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title in 16or . It has been suggested that he supported the poet at Oxford, but the significant omission of any reference to himin any of Massinger's prefaces points to the contrary . Massinger See also:

LEFT

left Oxford without a degree in 16o6 . His father had died in 1603, and he was perhaps dependent on his own exertions . The lack of a degree and the want of patronage from See also:

Lord Pembroke may both be explained on the supposition that he had become a See also:

ROMAN

Roman See also:

CATHOLIC (Gr. KcaBoXuK6s, general, universal)

Catholic . On leaving the university he went to See also:

LONDON

London to make his living as a dramatist, but his name cannot be de-finitely affixed to any See also:

PLAY

play until fifteen years later, when The Virgin See also:

MARTYR (Gr. pimp or µaprvs)

Martyr (ent. at Stationers' Hall, Dec . 7, 1621) appeared as the See also:

WORK

work of Massinger and See also:

Dekker . During these years he worked in collaboration with other dramatists .

A See also:

JOINT (through Fr. from Lat. junctum, jungere, to join)

joint See also:

LETTER (through Fr. lettre from Lat. littera or litera, letter of the alphabet; the origin of the Latin word is obscure; it has probably no connexion with the root of linere, to smear, i.e. with wax, for an inscription with a stilus)

letter, from Nathaniel See also:

Field, See also:

Robert Daborne and See also:

Philip Massinger, to Philip See also:

HENSLOWE, PHILIP (d. 1616)

Henslowe, begs for an immediate See also:

LOAN (adapted from the Scandinavian form of a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Swed. Mn, Icel. lan, Dut. leen; the O.E. laen appears in " lend," the ultimate source is seen in the root of Gr. Xeiaecv and Lat. linquere, to leave)

loan of five pounds to See also:

RELEASE (O.Fr. reles, variant of relais, from relaisser, to release, let go, Lat. relaxare)

release them from their " unfortunate extremitie," the See also:

MONEY

money to be taken from the See also:

BALANCE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. bilantia, an apparatus for weighing, from bi, two, and lanx, a dish or scale)

balance due for the " play of Mr See also:

Fletcher's and ours." A second document shows that Massinger and Daborne owed Henslowe 3 on the 4th of See also:

JULY

July 1615 . The earlier See also:

note probably See also:

DATES

dates from 1613, and from this See also:

time Massinger apparently worked regularly with See also:

John Fletcher, although in See also:

EDITIONS

editions of See also:

Beaumont and Fletcher's See also:

WORKS

works his co-operation is usually unrecognized . See also:

Sir See also:

ASTON, ANTHONY (fl. 1712-1731)

Aston Cokayne, Massinger's See also:

CONSTANT, BENJAMIN (1845-1902)

constant friend and See also:

PATRON

patron, refers in explicit terms to this collaboration in a See also:

SONNET (Ital. Sonetto, dim. of Suono, Fr. Sonnet)

sonnet addressed to See also:

HUMPHREY (or HUMFREY), LAWRENCE (1527?-1590)

Humphrey Moseley on the publication of his See also:

FOLIO (properly the ablative case of the Lat. folium, leaf, but also frequently an adaptation of the Ital. foglio)

folio edition of Beaumont and Fletcher (Small Poems of See also:

DIVERS

Divers Sorts, 1658), and in an See also:

EPITAPH (Gr. it oa¢cos, sc. X/yos, from bri, upon, and ra¢os, a tomb)

epitaph on the two poets he says: " Plays they did write together, were See also:

GREAT

great See also:

friends, And now one See also:

GRAVE

grave includes them in their ends." After Philip Henslowe's See also:

DEATH

death in 1616 Massinger and Fletcher began to write for the See also:

King's Men . Between 1623 and 1626 Massinger produced unaided for the See also:

LADY (0. Eng. hlaefdige, Mid. Eng. ldfdi, lavedi; the first part of the word is hldf, loaf, bread, as in the corresponding hldford, lord; the second part is usually taken to be from the root dig-, to knead, seen also in " dough "; the sense development fr

Lady See also:

Elizabeth's Men then playing at the See also:

COCKPIT

Cockpit three pieces, The Parliament of Love, The Bondman and The Renegado . With the exception of these plays and The Great See also:

DUKE (corresponding to Fr. duc, Ital. duca, Ger. Herzog)

Duke of See also:

Florence, produced in 1627 by the See also:

Queen's servants, Massinger continued to write regularly for the King's Men until his death . The See also:

TONE, THEOBALD WOLFE (1763-1798)

tone of the dedications of his later plays affords See also:

EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence of his continued poverty . Thus in the See also:

PREFACE (Med. Lat. prefatia, for classical praefatio, praefari, to speak beforehand)

preface to The Maid of See also:

HONOUR (Lat. honos or lwnor, honoris; in English the word was spelled with or without the u indifferently until the 17th century, but during the 18th century it became fashion-able to spell the word " honor "; Johnson's and Webster's Dictionaries stereoty

