James Shirley (or Sherley) (September 1596 – October 1666) was an English dramatist. He belonged to the great period of English dramatic literature, but, in Charles Lamb's words, he "claims a place among the worthies of this period, not so much for any transcendent genius in himself, as that he was the last of a great race, all of whom spoke nearly the same language and had a set of moral feelings and notions in common." His career of play writing extended from 1625 to the suppression of stage plays by

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in 1642.

Biography

Early life

Shirley was born in London and was descended from the Shirleys of Warwick, the oldest knighted family in Warwickshire. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, London,

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

, and

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The colle ...

, where he took his BA degree in or before 1618. His first poem, ''Echo, or the Unfortunate Lovers'' was published in 1618; no copy of it is known, but it is probably the same as 1646's ''Narcissus''. Oxford biographer Anthony Wood reports that, after earning his MA, Shirley became "a minister of God's word in or near

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

". He then left this post, apparently due to a conversion to the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

faith, and was master of St Albans School from 1623 to 1625. His first play, '' Love Tricks,'' seems to have been written while he was teaching at St Albans.

Playwright in London

In 1625 he returned to London, living in

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

. In the following 18 years, he wrote more than 30 regular plays, tragedies, comedies, and tragicomedies. Most of his plays were performed by

Queen Henrietta's Men Queen Henrietta's Men was an important playing company or troupe of actors of the Caroline era in London, England. At their peak of popularity, Queen Henrietta's Men were the second leading troupe of the day, after only the King's Men. Beginnin ...

, the

playing company In Renaissance-era London, playing company was the usual term for a company of actors. These companies were organised around a group of ten or so shareholders (or "sharers"), who performed in the plays but were also responsible for management. T ...

for which Shirley served as house dramatist (much as

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

had for the King's Men). Shirley's sympathies were with the King in his disputes with Parliament, and he received marks of special favour from the Queen. He made a bitter attack on

William Prynne William Prynne (1600 – 24 October 1669), an English lawyer, voluble author, polemicist and political figure, was a prominent Puritan opponent of church policy under William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury (1633–1645). His views were Presbyter ...

, who had attacked the stage in '' Histriomastix'', and, in 1634 he supplied the text for ''

The Triumph of Peace ''The Triumph of Peace'' was a Caroline era masque, "invented and written" by James Shirley, performed on 3 February 1634 and published the same year. The production was designed by Inigo Jones. Inspiration The masque was lavishly sponsored b ...

'', a masque presented at

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

by the gentlemen of the

Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court: Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple, and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have s ...

as a practical reply to Prynne.

Dublin and return to London

Between 1636 and 1640 Shirley went to Ireland, apparently under the patronage of the

Earl of Kildare Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

. Three or four of his plays were produced by his friend

John Ogilby John Ogilby, Ogelby, or Oglivie (17 November 16004 September 1676) was a Scottish translator, impresario, publisher and cartographer. He was probably at least a half-brother to James Ogilvy, 1st Earl of Airlie, though neither overtly acknowl ...

in Dublin's Werburgh Street Theatre, the first ever built in Ireland and at the time of Shirley's visit only one year old. During his Dublin stay, Shirley wrote '' The Doubtful Heir'', '' The Royal Master'', '' The Constant Maid'', and '' St. Patrick for Ireland''. In 1640 he returned to London, and found that in his absence Queen Henrietta's Men had sold off a dozen of his plays to the stationers, who published them in the late 1630s. As a result, he would no longer work for Queen Henrietta's company, and the final plays of his London career were acted by the King's Men.

Theatre closure and civil war

In 1642, his career as a playwright was stopped by the London theatre closure. On the outbreak of the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, Shirley seems to have served with the Earl of Newcastle, but when the King's fortunes began to decline he returned to London. He owed something to the kindness of Thomas Stanley, but supported himself chiefly by teaching and publishing some educational works under the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

. Besides these, he published during the Commonwealth period four small volumes of poems and plays, in 1646, 1653, 1655 and 1659. He "was a drudge" for

in his translations of the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'' and the ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

''.

Late life and death

He survived into the reign of Charles II, but did not again attempt to write for the stage, though some of his comedies were revived. Wood says that Shirley, aged 70, and his second wife died of fright and exposure after the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...

, and were buried at St Giles in the Fields on 29 October 1666.

