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)--_Menæchmi_ 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.
TITUS ANDRONICUS (1594)--Probably chiefly by Kyd, retouched.
KING JOHN (1594)--Old play retouched.
SECOND PERIOD--1596-1601-2
MERCHANT OF VENICE (1594)--Italian novels, _Gesta Romanorum_, and
earlier plays.
MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (1595)--North's _Plutarch_, Chaucer, Ovid.
ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL (1595)--Painter's _Palace of Pleasure_.
TAMING OF THE SHREW (1596?)--Old play retouched, and _Supposes_ of
G. Gascoigne, Shakespeare's in part only.
HENRY IV. 1 and 2 (1597?)--Holinshed and earlier play.
MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR (1597-8)--Italian novels (?).
HENRY V. (1599).
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (1599)--Partly from Italian.
AS YOU LIKE IT (1599)--Lodge's _Rosalynde, Euphues' Golden Legacie_.
TWELFTH NIGHT (1599)--B. Riche's _Apolonius and Silla_.
THIRD PERIOD--1602-1608
JULIUS CÆSAR (1601)--North's _Plutarch_.
HAMLET (1601-2)--Belleforest's _Histoires Tragiques_.
TROILUS AND CRESSIDA (1603?)--Probably Chaucer's _Troilus and
Cresseide_ and Chapman's _Homer_.
OTHELLO (1604)--Cinthio's _Hecatommithi_.
MEASURE FOR MEASURE (1604?)--Cinthio's _Epithia_.
MACBETH (1605-6?)--Holinshed.
LEAR (1606)-- do.
TIMON OF ATHENS (1607?)--_Palace of Pleasure_ and Plutarch written
with G. Wilkins (?) and W. Rowley (?).
PERICLES (1607-8)--Gower's _Confessio Amantis_, with G. Wilkins (?).
ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA (1608)--North's _Plutarch_.
CORIOLANUS (1608)-- do.
FOURTH PERIOD--1608-1613
CYMBELINE (1610-11?)--Holinshed and _Ginevra_ in Boccaccio's
_Decamerone_.
WINTER'S TALE (1610-11)--Green's _Dorastus and Fawnia_.
TEMPEST (1611?)--S. Jourdain's _Discovery of the Bermudas_.
HENRY VIII. (1612-13)--Draft by S. completed by Fletcher and
perhaps Massinger.
POEMS
VENUS AND ADONIS (1593).
RAPE OF LUCRECE (1594).
SONNETS (1591-94?).
The evidence as to chronology is three-fold--(1) External, such as
entries in registers of Stationers' Company, contemporary references, or
details as to the companies of actors; (2) External and internal
combined, such as references in the plays to events or books, etc.; (3)
Internal, content and treatment, progressive changes in versification,
presence of frequency of rhyme, etc. The genius of S. was so intensely
dramatic that it is impossible to say confidently when he speaks in his
own character. The sonnets, written probably 1591-94 have, however, been
thought to be of a more personal nature, and to contain indications as to
his character and history, and much labour and ingenuity have been
expended to make them yield their secrets. It is generally agreed that
they fall into two sections, the first consisting of sonnets 1 to 126
addressed to a young man, probably Henry Wriothesley, Earl of
Southampton, the friend and patron of S., and 9 years his junior; and the
second from 127 to 154 addressed or referring to a woman in whose snares
the writer had become entangled, and by whom he was betrayed. Some,
however, have held that they are allegorical, or partly written on behalf
of others, or that the emotion they express is dramatic and not personal.
There are contemporary references to S. which show him to have been
generally held in high regard. Thus Ben Jonson says, "I loved the man,
and do honour to his memory, on this side idolatry, as much as any," and
Chettle refers to "His demeanour no lesse civil than exelent in the
qualities he professes." The only exception is a reference to him in
Greene's _Groat's-worth of Wit_, as "an upstart crow beautified with our
feathers, that with his tyger's heart wrapt in a player's hide supposes
he is as well able to bumbast out a blanke verse as the best of you ...
and is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a countrie." He is said
to have written rapidly and with facility, rarely requiring to alter what
he had set down. In addition to his generally received works, others have
been attributed to him, some of which have been already mentioned: the
only two which appear to have serious claims to consideration are _The
Two Noble Kinsmen_, partly by Fletcher, and _Edward III._, of which part
of Act I. and the whole of Act II. have been thought to be Shakespeare's.
On the other hand a theory has been propounded that none of the plays
bearing his name were really his, but that they were written by Bacon
(_q.v._). This extraordinary view has been widely supported, chiefly in
America, and has been sometimes maintained; with considerable ability and
misplaced ingenuity.
SUMMARY.--_B._ 1564, _ed._ at Stratford School, _f._ falls into
difficulties _c._ 1577, _m._ Ann Hathaway 1582, goes to London end of
1585, finds employment in theatres and acts in chief companies of the
time, first in "The Theatre" afterwards the "Rose," the "Curtain," the
"Globe" and "Blackfriars," appearing in Jonson's _Every Man in his
Humour_ and _Sejanus_. _Venus and Adonis_, _Lucrece_, earlier plays, and
perhaps most of sonnets _pub._ by 1595, when he was friend of Southampton
and known at Court, purchases New Place at Stratford, falls into trouble
_c._ 1600, having lost friends in Essex's conspiracy, and has unfortunate
love affair; emerges from this into honour and peace, retires to
Stratford and _d._ 1616. Productive period _c._ 1588-1613, 4 divisions,
first (1588-96), second (1596-1601), third (1601-1608), fourth
(1608-1613). Of 37 plays usually attributed, only 16 _pub._ in his life.
