Philip Massinger was an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including
A New Way to Pay Old DebtsA New Way to Pay Old Debts is a play of English Renaissance drama, the most popular drama of Philip Massinger. Its central chararacter, Sir Giles Overreach, became one of the more popular villains on English and American stages through the 19th century.-Performance:Massinger most likely wrote the...
,
The City MadamThe City Madam is a Caroline era comedy written by Philip Massinger. It was licensed by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on May 25, 1632, and was acted by the King's Men at the Blackfriars Theatre. It was printed in quarto in 1658 by the stationer Andrew Pennycuicke, who identified...
and
The Roman ActorThe Roman Actor is a Caroline era stage play, a tragedy written by Philip Massinger; it was first performed in 1626, and first published in 1629...
, are noted for their satire and realism, and their political and social themes.
Early life
The son of Arthur Massinger or Messenger, he was baptized at St. Thomas's Salisbury on 24 November 1583. He apparently belonged to an old Salisbury family, for the name occurs in the city records as early as 1415. He is described in his matriculation entry at St. Alban Hall, Oxford (1602), as the son of a gentleman. His father, who had also been educated at St. Alban Hall, was a member of parliament, and was attached to the household of
Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of PembrokeHenry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke KG was an English peer of the Elizabethan era.-Life:He was the son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Anne Parr. His aunt was queen consort Catherine Parr, last wife of King Henry VIII. Herbert was responsible for the costly restoration of Cardiff Castle...
. Herbert recommended Arthur in 1587 for the office of examiner in the Court of the Marches.
William Herbert, 3rd Earl of PembrokeWilliam Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, KG, PC was the son of Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke and his third wife Mary Sidney. Chancellor of the University of Oxford, he founded Pembroke College, Oxford with King James. He was warden of the Forest of Dean, and constable of St Briavels from 1608...
whose name has been connected with
Shakespeare's sonnetsShakespeare's sonnets are 154 poems in sonnet form written by William Shakespeare, dealing with themes such as the passage of time, love, beauty and mortality. All but two of the poems were first published in a 1609 quarto entitled SHAKE-SPEARES SONNETS.: Never before imprinted. Sonnets 138 and 144...
, succeeded to the title in 1601. It has been suggested that he supported Massinger at Oxford, but the omission of any reference to him in any of Massinger's prefaces points to the contrary. Massinger left Oxford without a degree in 1606. His father had died in 1603, and that may have left him without financial assistance. The lack of a degree and the want of patronage from Lord Pembroke may both be explained on the supposition that he had become Roman Catholic. On leaving the university he went to London to make his living as a dramatist, but his name cannot be definitely affixed to any play until fifteen years later, when
The Virgin MartyrThe Virgin Martyr is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragedy written by Thomas Dekker and Philip Massinger, and first published in 1622. It constitutes a rare instance in Masssinger's canon in which he collaborated with a member of the previous generation of English Renaissance dramatists —...
(registered with the
Stationers CompanyThe Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was founded in 1403; it received a Royal Charter in 1557...
, 7 December 1621) appeared as the work of Massinger and Thomas Dekker.
First plays
During these years he worked in collaboration with other dramatists. A joint letter, from Nathan Field,
Robert DaborneRobert Daborne was an English dramatist of the Jacobean era.Little is known for certain of his birth, background, or early life; he may have come from a family in Guildford, Surrey. He is now thought to have been a "sizar"—an undergraduate exempt from fees—at King's College, Cambridge...
and Philip Massinger, to
Philip HenslowePhilip Henslowe was an Elizabethan theatrical entrepreneur and impresario. Henslowe's modern reputation rests on the survival of his diary, a primary source for information about the theatrical world of Renaissance London...
, begs for an immediate loan of five pounds to release them from their "unfortunate extremity," the money to be taken from the balance due for the "play of Mr. Fletcher's and ours." A second document shows that Massinger and Daborne owed Henslowe £3 on 4 July 1615. The earlier note probably dates from 1613, and from this time Massinger apparently worked regularly with
John FletcherJohn Fletcher was a Jacobean playwright. Following William Shakespeare as house playwright for the King's Men, he was among the most prolific and influential dramatists of his day; both during his lifetime and in the early Restoration, his fame rivalled Shakespeare's...
