BY
JOHN DOVER WILSON,
B.A., Late Scholar of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.
Members' Prizeman, 1902. Harness Prizeman, 1904.
Honours in Historical Tripos.
Macmillan and Bowes
Cambridge
1905
A
MIA
DONNA.
The[v]following treatise was awarded the HarnessPrize at Cambridge in 1904. I have, however,revised it since then, and in some matters considerablyenlarged it.
A list of the chief authorities to whom I am indebtedwill be found at the end of the book, but it is fittingthat I should here make particular mention of myobligations to the exhaustive work of Mr Bond[1]. Notonly have his labours of research and collation lightenedthe task for me, and for any future student of Lyly, to anincalculable extent, but the various introductory essaysscattered up and down his volumes are full of invaluablesuggestions.
This book was unfortunately nearing its completionbefore I was able to avail myself of Mr Martin Hume'sSpanish Influence on English Literature. But, thoughI might have added more had his book been accessibleearlier, I was glad to find that his conclusions left themain theory of my chapter on Euphuism untouched.
Much as has been written upon John Lyly, noprevious critic has attempted to cover the whole ground,[vi]and to sum up in a brief and convenient form the threemain literary problems which centre round his name.My solution of these problems may be faulty in detail,but it will I hope be of service to Elizabethan studentsto have them presented in a single volume and froma single point of view. Furthermore, when I undertookthis study, I found several points which seemed todemand closer attention than they had hitherto received.It appeared to me that the last word had not been saideven upon the subject of Euphuism, although that topichas usurped the lion's share of critical treatment. Andagain, while Lyly's claims as a novelist are acknowledgedon all hands, I felt that a clear statement of his exactposition in the history of our novel was still needed.Finally, inasmuch as the personality of an author isalways more fascinating to me than his writings,I determined to attempt to throw some light, howeverfitful and uncertain, upon the man Lyly himself. Theattempt was not entirely fruitless, for it led to theinteresting discovery that the fully-developed euphuismwas not the creation of Lyly, or Pettie, or indeed ofany one individual, but of a circle of young Oxford menwhich included Gosson, Watson, Hakluyt, and possiblymany others.
I have to thank Mr J. R. Collins and Mr J. N. Frazer,the one for help in revision, and the other for assistancein Spanish. But my chief debt of gratitude is due toDr Ward, the Master of Peterhouse, who has twice readthrough this book at different stages of its construction.The readiness with which he has put his great learning[vii]at my disposal, his kindly interest, and frequent encouragementhave been of the very greatest help in atask which was undertaken and completed under pressureof other work.
As the full titles of authorities used are to be foundin the list at the end, I have referred to works in thefootnotes simply by the name of their author