As might have been expected, there is a copious literature devoted to
Shakespeare and his works. Among those dealing with biography may be
mentioned Halliwell Phillipps's _Outline of the Life of Shakespeare_ (7th
ed., 1887), Fleay's _Shakespeare Manual_ (1876), and _Life of
Shakespeare_ (1886). _Life_ by S. Lee (1898), Dowden's _Shakespeare, his
Mind and Art_ (1875), Drake's _Shakespeare and his Times_ (1817),
Thornberry's _Shakespeare's England_ (1856), Knight's _Shakespeare_
(1843). _See_ also Works by Guizot, De Quincey, Fullom, Elze, and others.
Criticisms by Coleridge, Hazlitt, Swinburne, T.S. Baynes, and others.
Concordance by Mrs. Cowden Clarke. Ed., Rowe (1709), Pope (1725),
Theobald (1733), Johnson (1765), Capell (1768), Steevens's improved
re-issue of Johnson (1773), Malone (1790), Reed's _1st Variorum_ (1803),
_2nd Variorum_ (1813), _3rd Variorum_ by Jas. Boswell the younger (1821),
Dyce (1857), Staunton (1868-70), Camb. by W.G. Clark and Dr. Aldis Wright
(1863-66), Temple (ed. I. Gollancz, 1894-96), _Eversley Shakespeare_ (ed.
Herford, 1899).
SHARP, WILLIAM ("FIONA MACLEOD") (1856-1905).--Wrote under this pseudonym
a remarkable series of Celtic tales, novels, and poems, including
_Pharais, a Romance of the Isles_, _The Mountain Lovers_, _The Sin-Eater_
(1895), _The Washer of the Ford_, and _Green Fire_ (1896), _The Laughter
of Peterkin_ (1897), _The Dominion of Dreams_ (1899), _The Divine
Adventure_ (1900), _Drostan and Iseult_ (1902). He was one of the
earliest and most gifted promoters of the Celtic revival. In verse are
_From the Hills of Dream_, _Through the Ivory Gate_, and _The Immortal
Hour_ (drama). Under his own name he wrote _Earth's Voices_, _Sospiri di
Roma_, _Sospiri d'Italia_, poems, and books on Rossetti, Shelley,
Browning, and Heine; also a few novels.
SHAW, HENRY WHEELER ("JOSH BILLINGS") (1818-1885).--Humorist, _b._ in
Massachusetts. After working on steam-boats and farming, he became an
auctioneer, and settled at Poughkeepsie. Stripped of the fantastic
spelling by which he first succeeded in catching the public attention,
the shrewd and droll maxims of his _Farmers' Allminax_ have something in
common with Franklin's _Poor Richard_. Other books with the same features
are _Josh Billings' Sayings_, _Everybody's Friend_, _Josh Billings' Trump
Kards_, etc.
SHELLEY, MRS. MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT (GODWIN) (1797-1851).--Novelist, _b._
in London, the only child of William Godwin (_q.v._) and Mary
Wollstonecraft, his wife (_q.v._). In 1814 she went to the Continent with
P.B. Shelley (_q.v._), and _m._ him two years later. When abroad she saw
much of Byron, and it was at his villa on the Lake of Geneva that she
conceived the idea of her famous novel of _Frankenstein_ (1818), a
ghastly but powerful work. None of her other novels, including _The Last
Man_ and _Lodore_, had the same success. She contributed biographies of
foreign artists and authors to Lardner's _Cabinet Cyclopædia_, and ed.
her husband's poems.
SHELLEY, PERCY BYSSHE (1792-1822).--Poet, _s._ of Sir Timothy S., was
_b._ at Field Place, near Horsham, Sussex, and _ed._ at Brentford, Eton,
and Univ. Coll., Oxf., whence for writing and circulating a pamphlet,
_The Necessity of Atheism_, he was expelled. One immediate result of this
was a difference with his _f._, which was deepened into a permanent
breach by his marriage in the following year to Harriet Westbrook, the
pretty and lively _dau._ of a retired innkeeper. The next three years
were passed in wandering about from place to place in Ireland, Wales, the
Lake District, and other parts of the kingdom, and in the composition of
_Queen Mab_ (1813), the poet's first serious work. Before the end of that
period he had separated from his wife, for which various reasons have
been assigned, one being her previous desertion of him, and the discovery
on his part of imperfect sympathy between them; the principal one,
however, being that he had conceived a violent passion for Mary
Wollstonecraft Godwin (_see_ Shelley, Mrs. M.W.), _dau._ of William
Godwin (_q.v._), with whom he eloped to Italy in 1814, and whom he _m._
in 1816, his first wife having drowned herself. The custody of his two
children, whom he had left with their mother, was refused him by the
Court of Chancery. In Switzerland he had made the acquaintance of Byron,
with whom he afterwards lived in intimacy in Italy. Returning to England
in 1815 he wrote his first really great poem, _Alastor_ (1816), followed
by the _Hymn to Intellectual Beauty_, _Prince Athanase_, _Rosalind and
Helen_, and _Laon and Cythna_, afterwards called the _Revolt of Islam_
(1817). In 1818 he left England never to return, and went to Italy, and
in the next two years--while at Rome--produced his two greatest works,
the tragedy of _The Cenci_ (1819) and _Prometheus Unbound_ (1820). He
removed to Venice in 1820 in the company of Byron, and there wrote
_Julian and Maddalo_, a poetic record of discussions between them.
_Epipsychidion_, _Hellas_, and _Adonais_, a lament for Keats, were all
produced in 1821. After a short residence at Pisa he went to Lerici on
the Gulf of Spezzia, where he indulged in his favourite recreation of
boating, and here on July 8, 1823, he went, in company with a friend, Mr.
