1594 – “The drops are infinite, that make a flood, and yet, thou knowest, we call it but a Rain.”

1594 – “The drops are infinite, that make a flood, and yet, thou knowest, we call it but a Rain.”

As Shakespeare held out in London for the end of winter, he like most actors had no idea if and when the theatres would open again. When the theatres and inn yards did not open at the end of January, he must have rethought whether he had chosen the right profession. With Henry Wriothesley (3rd Earl of Southampton) having agreed to be his patron, Shakespeare had some breathing space and time to write poetry and plays.

Sometime after receiving money from Southampton for the poem Venus and Adonis and probably money for the delivery of seventeen sonnets (Sonnets 1-17 are often called the Procreation sonnets since together they address a young man and encourage him to marry and father children), Shakespeare was probably encouraged by Southampton to write a longer and more serious poem.

Shakespeare wrote his long narrative poem The Rape of Lucrece probably in a couple of weeks in February and March of 1594. This ‘graver work’, is a masterful piece of poetic writing compared to ‘Venus and Adonis’. While it lacks the humour and irony of ‘Venus and Adonis’, it is a powerful poetic piece.

While waiting for payment for this long narrative poem, Shakespeare decided to write a couple of plays ready for the reopening of the theatres after the plague. He knew that he would have to have a history in his new batch of plays, but he also knew that comedies would go down well after the long year of the plague and the theatres and other entertainments being closed.

Shakespeare probably started with Edward III. Edward III was a Plantagenet king and the precursor to Richard II. He, like Elizabeth I had great military successes that often turned in his favour due to the weather. Like Elizabeth, Edward III had brought stability and like Elizabeth I, he reigned for a long time (over 50 years). With this play written, Shakespeare would have taken some time to relax before writing a few comedies in the hope that the theatres would open in April or May of 1594.

The wine and ale probably flowed less freely in March and April of 1594, due to shortages because of the plague. Shakespeare probably still had it delivered to his lodgings since the inns and alehouses still remained closed. We know that Shakespeare had lodgings in Bishopsgate at this time because in 1597 court records indicate that he owed taxes in this period and that he resided in Bishopsgate. On Sundays after some gatherings were allowed in late March, Shakespeare probably starting worshipping at the historic medieval church St Helen’s.

After the hardships of the year of the plague, Shakespeare knew the people would love a good old fashioned short comedy. ‘The Comedy of Errors’ is Shakespeare’s shortest play. It has puns and is essentially an old fashioned farce. It was heavily influenced by the commedia dell arte and the plot revolves around mistaken identity and two sets of identical twins who were separated at birth. Shakespeare must have had fun writing it.

In May 1594 with the re-opening of the theatres, Shakespeare felt ready with for the season with a history and comedy already written and he must have heaved a sigh of relief when many of the actors from the Lord Strange's Men arrived back in London from touring the provinces and were ready for rehearsals and performances. However, the Lord Strange's Men were in turmoil after the death of Lord Strange Ferdinando Stanley himself and the company seemed to be disbanding. Shakespeare followed Burbage and others over to the Lord Chamberlain's Men. He would have lost his money over the loss of his share in the Lord Strange's Men but some share in the profits would have been negotiated with the Lord Chamberlain's Men.

The company, under the patronage of the Lord Chamberlain Henry Carey, First Baron Hunsdon, seemed destined for a bright future with the young playwright Shakespeare. In fact, Shakespeare had been appointed the official House Playwright of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men around this time, so he now got a healthy cut of the profits of any of their performances of his plays at theatres like the Rose Theatre.

‘The Comedy of Errors’ had been a success and would get some runs in the provinces and maybe a late autumn or winter performance at one of the barrister’s societies or clubs, perhaps even at the ever popular Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn. That would bring in some extra cash. But for Shakespeare, the highlights also probably included two performances he saw early in the season. In May, the combined companies of the Queen Elizabeth’s Men and the Sussex Men put on a curious play called ‘The moste famous Chronicle historye of King Leire of England and his Three Daughters’. Shakespeare thought the story had promise and with more time, he thought he could himself rejig this story later. The other play that blew him away was a revival production at the Rose Theatre by the same company of Marlowe’s ‘The Jew of Malta’.

Shakespeare knew that Marlowe was the master. His stories were new and innovative and Shakespeare knew that he had to at some point write his own original stories rather than re-hashing and improving the stories of others. But the climate for a large tragedy or a histrionic piece didn’t seem quite right to him so soon after the plague. Besides, light comedies seemed all the rage in London at the close of summer. Henslowe would probably pay five to ten pounds up front for another comedy before the end of the season. He also knew he could whip up a comedy in a little over a week and with a week of rehearsal slipped in around other performances, he could have extra money in his pocket in three weeks. More if it moved into the company’s repertoire. So his mind started to dwell on a comedy; a love story based around the words from a poem by John Florio called ‘His Firste Fruites’ written in 1578. Shakespeare had probably read it in a collection of poems he had picked up cheap in the marketplace (along with other collections sold cheap by families of victims of the plague). The lines of the poem that stuck in his head and on his bookshelf were:

"We neede not speak so much of loue,

al books are ful of lou,

with so many authours,

that it were labour lost to speake of Loue."

Shakespeare’s ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’ begins with the Duke of Navarre and his three lords’ quest to devote their lives, for three years, to their academy and their pursuit of learning. They believe this will bring them fame amongst others.

"Let fame, that all hunt after in their lives,

Live regist'red upon our brazen tombs"

And so for three years, they will swear to devote their lives to their academy and their pursuit of learning. Their oath involves fasting, forsaking some sleep and staying away from women.

The play is a sophisticated comedy with puns, literary allusions and wordplay and it was probably performed in October of 1594 at the Inns of Court where the students and young nobles would appreciate its style, themes, irony, satire and sophisticated language humour.