AN HISTORICAL TRAGEDY, BY WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE.

In the commencement of this drama, which, in the original title, is stated to
be The Life and Death of the Sovereign whose name it bears,—the historical
action is somewhat confused: since it opens with George, Duke of Clarence,
being committed to the Tower, in the beginning of 1478; whilst the
Second Scene brings in the Funeral of Henry VI., who is commonly reported
to have been murdered May 22nd, 1471. It closes with the death of Richard
in the battle of Bosworth Field, August 22nd, 1485; and thus may be said
to comprise the space of fourteen years. The scene is laid in London, and
various parts of England.

There seem to have been several dramas and other pieces written upon
this point of history, before Shakspeare produced the present; but he does
not appear to have used any of them. Mr. Boswell supposed, however,
that An Enterlude of Richard the Third, with the Death of Edward the Fourth,
the Smothering of the Two Princes, the End of Shore's wife, and the Contention of
the Houses of Lancaster and York, published in 1594,-had so great a resem-
blance to this play, that the author must have seen it before he composed
his own.
It is, notwithstanding, one of the worst of the ancient dramas,
and has but few traces of likeness.

The Tragedy by Shakspeare was probably written in 1593, or 1594; it
appears entered at Stationers' Hall, October 20th, 1597; and was printed in
the same year, as well as in 1598, 1602, 1612 or 1613, 1622, and twice in
1629, all the editions being in quarto.

In 1700, Colley Cibber's alteration of this Tragedy was produced at DruryLane, from which the Licenser obliterated the whole of the First Act, observing that the distresses and murder of Henry VI., would too much remind weak persons of James II., then in exile at St. Germain's. It was thus performed for several years, and was always very successful and popular, which Steevens attributes partly to Cibber's revision, though it was certainly extremely faulty, and partly to the vast variety of character in the part of Richard. The modern adaptation of this piece was made by J. P. Kemble, from both Shakspeare and Cibber, and was published by him as acted at Covent-Garden in 1810.

One of the most famous performers of Richard was Burbage, who was the author's contemporary; but Henderson, Garrick, Cooke, Kemble, Kean, and Macready, have all arrived at the highest eminence in their delineation of this most arduous character.

&*3&*3&*3&3 &

K. Richard. Have mercy, Jesu!-Soft'; I did but dream.
Oh! coward conscience, how thou dost afflict me!-
The lights burn blue.-It is now dead midnight.
Cold fearful drops hang on my trembling flesh.-
Methought, the souls of all that I had murder'd
Came to my tent; and every one did threat
To-morrow's vengeance on the bead of Richard!

KING HENRY THE EIGHTH:

AN HISTORICAL PLAY, BY WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE.

It is generally supposed that this drama was written a short time before the death of Elizabeth, March 24th, 1603; as well from the prophetic eulogium upon her in the last scene, as from the imperfect way in which the panegyric upon King James was subsequently inserted. Having lain for several years unacted, it is supposed that this play was revived by Richard Burbage's company at the Globe Theatre, Baukside, June 29th, 1613, under the title of All is True; with new properties, &c. and a prologue and epilogue. Sir Henry Wotton, in a letter dated July 2nd, states that during this performance "King Henry making a masque at Cardinal Wolsey's house, and certain cannous being shot off at his entry, some of the paper, or other stuff, wherewith one of them was stopped, did light in the thatch; where, being thought at first but an idle smoke, and their eyes more attentive to the show, it kindled inwardly, and ran round like a train, consuming, within less than an hour, the whole house to the very ground."

Dr. Johnson suggested that the present Prologue and Epilogue were written by Ben Jonson; in which Dr. Farmer, Steevens, and Malone, concurred, and even attributed to him some of the speeches. He, however, was not in England at the time of it's production; and Gifford supposes that All is True was an entirely different performance. It is, nevertheless, argued, that the Prologue which has been prefixed to Shakspeare's drama ever since it's first publication in 1623, has repeated allusions to such a title; that the piece in question was upon the same point of history; and that the names of old plays were frequently changed.

The scene of Henry VIII. is laid in London and Westminster, excepting Sc. 2nd, Act iv., which is at Queen Katherine's last retirement at Kimbolton, in Hertfordshire. The action commences with the arrest of the Duke of Buckingham, April 16th, 1521, and ends with the christening of Elizabeth, September 10th, 1533. It should be observed, however, that Queen Katherine did not die until January 8th, 1536.

The modern revisal of Henry VIII. was produced by J. P. Kemble at CoventGarden, April 22nd, 1804. It has always been celebrated for it's splendour; and about 1747 the coronation of Anne Boleyn caused it to be performed seventy-two times in one season. Splendour, however, is not it's only merit, since the parts of Katherine, Wolsey, and Cromwell, comprise scenes which are some of the highest efforts of Tragedy; and with which the fame of Mrs. Siddons and her brothers is inseparably united.

A Latin Poem by Lollius, an ancient historiographer of Urbino in Italy;
Guido di Colonna's History of Troy in the same language; and Chaucer's
metrical English tale of Troylus and Cresyde ;-contain the original history of
these famous lovers. Steevens supposes, that the popularity of the last work
might be the cause of the present play; but Shakspeare's authorities were
Caxton's translation of Raoul le Fevre's Recueyll of the Historyes of Troye,
1471, and Lydgate's Troye Boke, printed by Pynson in 1513. The remarkable
character of Thersites, however, was probably taken from an Interlude bearing
his name,
published in 1598; or George Chapman's translation of Homer,
which first appeared in 1596. On the books of the Stationers' Company in
1581, is entered "A proper ballad, dialogue-wise, between Troilus and
Cressida," and in 1599, a play was written on the same subject, by Thomas
Dekker and Henry Chettle, out of which it has been suggested that
Shakspeare might have formed the present.

Malone assigned this drama to the year 1602, chiefly upon the authority of an entry at Stationers' Hall of The Booke of Troilus and Cressida, February 7th, 1603, for J. Roberts, who printed some others of these plays; which, he conceived, identifies it with Shakspeare. In 1609 it was again entered, and published, without being divided into acts, "as acted by the Lord Chamberlen's men;" though in the preface of that edition it is called a new play, never staled with the stage, never clapper-clawed with the palmes of the vulgar." This has been reconciled by supposing it might have been performed at Court only in 1602, by the servants of the Lord Chamberlain, as many of the players then were, and some years after exhibited at the Globe Theatre, to which Shakspeare belonged; to the performers of which James I. gave a license in 1603, when they were called his Majesty's servants.

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Dryden considered this play as one of the author's "first endeavours on the stage,—in the apprenticeship of his writing;" whilst Pope thought it one of his last works, as well from the terms of the preface, as from "the great number of observations, both moral and political, with which it is crowded, more than any of his other pieces." The scene is laid in the City of Troy, and the Grecian Camp before it; and the time is in the seventh year of the siege. In 1679, Dryden produced an alteration of this play called Troilus and Cressida, or Truth found too late, at the Duke's Theatre, Dorset-Gardens; in which he remodelled the plot, more accurately divided the scene, omitted some characters, expanded others, and added that of Andromache.