Williams, on that fatal expedition which cost him his life. His body was
cast ashore about a fortnight later, and burnt, in accordance with the
quarantine law of the country, on a pyre in the presence of Byron, Leigh
Hunt, and Trelawny. His ashes were carefully preserved and buried in the
Protestant cemetery at Rome near those of Keats. The character of S. is a
singularly compounded one. By the unanimous testimony of his friends, it
was remarkable for gentleness, purity, generosity, and strong affection:
on the other hand he appears to have had very inadequate conceptions of
duty and responsibility, and from his childhood seems to have been in
revolt against authority of every kind. The charge of Atheism rests
chiefly on _Mab_, the work of a boy, printed by him for private
circulation, and to some extent repudiated as personal opinion. As a poet
he stands in the front rank: in lyrical gift, shown in _Prometheus_,
_Hellas_, and some of his shorter poems, such as "The Skylark," he is
probably unsurpassed, and in his _Cenci_ he exhibits dramatic power of a
high order. Among his shorter poems are some which reach perfection, such
as the sonnet on "Ozymandias," "Music when soft voices die," "I arise
from dreams of thee," "When the lamp is shattered," the "Ode to the West
Wind," and "O world! O life! O time!" During his short life of 30 years
he was, not unnaturally, the object of much severe judgment, and his
poetic power even was recognised by only a few. Posterity has taken a
more lenient view of his serious errors of conduct, while according to
his genius a shining place among the immortals.
The best ed. of the _Works_ is that of Buxton Forman (4 vols.). There are
ed. of the Poems by W.M. Rossetti (1894), Dowden (1891), etc. _Lives_ by
Medwin (1847), J.A. Symonds (1887), W.M. Rossetti, Prof. Dowden, T.
Jefferson Hogg, and others.
SHENSTONE, WILLIAM (1714-1763).--Poet, _s._ of Thomas S., owner of a
small estate at Hales Owen, Shropshire. At this place, called the
Leasowes, the poet was _b._ In 1732 he went to Oxf. On his father's death
he retired to the Leasowes where he passed his time, and ran through his
means in transforming it into a marvel of landscape gardening, visited by
strangers from all parts of the kingdom. The works of S. consist of poems
and prose essays. Of the former two, _The Schoolmistress_, a humorous
imitation of Spenser, with many quaint and tender touches, and the
_Pastoral Ballad_ in four parts, perhaps the best of its kind in the
language, survive. The essays also display good sense and a pointed and
graceful style. The last years of S. were clouded by financial
embarrassments and perhaps also by disappointed affections. After his
death his works, were _coll._ and _pub._ by Dodsley.
SHERIDAN, RICHARD BRINSLEY (1751-1816).--Dramatist and orator, _b._ in
Dublin, the _s._ of an actor, was _ed._ at Harrow. In 1772 he eloped with
Miss Linley, a famous singer, went with her to France, fought two duels,
and _m._ her in 1773. S. has a reputation of the highest in two distinct
walks, those of the dramatist and the Parliamentary orator. By his three
great comedies, _The Rivals_ (1775), _The School for Scandal_ (1777), and
_The Critic_ (1779), he raised himself to the first place among the
writers of the comedy of manners; and by his speeches, specially those in
support of the impeachment of Warren Hastings, he has a position among
the greatest of Parliamentary orators. Unfortunately he had little turn
for business, and too great a love of pleasure and conviviality, which
led to lifelong pecuniary embarrassment, completed by the destruction by
fire of Drury Lane Theatre, of which he had become proprietor. As a
politician S. supported the Whig party, and held the offices of
Under-Sec. for Foreign Affairs, Sec. to the Treasury, and Treasurer of
the Navy. He was also confidential adviser to George IV. when Prince of
Wales, but like everybody else who had to do with him suffered from the
ingratitude of "the first gentleman in Europe." The accounts long
prevalent of the poverty and misery of his last years have been shown to
be greatly exaggerated, though he was in reduced circumstances. As a
dramatist S. shines in the construction of amusing situations, and in a
sparkling flow of witty dialogue which never flags. His only other play
was _Pizarro_ (1799), a patriotic melodrama.
_Lives_ by Walkins (1817), T. Moore (1825), and Mrs. Oliphant (1883).
SHERLOCK, WILLIAM (1641?-1707).--Divine and controversialist, _b._ at
Southwark, _ed._ at Eton and Camb., took orders, and became in 1684
Master of the Temple, and in 1691 Dean of St. Paul's. He exercised a
powerful influence in the Church. His most popular work was his
_Discourse concerning Death_, and his principal controversial effort was
his _Vindication of the Doctrine of the Trinity_. Other works were on
_Future Judgment_ and on _The Divine Providence_. His son, THOMAS
SHERLOCK (1678-1761), who was also Master of the Temple, became Bishop
successively of Bangor, Salisbury, and London, and was, like his _f._, a
noted controversialist. His best known work is his _Tryal of the
Witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus_ (1729).
SHERWOOD, MRS. MARY MARTHA (BUTT) (1775-1851).--Writer of children's
books, _m._ in 1803 Captain H. Sherwood, and went to India, where she
took much interest in soldiers' children. Among her books, many of which
attained great popularity, are _Susan Gray_, _Little Henry and his
Bearer_, and _The Fairchild Family_.
SHIRLEY, JAMES (1596-1666).--Dramatist, _b._ in London, _ed._ at Merchant
Taylor's School, London, and at Oxf. and Camb., became a master of St.
Alban's Grammar School, and afterwards joined the Roman Catholic Church,
and going to London wrote for the stage, producing 39 plays. His talents
and his religion recommended him to Queen Henrietta Maria, and he appears
to have led a fairly prosperous life until the interdict of plays by
Parliament in 1642. In the Civil War he bore arms on the Royalist side,
and during the Commonwealth he returned to his occupation of
schoolmaster. The Restoration does not appear to have improved his
fortunes much; he was burnt out in the great fire of 1666, and very soon
afterwards he and his wife _d._ on the same day. The plays of S. include
_The Traitor_ (1631), _The Cardinal_ (1641), _The Gamester_ (1633), _Hyde
Park_ (1632), and _The Lady of Pleasure_ (1635). He also wrote poems,
including the well-known lines beginning "The Glories of our mortal
State." S. has fancy, liveliness, and the style of a gentleman, but he
lacks depth and interest. He is less gross than most of his
contemporaries.