. Sir
Aston CockayneSir Aston Cockayne, Baronet of Ashbourne was, in his day, a well-known Cavalier and a minor literary figure, now best remembered as a friend of Philip Massinger, John Fletcher, Michael Drayton, Richard Brome, Thomas Randolph, and other writers of his generation.-Biography:Aston Cockayne was the...
, Massinger's constant friend and patron, refers in explicit terms to this collaboration in a sonnet addressed to
Humphrey MoseleyHumphrey Moseley was a prominent London publisher and bookseller in the middle seventeenth century.Possibly a son of publisher Samuel Moseley, Humphrey Moseley became a "freeman" of the Stationers Company, the guild of London booksellers, on 7 May 1627; he was selected a Warden of the Company on...
on the publication of his folio edition of Beaumont and Fletcher (
Small Poems of Divers Sorts, 1658), and in an epitaph on the two poets he says: "Plays they did write together, were great friends, And now one grave includes them in their ends."
Massinger and the King's Men
After Philip Henslowe's death in 1616 Massinger and Fletcher began to write for the
King's MenThe King's Men was the company of actors to which William Shakespeare belonged through most of his career. Formerly known as The Lord Chamberlain's Men during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, it became The King's Men in 1603 when King James ascended the throne and became the company's patron.The...
. Between 1623 and 1626 Massinger produced unaided for the
Lady Elizabeth's MenThe Lady Elizabeth's Men, or Princess Elizabeth's Men, was a company of actors in Jacobean London, formed under the patronage of King James I's daughter Princess Elizabeth. From 1618 on, the company was called The Queen of Bohemia's Men, after Elizabeth and her husband the Elector Palatine had...
, then playing at the
Cockpit TheatreThe Cockpit was a theatre in London, operating from 1616 to around 1665. It was the first theatre to be located near Drury Lane. After damage in 1617, it was christened The Phoenix....
, three pieces,
The Parliament of LoveThe Parliament of Love is a late Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by Philip Massinger. The play was never printed in the seventeenth century, and survived only in a defective manuscript — making it arguably the most problematical work in the Massinger canon.The Parliament of Love was...
,
The BondmanThe Bondman is a later Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger, first published in 1624. The play has been called "the finest of the more serious tragicomedies" of Massinger.-Performance and publication:...
and
The RenegadoThe Renegado, or The Gentleman of Venice is a late Jacobean stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger and first published in 1630...
. With the exception of these plays and
The Great Duke of FlorenceThe Great Duke of Florence is an early Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger, and first published in 1636. It has been called "one of Massinger's best dramas," and "a masterpiece of dramatic construction."...
, produced in 1627 by
Queen Henrietta's MenQueen Henrietta's Men was an important playing company or troupe of actors in Caroline era London. At their peak of popularity, Queen Henrietta's Men were the second leading troupe of the day, after only the King's Men.-Beginnings:...
, Massinger continued to write regularly for the King's Men until his death. The tone of the dedications of his later plays affords evidence of his continued poverty. In the preface to
The Maid of HonourFor attendants upon a queen in the royal households, see Maids of HonourThe Maid of Honour is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger, first published in 1632...
(1632) he wrote, addressing Sir 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 prologue to
The GuardianThe Guardian is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by Philip Massinger, dating from 1633. "The play in which Massinger comes nearest to urbanity and suavity is The Guardian...."-Performance:...
(licensed 1633) refers to two unsuccessful plays and two years of silence, when the author feared he had lost the popular favour. It is probable that this break in his production was owing to his free handling of political matters. In 1631, Sir Henry Herbert, the
Master of the RevelsThe Master of the Revels was a position within the English, and later the British, royal household heading the "Revels Office" or "Office of the Revels" that originally had responsibilities for overseeing royal festivities, known as revels, and later also became responsible for stage censorship,...
