The Works of John Webster

Excerpt from The Works of John Webster: With Some Account of the Author, and Notes

In the Introduction to his edition of The Dramatic Works of John Webster, 1857, Mr. Hazlitt announces his intention of including among them, not only The Thracian Wonder (which he justly describes as a stream of dulness but The Weakest goeth to the Wall. The latter play he assigns to Webster upon the authority of Winstanley not being aware that when Winstanley wrote as follows in his Lires of the most famous English Poets, 1687, p. 137, he was merely transcribing the blunders of Phillips in the Theatmm Poetarum, 1675 He [dekker] was also an associate with John Webster in several well eutertain’d Plays, viz. Northward, hoe? The Noble Stranger New Trick to cheat the Devil ll’cstward, hoe The Weakest goes to the Wall; and A Woman will have her will. Here we have three plays confidently attributed to Dekker and Webster, of which we are certain that they did not write a word The Noble Stranger is by Sharpe A New Trick to cheat the Devil, by Davenport; and A Woman will have her will, by Haughton So much for the authority of Winstanley, or rather, of Phillips. As to The Weakest goeth to the Wall, - from beginning to end it is written in a style utterly unlike that of Webster.

For verses by Sheppard on Webster’s White Devil, see p. 2 for verses by Middleton, W. Rowley, and Ford, on his Duchess of Malfi, see p. 56.

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