John Suckling, The Goblins

Glyn Pursglove (Swansea University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.04: English Writing and Culture of the Seventeenth Century, 1625-1688.
Vol. editors: Jennifer Brady (Rhodes College), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Neil Forsyth (Université de Lausanne), Claire Preston (Queen Mary, University of London), J A Roe (University of York), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1646

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

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The Goblins

cannot be dated with certainty, but an allusion to Suckling's own “Sessions of the Poets” or “The Wits” suggest a date after the summer of 1637; in August 1641 it appears in a list of plays belonging to the King's Men of which the Lord Chamberlain forbade the printing without permission of the company. Dryden observed that in

The Goblins

Suckling “followed [Shakespeare's] footsteps . . . his

Regnella

[sic] being an open imitation of

Shakespear's Miranda

; and his Spirits, though counterfeit, yet are copied from

Ariel

“. Suckling's character is actually called Reginella and the resemblances to

The Tempest

are not as absolute as Dryden suggests; still Dryden's remarks are useful for their suggestion that we view Suckling's play in the light of Shakespeare's romances…

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326 words

Citation: Pursglove, Glyn. "The Goblins". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 October 2000 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=749, accessed 20 April 2024.]

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