Shakespeare as Author: The Epic Poems

Shakespeare wrote two long, epic poems early in his career, both of which he dedicated to his patron, Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton. It's understood Shakespeare probably turned his attention from writing plays to poems during one of the closures of the theatres in London due to plague in the early 1590s, probably in an attempt to continue making money to support his wife and children at home in Stratford-upon-Avon.

For his first poem, Shakespeare chose the story of the goddess Venus falling in love with a beautiful young boy named Adonis and pursuing him for his love. Shakespeare's take on the old story was what happens if the youth rejects the goddess? It was published in 1593 and repeatedly throughout the 17th century. The care and effort taken in the printing shows a marked difference with that of the printing of the sonnet sequence of 1609.

The 1595 edition title page for Venus & Adonis

The 1595 dedication page for Venus & Adonis

The Rape of Lucrece was published in 1594 as Lucrece and then in four more printings through 1623. As with Venus, Lucrece features a beautiful title page and a complete dedication page, demonstrating it, too, was published with Shakespeare's authorization and involvement.

The 1594 quarto title page for Lucrece

The 1594 dedication page for Lucrece

The fact there were dedication pages with Shakespeare's name listed demonstrates these were authorized publications, done in conjunction with his patron. How much profit, if any, Shakespeare saw is unknown, as he would have seen his recompense earlier in the process. His patron would have reaped any benefits, including prestige, by the publication of these poems, which were popular and elevated Shakespeare from the mere ranks of just a playwright, although he didn't return in such ways to poetry the rest of his career.

[T]he major relations of exchange for authors occurred within a traditional patronage system in which, through a complex set of symbolic and materials transactions, patrons received honor and status in the form of service from their clients and in return provided both materials and immaterial rewards... the concept of an author owning a work did not quite fit the circumstances of literary production in the traditional patronage system. Even the printing privileges sometimes granted to authors as well as to guildsmen are best understood as versions of patronage rather than of ownership.

Work Cited: Rose, Mark (1993). Authors and Owners: The Invention of Copyright. Harvard University Press. Preview Available: http://books.google.com/books?id=HMB4hdF4lTMC