A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature Part 41

SAVAGE, RICHARD (1697?-1743).--Poet, was probably of humble birth, but claimed to be the illegitimate _s._ of the Countess of Macclesfield. He was the friend of Johnson in the early and miserable days of the latter in London; and in _The Lives of the Poets_ J. has given his story as set forth by himself, which is, if true, a singular record of maternal cruelty. There are strong reasons, however, for doubting whether it was anything but a tissue of falsehoods mingled with gross exaggerations of fact. He led a wildly irregular life, killed a gentleman in a tavern brawl, for which he was sentenced to death, but pardoned; and by his waywardness alienated nearly all who wished to befriend him. For a time he had a pension of 50 from Queen Caroline on condition of his writing an ode yearly on her birthday. He wrote _Love in a Veil_ (1718) (comedy) and _Sir Thomas Overbury_ (1723) (tragedy), and two poems, _The b.a.s.t.a.r.d_ (1728) and _The Wanderer_ (1729). He _d._ in prison at Bristol.

SAVILE, SIR HENRY (1549-1622).--Scholar, _ed._ at Oxf., where he lectured on mathematics. He was afterwards Warden of Merton Coll. and Provost of Eton, and made a translation from Tacitus ent.i.tled, _The Ende of Nero and Beginning of Galba, etc._ (1581), and in the same year _pub._ _Rerum Anglicarum Scriptores post Bedam Praecipui_, a collection of some of the chronicles subsequent to Bede, William of Malmesbury, Roger of Hoveden, etc. He founded the Savilian Professors.h.i.+p of Astronomy and Geometry at Oxf.

SAXBY, EDWARD (_d._ 1658).--_B._ in Suffolk, and was in Cromwell's Horse.

His extreme republican views, however, led him into the bitterest antagonism when C. a.s.sumed the Protectors.h.i.+p. This received expression in his extraordinary pamphlet, _Killing no Murder_, in which the a.s.sa.s.sination of C. is advocated, and which displays in a remarkable degree perverted ingenuity of argument combined with considerable literary power. S. _d._ demented in the Tower in 1658.

SCOTT, ALEXANDER (1525?-1584?).--Scottish poet. Almost nothing is known of his life, but he is believed to have spent most of his time in or near Edin. Thirty-six short poems are attributed to him, including _Ane New Yeir Gift to Quene Mary_, _The Rondel of Love_, and a satire, _Justing at the Drum_. He has great variety of metre, and is graceful and musical, but his satirical pieces are often extremely coa.r.s.e.

SCOTT, HUGH STOWELL (1863?-1903).--Novelist (under the name of Henry Seton Merriman). He was an underwriter in Lloyd's, but having a strong literary bent, latterly devoted himself to writing novels, many of which had great popularity. They include _The Slave of the Lamp_ (1892), _The Sowers_ (generally considered his best) (1896), _In Kedar's Tents_ (1897), _Roden's Corner_ (1898), _Isle of Unrest_ (1900), _The Velvet Glove_ (1901), _The Vultures_ (1902), and _Barlasch of the Guard_ (1903).

He worked with great care, and his best books hold a high place in modern fiction. He was unusually modest and retiring in character.

SCOTT, JOHN (1730-1783).--Poet, _s._ of a Quaker draper who in his later years lived at Amwell, a village in Herts, which the poet celebrates in his descriptive poem, _Amwell_. He wrote much other verse now forgotten.

SCOTT, LADY JOHN (ALICIA ANN SPOTTISWOODE) (1801-1900).--_M._ Lord John Scott. She was the writer of a number of Scottish songs characterised by true poetic feeling. Among them may be mentioned _Annie Laurie_, _Douglas_, and _Durrisdeer_. She also composed the music for them.

SCOTT, MICHAEL (1789-1835).--Novelist, _b._ near and _ed._ at Glasgow, and settled in business at Kingston, Jamaica, which led to his making frequent sea voyages, and thus yielded him experiences which he turned to account in two vivacious novels, _Tom Cringle's Log_ and _The Cruise of the Midge_, both of which first appeared in _Blackwood's Magazine_, where they attained deserved popularity. They have frequently been reprinted.

The author, however, maintained a strict _incognito_ during his life.

