F ROM the hundreds of songs to be found in British plays there is an opportunity to make an anthology which the dramatic literature of no other nation can equal; yet though this fact is generally known, such an anthology exists but in part. Robert Bell in his Songs from the Dramatists, 1854, pointed the way by bringing together many of the finest lyrics once sung on the stage; his choice, however, was limited and he omitted scores of poems that merit remembrance. In his Lyrics from the Dramatists of the Elizabethan Age, 1889, 1891, A. H. Bullen went more thoroughly into this field and recovered many beautiful songs that long had been forgotten; but as his title indicates, he did not confine his selections to songs alone and since he included many lyrical passages from soliloquies and dialogues, one cannot always know what lines in his book were spoken and what were sung.1 Neither editor made it a rule to print with the songs their stage directions; nor did they give the context which in many cases should be offered the reader if he is to understand the whole intent and effect of the lyric. It is hoped that the present volume may continue and complete the valuable work of these two scholars. In preparing the text, two general principles have been followed: The word drama has been used in its broadest sense to include not only masques but some of the minor dramatic entertainments offered to Queen Elizabeth and her successors; and secondly, the songs have been taken from plays that have been acted, in all probability; and indeed, for the great majority of them, we have evidence that they were performed. This second method of selection has arbitrarily excluded so many fine songs that they would form a second volume. As regards the text, all the songs have been taken from the earliest MSS. or from the earliest printed editions of the plays containing them except in some twenty instances where a MS. or play was inaccessible; in such cases, I have relied 1 This is true, in a lesser degree, of Bell's volume. upon the most authoritative reprints. The dates appearing after the titles of printed plays are invariably the dates of publication; the dates of MSS. indicate the years in which they were made, as accurately as may be ascertained. The acts and scenes, given after the titles of plays, always refer to the editions whose dates follow immediately and not to modern editions or reprints, which in many cases have not adopted the original divisions of the plays. Variant readings of the songs are given in the notes only for the work of the most important writers and for the most famous lyrics; or whenever these variations make a distinct change in the thought or style. All emendations, corrections, and omissions have been recorded. Except in the first four songs, the spelling has been modernized. So far as the punctuation is concerned, editors and anthologists have a tendency to sprinkle these songs with commas and exclamation points. As a rule, they were carelessly printed and the original punctuation is often either misleading or plainly incorrect. It has been followed as closely as the sense will allow; and, similarly, the original alignment of these songs has been preferred, for the most part. The authors are arranged chronologically, as are the anonymous plays with the exception of Tom Tyler and The Thracian Wonder. The songs of each writer are printed in the order of their publication, one following the other as they do in their plays. It frequently happens that of two songs the one first composed may be the one last printed and accordingly this method of arrangement does not enable the reader to contrast at a glance the early and the mature work of any poet; but the dates of these lyrics are quite uncertain at the best and to arrange them in even a conjectural order of composition is out of the question. When the stage directions are lengthy, they have been placed in the notes. There also will be found enough of the context of the songs to enable one to appreciate the purpose of the dramatists in using them and the way in which they are introduced. In the pages entitled "Some Aspects of Song in the Drama" is a brief discussion of certain interesting questions encountered in a study of this subject. Whenever I have been able to find any information concerning the melodies to which these songs were sung-and a search through seventeenth-century music books has yielded a |