Other plays are _The Ball_ (1632), _The Maid's Revenge_ (1626), _The
Grateful Servant_ (1629), _Bird in a Cage_ (1633), _The Example_ (1634).
_The Constant Maid_ (_c._ 1640), _Doubtful Heir, or Rosania_ (1640),
_Court Secret_ (1653), _Contention of Ajax and Ulysses_ (1659), etc.
SHORTHOUSE, JOSEPH HENRY (1834-1903).--Novelist, _b._ at Birmingham,
where he was a chemical manufacturer. Originally a Quaker, he joined the
Church of England. His first, and by far his best book, _John Inglesant_,
appeared in 1881, and at once made him famous. Though deficient in its
structure as a story, and not appealing to the populace, it fascinates by
the charm of its style and the "dim religious light" by which it is
suffused, as well as by the striking scenes occasionally depicted. His
other novels, _The Little Schoolmaster Mark_, _Sir Percival_, _The
Countess Eve_, and _A Teacher of the Violin_, though with some of the
same characteristics, had no success comparable to his first. S. also
wrote an essay, _The Platonism of Wordsworth_.
SIBBES, RICHARD (1577-1635).--Divine, was at Camb., where he held various
academic posts, of which he was deprived by the High Commission on
account of his Puritanism. He was the author of several devotional works
expressing intense religious feeling--_The Saint's Cordial_ (1629), _The
Bruised Reed and Smoking Flax_, etc. He was a man of great learning.
SIDNEY, or SYDNEY, ALGERNON (1622-1683).--Political writer, _s._ of the
2nd Earl of Leicester, and grand-nephew of Sir Philip S., in his youth
travelled on the Continent, served against the Irish Rebels, and on the
outbreak of the Civil War, on the side of the Parliament. He was one of
the judges on the trial of Charles I., and though he did not attend, he
thoroughly approved of the sentence. He opposed the assumption of the
supreme power by Cromwell. After the Restoration he lived on the
Continent, but receiving a pardon, returned in 1677 to England. He,
however, retained the republican principles which he had all his life
advocated, fell under the suspicion of the Court, and was in 1683, on the
discovery of the Rye House Plot, condemned to death on entirely
insufficient evidence, and beheaded on Tower Hill, December 7, 1683.
Though no charge of personal venality has been substantiated, yet it
appears to be certain that he received money from the French King for
using his influence against war between the two countries, his object
being to prevent Charles II. from obtaining command of the war supplies.
S. was deeply versed in political theory, and wrote _Discourses
concerning Government_, _pub._ in 1698.
SIDNEY, SIR PHILIP (1554-1586).--Poet and romancist, _s._ of Sir Henry
S., Deputy of Ireland, and Pres. of Wales, _b._ at the family seat of
Penshurst, and _ed._ at Shrewsbury School and Oxf. He was at the French
Court on the fateful August 24, 1572--the massacre of St.
Bartholomew--but left Paris soon thereafter and went to Germany and
Italy. In 1576 he was with his _f._ in Ireland, and the next year went on
missions to the Elector Palatine and the Emperor Rudolf II. When his
father's Irish policy was called in question, he wrote an able defence of
it. He became the friend of Spenser, who dedicated to him his _Shepherd's
Calendar_. In 1580 he lost the favour of the Queen by remonstrating
against her proposed marriage with the Duke of Anjou. His own marriage
with a _dau._ of Sir Francis Walsingham took place in 1583. In 1585 he
was engaged in the war in the Low Countries, and met his death at Zutphen
from a wound in the thigh. His death was commemorated by Spenser in his
_Astrophel_. S. has always been considered as the type of English
chivalry; and his extraordinary contemporary reputation rested on his
personal qualities of nobility and generosity. His writings consist of
his famous pastoral romance of _Arcadia_, his sonnets _Astrophel and
Stella_, and his _Apologie for Poetrie_, afterwards called _Defence of
Poesie_. The _Arcadia_ was originally written for the amusement of his
sister, afterwards Countess of Pembroke, the "Sidney's sister, Pembroke's
mother," of Ben Jonson. Though its interest now is chiefly historical, it
enjoyed an extraordinary popularity for a century after its appearance,
and had a marked influence on the immediately succeeding literature. It
was written in 1580-81 but not _pub._ until 1590, and is a medley of
poetical prose, full of conceits, with occasional verse interspersed. His
_Defence of Poesie_, written in reply to Gosson (_q.v._), is in simple
and vigorous English. S. also made a translation of the Psalms.
_Poems_ ed. by Grosart, _Apologie_ by Arber and others, _Astrophel_ by
Gray, Arber, and others. _Life_ by Fulke Greville (1652), ed. by Sir E.
Brydges (1816). _Arcadia_ (_facsimile_), by Somner. Lives by J.A.
Symonds, Fox Bourne, and others.
SIGOURNEY, MRS. LYDIA (HUNTLEY) (1791-1865).--American verse writer, was
an extraordinarily copious writer of smooth, sentimental verse, which had
great popularity in its day. Her most ambitious effort was a blank verse
poem, _Traits of the Aborigines of America_ (1822). Other books were
_Connecticut Forty Years Since_, _Pocahontas_, etc.
SIMMS, WILLIAM GILMORE (1806-1870).--Novelist, etc., _b._ at Charleston,
South Carolina, began his literary life with journalism. He then for some
time tried poetry, but without any distinct success except occasionally
in _Southern Passages and Pictures_ (1839). But in fiction, which he
began in 1833 with _Martin Faber_, he was more successful, though rather
an imitator of Cooper. _The Yemassee_ (1835) is generally considered his
best novel. He was less happy in his attempts at historical romance, such
as _Count Julian_ and _The Damsel of Darien_. During the war, in which he
was naturally a strong partisan of the South, he was ruined, and his
library was burned; and from these disasters he never recovered. He had
a high repute as a journalist, orator, and lecturer. He was the first
Southerner to achieve any name in literature.