, refused to license an unnamed play by Massinger because of "dangerous matter as the deposing of Sebastian, King of Portugal," calculated presumably to endanger good relations between England and Spain. There is little doubt that this was the same piece as
Believe as You ListBelieve as You List is a Caroline era tragedy by Philip Massinger, famous as a case of theatrical censorship.-Censorship:The play originally dealt with the legend that Sebastian of Portugal had survived the battle of Alcácer Quibir, and the efforts of Philip II of Spain to suppress the "false...
, in which time and place are changed, Antiochus being substituted for Sebastian, and Rome for Spain. In the prologue, Massinger ironically apologizes for his ignorance of history, and professes that his accuracy is at fault if his picture comes near "a late and sad example." The obvious "late and sad example" of a wandering prince could be no other than
Charles ICharles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
's brother-in-law, the Elector Palatine. An allusion to the same subject may be traced in
The Maid of Honour. In another play by Massinger, not extant,
Charles ICharles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
is reported to have himself struck out a passage put into the mouth of Don Pedro, king of Spain, as "too insolent." The poet seems to have adhered closely to the politics of his patron,
Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of PembrokePhilip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke and 1st Earl of Montgomery KG was an English courtier and politician active during the reigns of James I and Charles I...
, who had leanings to democracy and was a personal enemy of the Duke of Buckingham. The servility towards the Crown displayed in
Beaumont and FletcherBeaumont and Fletcher were the English dramatists Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, who collaborated in their writing during the reign of James I ....
's plays reflected the temper of the court of
James IJames VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
. The attitude of Massinger's heroes and heroines towards kings is very different. Camiola's remarks on the limitations of the royal prerogative (
Maid of Honour, Act V, Scene v) could hardly be acceptable at court.
Death
Massinger died suddenly at his house near the
Globe TheatreThe Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...
, and was buried in the churchyard of St. Saviour's,
SouthwarkSouthwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
, on 18 March 1640. In the entry in the parish register he is described as a "stranger," which, however, implies nothing more than that he belonged to another parish. He is buried in the same tomb as Fletcher. That grave can be seen to this day in the chancel of what is now
Southwark CathedralSouthwark Cathedral or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge....
near London Bridge on the south bank of the Thames. There the names of Fletcher and Massinger appear on adjacent plaques laid in the floor between the choir stalls. Next to these is a plaque commemorating
Edmund ShakespeareEdmund Shakespeare was a 16th and 17th century English actor.-Life:He was the son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden and thus the younger brother of the playwright William Shakespeare. He followed William to London to become an actor. While an actor, he had an affair with an unknown woman around...
(William's younger brother) who is buried in the Cathedral, although the exact location of his grave is unknown.
Religion and politics
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 Virgin Martyr, in which Dekker probably had a large share, is really a miracle play, dealing with the martyrdom of Dorothea in the time of
DiocletianDiocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
, and the supernatural element is freely used. Caution must be used in interpreting this play as an elucidation of Massinger's views; it is not entirely his work. In
The Renegado, however, the action is dominated by the beneficent influence of a Jesuit 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 veil. For this she is held up "to all posterity a fair example for noble maids to imitate."
Conversely, characters in Massinger's plays sometimes masquerade as Catholic clergy (
The Bashful LoverThe Bashful Lover is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger. Dating from 1636, it is the playwright's last known extant work; it appeared four years before his death in 1640....
) and even hear believers' confessions (
The Emperor of the EastThe Emperor of the East is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger and first published in 1632. The play provides an interesting example of the treatment of the Roman Catholic sacrament of confession in English Renaissance theatre.-Performance:The Emperor of the East...
)—a violation of a sacrament that would be surprising for a Catholic.