Honour (1632) he wrote, addressing Sir See also:

Francis Foljambe and Sir Thomas Bland: " I had not to this time subsisted, but that I was supported by your frequent courtesies and favours." The See also:

PROLOGUE (from Gr. 7rpo, before, and Myer, a word)

prologue to The See also:

GUARDIAN

Guardian (licensed 1633) refers to two unsuccessful plays and two years of silence, when the author feared he had lost the popular favour . S . R . See also:

Gardiner, in an See also:

ESSAY, ESSAYIST (Fr. essai, Late Lat. exagium, a weighing or balance; exigere, to examine; the term in general meaning any trial or effort)

essay on " The See also:

POLITICAL

Political See also:

ELEMENT (Lat. elementum)

Element in Massinger " (Contemp . See also:

REVIEW (Fr. revue, from revoir, to see again, Lat. re and videre)

Review, Aug . 1876), maintained that Massinger's dramas are before all else political, that the events of his See also:

day were as openly criticized in his plays as current politics are in the cartoons of See also:

PUNCH

Punch .

It is probable that this break in his See also:

PRODUCTION (Lat. productionem, from producere, to pro-duce)

production was owing to his See also:

FREE

free handling of public matters . In 1631 Sir Henry Herbert, the See also:

MASTER (Lat. magister, related to tnagis, more, as the corresponding minister is to minus, less; the English form is due partly to the O. Eng. maegister, and partly to O. Fr. maistre, mod. maitre; cf. Du. meester, Ger. Meister, Ital. maestro)

master of the See also:

REVELS, MASTER OF THE

revels, refused to license an unnamed play by Massinger because of " dangerous See also:

MATTER

matter as the deposing of See also:

Sebastian, King of See also:

PORTUGAL

Portugal," calculated presumably to endanger See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good relations between See also:

England and See also:

Spain . There is little doubt that this was the same piece as Believe as You See also:

List, in which time and See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place are changed, See also:

ANTIOCHUS

Antiochus being substituted for Sebastian, and See also:

Rome for Spain . In the prologue Massinger ironically apologizes for his See also:

IGNORANCE (Lat. ignorantia, from ignorare, not to know); want of knowledge, a state of mind which in law has important consequences. A well-known legal maxim runs: ignorantia juris non excusat ("ignorance of the law does not excuse")

ignorance of See also:

HISTORY

history, and professes that his accuracy is at See also:

FAULT (Mid. Eng. faute, through the French, from the popular Latin use of fallere, to fail; the originallof the Latin being replaced in English in the 15th century)

fault if his picture comes near " a See also:

LATE

late and sad example." The obvious " late and sad example " of a wandering See also:

prince could be no other than See also:

Charles I.'s See also:

BROTHER

brother-in-See also:

law, the elector See also:

PALATINE (from Lat. palatium, a palace,)

palatine . An allusion to the same subject may be traced in The Maid of Honour . In another play by Massinger, not extant, Charles I. is reported to have himself struck out a passage put into the mouth of See also:

Don Pedro, king of Spain, as " too insolent." The poet seems to have adhered closely to the politics of his patron, Philip Herbert, earl of See also:

Montgomery, and afterwards 4th earl of Pembroke, who had leanings to See also:

DEMOCRACY (Gr. 3np.oKparia, from S)µos, the people, i.e. the commons, and Kparos, rule)

democracy and was a See also:

PERSONAL

personal enemy of the duke of See also:

Buckingham . In The Bondman, dealing with the history of See also:

TIMOLEON (c. 411-337 B.C.)

Timoleon, Buckingham is satirized as Gisco . The servility towards. the See also:

CROWN

Crown displayed in Beaumont and Fletcher's plays reflected the See also:

TEMPER (from Lat. temperare, to mingle or compound in due proportion, to qualify, rule, regulate, to be moderate, formed from tempos, time, fit or due season)

temper of the court of See also:

James I . The attitude of Massinger's heroes and heroines towards See also:

KINGS, FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF

kings is very different . Camiola's remarks on the limitations of the royal See also:

PREROGATIVE

prerogative (Maid of Honour, See also:

ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

act 1v. sc. v.) could hardly be acceptable at court . Massinger died suddenly at his house near the Globe See also:

THEATRE (BEarpov, " a place for seeing," from OeacOae)

theatre, and was buried in the See also:

churchyard of St Saviour's, See also:

SOUTHWARK

Southwark, on the 18th of See also:

March 164o . In the entry in the See also:

PARISH (Gr. irapouda, district, neighbourhood; 7r&poucos, one dwelling near or beside, from crap&, OtKOS, house; Lat. paroecur, Late Lat. parochia; cf. Fr. paroisse)

parish See also:

register he is described as a " stranger," which, however, implies nothing more than that he belonged to another parish .