SKELTON, JOHN (1460?-1529).--Poet, _b._ in Norfolk, and _ed._ at Oxf. and
Camb., of both of which he was _cr._ Poet Laureate, and perhaps held the
same office under the King. He was appointed tutor to Henry VIII., and
notwithstanding his sharp tongue, enjoyed some favour at Court. In 1498
he entered the Church, and became Rector of Diss in his native county.
Hitherto he seems to have produced some translations only, but about this
time he appears to have struck upon the vein which he was to work with
such vigour and popularity. He turned his attention to abuses in Church
and State, which he lashed with caustic satire, conveyed in short
doggerel rhyming lines peculiar to himself, in which jokes, slang,
invectives, and Latin quotations rush out pell-mell. His best works in
this line are _Why come ye not to Court?_ and _Colin Clout_, both
directed against the clergy, and the former against Wolsey in particular.
Piqued at his inconstancy (for S. had previously courted him) the
Cardinal would have imprisoned him, had he not taken sanctuary in
Westminster, where he remained until his death. Other works of his are
_The Tunning_ (brewing) _of Elynor Rummynge_, a coarsely humorous picture
of low life, and the tender and fanciful _Death of Philip Sparrow_, the
lament of a young lady over her pet bird killed by a cat.
SKELTON, SIR JOHN (1831-1897).--Miscellaneous writer. _B._ in Edinburgh,
_ed._ at the Univ. there, and called to the Scottish Bar 1854, he was
Sec. and ultimately Chairman of the Local Government Board for Scotland.
He wrote _Maitland of Lethington and the Scotland of Mary Stuart_ (1887),
_The Crookit Meg_ (1880), and _The Table Talk of Shirley_. He contributed
to _Fraser's_ and _Blackwood's Magazines_. He received the degree of
LL.D. from Edin. 1878, and was made K.C.B. 1897.
SKENE, WILLIAM FORBES (1807-1892).--Historian, 2nd _s._ of James S. of
Rubislaw, friend of Sir Walter Scott, was a Writer to the Signet in
Edinburgh, and Clerk of the Bills in the Court of Session. He wrote and
ed. historical works of considerable authority, _The Highlanders of
Scotland_ (1837), and his most important work, _Celtic Scotland_
(1876-80), and ed. of _The Four Ancient Books of Wales_ (1868), and other
Celtic writings.
SKINNER, JOHN (1721-1807).--Historian and song-writer, _s._ of a
schoolmaster at Birse, Aberdeenshire, was _ed._ at Marischal Coll.
Brought up as a Presbyterian, he became an Episcopalian and ministered to
a congregation at Longside, near Peterhead, for 65 years. He wrote _The
Ecclesiastical History of Scotland_ from the Episcopalian point of view,
and several songs of which _The Reel of Tullochgorum_ and _The Ewie wi'
the Crookit Horn_ are the best known, and he also rendered some of the
Psalms into Latin. He kept up a rhyming correspondence with Burns.
SKIPSEY, JOSEPH (1832-1903).--Poet, _b._ near North Shields, and from
childhood worked in the mines. He _pub._ a few pieces of poetry in 1859,
and soon after left working underground and became caretaker of
Shakespeare's house at Stratford-on-Avon. During the last 30 years of his
life he _pub._ several vols. of poetry, including _The Collier Lad_ and
_Carols from the Coal Fields_; and he ed. some vols. for the "Canterbury
Poets." _Memoir_ by R.S. Watson (1908).
SMART, CHRISTOPHER (1722-1771).--Poet, _s._ of the steward to Lord Vane,
was _b._ at Shipbourne, Kent, and by the bounty of the Duchess of
Cleveland sent to Camb. Here his ill-balanced mind showed itself in wild
folly. Leaving the Univ. he came to London and maintained himself by
conducting and writing for periodicals. His _Poems on Several Occasions_,
which contained "The Hop Garden," was issued in 1752, and _The Hilliad_
in 1753 against "Sir" John Hill, a notoriety of the day who had attacked
him. His mind ultimately gave way, and it was in confinement that he
produced by far his most remarkable work, the _Song to David_, a most
original and powerful poem. Unfortunate to the last, he _d._ in the
King's Bench prison, to which he had been committed for debt. He also
translated Horace.
SMEDLEY, FRANK (1818-1864).--Novelist, was the author of several novels
which had considerable popularity, including _Frank Fairleigh_ (1850),
_Lewis Arundel_ (1852), and _Harry Coverdale's Courtship_ (1855). S. was
a life-long cripple.
SMILES, SAMUEL (1812-1904).--Biographer and miscellaneous writer, _b._ at
Haddington, _ed._ at the Grammar School there, studied medicine at Edin.,
and settled in practice in his native town. Subsequently he betook
himself to journalism, and ed. a paper in Leeds. Afterwards he was sec.
to various railways. His leisure was devoted to reading and writing, and
his first publication was _The Life of George Stephenson_ (1857).
_Self-Help_, his most popular work, followed in 1859; it had an immense
circulation, and was translated into 17 languages. It was followed up by
_Character_ (1871), _Thrift_ (1875), and _Duty_ (1880). _The Lives of the
Engineers_ and _Industrial Biography_ appeared in 1863, _The Huguenots,
their Settlements, Churches, and Industries in England and Ireland_
(1867), and _The Huguenots in France_ a little later. He also wrote
biographies of Telford and James Watt, and of the Scottish naturalists,
Edwards the shoemaker and Dick the baker. He received the degree of LL.D.
from Edin. in 1878.