SCOTT, SIR WALTER (1771-1832).--Poet, novelist, and biographer, _s._ of Walter S., a Writer to the Signet in Edinburgh, and Margaret Rutherford, _dau._ of one of the Prof. of Medicine in the Univ. there. Through both parents he was connected with several old Border families; his _f._ was a scion of the Scotts of Harden, well known in Border history. In early childhood he suffered from a severe fever, one of the effects of which was a permanent lameness, and for some time he was delicate. The native vigour of his const.i.tution, however, soon a.s.serted itself, and he became a man of exceptional strength. Much of his childhood was spent at his grandfather's farm at Sandyknowe, Roxburghs.h.i.+re, and almost from the dawn of intelligence he began to show an interest in the traditionary lore which was to have so powerful an influence on his future life, an interest which was nourished and stimulated by several of the older members of his family, especially one of his aunts. At this stage he was a quick-witted, excitable child, who required rather to be restrained than pressed forward. At the age of 7 he was strong enough to be sent to the High School of Edinburgh, where he was more remarkable for miscellaneous and out-of-the-way knowledge and his powers of story-telling than for proficiency in the ordinary course of study; and notwithstanding his lameness, he was to be found in the forefront wherever adventure or fighting were to be had. Thereafter he was for three sessions at the Univ., where he bore much the same character as at school. He was, however, far from idle, and was all the time following the irresistible bent, which ultimately led to such brilliant results, in a course of insatiable reading of ballads and romances, to enlarge which he had by the time he was 15 acquired a working knowledge of French and Italian, and had made the acquaintance of Dante and Ariosto in the original. Percy's _Reliques of Ancient Poetry_, _pub._ in 1765, came into his hands in 1784, and proved one of the most formative influences of this period. At 15 he was apprenticed to his _f._, but preferring the higher branch of the profession, he studied for the Bar, to which he was called in 1792. He did not, however, forego his favourite studies, but ransacked the Advocates' Library for old ma.n.u.scripts, in the deciphering of which he became so expert that his a.s.sistance soon came to be invoked by antiquarians of much longer standing. Although he worked hard at law his ideal was not the attainment of an extensive practice, but rather of a fairly paid post which should leave him leisure for his favourite pursuits, and this he succeeded in reaching, being appointed first in 1799 Sheriff of Selkirk, and next in 1812 one of the Princ.i.p.al Clerks to the Court of Session, which together brought him an income of 1600.

Meanwhile in 1795 he had translated Burger's ballad of _Lenore_, and in the following year he made his first appearance in print by publis.h.i.+ng it along with a translation of _The Wild Huntsman_ by the same author. About the same time he made the acquaintance of "Monk" Lewis, to whose collection of _Tales of Wonder_ he contributed the ballads of _Glenfinlas_, _The Eve of St. John_, and _The Grey Brother_; and he _pub._ in 1799 a translation of Goethe's _Goetz von Berlichingen_. In 1797 he was _m._ to Miss Charlotte Margaret Charpentier, the _dau._ of a French gentleman of good position. The year 1802 saw the publication of Scott's first work of real importance, _The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border_, of which 2 vols. appeared, the third following in the next year. In 1804 he went to reside at Ashestiel on the Tweed, where he ed. the old romance, _Sir Tristrem_, and in 1805 he produced his first great original work, _The Lay of the Last Minstrel_, which was received with great favour, and decided that literature was thenceforth to be the main work of his life. In the same year the first few chapters of _Waverley_ were written; but the unfavourable opinion of a friend led to the MS. being laid aside for nearly 10 years. In 1806 S. began, by a secret partners.h.i.+p, that a.s.sociation with the Ballantynes which resulted so unfortunately for him 20 years later. _Marmion_ was _pub._ in 1808: it was even more popular than the _Lay_, and raised his reputation proportionately. The same year saw the publication of his elaborate ed.

of Dryden with a Life, and was also marked by a rupture with Jeffrey, with whom he had been a.s.sociated as a contributor to the _Edinburgh Review_, and by the establishment of the new firm of J. Ballantyne and Co., of which the first important publication was _The Lady of the Lake_, which appeared in 1810, _The Vision of Don Roderick_ following in 1811.

