Home >> The Modern Language Review, Volume 103, Number 3

A Lover's Complaint, Cymbeline, and the Shakespeare Canon: Interpreting Shared Vocabulary

Author: Jackson, MacDonald P.

Source: The Modern Language Review, Volume 103, Number 3, 1 July 2008 , pp. 621-638(18)

Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association

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Abstract:

A Lover's Complaint was published in the 1609 Quarto of Shakespeare's Sonnets and was given its own ascription to `William Shakespeare', but in recent years several specialists in attribution have questioned its authenticity. Brian Vickers has argued that the true author is John Davies of Hereford. However, the Complaint and Cymbeline use certain rare words in similar contexts, and the links between the two works can best be explained as due to common authorship. Shakespeare's responsibility for the Complaint is further demonstrated by striking vocabulary links between the poem and other Shakespeare plays. `Literature Online' researches reveal the strength of this association.

Keywords: 1609 Quarto; ascription; authenticity; rare words; vocabulary links

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: University of Auckland

Publication date: 2008-07-01

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  • The Modern Language Review, the flagship journal of the Association, is available to all individual members as part of their subscription. MLR is one of the oldest journals in its field, maintaining an unbroken publication record since its foundation in 1905, and publishing more than 3,000 articles and 20,000 book reviews.

    Each volume consists of four issues, published in January, April, July and October of each year. Its 1000+ annual pages are divided roughly equally between articles, predominantly on medieval and modern literature in the languages of Europe, and over 500 reviews of books in these areas. All contributions are in English, and each section is edited by a noted scholar in the field, under the overall supervision of the General Editor. Articles are chosen not only for their scholarly worth and originality but also, as far as possible, for their potential interest to a wider readership in other disciplines.
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