SMITH, ADAM (1723-1790).--Philosopher and economist, _b._ at Kirkcaldy,
Fife, the _s._ of the Controller of Customs there. His _f._ _d._ shortly
before his birth. The first and only adventure in his tranquil life was
his being kidnapped by gipsies. After being at the Grammar School of
Kirkcaldy, he went to the Univ. of Glasgow, whence he proceeded to Oxf.
On the conclusion of his Univ. course he returned to Kirkcaldy, going
subsequently to Edinburgh, where he was soon recognised as a man of
unusual intellect. In 1751 he was appointed to the Chair of Logic at
Glasgow, which he next year exchanged for that of Moral Philosophy, and
in 1759 he _pub._ his _Theory of the Moral Sentiments_. He received in
1762 the degree of LL.D. from his Univ., and two years later resigned his
chair and became travelling tutor to the young Duke of Buccleuch,
accompanying him to the Continent. He remained for nearly a year in
Paris, and made the acquaintance of the brilliant circle of _savans_ in
that city. Returning to Kirkcaldy in 1766 he lived there with his mother
for nearly ten years in retirement and close study, the results of which
were given to the world in 1776 in the publication of his epoch-making
work, _Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations_
(1776). This book may be said to have founded the science of political
economy, and to have created a new department of literature; and very few
works have, to the same extent, influenced the practical history of the
world. In 1778 S. was made a Commissioner of Customs, and settled in
Edinburgh; and in 1787 he was elected Lord Rector of the Univ. of
Glasgow. In addition to the works above mentioned, he wrote various
essays on philosophical subjects, and an account of the last days of
David Hume. The style of his works was plain and lucid, and he had a
remarkable faculty of apt illustration.
SMITH, ALBERT (1816-1860).--Humorous writer, studied medicine, and for a
short time assisted his _f._ in practice. He was one of the original
contributors to _Punch_, and among his books are _The Adventures of Mr.
Ledbury_ and _The Scattergood Family_. He also lectured and gave
entertainments, including _The Ascent of Mont Blanc_, which were highly
popular.
SMITH, ALEXANDER (1830-1867).--Poet and essayist, _s._ of a Paisley
pattern-designer, at first followed the same occupation in Glasgow, but
having become known as a poet of promise was, in 1854, appointed Sec. of
Edin. Univ. After contributing to the _Glasgow Citizen_ he _pub._ _A Life
Drama_ (1853), which received much admiration. Thereafter appeared _War
Sonnets_ (in conjunction, with S. Dobell, _q.v._), _City Poems_ (1857),
and _Edwin of Deira_ (1861). In prose he wrote _Dreamthorpe_ (essays), _A
Summer in Skye_, and two novels, _Alfred Hagart's Household_ and _Miss
Dona M'Quarrie_. His poems were in a rich and glowing style, but by some
good judges were held to show fancy rather than imagination. He belonged
to what was called the "spasmodic" school of poetry.
SMITH, MRS. CHARLOTTE (TURNER) (1749-1806).--Was _m._ at 15 to a West
Indian merchant, who by a series of misfortunes and imprudences was
reduced from affluence to poverty. She had in her youth shown
considerable promise as a poetess, and in her misfortunes she was able to
maintain herself and her family by her pen. In addition to a poem,
_Beachy Head_, and sonnets, she wrote several novels of more than usual
merit, including _Emmeline_ (1788), and, her best work, _The Old English
Manor House_.
SMITH, HORACE (1779-1849), SMITH, JAMES (1775-1839).--Humorists, _s._ of
a London lawyer who was solicitor to the Board of Ordnance. James
succeeded his _f._; Horace became a successful stockbroker. Both brothers
were distinguished for brilliant wit and humour. Their first great hit
was _Rejected Addresses_ (1812), extremely clever parodies on leading
contemporary poets. To this _jeu d'esprit_ James contributed among others
imitations of Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Crabbe, while Horace's share
included Scott and Moore. James _pub._ little more, but anonymously gave
Charles Matthews assistance in his entertainments. Horace _pub._ several
novels which, with perhaps the exception of _Brambletye House_, are now
forgotten. He also wrote _The Address to a Mummy_, a remarkable poem in
which wit and true sentiment are admirably combined. Both brothers were
highly esteemed not only for their social qualities, but for their
benevolence and goodness of heart.
SMITH, SYDNEY (1771-1845).--Miscellaneous writer, _b._ at Woodford,
Essex, the _s._ of a gentleman of independent means, and _ed._ at
Winchester and Oxf., took orders 1794, becoming curate of Amesbury. He
came to Edinburgh as tutor to a gentleman's _s._, was introduced to the
circle of brilliant young Whigs there, and assisted in founding the
_Edinburgh Review_. He then went to London, where he was for a time
preacher at the Foundling Hospital, and lectured on moral philosophy at
the Royal Institution. His brilliant wit and general ability made him a
favourite in society, while by his power of clear and cogent argument he
exercised a strong influence on the course of politics. His _Plymley
Letters_ did much to advance the cause of Catholic emancipation. He
received various preferments, and became a canon of St. Paul's. In
politics he was a Whig, in his Church views an Erastian; and in the
defence of his principles he was honest and courageous. Though not
remarkable for religious devotion he was a hard-working and, according to
his lights, useful country parson. By the death of a younger brother he
in his later years came into a considerable fortune.
SMITH, WALTER CHALMERS (1824-1908).--_B._ in Aberdeen and _ed._ there and
at Edin., was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland at Orwell,
Glasgow, and Edinburgh successively, a distinguished preacher and a man
of kindly nature and catholic sympathies. He attained considerable
reputation as a poet. Among his works are _The Bishop's Walk_ (1861),
_Olrig Grange_ (1872), _Hilda among the Broken Gods_ (1878), _Raban_
(1880), _Kildrostan_ (1884), and _A Heretic_ (1890). Some of these were
written under the names of "Orwell" and Hermann Kunst. He received the
degrees of D.D. and LL.D.
