SOURCE: Johnson, Ronald C. “The Three Plays.” In George Gascoigne, pp. 137-55. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1972.

In the following excerpt, Johnson discusses the plays The Supposes, Jocasta, and The Glasse of Government.

When we read Gascoigne's plays, we are immediately aware that the first two plays, The Supposes and Jocasta, are translations and vary considerably from his last play, The Glasse of Governement, which is original. The two translated plays were done party as exercises, partly as experiments; and their form and content reflect the purposes of their original authors. The Glasse of Governement, however, handles several themes which we now recognize as arising from Gascoigne's own early experiences, and it treats them with a certain grim irony that gives the play a strength which the others lack. The first two plays, The Supposes and Jocasta, were translated and produced in 1566, while Gascoigne was attending Gray's Inn for...