SOURCE: Sonnenshein, Richard. “Critical Introduction.” In A Fine Companion by Shakerly Marmion (1633): A Critical Edition, pp. 1-68. New York: Garland Publishing, 1979.

In the following excerpt, Sonnenshein summarizes the action of Marmion's major plays, discusses the dramatist's literary influences, and assesses his position in Caroline theater.

The Comedies: Synopsis of Plots

Each of Marmion's comedies reveals a notable advance in the use of plot devices and the capabilities of the theater. In just three plays he moved from the diffuse, often static, sometimes hard to follow Holland's Leaguer to the skillfully integrated different levels of action in The Antiquary. Such progress indicates that Marmion was not a careless gentlemanly dilettante on the order of Suckling but a serious craftsman dedicated, to some extent at least, to the mastery of the difficult art of playwrighting.

Holland's Leaguer has some of the characteristics of a pièce d'occasion. It is named...