In 1812 S. purchased land on the Tweed near Melrose, and built his famous house, Abbotsford, the adornment of which became one of the chief pleasures of his life, and which he made the scene of a n.o.ble and kindly hospitality. In the same year he _pub._ _Rokeby_, and in 1813 _The Bridal of Triermain_, while 1814 saw _The Life and Works of Swift_ in 19 vols., and was made ill.u.s.trious by the appearance of _Waverley_, the two coming out in the same week, the latter, of course, like its successors, anonymously. The next year, _The Lord of the Isles_, _Guy Mannering_, and _The Field of Waterloo_ appeared, and the next again, 1816, _Paul's Letters to his Kinsfolk_, _The Antiquary_, _The Black Dwarf_, and _Old Mortality_, while 1817 saw _Harold the Dauntless_ and _Rob Roy_. The enormous strain which S. had been undergoing as official, man of letters, and man of business, began at length to tell upon him, and in this same year, 1817, he had the first of a series of severe seizures of cramp in the stomach, to which, however, his indomitable spirit refused to yield, and several of his next works, _The Heart of Midlothian_ (1818), by many considered his masterpiece, _The Bride of Lammermoor_, _The Legend of Montrose_, and _Ivanhoe_, all of 1819, were dictated to amanuenses, while he was too ill to hold a pen. In 1820 _The Monastery_, in which the public began to detect a falling off in the powers of the still generally unknown author, appeared. The immediately following _Abbot_, however, showed a recovery. _Kenilworth_ and _The Pirate_ followed in 1821, _The Fortunes of Nigel_ in 1822; _Peveril of the Peak_, _Quentin Durward_, and _St. Ronan's Well_ in 1823; _Redgauntlet_ in 1824, and _Tales of the Crusaders_ (_The Betrothed_ and _The Talisman_) in 1825. By this time S.

had long reached a pinnacle of fame such as perhaps no British man of letters has ever attained during his lifetime. He had for a time been the most admired poet of his day, and though latterly somewhat eclipsed by Byron, he still retained great fame as a poet. He also possessed a great reputation as an antiquary, one of the chief revivers of interest in our ancient literature, and as the biographer and ed. of several of our great writers; while the incognito which he maintained in regard to his novels was to many a very partial veil. The unprecedented profits of his writings had made him, as he believed, a man of wealth; his social prestige was immense; he had in 1820 been made a baronet, when that was still a real distinction, and he had been the acknowledged representative of his country when the King visited it in 1822. All this was now to change, and the fabric of prosperity which he had raised by his genius and labour, and which had never spoiled the simplicity and generosity of his character, was suddenly to crumble into ruin with, however, the result of revealing him as the possessor of qualities even greater and n.o.bler than any he had shown in his happier days. The publis.h.i.+ng and printing firms with which he had been connected fell in the commercial crisis of 1826, and S. found himself at 55, and with failing health, involved in liabilities amounting to 130,000. Never was adversity more manfully and gallantly met. Notwithstanding the crus.h.i.+ng magnitude of the disaster and the concurrent sorrow of his wife's illness, which soon issued in her death, he deliberately set himself to the herculean task of working off his debts, asking only that time might be given him. The secret of his authors.h.i.+p was now, of course, revealed, and his efforts were crowned with a marvellous measure of success. _Woodstock_, his first publication after the crash, appeared in the same year and brought 8000; by 1828 he had earned 40,000. In 1827 _The Two Drovers_, _The Highland Widow_, and _The Surgeon's Daughter_, forming the first series of _Chronicles of the Canongate_, appeared together with _The Life of Napoleon_ in 9 vols., and the first series of _Tales of a Grandfather_; in 1828 _The Fair Maid of Perth_ and the second series of _Tales of a Grandfather_, _Anne of Geierstein_, a third series of the _Tales_, and the commencement of a complete ed. of the novels in 1829; a fourth and last series of _Tales_, _History of Scotland_, and other work in 1830.

Then at last the overworked brain gave way, and during this year he had more than one paralytic seizure. He was sent abroad for change and rest, and a Government frigate was placed at his disposal. But all was in vain; he never recovered, and though in temporary rallies he produced two more novels, _Count Robert of Paris_ and _Castle Dangerous_, both in 1831, which only showed that the spell was broken, he gradually sank, and _d._ at Abbotsford on September 21, 1832.