As noted above, Massinger placed moral and religious concerns over political considerations, in ways that offended the interests of king and state in his generation. While not a "democrat" in any modern sense (no one in his society was), Massinger's political sympathies, insofar as we can determine them from his works, might have placed him in a predicament similar to that of the head of the house he revered, the Earl of Pembroke—who found that he could not support King Charles in the
English Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, and became one of the few noblemen to back the Parliamentary side. Massinger did not live long enough to have to take a position in that conflict.
Style and influence
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 ordinary playgoer. He contributed, however, at least one great and popular character to the English stage. Sir Giles Overreach, in
A New Way to Pay Old Debts, is a sort of commercial
Richard IIIRichard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
, a compound of the lion and the fox, and the part provides many opportunities for a great actor. He made another considerable contribution to the comedy of manners in
The City MadamThe City Madam is a Caroline era comedy written by Philip Massinger. It was licensed by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on May 25, 1632, and was acted by the King's Men at the Blackfriars Theatre. It was printed in quarto in 1658 by the stationer Andrew Pennycuicke, who identified...
. In Massinger's own judgment
The Roman Actor was "the most perfect birth of his Minerva." It is a study of the tyrant
DomitianDomitian was Roman Emperor from 81 to 96. Domitian was the third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty.Domitian's youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown during the First Jewish-Roman War...
, and of the results of despotic rule on the despot himself and his court. Other favourable examples of his grave and restrained art are
The Duke of Milan,
The Bondman and
The Great Duke of Florence.
The Canon of Massinger's Works
The following scheme is based on the work of
Cyrus HoyCyrus Hoy was a literary scholar of the English Renaissance stage who taught at the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University, and was the John B. Trevor Professor of English at the University of Rochester...
, Ian Fletcher, and Terence P. Logan. (See References.)
Solo Plays
- The Maid of Honour
For attendants upon a queen in the royal households, see Maids of HonourThe Maid of Honour is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger, first published in 1632...
, tragicomedyTragicomedy is fictional work that blends aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. In English literature, from Shakespeare's time to the nineteenth century, tragicomedy referred to a serious play with either a happy ending or enough jokes throughout the play to lighten the mood.-Classical...
(c. 1621; printed 1632)
- The Duke of Milan
The Duke of Milan is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragedy written by Philip Massinger. First published in 1623, the play is generally considered among the author's finest achievements in drama.-Performance:...
, tragedy (c. 1621–3; printed 1623, 1638)
- The Unnatural Combat
The Unnatural Combat is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragedy written by Philip Massinger, and first published in 1639.No hard data on the play's date of origin or initial theatrical production has survived...
, tragedy (c. 1621–6; printed 1639)
- The Bondman
The Bondman is a later Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger, first published in 1624. The play has been called "the finest of the more serious tragicomedies" of Massinger.-Performance and publication:...
, tragicomedy (licensed 3 December 1623; printed 1624)
- The Renegado
The Renegado, or The Gentleman of Venice is a late Jacobean stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger and first published in 1630...
, tragicomedy (licensed 17 April 1624; printed 1630)
- The Parliament of Love
The Parliament of Love is a late Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by Philip Massinger. The play was never printed in the seventeenth century, and survived only in a defective manuscript — making it arguably the most problematical work in the Massinger canon.The Parliament of Love was...
, comedy (licensed 3 November 1624; MS)
- A New Way to Pay Old Debts
A New Way to Pay Old Debts is a play of English Renaissance drama, the most popular drama of Philip Massinger. Its central chararacter, Sir Giles Overreach, became one of the more popular villains on English and American stages through the 19th century.-Performance:Massinger most likely wrote the...
, comedy (c. 1625; printed 1632)
- The Roman Actor
The Roman Actor is a Caroline era stage play, a tragedy written by Philip Massinger; it was first performed in 1626, and first published in 1629...
, tragedy (licensed 11 October 1626; printed 1629)
- The Great Duke of Florence
The Great Duke of Florence is an early Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger, and first published in 1636. It has been called "one of Massinger's best dramas," and "a masterpiece of dramatic construction."...