The supposition that Massinger was a Roman Catholic rests upon three of his plays, The Virgin Martyr (licensed 1620), The Renegado (licensed 1624) and The Maid of Honour (c . 1621) . The religious sentiment is certainly such as would obviously best See also:

APPEAL

appeal to an See also:

AUDIENCE (from Lat. audire, to hear)

audience sympathetic to Roman Catholic See also:

DOCTRINE

doctrine . The Virgin Martyr, in which Dekker probably had a large See also:

SHARE (O. Eng. scearu, chiefly in compounds, e.g. land-scearu, a share of land, from sceran to cut; cf. " shear" )

share, is really a See also:

MIRACLE (Lat. miraculum, from mirari, to wonder)

miracle play, dealing with the martyrdom of Dorothea in the time of See also:

Diocletian, and the supernatural element is freely used . Little stress can be laid on this performance as elucidating Massinger's views . It is not entirely his work, and the See also:

story is early See also:

Christian, not Roman Catholic . In The Renegado, however, the See also:

ACTION

action is dominated by the beneficent See also:

INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence of a Jesuit See also:

PRIEST (Ger. Priester, Fr. pretre)

priest, Francisco, and the doctrine of baptismal regeneration is enforced . In The Maid of Honour a complicated situation is solved by the decision of the heroine, Camiola, to take the See also:

VEIL (O.Fr. veile, mod. voile, from Lat. velum, cloth, awning, sail)

veil . For this she is held up " to all posterity a See also:

FAIR

fair example for See also:

NOBLE, SIR ANDREW (1832- )

noble maids to imitate." Among all Massinger's heroines Camiola is distinguished by genuine purity and heroism . His plays have generally an obvious moral intention . He sets himself to work out a See also:

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of ethical problems through a See also:

SUCCESSION (Lat. successio, from succedere, to follow after)

succession of ingenious and effective plots . In the See also:

art of construction he has, indeed, few rivals .

But the virtue of his heroes and heroines is rather morbid than natural, and often singularly divorced from See also:

COMMON

common-sense . His dramatis personae are in See also:

general types rather than living persons, and their actions do not appear to See also:

SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring inevitably from their characters, but rather from the exigencies of the See also:

plot . The heroes are too good, and the villains too wicked to be quite convincing . Moreover their respective goodness and villainy are too often represented as extraneous to themselves . This defect of characterization shows that English See also:

DRAMA (literally "action," from Gr. Snail, act or do)

drama had already begun to decline . It seems doubtful whether Massinger was ever a popular playwright, for the best qualities of his plays would appeal rather to politicians and moralists than to the See also:

ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary playgoer . He contributed, however, at least one great and popular See also:

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character to the English See also:

STAGE (Fr. 6/age; from Lat. stare, to stand)

stage . Sir See also:

GILES (GIL, GILLES), ST

Giles Overreach, in A New Way to Pay Old Debts, is a sort of commercial See also:

Richard III., a See also:

compound of the See also:

lion and the See also:

fox, and the See also:

PART

part provides many opportunities for a great actor . He made another considerable contribution to the See also:

COMEDY

comedy of See also:

MANNERS, CHARLES (1857– )

manners in The City Madam . In Massinger's own See also:

JUDGMENT

judgment The Roman Actor was " the most perfect See also:

BIRTH (a word common in various forms to Teutonic languages from the root of the verb " to bear ")

birth of his See also:

MINERVA

Minerva." It is a study of the See also:

TYRANT (Gr. r6pavvos, master, ruler)

tyrant See also:

DOMITIAN (Thus FLAVIUS DOMITIANUS)

Domitian, and of the results of despotic See also:

RULE

rule on the See also:

DESPOT (Gr. Sc-va6rgs, lord or master; the origin of the first part of the Gr. word is unknown, the second part is cognate with rbvcs, husband, Lat. potens, powerful)

despot himself and his court . Other favourable examples of his grave and restrained art are The Duke of See also:

Milan, The Bondman and The Great Duke of Florence . Massinger was a student and follower of Shakespeare .

The See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form of his See also:

VERSE (from Lat. versus, literally a line or furrow drawn by turning the plough, from vertere, and afterwards signifying an arrangement of syllables into feet)

verse, especially in the number of run-on lines, approximates in some respects to Shakespeare's later manner . He is rhetorical and picturesque, but rarely rises to extraordinary felicity . His verse is never mean, but it sometimes comes perilously near to See also:

PROSE

prose, and in dealing with passionate situations it lacks See also:

FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire and directness . The plays attributed to Massinger alone are: The Duke of Milan, a Tragedy (c . 1618, pr . 1623 and 1638) ; The Unnatural Combat, a Tragedy (c . 1619, pr . 1639); The Bondman, an Antient Storie (licensed 1623, pr . 1624) ; The Renegado, a Tragaecomedie (lic . 1624, pr . 1630); The Parliament of Love (See also:

lie . 1624; ascribed, no doubt erroneously, in the Stationers' Register, 166o, to W .

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