The work which S. accomplished, whether looked at as regards its ma.s.s or its quality, is alike marvellous. In mere amount his output in each of the four departments of poetry, prose fiction, history and biography, and miscellaneous literature is sufficient to fill an ordinary literary life.

Indeed the quant.i.ty of his acknowledged work in other departments was held to be the strongest argument against the possibility of his being the author of the novels. The achievement of such a result demanded a power of steady, methodical, and rapid work almost unparalleled in the history of literature. When we turn to its quality we are struck by the range of subject and the variableness of the treatment. In general there is the same fulness of mind directed by strong practical sense and judgment, but the style is often heavy, loose, and even slipshod, and in most of his works there are "patches" in which he falls far below his best. His poetry, though as a whole belonging to the second cla.s.s, is full of broad and bold effects, picturesqueness, and an irresistible rush and freshness. As a lyrist, however, he stands much higher, and in such gems as "Proud Maisie" and "A weary lot is thine, Fair Maid," he takes his place among our greatest singers. His chief fame rests, of course, upon the novels. Here also, however, there is the same inequality and irregularity, but there is a singular command over his genius in virtue of which the fusing, creating imagination responds to his call, and is at its greatest just where it is most needed. For the variety, truth, and aliveness of his characters he has probably no equal since Shakespeare, and though, of course, coming far behind, he resembles him alike in his range and in his insight. The most remarkable feature in his character is the union of an imagination of the first order with practical sagacity and manly sanity, in this also resembling his great predecessor.

SUMMARY.--_B._ 1771, _ed._ Edin., called to Bar 1792, Sheriff of Selkirk 1799, Princ.i.p.al Clerk of Session 1812, first _pub._ translation of _Lenore_, etc., wrote ballads and made translation from German, _pub.

Minstrelsy of Scottish Border_ 1802-3, _Lay of Last Minstrel_ 1805, began _Waverley_ 1805, partner with Ballantynes 1806, _pub._ _Marmion_ 1808, _Lady of Lake_ 1810, began to build Abbotsford 1812, Waverley novels began and continued 1814-31, health began to fail 1817, made Baronet 1820, ruined by failure of Ballantynes 1826, devotes rest of his life to clearing off debt by novels and historical works, _Tales of a Grandfather_, _Life of Napoleon_, etc., health finally gave way 1830, _d._ 1832.

The great authority is the _Life_ by Lockhart, but it has been supplemented by the _Journal_ (1890) and _Letters_ (1893). Short _Lives_ by C. Gilfillan, R.H. Hutton, etc., etc.

SCOTT, WILLIAM BELL (1811-1890).--Poet and painter, _s._ of Robert S., an engraver, and brother of David S., painter, _b._ in Edin., settled in London, and painted chiefly historical subjects. He _pub._ five vols. of poetry, including _Hades_ and _The Year of the World_, and many fine sonnets, a form of poetry in which he excelled, and in prose _Half-hour Lectures on Art_ and _The Little Masters_ in the Great Artists Series. He also ed. a series of "English Poets," and wrote a Life of his brother and one of Albrecht Durer, etc.

SEDLEY, SIR CHARLES (1639?-1701).--Poet, _s._ and heir of a Kentish baronet, was at Oxf. and, coming to the Court of Charles II., became one of the most popular and brilliant members of its dissipated circles. He was the author of two tragedies and three comedies, now forgotten, though extravagantly lauded in their day, and of some poems and songs, of which the best known are _Phyllis_ and _Chloris_. His only child was the witty and profligate Catherine S., mistress of James II., who created her Countess of Dorset. _Bellamira_ and _The Mulberry Garden_, founded respectively on Terence and Moliere, are his best plays. His prose in pamphlets and essays is better than his verse.

