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Lewis Theobald's Double Falsehood: the Authorship

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Lewis Theobald's Double Falsehood: the Authorship LEWIS THEOBALD’S DOUBLE FALSEHOOD: THE AUTHORSHIP QUESTION RECONSIDERED Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy by Naseem Alotaibi. JULY 2016 Abstract This thesis offers a response to the recent publication of Lewis Theobald’s Double Falshood 1 (1728) in the Arden Shakespeare series (2010). It questions Shakespeare’s involvement in Double Falsehood’s source play, and presents a number of factors suggesting that Fletcher is possibly its prime (if not its sole) author. This study also addresses other problems relating to Shakespeare’s supposed authorship of the play, including Theobald’s unreliability, which casts doubt on his claims for Shakespeare having any hand in the play: i.e., his plagiarism of other people’s work, and his obsessive imitation of Shakespeare. Because there has been to date no scholarly work dedicated to highlighting Theobald’s contributions to the play, this thesis aims to address this significant gap in scholarship. It does so by examining recent approaches to determining the authorship of Double Falsehood, highlighting the limitations of both stylometric analysis and the use of electronic databases—such as LION—in authorship studies. By identifying such limitations, and by building on recent theories in attribution scholarship, this thesis proposes a new methodology for determining the authorship of the play: one that focuses on locating much longer verbal parallels within Theobald’s other works, rather than counting the frequency of individual words to establish probable attribution. While this thesis criticises the Arden edition for its preoccupation with establishing Shakespeare-Fletcher connections to the play, it shows that the most distinctive parallels can be found in the works of Theobald, as evident in instances of three, four, five, and six consecutive-word parallels, all of which have been overlooked by the Arden editor Brean Hammond. Finally, the thesis addresses the editorial approach Hammond employs in the Arden edition of Double Falsehood, focusing on the question of the textual presentation of adaptations. An investigation of the methodology applied by John Jowett in editing Measure for Measure for the Oxford Middleton (2007) facilitates here a solution to the problem of editing adaptations, one that is not emphasised by Hammond. This approach highlights the significance of presenting the process of adaptation within the edited text 1 From this point onwards, Theobald’s original printed title will be modernised. ii itself by utilizing the text’s typography in a way that highlights the different layers of the adapted text: showing, that is, what is presumed to be the original text versus the adapted text. Such an apparatus not only highlights the elements of adaptation in the text, but it also dislocates Double Falsehood from the Shakespeare canon (which is clearly a key purpose behind the publication of the Arden edition), positioning it instead within the more accurate authorial arena of the Shakespeare Apocrypha. iii Acknowledgments First, I would like to extend my gratitude to Umm Al-Qura University for funding this doctoral dissertation. Their generous financial support has given me the opportunity to conduct this research, to which I am extremely grateful. I would also like to extend my thanks to my teachers and advisors at the English department in UQU for their support, and for encouraging me to pursue a degree in Renaissance and Eighteenth-Century literature: although this has not been my original choice, now, I cannot imagine having done it any other way. My prayers go out to Dr. Rajih Almughamsi who has recently passed away; he has been a great source of inspiration, and it is my honour to have been one of his students. I am greatly indebted to my supervisors Dr. Michael Davies and Prof. Marcus Walsh whose inspiration to work on this topic began at the MA level. Dr. Davies has introduced me to many stimulating critical debates on reading and interpreting all things Shakespeare; Prof. Walsh has taught me so many things about the history of editorial theory and literary editing in the eighteenth century. Their knowledge and expertise (both individually, and collaboratively) has had a profound impact on my research to which I will be forever grateful. I am extremely thankful for the constructive criticism and valuable feedback they provided throughout the entire process of writing this thesis; and above all I am grateful for their kindness. To my dear friends Fadia Mereani, Suha Alansari and Latifa AlAbdulkareem: thank you for your continuous support and encouragement; but most importantly, thank you for having a great sense of humour which helped me stay sane through those difficult years. To my adorable nieces and nephews Saud, Khawla, Abdullah, Ahmad, and Khuzama: thank you for bringing so much joy and happiness to my life. To my siblings Amal, Sami, Manal and Nada, and my sister in law Fatimah: my love and gratitude is immeasurable. Thank you for your kind and endless support, and for always being there for me; but mostly, thank you for constantly giving me the right push at the right moment. Special thanks to Amal iv and Nada, who were my roommates at the time and also PhD students themselves: thank you for all those brainstorming sessions, and especially for listening to my ramblings about Fletcher, Shakespeare and Theobald. To my fiancée Badr Saber: thank you for being tremendously patient and for always being by my side during this time-intensive process of writing my thesis. I am extremely grateful for your regular follow-ups on all the tiny details in my research; but I am most grateful for your love and continuous support. Finally, to my loving parents, my first teachers, Abdullah and Jawaher: you have given me so much and provided me with the strength and determination to see this project through. I cannot thank you enough for being a vital source of support. I am most grateful to you for looking after me throughout what seemed to be a never- ending journey. Thank you for your unconditional love and encouragement and for always reminding me that this too shall pass. v Table Of Contents ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................................... II ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................................... IV TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................... VI ABBREVIATIONS AND REFERENCES ..................................................................................... VIII INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER 1: FROM CARDENIO TO DOUBLE FALSEHOOD? BACKGROUND AND SOURCES ............................................................................................................................................. 7 1. THEOBALD’S MANUSCRIPTS: FACTS AND PROBLEMS ........................................................................ 8 2. THE CASE FOR FLETCHER AS THE (SOLE?) AUTHOR OF CARDENIO ............................................. 12 3. SHELTON’S TRANSLATION OF DON QUIXOTE (1612) ..................................................................... 21 4. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................ 26 CHAPTER 2: LEWIS THEOBALD AND THE AUTHORSHIP OF DOUBLE FALSEHOOD . 27 1. THEOBALD AND CHARGES OF PLAGIARISM ....................................................................................... 31 2. LEWIS THEOBALD, ‘IMITATOR OF THE IMMORTAL SHAKESPEARE’ .............................................. 40 3. THEOBALD AND ADAPTATION ............................................................................................................. 49 4. ‘WAS IT RAPE THEN? [OR] THE COYNESS OF A MODEST BRIDE’? ................................................. 57 5. EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY RECEPTION OF DOUBLE FALSEHOOD ....................................................... 62 6. A REVIEW OF RECENT APPROACHES TO THEOBALD AND AUTHORSHIP ..................................... 68 7. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................ 97 CHAPTER 3: THE USE OF VERBAL PARALLELS IN ATTRIBUTION STUDIES: PROBLEMS AND POTENTIAL RISKS ...................................................................................... 102 1. ‘WOODS, ROCKS, & MOUNTAINS’: LOST SONG FOUND? ............................................................... 102 2. ‘SHAKESPEARE’S UNTIL PROVED OTHERWISE’? ............................................................................ 117 3. CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................................... 135 CHAPTER 4: ‘NONE BUT HIMSELF CAN BE HIS PARALLEL’: VERBAL CONNECTIONS BETWEEN DOUBLE FALSEHOOD AND THE WORKS OF THEOBALD ............................ 137 1. A FEW WORDS ON THE APPROACH .................................................................................................. 140 2. THE ARDEN EDITION AND THE LIMITATIONS OF LION ................................................................ 143 3. ARDEN’S PARTIALITY FOR SHAKESPEARE
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