All Fools

by George Chapman

Of all the poets Francis Meres names in his famous Palladis Tamia, Wits Treasury (1598), just two rate a mention as being both ‘our best for tragedy’ and ‘the best poets for comedy’: William Shakespeare and George Chapman. All Fools, written in 1599, is the only Elizabethan comedy based directly on the plays of Terence. By taking episodes and characters from two brilliant works, The Self-Tormenter and The Brothers, Chapman creates something that is distinctly Elizabethan while remaining faithful to the spirit of the great Roman master. In this edition, an extensive introduction and commentary show how Chapman combines the literary and theatrical traditions of ancient Rome with everyday life in his own time to fashion a sparkling and innovative comedy that will delight audiences today as much as it did those of 1599.

124 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2007

About the author

George Chapman (c. 1559 – 12 May 1634) was an English dramatist, translator, and poet. He was a classical scholar whose work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been identified as the Rival Poet of Shakespeare's sonnets by William Minto, and as an anticipator of the Metaphysical Poets of the 17th century. Chapman is best remembered for his translations of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey (as commemorated by Keats), and the Homeric Batrachomyomachia.

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love obscure Elizabethan and Jacobean plays. I love obscure plays period, but I love plays that are a few centuries old and largely forgotten, because it always begs the question: why was this one forgotten while others are known even by those idiots interviewed on Jaywalking? (I’ve found the answer is usually more than one being better than the other.)

All Fools is an obscure play (finding a copy is an adventure in and of itself), but it’s an obscure play that’s worth tracking down. It’s funny. Bizarre but funny. This is one of those plays where I would love to know more about the stage action in the original productions, because I got the feeling while reading that the text is only half of the story (this is especially true during the drunken ramble that ends the play). The play centers on two families (with a jealousy / adultery subplot that took me a few reads to appreciate): one led by a know-it-all, the other by his chill friend. The younger son of the chill friend decides to stir up trouble, resulting in his brother being “married” to the know-it-all’s son’s secret wife as a way for his brother to get close to his own love, the know-it-all’s cloistered daughter. Confused yet? It’s zany, over the top, a little misogynist, and a lot of fun. Someone really needs to stage it so I can see it performed. Recommended.

[Gill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good fun, though not quite up to The Gentleman Usher standard. Chapman had a good sense of plot construction, though his characters can be a little thin, but the play is full of action and some very funny scenes with plenty of twists and turns.

Read as part of the REP online reading of the Children's Companies repertoire.

[Pip :)]

Absolutely the most confusing melding of two Terence plays I have ever read. Chapman may have benefited from clearer stage directions if he wanted everyone to pretend to be married to other people.