All Fools

by George Chapman

Book by Chapman, George

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.