SEELEY, SIR JOHN ROBERT (1834-1895).--Historian and essayist, _s._ of a publisher in London, _ed._ at City of London School and Camb. In 1863 he became Prof. of Latin at Univ. Coll., London, and was Prof. of Modern History at Camb. from 1869 until his death. In 1865 appeared anonymously _Ecce h.o.m.o_, a work which created intense excitement and keen controversy in the theological and religious world. Other works were _The Life and Times of Stein_, the Prussian statesman (1879), _Natural Religion_ (1882), _The Expansion of England_ (1883), _Life of Napoleon_ (1885), and a work on Goethe. _The Growth of British Policy_ (1895) was left finished but unrevised at his death. In recognition of his services to the empire in his political writings he was, in 1894, made K.C.M.G.

SELDEN, JOHN (1584-1654).--Jurist and scholar, _b._ near Worthing, Suss.e.x, the _s._ of a farmer who was also a musician, _ed._ at Chichester and Oxf., and studied law at Clifford's Inn and the Inner Temple. His learning soon attracted attention and, though practising little, he was consulted on points involving legal erudition. His first work, _a.n.a.lecton Anglo-Britannicon_, a chronological collection of English records down to the Norman invasion, was written in 1606, though not _pub._ till 1615. In 1610 appeared a treatise on the _Duello, or Single Combat_; and in 1614 his largest English work on _t.i.tles of Honour_, full of profound learning, and still a high authority. Three years later, 1617, he wrote in Latin his treatise, _De Deis Syris_ (on the G.o.ds of Syria), an inquiry into polytheism, specially with reference to the false deities mentioned in Scripture. His reputation as a scholar had now become European. In 1618 he incurred the indignation of the King and the clergy by his _History of t.i.thes_, in which he denied their claim to be a divine inst.i.tution. Called before the High Commission he made a statement regretting the publication of the book though not withdrawing any of its statements. In 1621 he suffered a brief imprisonment for withstanding some of James's doctrines as to the privileges of Parliament. Two years later he was elected member for Lancaster. As a politician his views were moderate, and all along he endeavoured to repress the zeal of the extremists on both sides. He was imprisoned in the Tower for four years, 1630-34. During the final struggle of King and Parliament he was much employed; but like most men of moderate views, was frequently under suspicion, and after the execution of the King, to which he was strongly opposed, he took little to do with public matters. He was a lay member of the Westminster a.s.sembly, 1643, where his profound knowledge of the original tongues made him somewhat of a terror to certain extremists among the divines. He had at an early age been appointed steward to the Earl of Kent, and at the house of his widow, with whom he had long lived in such close friends.h.i.+p as to give rise to the belief that they were _m._, he _d._ Among other works may be mentioned a description of the Arundel Marbles (1629), a treatise concerning the Jewish calendar (1646), and, specially, his _Table Talk_, _pub._ 1689, of which Coleridge said "there is more weighty bullion sense in this book than I can find in the same number of pages of any uninspired writer." He was likewise the author of various treatises on const.i.tutional matters and the law of nations, including _Mare Clausum_ (a Closed Sea), in defence of the property of England in its circ.u.mfluent seas. Most of these were written in Latin.

_Coll. Works_ with _Life_, Dr. Wilkins (3 vols., folio, 1726), Aikin's _Lives_ of Selden and Ussher.

SELLAR, WILLIAM YOUNG (1825-1890).--Scholar, _b._ in Sutherlands.h.i.+re, his _f._ being factor to the Duke of Sutherland, _ed._ at Glasgow Univ. and Oxf., became in 1859 Prof. of Greek at St. Andrews and, in 1863, of Latin at Edin. He _pub._ a work on the _Roman Poets of the Republic_ (1863), followed by _The Roman Poets of the Augustan Age_. Both of these hold a high place among modern works of scholars.h.i.+p.

SEMPILL, ROBERT (1530?-1595), SEMPILL, ROBERT (1595?-1659?), SEMPILL, FRANCIS (1616?-1682).--Scottish poets, all belonging to the same family, the last two being _f._ and _s._ The first was mainly a satirist, was in Paris at the ma.s.sacre of St. Bartholomew, and belonged to the extremist division of the Reforming party, _The Regente's Tragedy_ laments the death of Murray, _Ane Complaint upon Fortoun_, the fall of Morton. The second Robert wrote _The Life and Death of Habbie Simson, the Piper_, a humorous description of old Scottish life. Francis wrote occasional pieces. The song _She Rose and let me in_, formerly attributed to him, is now known to be by Tom D'Urfey (_q.v._).

