Locrine
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Locrine is an Elizabethan play depicting the legendary Trojan founders of the nation of England and of 'Troynovant' (London).
Locrine was published in 1595 as "Newly set forth, overseen and corrected by W.S.", and as such is classed with the Shakespeare Apocrypha. The play's stiff, formal verse is unshakespearean, though it is conceivable that Shakespeare might have been in charge of tidying up an old play. It is thought more likely, however, that the attribution was merely an attempt by the publisher to increase sales by seeming to link the play with a newly popular playwright.
It is also conceivable that the 'W.S.' of the title page is actually intended to represent Wentworth Smith, a much more obscure contemporary playwright with the same initials. Smith is not known to have written for the stage before 1601, however.
Against this speculation is the testimony of Sir George Buc, Master of the Revels under King James I from 1609-1622, who annotated his copy of the published quarto as follows: "Charles Tilney wrot[e a] Tragedy of this mattr [which] hee named Estrild [which] I think is this. it was [lost] by his death. & now s[ome] fellon [or fellou] hath published [it]. I made du[m]be shewes for it. w[hi]ch I yet haue. G. B."
[edit] References
- C. F. Tucker Brooke, ed., The Shakespeare Apocrypha, Oxford, the Clarendon Press, 1908.
- Terence P. Logan and Denzell S. Smith, eds., The Predecessors of Shakespeare: A Survey and Bibliography of Recent Studies in English Renaissance Drama, Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press, 1973; pp. 258-72.
[edit] External links
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