William Heminges (1602 – c. 1653?), also Hemminges, Heminge, and other variants, was a playwright and theatrical figure of the

Caroline Caroline may refer to: People * Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica * ...

period. He was the ninth child and third son of John Heminges, the actor and colleague of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

, and his wife Rebecca. William Heminges was christened on 3 October 1602 in the parish of

St. Mary's, Aldermanbury St Mary Aldermanbury was a parish church in the City of London first mentioned in 1181 and destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. Rebuilt in Portland stone by Christopher Wren, it was again gutted by the Blitz in 1940, leaving only the ...

, in London. He was educated at Winchester School and then at Christ Church, Oxford, where he attained his M.A. degree in 1628. Only two of his plays have survived, '' The Jews' Tragedy'' ( 1626; published

1662 Events January–March * January 4 – Dziaddin Mukarram Shah becomes the new Sultan of Kedah, an independent kingdom on the Malay Peninsula, upon the death of his father, Sultan Muhyiddin Mansur. * January 10 – At the ...

) and '' The Fatal Contract'' (c. 1639; published

1653 Events January–March * January 3 – By the Coonan Cross Oath, the Eastern Church in India cuts itself off from colonial Portuguese tutelage. * January– The Swiss Peasant War begins after magistrates meeting at Lucerne ...

). In these two tragedies, the dramatist was strongly influenced by the works of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

. A third play is lost: titled ''The Coursing of the Hare, or the Madcap'', it was staged at the

Fortune Theatre The Fortune Theatre is a 432-seat West End theatre on Russell Street, near Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster. Since 1989 the theatre has hosted the long running play ''The Woman in Black''. History The site was acquired by author, playw ...

in March 1633. Little is known of Heminges's life. The parish records of St. Giles in the Fields record the birth of a daughter in 1639, and the burials of two sons a decade later. He was in financial difficulties in the middle 1630s, and spent some time in prison. His date of death is a mystery; Andrew Pennycuicke and Anthony Turner, the booksellers who issued ''The Fatal Contract'' in 1653, refer to him then as deceased.

The "Elegy"

Among Heminges's non-dramatic literary works, his satirical "Elegy on Randolph's Finger" (c. 1632) has gathered significant attention from scholars and critics. Its fullest version occurs in MS. Ashmole 38 in the collection of the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...

at Oxford. The poem refers to an incident in which Thomas Randolph lost his finger "in a fray" with "a riotous gentleman." (Heminges and Randolph were friends and former schoolmates.) In the poem, the severed finger is carried into the Underworld by group of English poets that includes Shakespeare,

Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for ...

, Michael Drayton, Thomas Dekker,

Thomas Middleton Thomas Middleton (baptised 18 April 1580 – July 1627; also spelt ''Midleton'') was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. He, with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson, was among the most successful and prolific of playwrights at work in the Jac ...

George Chapman George Chapman (Hitchin, Hertfordshire, – London, 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 speculated to be the Rival Poet of Sh ...

, Thomas Heywood, James Shirley,

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

, John Webster, and Richard Brome, among others — the "neoterical refined wits" of the age.

Charon In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon (; grc, Χάρων) is a psychopomp, the ferryman of Hades, the Greek underworld. He carries the souls of those who have been given funeral rites across the rivers Acheron and Styx, which separate the wo ...

, however, refuses to ferry the group across the river Styx, because they can't pay his fee. ( John Taylor the Water Poet tries to talk Charon into giving them a free ride...but unsuccessfully.) Eventually the poets obtain some of Mercury's quicksilver, and use that to pay the fare. Across the river, Randolph's finger is welcomed by Edmund Spenser, Geoffrey Chaucer, Rabelais,

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, and other worthies. An excerpt from the longer poem, in slightly different form, is known by the title "On the Time Poets." It was first published anonymously in the

1656 Events January–March * January 5 – The First War of Villmergen, a civil war in the Confederation of Switzerland pitting its Protestant and Roman Catholic cantons against each other, breaks out but is resolved by March 7. The ...

collection ''Choice Drollery, Songs, and Sonnets''. As John Heminges' last surviving son, William Heminges inherited his father's shares in the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and ...

and the

Blackfriars Theatre Blackfriars Theatre was the name given to two separate theatres located in the former Blackfriars Dominican priory in the City of London during the Renaissance. The first theatre began as a venue for the Children of the Chapel Royal, child ac ...

at John Heminges's death in 1630. Together with Cuthbert Burbage, Richard Robinson and Winifred (d.1642), his wife, Joseph Taylor and John Lowin, William Heminges filed a Bill of Complaint on 28 January 1632 in the

Court of Requests The Court of Requests was a minor equity court in England and Wales. It was instituted by King Richard III in his 1484 parliament. It first became a formal tribunal with some Privy Council elements under Henry VII, hearing cases from the poor an ...

against the owner of the Globe, Sir Matthew Brend, in order to obtain confirmation of an extension of the 31-year lease originally granted by Sir Matthew Brend's father, Nicholas Brend. Heminges sold off his shares from 1630 to 1634, primarily to John Shank, comedian with the King's Men. William's sales to Shank earned him £156 in 1633 and £350 in 1634. William "was then in difficulties, and Shank disbursed additional small sums to him in prison." Shank's sudden wealth in theatre shares (two shares in the Blackfriars and three in the Globe) provoked three other members of the King's Men, Robert Benfield, Thomas Pollard, and Eliard Swanston, to petition the

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main c ...

for a more equitable division of the wealth. The resulting controversy generated what are often termed the "Sharers's papers," documents that provide significant information of the theatrical conditions of the time. F. E. Halliday, ''A Shakespeare Companion 1564–1964'', Baltimore, Penguin, 1964; pp. 448-9.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heminges, William English dramatists and playwrights 1602 births Year of death unknown English male dramatists and playwrights English male poets