When he's discerned to swoon, straight by an by
Folke to his helpe confusedly have ran;
And seeking with their art to fetch him backe,
So many throng, that he the ayre doth lacke."

(cp.Measure for Measure, II, iv, 24-27).

Mr. Stokes has advanced the ingenious conjecture that
Barksted, as one of the children of the Revels, may have
been the original actor of the part of Isabella. ¹

The strongest argument for the date 1603, generally
adopted by critics, is derived from the many links between
this play and Hamlet; they both contain similar reflections
on Life and Death, though Measure for Measure "deals,
not like Hamlet with the problems which beset one of ex-
ceptional temperament, but with mere human nature" ( W. Pater
, Appreciations, p. 179). There are, moreover,
striking parallelisms of expression in the two plays. Sim-
ilarly, incidents in Measure for Measure recall All's Well
that Ends Well; Isabella and Helena seem almost twin-
sisters; but the questions at issue concerning the latter play
are too intricate to warrant us in drawing conclusions as
regards the date of the former play.

The plot of Measure for Measure was ultimately derived
from the Hecatommithi of Giraldi Cinthio (Decad. 8,
Nov. 5): the direct source, however, was a dramatization
of the story by George Whetstone, whose Promos and Cas-
sandra, never acted, was printed in 1578. The title of
this tedious production is noteworthy as indicating the
rough outline of Shakespeare's original:--

The Right Excellent and Famous ∣ History ∣ of Promos
and Cassandra.; ∣ divided into two Comical Discourses. ∣
In the first part is shown, ∣ the unsufferable abuse of a
lewd Magistrate, ∣ the virtuous behaviour of a chaste
Lady; ∣ the uncontrolled lewdness of a favoured Courtesan,

-viii-