SENIOR, Na.s.sAU WILLIAM (1790-1864).--Economist and essayist, _s._ of a clergyman, was _b._ at Compton Beauchamp, Berks, _ed._ at Eton and Oxf., studied law, and was called to the Bar in 1819. He twice held the Professors.h.i.+p of Political Economy at Oxf., 1825-30 and 1847-52, rendered important service as a member of the Poor Law Commission of 1833, and wrote its Report. S. holds a high position among English economists, and made many contributions to the literature of the science, including _Outline of the Science of Political Economy_ (1836). He was, moreover, a writer of considerable versatility, his works in general literature including _Essays on Fiction_ (1864), _Historical and Philosophical Essays_ (1865), and specially his notes of conversations with many eminent persons, chiefly political, _e.g._, De Tocqueville, Thiers, and Guizot, which combine fulness of information with discretion; he also _pub._ journals of his travels in Turkey, Greece, Egypt, etc.

SETTLE, ELKANAH (1648-1724).--Poet and dramatist, _ed._ at Oxf., was the author of a number of turgid dramas, now unreadable and unread, but which in their day were held to rival Dryden, who pilloried S. as Doeg in the second part of _Absalom and Achitophel_. S. essayed a reply in _Absalom Senior_. He wrote against the Papists, but recanted, and made amends by a _Narrative of the Popish Plot_, in which he exposed the perjuries of t.i.tus Oates. He was appointed City Poet. Latterly he had a booth in Bartholomew Fair. He _d._ in the Charterhouse. His plays include _Cambyses_ (1666), _Empress of Morocco_ (1671), _Love and Revenge_ (1675), _The Female Prelate_, _Distressed Innocence_ (1691), and the _Ladies' Triumph_ (1718).

SHADWELL, THOMAS (1640 or 1642-1692).--Dramatist and poet, belonged to a good Staffords.h.i.+re family, was _b._ in Norfolk, _ed._ at Camb., and after studying law travelled, and on his return became a popular dramatist.

Among his comedies, in which he displayed considerable comic power and truth to nature, may be mentioned _The Sullen Lovers_ (1668), _Royal Shepherdess_ (1668), _The Humourists_ (1671), and _The Miser_ (1672). He attached himself to the Whigs, and when Dryden attacked them in _Absalom and Achitophel_ and _The Medal_, had the temerity to a.s.sail him scurrilously in _The Medal of John Bayes_ (1682). The castigation which this evoked in _MacFlecknoe_ and in the second part of _Absalom and Achitophel_, in which S. figures as "Og," has conferred upon him an unenviable immortality. He may have found some consolation in his succession to Dryden as Poet Laureate when, at the Revolution, the latter was deprived of the office.

Other plays are _Epsom Wells_ (1673), _The Virtuoso_ (1676), _Lancas.h.i.+re Witches_ (1681), _The Volunteers_ (1693), etc.

SHAFTESBURY, ANTHONY ASHLEY COOPER, 3RD EARL OF (1671-1713).--Philosopher, _b._ in London, grandson of the 1st Earl, the eminent statesman, the "Achitophel" of Dryden. After a private education under the supervision of Locke, and a short experience of Winchester School, he travelled much on the Continent. On succeeding to the earldom in 1699 he took a prominent part in the debates of the House of Lords, but devoted himself mainly to philosophical and literary pursuits. His _coll._ writings were _pub._ in 1711 under the t.i.tle of _Characteristics of Men, Manners, Opinions, and Times_. In his philosophy he maintains, as against Hobbes, the existence of a moral sense, a view subsequently developed by the Scottish school of philosophy. The style of S. is stately and sonorous but laboured. He _d._ at Naples, whither he had gone in search of health, at the early age of 42. Though his writings are directed strongly against Atheism, they have been held to be hostile to a belief in revelation.

