A Life of William Shakespeare Sidney Lee A Life of William Shakespeare Table of Contents A Life of William Shakespeare..........................................................................................................................1 Sidney Lee...............................................................................................................................................2 PREFACE................................................................................................................................................9 I—PARENTAGE AND BIRTH.........................................................................................................................27 The poet's ancestry.................................................................................................................................28 The poet's father.....................................................................................................................................29 His settlement at Stratford.....................................................................................................................30 The poet's mother...................................................................................................................................31 The poet's birth and baptism..................................................................................................................32 Alleged birthplace..................................................................................................................................33 II—CHILDHOOD, EDUCATION, AND MARRIAGE....................................................................................33 Brothers and sisters................................................................................................................................34 The father's financial difficulties...........................................................................................................35 Education...............................................................................................................................................36 The poet's classical equipment...............................................................................................................37 Shakespeare and the Bible.....................................................................................................................38 Withdrawal from school........................................................................................................................39 The poet's marriage................................................................................................................................40 Richard Hathaway of Shottery. Anne Hathaway...................................................................................41 Anne Hathaway's cottage.......................................................................................................................42 The bond against impediments..............................................................................................................43 Birth of a daughter.................................................................................................................................44 Formal betrothal probably dispensed with.............................................................................................45 III—THE FAREWELL TO STRATFORD........................................................................................................45 Poaching at Charlecote..........................................................................................................................46 Unwarranted doubts of the tradition......................................................................................................47 Justice Shallow......................................................................................................................................48 The flight from Stratford........................................................................................................................49 IV—ON THE LONDON STAGE......................................................................................................................49 Richard Field, his townsman.................................................................................................................50 Theatrical employment..........................................................................................................................51 A playhouse servitor..............................................................................................................................52 The acting companies............................................................................................................................53 The Lord Chamberlain's company.........................................................................................................54 A member of the Lord Chamberlain's....................................................................................................55 The London theatres..............................................................................................................................56 Place of residence in London.................................................................................................................57 Shakespeare's alleged travels. In Scotland.............................................................................................58 In Italy....................................................................................................................................................59 Shakespeare's roles................................................................................................................................60 Alleged scorn of an actor's calling.........................................................................................................61 V.—EARLY DRAMATIC EFFORTS...............................................................................................................61 His borrowed plots.................................................................................................................................62 The revision of plays..............................................................................................................................63 Chronology of the plays. Metrical tests.................................................................................................64 'Love's Labour's Lost.'............................................................................................................................65 'Two Gentlemen of Verona.'..................................................................................................................66 'Comedy of Errors.'................................................................................................................................67 i A Life of William Shakespeare Table of Contents A Life of William Shakespeare 'Romeo and Juliet.'.................................................................................................................................68 'Henry VI.'..............................................................................................................................................69 Greene's attack. Chettle's apology.........................................................................................................70 Divided authorship of 'Henry VI.'..........................................................................................................71 Shakespeare's coadjutors........................................................................................................................72 Shakespeare's assimilative power..........................................................................................................73 Lyly's influence in comedy....................................................................................................................74 Marlowe's influence in tragedy. 'Richard III.'........................................................................................75 'Richard II.'.............................................................................................................................................76 Acknowledgments to Marlowe..............................................................................................................77 'Titus Andronicus.'.................................................................................................................................78 'Merchant of Venice.'.............................................................................................................................79 Shylock and Roderigo Lopez.................................................................................................................80 'King John.'.............................................................................................................................................81 'Comedy of Errors' in Gray's Inn Hall....................................................................................................82 Early plays doubtfully assigned to Shakespeare....................................................................................83 'Mucedorus.'...........................................................................................................................................84