Dennis McCarthy on Substack

Great question. This requires a much longer repsonse, but they won’t let me comment at such length. First, can you please cite a few examples of contemporary literati referencing Marlowe's works as being revolutionary (I do think that's an over interpretation based on the fact scholars believe Marlowe’s works were revolutionary and so interpret comments in that fashion). Regardless, it would help if we can compare 1580s, early 1590s comments on Marlowe and references to North's writing and his early plays -- to see who really received greater praise at the respective time of their penning, especially regarding their originality. Importantly, there are numerous commendatory comments about North and his plays—but they just have not been widely recognized for what they are. For example, Brooke references the first "Romeo and Juliet" in 1562: as “lately set forth on stage with more commendation than I can look for — being there much better set forth than I have or can do." Now, if this version had been recognized as North's and as something far closer to the extant "Romeo and Juliet," all scholars would be interpreting these lines as proof of North's extraordinary abilities and that Brooke was signaling a new and powerful playwright had appeared in Elizabethan England. In fact, two years earlier, Jasper Heywood does the same thing, praising North’s ability with tragedy – and placing him at the top of the list of best tragedians: In Lincoln’s Inn and Temples twain, Gray’s Inn and other mo’ Thou shalt them find whose painful pen* thy verse shall flourish so, That Melpomen**, thou would’st well ween, had taught them for to write And all their works with stately style and goodly grace t’indite. There shalt thou see the self-same North, whose work his wit displays, And Dial doth of Princes paint, and preach abroad his praise. **Melpomen: Muse of Tragedy; *Painful pen: Skill at writing tragedies Moreover, Nashe, Harvey, Jonson and others also repeatedly describe North as an original playwright that others frequently imitated—especially noting his blank verse (and his fearless violations of the classical unities—which some considered barbaric). Nashe’s 1589 reference to the “swelling bombast of bragging blank verse” of the Italianate translator of Plutarch is clearly referring to North. Nashe also describes his Hamlet as yielding “many good sentences” and filled with “tragical speeches.” These comments just have not been recognized for what they are because scholars didn’t know the identity of the author the literati were referencing and simply couldn’t believe they're really alluding to Shakespearean plays. I have many other examples like this.