New-York tribune., 1869-04-03
THE DATE or SHAKEspEAREE TEMPEST.

The question of the chronology of Shake
speare's plays is one that must always possess
vital interest for students Of English litera-
ture, and to fix with certainty the period of
any among them whose date remains unknown,
would entitle the discoverer to high dstinc-
ton. Mr.. Tayleure of the Grand Opera House,
who is, we believe, a man of letters as well as
an accomplished manager iu his public an
louncements of The Tempest" emphatically
pronounces it Shakespeares last work." and
at the same time gives date, 1911, which he
assumes to be that of its original production.
1t is possible that Mr. Tayleure possesses in
formation upon the subject which he has not
yet disclosed, but the evidence set forth in his
advertisements does not sufficiently justify his
assertion. He publishes as a quotation from
Knight, the statement that "a very general belief
"has always prevailed that The Tempest was
Shakespeares last work." and adds that this
"belef the poet Campbell elegantly indorsed,
contending that the mighty workman, con
"scious that this would be his last triumph, was
"inspired to typify himself in Prospero, and thus
Announce his determination TO break his staff,
"etc" The quotation is not strictly accurate.
Knights view of Campbell's theory was. TO say
the least, extremely skeptical His real words
are these: Until within the last year or so,
"the general opinion of the readers of Shake
"sDeare had settled into the belief that The
"FTempest' was the last of his works. We
" are inclined TO think that this belief WdS rather
" a matter Of feeling than Of judgmentn And
after repeating Campbell's expressions, he con-
tinues: "This feeling, pretty and fanciful as
"it is, is certainly somewhat deceptive. 1t is
"not borne outEby the internal evidence of the
"play itselfn Assertions of internal evidence
must in all cases be taken as matter of indi-
vidual opinion, but this instance is perti-
nent as coming from the editor who is relied
upon to sustain Mr.. Tayleure's position. In
another place Knight expresses a belief that
"The Winters Talen followed THE Tempest"
and places the date of the latter at 1902 1903.
But the mere impressions Of any writer, how
ever learned and acute, should weigh lightly
upon O point like this, unless fortified by ample
and convincing testimony. CampbelPs opinion
ais purely imaginative, and is not supported in
any manner whatever or agreed to by any
other author. If we were TO be guided by
personal conjecture, we should never reach
satisfactory conclusion. Malone believed "The
Tempest" to have been written between 1909
and 1914, though he would not admit it to be
Shakespeare's last play. Hunter prolo9nces
it one of his very earliest Ulrici declares it
to have been written little after 1900. Hur-
dris considers it the fifth in order of the drl-
matte compositions. Halliwell, again, favors the
idea that it must have been more mature compo-
sition. Mr.. White goes to the length OF saying
that eve laow THE Tempest was produced
between 1908 and 16t1r Aud so on; we Get
little but bewilderment from the discussions of
the commentators, no two of which, in this
matter, are found to entirely agree.
The evidence upon which all speculation re-
specting the date of this comedy must be based
is extremely slight. Those who claim that it
was written after 1909 do so chiefly on the ground
that Sir George Somers's famous shipwreck in
the Bermudas occurred in that year. In
making use of this circumstance, Malone Incl
IDENTIFY states that the Bermudas were undis-
covered until 1903. and if this were true it
would be conclusive; but the fact is, that de-
scriptions of these islands were published as
early as 1904. By way of correlative testimony,
the same writer mentions that Indians were
brought from America and exhibited in London
in 1908, and argues that Trinculos alusion
to the dead Indian" in the second
act must have been based upon this
circumstance; but he fails to tell that in 1877
very notorious Indian, also brought from
America, died at Bristol and was afterward
taken to London and buried there, and that
this is the only authenticated instance of