Page:Taming of the Shrew (1921) Yale.djvu/137

The Taming of the Shrew Whether or not Love's Labour's Won may be identified with The Shrew, however, Meres's omission of this play is not necessarily a proof that it was not in existence in 1598, still less that it was not being written at about that time. A point in favor of this latter supposition is that line 88 of the first scene of the Induction is, in the Folio, given to 'Sincklo,' who, according to Fleay, was an actor with the Chamberlain's men from 1597 to 1604. This fact, coupled with the evidence for early composition furnished by metrical tests, rather points to 1597–1598 as the time of the play's appearance; but after all, it is impossible to fix any very definite date for the composition of The Taming of the Shrew.

We know, from the title-page of the First Quarto, dated 1631, that this play 'was acted by his Maiesties Servants at the Blacke Friers and the Globe' theatres; and in 1633 it was given at court before the king and queen. It did not, however, survive much longer upon the stage in its original form. The first important revision of it was that made under the title of Sauny the Scot by John Lacy, performed on April 9, 1667, at the Theatre Royal and published in 1698. Pepys writes of it: 'To the King's house and there saw The Taming of a Shrew, which hath some very good pieces in it, but generally is but a mean play; and the best part, "Sauny," done by Lacy; and hath not half its life, by reason of the words, I suppose, not being understood, at least by me.' In this play Grumio's part, much enlarged, is made into that of a Scotch servant, Sauny (compare his original name of Sander in A Shrew); the scene is laid in London instead of Padua; and the dialogue is shortened, as well as all put into prose. Lacy wrote a new Fifth Act which dealt with Katherine (now Margaret)'s renewed assertion of independence on regaining the shelter of her father's roof. Petruchio first treats her silence as if it were due to the