Assessment of writing

The 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' says of Shirley's works:

Works

The following list includes years of first publication, and of performance if known, and dates of licensing by the

Master of the Revels The Master of the Revels was the holder of a position within the English, and later the British, royal household, heading the "Revels Office" or "Office of the Revels". The Master of the Revels was an executive officer under the Lord Chamberla ...

where available.

Tragedies

*'' The Maid's Revenge'' (licensed 9 Feb 1626; first printed 1639) *'' The Traitor'' (licensed 4 May 1631; first printed 1635) *'' Love's Cruelty'' (licensed 14 Nov 1631; printed 1640) *'' The Politician'' (acted 1639; printed 1655) *''

The Cardinal ''The Cardinal'' is a 1963 American drama film produced independently, directed by Otto Preminger and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The screenplay was written by Robert Dozier, based on the novel by the same by Henry Morton Robinson. The ...

'' (licensed 25 Nov 1641; printed 1652). Performed 2017 Southwark Playhouse

City Comedies set in 1630s London

*'' Love Tricks, or the School of Complement'' (licensed 10 Feb 1625; first printed under its subtitle, 1631) *'' The Wedding'' (licensed 1626; first printed 1629) *''

The Witty Fair One ''The Witty Fair One'' is a Caroline era stage play, an early comedy by James Shirley. Critics have cited the play as indicative of the evolution of English comic drama from the humors comedy of Ben Jonson to the Restoration comedy of Wycherl ...

'' (licensed 3 Oct 1628; printed 1633) *'' Changes, or Love in a Maze'' (licensed 10 Jan 1632; printed 1632) * ''Hyde Park'' (licensed 20 April 1632; printed 1637) *'' The Ball'' (licensed 16 Nov 1632; printed 1639) *'' The Gamester'' (licensed 11 Nov 1633; printed 1637) *'' The Lady of Pleasure'' (licensed 15 Oct 1635; printed 1637)

Tragicomedies, pastorals and others

*'' The Grateful Servant'' (licensed 3 Nov 1629 as ''The Faithful Servant''; first printed 1630) *'' The Humorous Courtier'' (licensed 17 May 1631; printed 1640). *'' The Bird in a Cage,'' or ''The Beauties'' (licensed 21 Jan 1633; printed 1633) *'' The Young Admiral'' (licensed 3 July 1633; printed 1637) *''

The Example ''The Example'' is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by James Shirley, first published in 1637. The play has repeatedly been acclaimed both as one of Shirley's best comedies and one of the best works of its generation. And it provid ...

'' (licensed 24 June 1634; printed 1637) *'' The Opportunity'' (licensed 29 Nov 1634; printed 1640) *'' The Coronation'' (licensed 6 Feb 1635 as Shirley's, but printed in 1640 erroneously as a work of John Fletcher) *''

The Duke's Mistress ''The Duke's Mistress'' is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by James Shirley and first published in 1638. It was the last of Shirley's plays produced before the major break in his career: with the closing of the London theatres ...

'' (licensed 18 Jan 1636; printed 1638) *'' The Royal Master'' (licensed 23 April 1638; first printed 1638) *'' St. Patrick for Ireland'' (performed ca. 1637–40; first printed 1640) *'' The Gentleman of Venice'' (licensed 30 Oct 1639; printed 1655) *'' The Doubtful Heir'' (licensed 1 June 1640 as ''Rosania,'' or ''Love's Victory''; printed 1652) *'' The Arcadia'' (printed 1640) *'' The Imposture'' (licensed 10 Nov 1640; printed 1652) *'' The Brothers'' (licensed 26 May 1641; printed 1652) *'' The Constant Maid, or Love Will Find Out the Way'' (performed ca. 1630–40; first printed 1640) * ''The Sisters'' (licensed 26 April 1642; printed 1653) *'' The Court Secret'' (composed before 1642; printed 1653)

Masques and entertainments

*'' A Contention for Honor and Riches'' (performed ca. 1625–32; printed 1633) *''

'' (licensed 3 Feb 1634; printed 1634) *'' The Triumph of Beauty'' (ca. 1640; printed 1646) *'' The Contention of Ajax and Ulysses'' ''for the Armour of Achilles'' (performed ca. 1654–58; printed 1659) *'' Cupid and Death'' (performed 26 March 1653; first printed 1653) *'' Honoria and Mammon'' (printed 1659; performed 21 November 2013) In 1633, Shirley revised a play by John Fletcher, possibly called ''The Little Thief'', into '' The Night Walker'', which was acted in 1634 and printed in 1640. In 1634–35, Shirley revised '' The Tragedy of Chabot, Admiral of France'', a play that

