Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from A History of English Dramatic Literature, Vol. 2: To the Death of Queen Anne
Chapman's return to the stage led to one of the most remarkable incidents (already adverted to 2) in his life and in the annals of the stage. For certain passages in the comedy of Eastward Hoe which he had written con jointly with Marston and Jonson (though Jonson had no share in the passages objected to), be and Marston were im prisoned and Jonson voluntarily joined them in their con finement. The release of the poets was 'doubtless in part attributable to the favour which Chapman seems to have enjoyed with the Court. Of his gratitude or loyalty he subsequently gave more than one sign. In 1612 he pro duced a mask for the marriage of the Princess Elisabeth; while to her brother he, as has been seen, dedicated his [liada He had other patrons of high rank, to one of whom (somerset) he remained faithful even in the disgrace which overtook that reckless adventurer. But there is no reason to suspect Chapman of undue morigeration to the great. On the contrary, several passages in his plays attest a candour and an uprightness on questions lying at the root of the politics of his times which do honour to his character as well as his intellect. On a subsequent occasion he seems to have given offence to the French ambassador by a scene introduced into his play of Byron's Conspiracy but in this case the offence is said to have con sisted in bringing the Queen of France on the stage and representing her in no very pleasing light 3. The perform ance was prohibited, but repeated as soon as the Court had quitted London.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