, tragicomedy (licensed 5 July 1627; printed 1636)
- The Picture, tragicomedy (licensed 8 June 1629; printed 1630)
- The Emperor of the East
The Emperor of the East is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger and first published in 1632. The play provides an interesting example of the treatment of the Roman Catholic sacrament of confession in English Renaissance theatre.-Performance:The Emperor of the East...
, tragicomedy (licensed 11 March 1631; printed 1632)
- Believe as You List
Believe as You List is a Caroline era tragedy by Philip Massinger, famous as a case of theatrical censorship.-Censorship:The play originally dealt with the legend that Sebastian of Portugal had survived the battle of Alcácer Quibir, and the efforts of Philip II of Spain to suppress the "false...
, tragedy (rejected by the censor in January, but licensed 6 May 1631; MS)
- The City Madam
The City Madam is a Caroline era comedy written by Philip Massinger. It was licensed by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on May 25, 1632, and was acted by the King's Men at the Blackfriars Theatre. It was printed in quarto in 1658 by the stationer Andrew Pennycuicke, who identified...
, comedy (licensed 25 May 1632; printed 1658)
- The Guardian
The Guardian is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by Philip Massinger, dating from 1633. "The play in which Massinger comes nearest to urbanity and suavity is The Guardian...."-Performance:...
, comedy (licensed 31 October 1633; printed 1655)
- The Bashful Lover
The Bashful Lover is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger. Dating from 1636, it is the playwright's last known extant work; it appeared four years before his death in 1640....
, tragicomedy (licensed 9 May 1636; printed 1655)
Collaborations
With John FletcherJohn Fletcher was a Jacobean playwright. Following William Shakespeare as house playwright for the King's Men, he was among the most prolific and influential dramatists of his day; both during his lifetime and in the early Restoration, his fame rivalled Shakespeare's...
:
- Sir John van Olden Barnavelt
The Tragedy of Sir John van Olden Barnavelt was a Jacobean play written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger in 1619, and produced in the same year by the King's Men at the Globe Theatre...
, tragedy (August 1619; MS)
- The Little French Lawyer
The Little French Lawyer is a Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger. It was initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647.-Date:...
, comedy (c. 1619–23; printed 1647)
- A Very Woman
A Very Woman, or The Prince of Tarent is an early seventeenth-century stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger and John Fletcher...
, tragicomedy (c. 1619–22; licensed 6 June 1634; printed 1655)
- The Custom of the Country
The Custom of the Country is a Jacobean stage play, a tragicomedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger, originally published in 1647 in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio.-Date and sources:The play is usually dated to c. 1619–23...
, comedy (c. 1619–23; printed 1647)
- The Double Marriage
The Double Marriage is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger, and initially printed in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647.-Date and performance:...
, tragedy (c. 1619–23; Printed 1647)
- The False One
The False One is a late Jacobean era stage play, written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger. Generally categorized as a "classical history," the play tells part of the story of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra....
, history (c. 1619–23; printed 1647)
- The Prophetess
The Prophetess is a late Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger. It was initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647.-Date and performance:...
, tragicomedy (licensed 14 May 1622; printed 1647)
- The Sea Voyage
The Sea Voyage is a late Jacobean comedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger. The play is notable for its imitation of Shakespeare's The Tempest.-Performance and publication:...
, comedy (licensed 22 June 1622; printed 1647)
- The Spanish Curate
The Spanish Curate is a late Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger. It premiered on the stage in 1622, and was first published in 1647.-Date and source:...
, comedy (licensed 24 October 1622; printed 1647)
- The Lovers' Progress
The Lovers' Progress, also known as The Wandering Lovers, or Cleander, or Lisander and Calista, is an early seventeenth-century stage play, a tragicomedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger...
or The Wandering Lovers, tragicomedy (licensed 6 December 1623; revised 1634; printed 1647)
- The Elder Brother
The Elder Brother is an early seventeenth-century stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger. Apparently dating from 1625, it may have been the last play Fletcher worked on before his August 1625 death.-Date:...
, comedy (c. 1625; printed 1637).
