him that, if he will but creep into Dame Chatte’s cottage by a hidden way, he will find her using the stolen needle.  Then Diccon secretly warns Dame Chatte that Gammer Gurton’s man Hodge is coming to steal her chickens; and the old woman hides in the dark passage and cudgels the curate soundly with the door bar.  All the parties are finally brought before the justice, when Hodge suddenly and painfully finds the lost needle—­which is all the while stuck in his leather breeches—­and the scene ends uproariously for both audience and actors.

This first wholly English comedy is full of fun and coarse humor, and is wonderfully true to the life it represents.  It was long attributed to John Still, afterwards bishop of Bath; but the authorship is now definitely assigned to William Stevenson.[132] Our earliest edition of the play was printed in 1575; but a similar play called “Dyccon of Bedlam” was licensed in 1552, twelve years before Shakespeare’s birth.

To show the spirit and the metrical form of the play we give a fragment of the boy’s description of the dullard Hodge trying to light a fire on the hearth from the cat’s eyes, and another fragment of the old drinking song at the beginning of the second act.

    At last in a dark corner two sparkes he thought he sees
    Which were, indede, nought els but Gyb our cat’s two eyes. 
    “Puffe!” quod Hodge, thinking therby to have fyre without doubt;
    With that Gyb shut her two eyes, and so the fyre was out. 
    And by-and-by them opened, even as they were before;
    With that the sparkes appeared, even as they had done of yore. 
    And, even as Hodge blew the fire, as he did thincke,
    Gyb, as she felt the blast, strayght-way began to wyncke,
    Tyll Hodge fell of swering, as came best to his turne,
    The fier was sure bewicht, and therfore wold not burne. 
    At last Gyb up the stayers, among the old postes and pinnes,
    And Hodge he hied him after till broke were both his shinnes,
    Cursynge and swering othes, were never of his makyng,
    That Gyb wold fyre the house if that shee were not taken.

        Fyrste a Songe:
    Backe and syde, go bare, go bare;
      Booth foote and hande, go colde;
    But, bellye, God sende thee good ale ynoughe,
      Whether it be newe or olde! 
    I can not eate but lytle meate,
      My stomacke is not good;
    But sure I thinke that I can dryncke
      With him that weares a hood. 
    Thoughe I go bare, take ye no care,
      I am nothinge a-colde,
    I stuffe my skyn so full within
      Of ioly good ale and olde.
    Backe and syde, go bare, etc.

Our first tragedy, “Gorboduc,” was written by Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton, and was acted in 1562, only two years before the birth of Shakespeare.  It is remarkable not only as our first tragedy, but as the first play to be written in blank verse, the latter being most significant, since it started the drama into the style of verse best suited to the genius of English playwrights.