SHAIRP, JOHN CAMPBELL (1819-1885).--Poet and critic, _ed._ at Glasgow and Oxf., became Prof. of Latin at St. Andrews 1861. Princ.i.p.al of the United Coll. there 1868, and Prof. of Poetry at Oxf. 1877-87. Among his writings are _Kilmahoe and other Poems_ (1864), _Studies in Poetry and Philosophy_ (1868), _Culture and Religion_ (1870), and a Life of Burns in the English Men of Letters Series. He also collaborated with Prof. Tait in writing the Life of Princ.i.p.al Forbes (_q.v._), and ed. the Journal of Dorothy Wordsworth.

SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM (1564-1616).--Dramatist and poet, _b._ at Stratford-on-Avon, Warwicks.h.i.+re, on 22nd or 23rd, and baptised on 26th April, 1564. On his father's side he belonged to a good yeoman stock, though his descent cannot be certainly traced beyond his grandfather, a Richard S., settled at Snitterfield, near Stratford. His _f._, John S., appears to have been a man of intelligence and energy, who set up in Stratford as a dealer in all kinds of agricultural produce, to which he added the trade of a glover. He became prosperous, and gained the respect of his neighbours, as is evidenced by his election in succession to all the munic.i.p.al honours of his community, including those of chief alderman and high bailiff. He _m._ Mary, youngest _dau._ of Robert Arden, a wealthy farmer at Wilmcote, and a younger branch of a family of considerable distinction, and whose tenant Richard S. had been. On her father's death Mary inherited Asbies, a house with 50 acres of land attached to it. The first children of the marriage were two _dau._, who _d._ in infancy. William was the third, and others followed, of whom three sons, Gilbert, Richard, and Edmund, and a _dau._ Joan, reached maturity. He was _ed._ with his brother Gilbert at Stratford Grammar School, where he learned Latin from Lilly's Grammar, English, writing, and arithmetic. He probably read some of the Latin cla.s.sics and may have got a little Greek, and though his learned friend Ben Jonson credits him with "little Latin and less Greek," Aubrey says he "knew Latin pretty well." This happy state of matters continued until he was about 13, when his _f._ fell into misfortune, which appears to have gone on deepening until the success and prosperity of the poet in later years enabled him to reinstate the family in its former position. Meanwhile, however, he was taken from school, and appears to have been made to a.s.sist his _f._ in his business. The next certain fact in his history is his marriage in November, 1582, when he was 18, to Ann Hathaway, _dau._ of a yeoman at the neighbouring hamlet of Shottery, and 8 years his senior. Various circ.u.mstances point to the marriage having been against the wishes of his own family, and pressed on by that of his wife, and that it was so urged in defence of the reputation of the lady, and as perhaps might be expected, they indicate, though not conclusively, that it did not prove altogether happy. The birth, in May, 1583, of his eldest child Susannah (who is said to have inherited something of his wit and practical ability, and who _m._ a Dr. John Hall), followed in the next year by that of twins, Hamnet and Judith, and the necessity of increased means, led to his departure from Stratford, whence he travelled on foot to London, where the next 23 years of his life were mainly spent. The tradition that his departure was also caused by trouble into which he had got by killing the deer of Sir Thomas Lucy, of Charlcote, is credible. Leaving Stratford in 1585 or the beginning of 1586, he seems at once to have turned to the theatres, where he soon found work, although, as Rowe, his first biographer, says, "in a very mean rank." It was not long, however, before he had opportunities of showing his capacities as an actor, with the result that he shortly became a member of one of the chief acting companies of the day, which was then under the patronage of the Earl of Leicester, and after being a.s.sociated with the names of various other n.o.blemen, at last on the accession of James I. became known as the King's Company. It played originally in "The Theatre" in Sh.o.r.editch, the first playhouse to be erected in England, and afterwards in the "Rose" on the Bankside, Southwark, the scene of the earliest successes of S. as an actor and playwright. Subsequently to 1594, he acted occasionally in a playhouse in Newington b.u.t.ts, and between 1595 and 1599 in the "Curtain."

In the latter year the "Globe" was built on the Bankside, and 10 years later the "Blackfriars:" and with these two, but especially with the former, the remainder of his professional life was a.s.sociated. It is not unlikely that he visited various provincial towns; but that he was ever in Scotland or on the Continent is improbable. Among the plays in which he appeared were Jonson's _Every Man in his Humour_ and _Seja.n.u.s_, and in _Hamlet_ he played "The Ghost;" and it is said that his brother Gilbert as an old man remembered his appearing as "Adam" in _As You Like It_. By 1595 S. was famous and prosperous; his earlier plays had been written and acted, and his poems _Venus and Adonis_, and _Lucrece_, and probably most of the sonnets, had been _pub._ and received with extraordinary favour.

