Promus - 6 - intro to Folio 112

Parallels between Shake-Speare and Bacon's Promus

Parallels between Bacon's Promus and Romeo and Juliet
(with special emphasis on Promus Folio 112) (A folio is a page in the Promus)

Promus Folio 112 represents the 4th subset of parallels that Cockburn felt was remarkable enough, by itself, to constitute proof of common authorship between Bacon and Shake-Speare). We're getting into more advanced analysis here but we'll take just a bit at a time, as we're doing with the Law in Shake-Speare.

Introduction:

Romeo and Juliet was first published in 1597. But this Quarto was pirated and its text corrupt. It was followed in 1599 by a good Quarto. The play is usually thought to have been written in 1595, though some have given it a wider date bracket. Both Q1 and Q2 recite that the play had often been acted by the Lord Chamberlain's Men with no mention of its having been acted by any other company. The Lord Chamberlain's Men, Will Shakspere's company, was not formed till the Spring of 1594. The Arden editor, p. 29, specifies "certain significant reminiscences of The Comedy Of Errors in Romeo and Juliet" and adds that they "may partly be accounted for by the important performance of The Comedy Of Errors at the Gray's Inn Revels on 28 December 1594, when Shakespeare was writing Romeo And Juliet; Errors was fresh in his mind". It was probably in 1595 or December 1594 that Folio 112 of Bacon's Promus was compiled since the immediate previous Folio pages can be dated to that time. So this was about the time, or just before, that Romeo And Juliet was written.

There is a remarkable weight of parallels between this Folio (112) and the play. In the next posting is a transcription by two British Library officials of it, with added 'entry numbers' to the left of each. (The spelling is kept as it is in the original 400 year old document--so prior to our modern standardized spelling, except that superscripts (as the 'e' in 'ye' won't be superscripted here because they would be difficult to read).

The next post contains Folio 112 with some comments.