Massinger, Philip, 1583-1640 -- Criticism and interpretation
The plays in which Massinger is supposed to have collaborated with other
authors are here set down, with the analyses made by Boyle (_D. N. B._,
xxxvii., pp. 10-16) and the views of Mr. A. H. Bullen in his article on
Fletcher (_D. N. B._, xix., pp. 303-311).(534)
1. _The Honest Man’s Fortune._ (Field, Daborne, Massinger, Fletcher.)
M.: Act III. or part of it.
A. H. B. agrees.
A. H. C.: I doubt whether Massinger had any share in this play. There are
passages of ten-syllable lines in Act III., 1 which are quite unlike him,
while 2 and 3 are interspersed with prose passages, a feature which
Massinger as a rule avoids.
2. _Thierry and Theodoret._ (Massinger, Field, Fletcher, and possibly a
fourth writer.)
M: Act I., 2; Act II., 1, 3; Act IV., 2.
A. H. B. attributes largely to Massinger, assigning Act III. to an unknown
author.
A. H. C. assigns to Massinger Act II., 1 and 3, and with some hesitation
Act I., 2; Act IV., 2.
3. _The Bloody Brother._ (Massinger, Field, Fletcher, and possibly a
fourth writer.)
M.: Act I., Act V., 1.
A. H. B. thinks that Fletcher and Jonson wrote the play, and that
Massinger revised it for a performance at Hampton Court in January,
1636-37.
A. H. C.: There are clearly three hands at work here, one of whom writes
obscurely and uses a good deal of rhyme. Act I., 1 reminds us of Massinger
in several touches, especially lines 269-70. The broken lines in this
scene are complete, as is Massinger’s unfailing practice, but the
ten-syllable line is more common than is usually the case with him. While
Act V., 1 has some sentences cast in the parenthetic form, the expressions
used are less lucid than we expect from Massinger.
4. _The Knight of Malta._ (Massinger and Fletcher.)
M.: Act III., 2, 3; Act IV., 1; possibly part of Act V., 2.
A. H. B. agrees, assigning Act II. and Act III., 1 to Fletcher.
“Some third person wrote Act I. and part of Act V.”
A. H. C.: I trace Massinger only in Act III., 2.
5. _The Queen of Corinth._ (Massinger, Fletcher (?), Field.)
M.: Act I., Act V.
A. H. B. assigns Act II. to Fletcher, the rest to Middleton and Rowley.
A. H. C.: Massinger wrote Act I., 1, 2, 3 from “Enter Agenor,” V., 2.
Fletcher wrote Act I., 3; Act II., 1, 2, 3, 4; Act III., 1, 2; Act V., 3.
As usual, he is responsible for the comic parts. Act V., 4 is a vigorous
trial scene, not due, I think, to Massinger. The impression that I get
from Act III. is that Massinger drafted it, and Fletcher worked over it.
6. _Sir John Van Olden Barnavelt._ (Massinger, Fletcher.)
M.: Act I., 1, 2; Act II., 1; Act III., 2, 3, 5; Act IV., 4, 5; Act V., 1
to “Enter Provost.”
A. H. B. agrees on the whole.
A. H. C.: Act III., 5, and Act IV., 5 seem to me unworthy of Massinger.
Perhaps a third hand wrote Act I., 3; Act II., 2-7; Act III., 1, as far as
“will ripen the imposture”; Act III., 3; Act V., 1, as far as “Exeunt wife
and daughter.”
7. _Henry the Eighth._ (Massinger and Fletcher.)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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