1592

Robert Greene attacks Shakespeare

Nothing breeds envy like success and it is proof of William's growing stature as a playwright that at this point in his career he begins to draw criticism from less successful playwrights and those who feel that he has plagiarized their material.

One such critic is Robert Greene, who is already dying when he launches a thinly veiled attack on Shakespeare. The attack is contained in a pamphlet put out after Greene's death by his publisher Henry Chettle. Greene's attack is so embittered and vitriolic that, in an example of how Shakespeare's support and profile was increasing, Chettle is forced into printing a groveling retraction.