Robert Greene (1905) vol. 2 Churton Collins ed., at the Internet Archives.
- The Honorable History of Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay 1594 text facsimile at the Internet Archives.
- The History of Orlando Furioso Malone SocietyMalone SocietyThe Malone Society is a British-based scholarly society devoted to the study of sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century drama. It publishes editions of plays from manuscript, facsimile editions of printed and manuscript plays of the period, and editions of original documents relating to English...
Reprint, 1907, at Google Books. - The Comical History of Alphonsus, King of Aragon at Elizabethan Drama.
- Greene's Groats-Worth of Wit e-text at Renascence Editions (original spelling).
- Greene's Groats-Worth of Wit e-text at Ex-Classics (modern spelling).
- Pandosto online.
- Hayashi, Tetsumaro, Textual Study of Robert Greene's Orlando Furioso with an Elizabethan Text, 1973