BEAUMONT, FRANCIS (1584-1616), AND FLETCHER, JOHN (1579-1625).—­Poets and dramatists.  As they are indissolubly associated in the history of English literature, it is convenient to treat of them in one place.  B. was the s. of Francis B., a Judge of the Common Pleas, and was b. at the family seat, Grace Dieu, Leicestershire.  He was ed. at Oxford, but his f. dying in 1598, he left without taking his degree.  He went to London and entered the Inner Temple in 1600, and soon became acquainted with Ben Jonson, Drayton, and other poets and dramatists.  His first work was a translation from Ovid, followed by commendatory verses prefixed to certain plays of Jonson.  Soon afterwards his friendship with F. began.  They lived in the same house and had practically a community of goods until B.’s marriage in 1613 to Ursula, dau. and co-heiress of Henry Isley of Sundridge in Kent, by whom he had two dau. He d. in 1616, and is buried in Westminster Abbey.  F. was the youngest s. of Richard F., Bishop of London, who accompanied Mary Queen of Scots to the scaffold.  He went to Cambridge, but it is not known whether he took a degree, though he had some reputation as a scholar.  His earliest play is The Woman Hater (1607).  He is said to have died of the plague, and is buried in St. Saviour’s Church, Southwark.  The plays attributed to B. and F. number 52 and a masque, and much labour has been bestowed by critics in endeavouring to allocate their individual shares.  It is now generally agreed that others collaborated with them to some extent—­Massinger, Rowley, Shirley, and even Shakespeare.  Of those believed to be the joint work of B. and F. Philaster and The Maid’s Tragedy are considered the masterpieces, and are as dramas unmatched except by Shakespeare. The Two Noble Kinsmen is thought to contain the work of Shakespeare.  As regards their respective powers, B. is held to have had the graver, solider, and more stately genius, while F. excelled in brightness, wit, and gaiety.  The former was the stronger in judgment, the latter in fancy.  The plays contain many very beautiful lyrics, but are often stained by gross indelicacy.  The play of Henry VIII. included in Shakespeare’s works, is now held to be largely the work of F. and Massinger.  Subjoined is a list of the plays with the authorship according to the latest authorities.

(1) BEAUMONT.—­The Masque. (2) FLETCHER.—­Woman Hater (1607), Faithful Shepherdess (1609), Bonduca (Boadicea) (1618-19), Wit without Money (1614?), Valentinian (1618-19), Loyal Subjects (1618), Mad Lover (1618-19), Humorous Lieutenant (1618?), Women Pleased (1620?), Island Princess (1621), Pilgrim (1621), Wild Goose Chase (1621), Woman’s Prize (? pub. 1647), A Wife for a Month (1624), Chances (late, p. 1647), perhaps