ABSTRACT
Shakespeare’s development as a dramatic poet, so crudely outlined, can be seen as a search for a kind of verse which would not interfere with the expression of character in all its variety and individuality, and serve as a perfect dramatic medium for Burbage and his fellow actors. The extent of Massinger’s debt to Shakespeare has exercised many critics during the present century. Although it is clear that Massinger was steeped in Shakespeare, some of the pitfalls of comparisons may be illustrated by the work of H. Dugdale Sykes, who was a great believer in the use of parallels as a proof of authorship. He proved to his own satisfaction that Massinger, rather than Shakespeare, was John Fletcher’s collaborator in The Two Noble Kinsmen and Henry VIII. Caroline Spurgeon, similarly contrasting Massinger with Shakespeare, confessed that there was ‘little that is individual to note’ about Massinger’s imagery. Occasionally, however, Massinger learned from Shakespeare without being guilty of slavish imitation.
