IT has been said that Shakespeare was hardly mentioned by his
contemporaries, and that he was substantially unknown. This is a
mistake. In 1600 a book was published called _England's Parnassus_,
and it contained ninety extracts from Shakespeare. In the same year
was published the _Garden of the Muses_, containing several pieces from
Shakespeare, Chapman, Marston and Ben Jonson. _England's Helicon_ was
printed in the same year, and contained poems from Spenser, Greene,
Harvey and Shakespeare.
In 1600 a play was acted at Cambridge, in which Shakespeare was alluded
to as follows: "Why, here's our fellow Shakespeare who puts them all
down." John Weaver published a book of poems in 1595, in which there
was a sonnet to Shakespeare. In 1598 Richard Bamfield wrote a poem
to Shakespeare. Francis Meres, "clergyman, master of arts in both
universities, compiler of school books," was the author of the _Wits
Treasury_. In this he compares the ancient and modern tragic poets, and
mentions Marlowe, Peele, Kyd and Shakespeare. So he compares the writers
of comedies, and mentions Lilly, Lodge, Greene and Shakespeare. He
speaks of elegiac poets, and names Surrey, Wyatt, Sidney, Raleigh and
Shakespeare. He compares the lyric poets, and names Spenser, Drayton,
Shakespeare and others. This same writer, speaking of Horace, says that
England has Sidney, Shakespeare and others, and that "as the soul of
Euphorbus was thought to live in Pythagoras, so the sweet-wittie soul
of Ovid lives in the mellifluous and honey-tongued Shakespeare." He
also says: "If the Muses could speak English, they would speak in
Shakespeare's phrase." This was in 1598. In 1607, John Davies alludes in
a poem to Shakespeare.
Of course we are all familiar with what rare Ben Jonson wrote. Henry
Chettle took Shakespeare to task because he wrote nothing on the death
of Queen Elizabeth.
It may be wonderful that he was not better known. But is it not
wonderful that he gained the reputation that he did in so short a time,
and that twelve years after he began to write he stood at least with the
first?