SMITH, SIR WILLIAM (1813-1893).--Lexicographer, _ed._ at Univ. Coll.,
London, was a contributor to the _Penny Magazine_ and compiled or ed.
many useful works of reference, including _Dictionary of Greek and Roman
Antiquities_ (1842), and dictionaries of the Bible, of Christian
Antiquities, and Christian Biography, etc., also various school series
and educational handbooks, including _The Classical Dictionary_. He held
various academical degrees, including Ph.D. of Leipsic, and was knighted
in 1892.
SMITH, WILLIAM ROBERTSON (1846-1894).--Theologian and Semitic scholar,
_s._ of the Free Church minister of Keig, Aberdeenshire, studied for the
ministry of that Church. In 1870 he was appointed Prof. of Hebrew, etc.,
in its coll. at Aberdeen, a position which he had to resign on account of
his advanced critical views. He became joint ed. of _The Encyclopædia
Britannica_, and in 1883 Prof. of Arabic at Camb. S. was a man of
brilliant and versatile talents, a mathematician as well as a scholar,
somewhat uncompromising and aggressive in the exposition and defence of
his views. His works include _The Old Testament in the Jewish Church_
(1881), and _The Religion of the Semites_ (1889).
SMOLLETT, TOBIAS GEORGE (1721-1771).--Novelist, 2nd _s._ of Archibald S.,
of Dalquhurn, Dumbartonshire, and _ed._ at Glasgow, proceeded to London
in 1739 with the view of having a tragedy, _The Regicide_, put on the
stage, in which, however, he failed. In this disappointment he took
service as surgeon's mate on one of the vessels of the Carthagena
expedition, 1741, an experience which he turned to account in his novels.
On his return he settled in London, and endeavoured to acquire practice
as a physician, but was not very successful, and having discovered where
his talent lay, he thenceforth devoted himself to literature. _Roderick
Random_ appeared in 1748, _The History of an Atom_ (1749), _Peregrine
Pickle_ in 1751, _Ferdinand, Count Fathom_ in 1753, _Sir Lancelot
Greaves_ in 1766, and _Humphrey Clinker_, generally considered his best
novel, in 1770. Besides these works, however, he translated Voltaire,
wrote a _History of England_ in continuation of Hume's, an _Ode to
Independence_, travels and satires, and contributed to various
periodicals. He was repeatedly involved in acrimonious controversy, and
on one occasion fined and imprisoned for a libel, which, with various
private misfortunes, embittered his life, and he _d._ disappointed and
worn out near Leghorn. Had he lived four years longer he would have
succeeded to his grandfather's estate of Bonhill. The novels of S.
display great narrative power, and he has a remarkable comic vein of a
broad type, which enables him to present ludicrous scenes and
circumstances with great effect. There is, however, a strong infusion of
coarseness in his treatment of his subjects.
SOMERVILLE, MRS. MARY (FAIRFAX) (1780-1872).--Mathematician and writer on
science, _dau._ of Admiral Sir William G. Fairfax, _b._ at Jedburgh, was
twice _m._, first to Mr. Greig, an officer in the Russian Navy, and
second to her cousin Dr. William S. Although she had early manifested a
taste for study, and specially for science, she had, until after the
death of her first husband, little opportunity of following out her
favourite subjects. With Dr. S., who was in full sympathy with her
scientific tastes, she went to reside in London, and there her talents
made her known in scientific circles. In 1823 she was requested by Lord
Brougham to popularise the _Mechanique Celeste_ of La Place. This she did
with great success, publishing her work as _The Celestial Mechanism of
the Heavens_ (1830). She also _pub._ _The Connection of the Physical
Sciences_ (1834), and other works. She received a pension from
Government, and _d._ aged 92 at Naples, where she had resided for the
last ten or twelve years of her life.
SOMERVILLE, WILLIAM (1675-1742).--Poet, a Warwickshire squire of literary
tastes, wrote among others a poem, _The Chase_, in 4 books, which has
some passages of considerable descriptive power.
SOTHEBY, WILLIAM (1757-1833).--Poet and translator, belonged to a good
family, and was _ed._ at Harrow. In early life he was in the army. He
_pub._ a few dramas and books of poems, which had no great popularity,
and are now forgotten; his reputation rests upon his admirable
translations of the _Oberon_ of Wieland, the _Georgics_ of Virgil, and
the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_. The last two were begun when he was upwards of
70, but he lived to complete them. His _Georgics_ is considered one of
the best translations from the classics in the language.
SOUTH, ROBERT (1634-1716).--Divine, _s._ of a London merchant, was _b._
at Hackney, and _ed._ at Westminster School and Oxf., where in 1660 he
was appointed Univ. Orator. He became domestic chaplain to the Lord
Chancellor Clarendon, and in 1663 the degree of D.D. was conferred upon
him. After accompanying an embassy to Poland he became Rector of Islip,
and a chaplain to Charles II. Thereafter he steadily declined higher
preferment, including the bishopric of Rochester. He was opposed to the
Romanising measures of James II., but owing to his views as to the duty
of passive obedience he declined to associate himself in any way with the
Revolution, to which nevertheless he submitted. He was an expert
controversialist, but it is chiefly by his sermons, which are among the
classics of English divinity, that he is remembered. He has the
reputation of being the wittiest of English preachers, and this
characteristic is sometimes present to a degree not quite suitable to the
subjects treated.
SOUTHERNE, THOMAS (1660-1746).--Dramatist, _b._ in Dublin, and _ed._ at
Trinity Coll. there, came to London and studied law at the Middle Temple.