With John Fletcher and Francis BeaumontFrancis Beaumont was a dramatist in the English Renaissance theatre, most famous for his collaborations with John Fletcher....
:
- Thierry and Theodoret
Thierry and Theodoret is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators that was first published in 1621...
, tragedy (c. 1607?; printed 1621)
- The Coxcomb
The Coxcomb is an early Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. It was initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647.-Date and performance:...
, comedy (1608–10; printed 1647)
- Beggars' Bush
For the old military barracks in Dublin, Ireland, see Beggars BushBeggars' Bush is a Jacobean era stage play, a comedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators that is a focus of dispute among scholars and critics.-Authorship and Date:...
, comedy (c. 1612–15?; revised 1622?; printed 1647)
- Love's Cure
Love's Cure, or The Martial Maid is an early seventeenth-century stage play, a comedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators. First published in the Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647, it is the subject of broad dispute and uncertainty among scholars...
, comedy (c. 1612–15?; revised 1625?; printed 1647).
With John Fletcher and Nathan Field:
- The Honest Man's Fortune
The Honest Man's Fortune is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Nathan Field, John Fletcher, and Philip Massinger. It was apparently the earliest of the works produced by this trio of writers, the others being The Queen of Corinth and The Knight of Malta.-Texts:The Honest Man's...
, tragicomedy (1613; printed 1647)
- The Queen of Corinth
The Queen of Corinth is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators. It was initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647.-Date:...
, tragicomedy (c. 1616–18; printed 1647)
- The Knight of Malta
The Knight of Malta is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators. It was initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647.-Date and source:...
, tragicomedy (c. 1619; printed 1647).
With Nathan Field:
- The Fatal Dowry
The Fatal Dowry is a late Jacobean era stage play, a tragedy written by Philip Massinger and Nathan Field, and first published in 1632. It represents a significant aspect of Field's very limited dramatic output....
, tragedy (c. 1619, printed 1632); adapted by Nicholas Rowe: The Fair PenitentThe Fair Penitent is Nicholas Rowe's stage adaptation of the tragedy The Fatal Dowry, the Philip Massinger and Nathan Field collaboration first published in 1632...
With John Fletcher, John FordJohn Ford was an English Jacobean and Caroline playwright and poet born in Ilsington in Devon in 1586.-Life and work:...
, and William RowleyWilliam Rowley was an English Jacobean dramatist, best known for works written in collaboration with more successful writers. His date of birth is estimated to have been c. 1585; he was buried on 11 February 1626...
(?), or John WebsterJohn Webster was an English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi, which are often regarded as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. He was a contemporary of William Shakespeare.- Biography :Webster's life is obscure, and the dates...
(?):
- The Fair Maid of the Inn
The Fair Maid of the Inn is an early 17th-century stage play, a comedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators. It was originally published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647...
, comedy (licensed 22 January 1626; printed 1647).
With John Fletcher, Ben JonsonBenjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
, and George ChapmanGeorge Chapman was an English dramatist, translator, and poet. He was a classical scholar, and his work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been identified as the Rival Poet of Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Minto, and as an anticipator of the Metaphysical Poets...
(?):
- Rollo Duke of Normandy
Rollo Duke of Normandy, also known as The Bloody Brother, is a play written in collaboration by John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, Ben Jonson, and George Chapman. Scholars have disputed almost everything about the play; but it was probably written sometime in the 1612–24 era and later revised,...
, or The Bloody Brother, tragedy (c. 1616–24; printed 1639).
With Thomas Dekker:
- The Virgin Martyr
The Virgin Martyr is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragedy written by Thomas Dekker and Philip Massinger, and first published in 1622. It constitutes a rare instance in Masssinger's canon in which he collaborated with a member of the previous generation of English Renaissance dramatists —...
, tragedy (licensed 6 October 1620; printed 1622).