He had also powerful friends and patrons, including the Earl of Southampton, and was known at Court. By the end of the century he is mentioned by Francis Meres (_q.v._) as the greatest man of letters of the day, and his name had become so valuable that it was affixed by unscrupulous publishers to works, _e.g._ _Locrine_, _Oldcastle_, and _The Yorks.h.i.+re Tragedy_, by other and often very inferior hands. He had also resumed a close connection with Stratford, and was making the restoration of the family position there the object of his ambition. In accordance with this he induced his _f._ to apply for a grant of arms, which was given, and he purchased New Place, the largest house in the village. With the income derived from his profession as an actor and dramatist, and his share of the profits of the Globe and Blackfriars theatres, and in view of the business capacity with which he managed his affairs, he may be regarded as almost a wealthy man, and he went on adding to his influence in Stratford by buying land. He had enjoyed the favour of Elizabeth, and her death in 1603 did nothing to disturb his fortunes, as he stood quite as well with her successor. His company received the t.i.tle of the "King's Servants," and his plays were frequently performed before the Court. But notwithstanding this, the clouds had gathered over his life. The conspiracy of Ess.e.x in 1601 had involved several of his friends and patrons in disaster; he had himself been entangled in the unhappy love affair which is supposed to be referred to in some of his sonnets, and he had suffered unkindness at the hands of a friend. For a few years his dramas breathe the darkness and bitterness of a heart which has been sounding the depths of sad experience. He soon, however, emerged from this and, pa.s.sing through the period of the great tragedies, reached the serene triumph and peace of his later dramas. In 1611 S. severed his long connection with the stage, and retired to Stratford, where the remaining five years of his life were spent in honour and prosperity. Early in 1616 his health began to give way, and he made his will. In the spring he received a visit from his friends, Jonson and Drayton, and the festivity with which it was celebrated seems to have brought on a fever, of which he _d._ on April 23. He was survived by his wife and his two _dau._, both of whom were married. His descendants _d._ out with his grand-daughter, Elizabeth Hall.

Immense research has been spent upon the writings of S., with the result of substantial agreement as to the order of their production and the sources from which their subjects were drawn; for S. rarely troubled himself with the construction of a story, but adopting one already existing reared upon it as a foundation one of those marvellous superstructures which make him the greatest painter and interpreter of human character the world has ever seen. His period of literary production extends from about 1588 to 1613, and falls naturally into four divisions, which Prof. Dowden has named, "In the Workshop" ending in 1596; "In the World" 1596-1601; "Out of the Depths" 1601-1608; and "On the Heights" 1608-1613. Of the 37 plays usually attributed to him, 16 only were _pub._ during his lifetime, so that the exact order in which they were produced cannot always be determined with certainty. Recent authorities are agreed to the extent that while they do not invariably place the individual plays in the same order, they are almost entirely at one as to which belong to the four periods respectively. The following list shows in a condensed form the order according to Mr. Sidney Lee (_Dictionary of National Biography_) with the most probable dates and the original sources on which the plays are founded.

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS

FIRST PERIOD--1588?-1596 LOVE'S LABOUR LOST (1591)--Plot probably original.

TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA (1591)--_The Shepherdess Felismena_ in George of Montmayor's _Diana_.

COMEDY OF ERRORS (1591)--_Menaechmi_ of Plautus and earlier play.

ROMEO AND JULIET (1591)--Italian romance in Painter's _Palace of Pleasure_ and Broke's _Romeus and Juliet_.

HENRY VI. 1, 2, and 3 (1592)--Retouched old plays, probably with Marlowe.

RICHARD III. (1592-3)--Holinshed's _Chronicle_.

RICHARD II. (1593-4?)-- do.

t.i.tUS ANDRONICUS (1594)--Probably chiefly by Kyd, retouched.

KING JOHN (1594)--Old play retouched.