Afterwards he entered the army and saw service. He wrote ten plays, of
which two were long acted and are still remembered, _The Fatal Marriage_
(1694) and _Oroonoko_ (1696), in the latter of which he appeals
passionately against the slave-trade. Unlike most preceding dramatists he
was a practical man, succeeded in his theatrical management, and retired
on a fortune. Other plays are _The Loyal Brother_ (1682), _The
Disappointment_ (1684), _The Wives' Excuse_ (1692), _The Spartan Dame_
(1719), etc.
SOUTHEY, MRS. CAROLINE ANNE (BOWLES) (1786-1854).--Poetess, _dau._ of a
captain in the navy, submitted a poem, _Ellen Fitzarthur_ to Southey
(_q.v._), which led to a friendship, and to a proposed joint poem on
Robin Hood, not, however, carried out, and eventually to her becoming the
poet's second wife. She wrote various other works, including _Chapters on
Churchyards_ and _Tales of the Factories_.
SOUTHEY, ROBERT (1774-1843).--Poet, biographer, etc., _s._ of an
unsuccessful linen-draper in Bristol, where he was _b._, was sent to
Westminster School, and in 1792 went to Oxf. His friendship with
Coleridge began in 1794, and with him he joined in the scheme of a
"pantisocracy" (_see_ Coleridge). In 1795 he _m._ his first wife, Edith
Fricker, and thus became the brother-in-law of Coleridge. Shortly
afterwards he visited Spain, and in 1800 Portugal, and laid the
foundations of his thorough knowledge of the history and literature of
the Peninsula. Between these two periods of foreign travel he had
attempted the study of law, which proved entirely uncongenial; and in
1803 he settled at Greta Hall, Keswick, to which neighbourhood the
Coleridges had also come. Here he set himself to a course of
indefatigable literary toil which only ended with his life. _Thalaba_
had appeared in 1801, and there followed _Madoc_ (1805), _The Curse of
Kehama_ (1810), _Roderic, the Last of the Goths_ (1814), and _A Vision of
Judgment_ (1821); and in prose a _History of Brazil_, Lives of Nelson
(1813), Wesley (1820), and Bunyan (1830), _The Book of the Church_
(1824), _History of the Peninsular War_ (1823-32), _Naval History_, and
_The Doctor_ (1834-37). In addition to this vast amount of work he had
been from 1808 a constant contributor to the _Quarterly Review_. In 1839
when he was failing both in body and mind he _m._, as his second wife,
Miss Caroline Ann Bowles, who had for 20 years been his intimate friend,
and by whom his few remaining years were soothed. Though the name of S.
still bulks somewhat largely in the history of our literature, his works,
with a few exceptions, are now little read, and those of them (his longer
poems, _Thalaba_ and _Kehama_) on which he himself based his hopes of
lasting fame, least of all. To this result their length, remoteness from
living interests, and the impression that their often splendid diction is
rather eloquence than true poetry, have contributed. Some of his shorter
poems, _e.g._, "The Holly Tree," and "The Battle of Blenheim" still live,
but his fame now rests on his vigorous prose and especially on his
classic _Life of Nelson_. Like Wordsworth and Coleridge, S. began life as
a democratic visionary, and was strongly influenced by the French
Revolution, but gradually cooled down into a pronounced Tory. He was
himself greater and better than any of his works, his life being a noble
record of devotion to duty and unselfish benevolence. He held the office
of Poet Laureate from 1813, and had a pension from Government. He
declined a baronetcy.
_Life and Correspondence_ (6 vols., 1849-50) by his younger son, Rev. C.
Southey. _Life_ by Dowden in Men of Letters (1880).
SOUTHWELL, ROBERT (1561?-1595).--Poet, _b._ at Horsham St. Faith's,
Norfolk, of good Roman Catholic family, and _ed._ at Douay, Paris, and
Rome, he became a Jesuit, and showed such learning and ability as to be
appointed Prefect of the English Coll. In 1586 he came to England with
Garnett, the superior of the English province, and became chaplain to the
Countess of Arundel. His being in England for more than 40 days then
rendered him liable to the punishment of death and disembowelment, and in
1592 he was apprehended and imprisoned in the Tower for three years,
during which he was tortured 13 times. He was then put on trial and
executed, February 22, 1595. He was the author of _St. Peter's Complaint_
and _The Burning Babe_, a short poem of great imaginative power, and of
several prose religious works, including _St. Mary Magdalene's Teares_,
_A Short Rule of Good Life_, _The Triumphs over Death_, etc.
SPEDDING, JAMES (1808-1881).--Editor of Bacon's works, _s._ of a
Cumberland squire, and _ed._ at Bury St. Edmunds and Camb., was for some
years in the Colonial Office. He devoted himself to the ed. of Bacon's
works, and the endeavour to clear his character against the aspersions of
Macaulay and others. The former was done in conjunction with Ellis and
Heath, his own being much the largest share in their great ed. (1861-74);
and the latter, so far as possible, in _The Life and Letters_, entirely
his own. In 1878 he brought out an abridged _Life and Times of Francis
Bacon_. He strongly combated the theory that B. was the author of
Shakespeare's plays. His death was caused by his being run over by a cab.
He enjoyed the friendship of many of his greatest contemporaries,
including Carlyle, Tennyson, and Fitzgerald.
SPEED, JOHN (1552?-1629).--Historian, _b._ at Farington, Cheshire, and
brought up to the trade of a tailor, had a strong taste for history and
antiquities, and wrote a _History of Great Britain_ (1611), which was
long the best in existence, in collecting material for which he had
assistance from Cotton, Spelman, and other investigators. He also _pub._
useful maps of Great Britain and Ireland, and of various counties, etc.
In 1616 appeared his _Cloud of Witnesses confirming ... the truth of
God's most holie Word_. His maps were _coll._ and with descriptions
_pub._ in 1611 as _Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain_.