With Thomas MiddletonThomas Middleton was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. Middleton stands with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson as among the most successful and prolific of playwrights who wrote their best plays during the Jacobean period. He was one of the few Renaissance dramatists to achieve equal success in...
and William RowleyWilliam Rowley was an English Jacobean dramatist, best known for works written in collaboration with more successful writers. His date of birth is estimated to have been c. 1585; he was buried on 11 February 1626...
:
- The Old Law
The Old Law, or A New Way to Please You is a seventeenth-century tragicomedy written by Thomas Middleton, William Rowley, and Philip Massinger...
, comedy (c. 1615–18; printed 1656).
Some of these "collaborations" are in fact more complex: revisions by Massinger of older plays by Fletcher and others, etc. (It is not necessary to suppose that Massinger, Fletcher, Ford, and Rowley-or-Webster sat down in a room together to write a play.)
More than a dozen of Massinger's plays are said to be lost, though the titles of some of these may be duplicates of those of existing plays. Eleven of these lost plays were manuscripts used by
John Warburton'sJohn Warburton was Somerset Herald of Arms in Ordinary at the College of Arms in the early 18th century. Warburton was a collector of old drama manuscripts, who is perhaps most notable because of his carelessness. On one occasion, he left a pile of manuscripts in the kitchen. When he came looking...
cook for lighting fires and making pies. The tragedy
The Jeweller of Amsterdam (c. 1616–19) may be a lost collaboration, with Fletcher and Field.
The list given above represents a consensus of scholarship; individual critics have assigned various other plays, or portions of plays, to Massinger—like
The Faithful FriendsThe Faithful Friends is an early seventeenth-century stage play, a tragicomedy associated with the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators...
, or the first two acts of
The Second Maiden's TragedyThe Second Maiden's Tragedy is a Jacobean play that survives only in manuscript. It was written in 1611, and performed in the same year by the King's Men. The manuscript that survives is the copy that was sent to the censor, and therefore includes his notes and deletions...
(1611).
Massinger's independent works were collected by
Thomas Coxeter-Life:Born at Lechlade in Gloucestershire on 20 September 1689, he was educated at Coxwell, Berkshire, and at Magdalen School in Oxford. On 7 July 1705 he was entered a commoner of Trinity College, Oxford...
(4 vols., 1759, revised edition with introduction by
Thomas DaviesThomas Davies was a Scottish bookseller and author. He studied at the University of Edinburgh and was for several years on the Stage; but having been ridiculed by Churchill in The Rosciad he gave up acting and opened a bookshop in Covent Garden. It was here that in 1763 he introduced Boswell to Dr...
, 1779), by J. Monck Mason (4 vols., 1779), by
William GiffordWilliam Gifford was an English critic, editor and poet, famous as a satirist and controversialist.-Life:Gifford was born in Ashburton, Devonshire to Edward Gifford and Elizabeth Cain. His father, a glazier and house painter, had run away as a youth with vagabond Bampfylde Moore Carew, and he...
(4 vols., 1805, 1813), by
Hartley ColeridgeDavid Hartley Coleridge was an English poet, biographer, essayist, and teacher. He was the eldest son of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. His sister Sara Coleridge was a poet and translator, and his brother Derwent Coleridge was a distinguished scholar and author...
(1840), by Lt. Col. Cunningham (1867), and selections by
Arthur SymonsArthur William Symons , was a British poet, critic and magazine editor.-Life:Born in Milford Haven, Wales, of Cornish parents, Symons was educated privately, spending much of his time in France and Italy...
in the Mermaid Series (1887–9).
Subsequent work on Massinger includes Philip Edwards and Colin Gibson, eds.,
The Plays and Poems of Philip Massinger (5 vols., Oxford, 1976), Martin Garrett, ed.,
Massinger: the Critical Heritage (London, 1991), chapters in Annabel Patterson,
Censorship and Interpretation: the Conditions of Writing and Reading in Early Modern England (Madison, 1984) and Martin Butler,
Theatre and Crisis 1632–1642 (Cambridge, 1984), and Martin Garrett, "Philip Massinger" in the revised
Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, 2005).