George Chapman George Chapman ( – 12 May 1634) was an English dramatist, translator and poet. He was a classical scholar whose work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman is seen as an anticipator of the metaphysical poets of the 17th century. He is ...

had written sometime between 1611 and 1622. The revised version was printed in 1639. Shirley has sometimes been credited as a collaborator with

William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne, KG, KB, PC (25 December 1676), who after 1665 styled himself as Prince William Cavendish, was an English courtier and supporter of the arts. He was a renowned horse breeder, as well as being ...

on Cavendish's plays '' The Country Captain'' and ''The Variety'' (both printed 1649). ''The Ball'', in the publication attributed to George Chapman and James Shirley, was written by Shirley alone. Shirley's ''Poems'' (1646) contained the epyllion ''Narcissus'' and the masque ''The Triumph of Beauty.'' ''A Contention for Honour and Riches'' (1633) appeared in an altered and enlarged form in 1659 as ''Honoria and Mammon.'' His ''Contention of Ajax and Ulysses'' closes with the well-known lyric "The Glories of our Blood and State." In the final pedagogic stage of his career, Shirley published an English grammar written in poetry, titled ''Rudiments of Grammar: The Rules Composed in English Verse for the Greater Benefit and Delight of Young Beginners'' (1656). Eight of Shirley's plays were reprinted in a single quarto volume in 1640; these were ''The Young Admiral, The Duke's Mistress, Hyde Park, Love's Cruelty, The Wedding, The Constant Maid, The Opportunity,'' and ''The Grateful Servant''. In 1653 another collection was published by

Humphrey Moseley Humphrey Moseley (died 31 January 1661) was a prominent London publisher and bookseller in the middle seventeenth century. Life Possibly a son of publisher Samuel Moseley, Humphrey Moseley became a "freeman" (a full member) of the Stationers C ...

and Humphrey Robinson; titled ''Six New Plays,'' the volume included ''The Brothers, The Sisters, The Doubtful Heir, The Imposture, The Cardinal,'' and ''The Court Secret.'' Shirley's canon presents fewer problems and lost works than the canons of earlier dramatists; yet William Cooke registered a Shirley tragedy titled ''Saint Albans'' on 14 February 1639 – a play that has not survived. The anonymous tragedy '' Andromana'' was assigned to Shirley when it was first published in 1660, though scholars have treated the attribution with scepticism. The standard edition of Shirley's works is ''The Dramatic Works and Poems of James Shirley, with Notes by William Gifford, and Additional Notes, and some Account of Shirley and his Writings,'' by Alexander Dyce (6 vols., 1833). A selection of his plays was edited (1888) for the Mermaid Series, with an introduction by

Edmund Gosse Sir Edmund William Gosse (; 21 September 184916 May 1928) was an English poet, author and critic. He was strictly brought up in a small Protestant sect, the Plymouth Brethren, but broke away sharply from that faith. His account of his childhood ...

. A new ten-volume edition of James Shirley's work is currently being edited for

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. Volume 7 in this series is forthcoming in 2022.

Revivals

Shirley's work has occasionally seen revivals. ''Honoria and Mammon'' was staged in London at Shirley's church, on 21 November 2013. ''The Cardinal'' has seen an adaptation, ''Red Snake'', and a production in London in April 2017. 'The Glories of Our Blood and State' (also known under the later title 'The Glories of Our Birth and State') from ''The Contention of Ajax and Ulysses'' was often set to music, and played at the coronation of

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

in 1821.

Notes

References

* Adams, Joseph Quincy. ''Shakespeare's Playhouses''. Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1917. * Logan, Terence P., and Denzell S. Smith, eds. ''The Later Jacobean and Caroline Dramatists: A Survey and Bibliography of Recent Studies in English Renaissance Drama.'' Lincoln, NE, University of Nebraska Press, 1978.

External links

* * *
Dyce edition at Google BooksJames Shirley website at the University of Durham, UKDigitized images of "Hide Parke: a comedie, as it was presented by her Majesties Servants, at the private house in Drury Lane"
housed at the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shirley, James 1596 births 1666 deaths People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge English Renaissance dramatists 17th-century English male writers 17th-century English dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights