George Whetstone
Encyclopedia
George Whetstone was an English
dramatist and author
.
He was the third son of Robert Whetstone (d. 1557), a member of a wealthy family that owned the manor of Walcot at Barnack
, near Stamford, Lincolnshire
. George appears to have had a small inheritance which he soon spent, and he complains bitterly of the failure of a lawsuit to recover a further inheritance of which he had been unjustly deprived. In 1572 he joined an English regiment
on active service in the Low Countries
, where he met George Gascoigne
and Thomas Churchyard
. Gascoigne was his guest at Walcot when he died in 1577, and Whetstone commemorated his friend in a long elegy
.
His first published work, the Rocke of Regards (1576), consisted of tales in prose and verse adapted from the Italian
, and in 1578 he published The right, excellent and famous Historye of Promos and Cassandra, a play in two parts, drawn from the eighty-fifth novel of Giraldi Cinthio
's Hecatomithi. To this he wrote an interesting preface addressed to William Fleetwood
, recorder of London
, to whom he claimed to be related, in which he criticizes contemporary drama.
1. In 1582 he published his Heptameron of Civil Discourses, a collection of tales which includes The Rare Historie of Promos and Cassandra. From this prose version William Shakespeare
apparently drew the plot of Measure for Measure
, though he was probably familiar with the story in its earlier dramatic form. (Shakespeare probably used another Whetstone book for his Much Ado About Nothing
.) Whetstone accompanied Sir Humphrey Gilbert
on his expedition in 1578-1579, and the next year found him in Italy
.
The Puritan
spirit was now widespread in England, and Whetstone followed its dictates in his prose tract A Mirour for Magestrates (1584), which in a second edition was called A Touchstone for the Time. Rather than abusing the stage as some Puritan writers did, he merely objected to the performance of plays on Sundays.
In 1585 he returned to the army in the Netherlands
, and was present at the Battle of Zutphen
. His other works are a collection of military anecdotes entitled The Honourable Reputation of a Souldier (1585); a political tract, the English Myrror (1586), numerous elegies on distinguished persons, and The Censure of a Loyall Subject (1587). No information about Whetstone is available after the publication of this last book, and it is conjectured that he died shortly afterwards.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
dramatist and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
.
He was the third son of Robert Whetstone (d. 1557), a member of a wealthy family that owned the manor of Walcot at Barnack
Barnack
Barnack is a village and civil parish in the City of Peterborough unitary authority of Cambridgeshire, England. It is located in the north-west of the district, only four miles south-east from Stamford in Lincolnshire. According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 851 people. Barnack's...
, near Stamford, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
. George appears to have had a small inheritance which he soon spent, and he complains bitterly of the failure of a lawsuit to recover a further inheritance of which he had been unjustly deprived. In 1572 he joined an English regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
on active service in the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, where he met George Gascoigne
George Gascoigne
George Gascoigne was an English poet, soldier, artist, and unsuccessful courtier. He is considered the most important poet of the early Elizabethan era, following Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey and leading to the emergence of Philip Sidney...
and Thomas Churchyard
Thomas Churchyard
Thomas Churchyard , English author, was born at Shrewsbury, the son of a farmer.-Life:Churchyard received a good education, and, having speedily dissipated at court the money with which his father provided him, he entered the household of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey...
. Gascoigne was his guest at Walcot when he died in 1577, and Whetstone commemorated his friend in a long elegy
Elegy
In literature, an elegy is a mournful, melancholic or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.-History:The Greek term elegeia originally referred to any verse written in elegiac couplets and covering a wide range of subject matter, including epitaphs for tombs...
.
His first published work, the Rocke of Regards (1576), consisted of tales in prose and verse adapted from the Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, and in 1578 he published The right, excellent and famous Historye of Promos and Cassandra, a play in two parts, drawn from the eighty-fifth novel of Giraldi Cinthio
Giovanni Battista Giraldi
Giovanni Battista Giraldi was an Italian novelist and poet. He appended the nickname Cinthio to his name and is commonly referred to by that name .Born at Ferrara, he was educated at the university there, and in 1525 became its professor of natural philosophy...
's Hecatomithi. To this he wrote an interesting preface addressed to William Fleetwood
William Fleetwood
William Fleetwood was an English preacher, Bishop of St Asaph and Bishop of Ely, remembered by economists and statisticians for constructing a price index in his Chronicon Preciosum of 1707.-Life:...
, recorder of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, to whom he claimed to be related, in which he criticizes contemporary drama.
1. In 1582 he published his Heptameron of Civil Discourses, a collection of tales which includes The Rare Historie of Promos and Cassandra. From this prose version William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
apparently drew the plot of Measure for Measure
Measure for Measure
Measure for Measure is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604. It was classified as comedy, but its mood defies those expectations. As a result and for a variety of reasons, some critics have labelled it as one of Shakespeare's problem plays...
, though he was probably familiar with the story in its earlier dramatic form. (Shakespeare probably used another Whetstone book for his Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
.) Whetstone accompanied Sir Humphrey Gilbert
Humphrey Gilbert
Sir Humphrey Gilbert of Devon in England was a half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh. Adventurer, explorer, member of parliament, and soldier, he served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth and was a pioneer of English colonization in North America and the Plantations of Ireland.-Early life:Gilbert...
on his expedition in 1578-1579, and the next year found him in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
The Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
spirit was now widespread in England, and Whetstone followed its dictates in his prose tract A Mirour for Magestrates (1584), which in a second edition was called A Touchstone for the Time. Rather than abusing the stage as some Puritan writers did, he merely objected to the performance of plays on Sundays.
In 1585 he returned to the army in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and was present at the Battle of Zutphen
Battle of Zutphen
The Battle of Zutphen was a confrontation of the Eighty Years' War on 22 September 1586, near Zutphen , the Netherlands. It was fought between forces of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, aided by the English, against the Spanish, who sought to regain the northern Netherlands.Important...
. His other works are a collection of military anecdotes entitled The Honourable Reputation of a Souldier (1585); a political tract, the English Myrror (1586), numerous elegies on distinguished persons, and The Censure of a Loyall Subject (1587). No information about Whetstone is available after the publication of this last book, and it is conjectured that he died shortly afterwards.