Greene’s, Groats-Worth of Wit, Bought with a Million of Repentance: 'For since he learnd to vse the Poets pen, He learnd likewise with smoothing words to faine''
()
About this ebook
Robert Greene was, by the best accounts available, born in Norwich in 1558 and baptised on July 11th.
Greene is believed to have been a pupil at Norwich Grammar School and then attended Cambridge receiving his B.A. in 1580, and an M.A. in 1583. He then moved to London and began an extraordinary chapter in his life as a widely published author.
His literary career began with the publication of the long romance, ‘Mamillia’, (1580). Greene's romances were written in a highly wrought style which reached its peak in ‘Pandosto’ (1588) and ‘Menaphon’ (1589). Short poems and songs incorporated in some of the romances attest to his ability as a lyric poet.
In 1588, he was granted an MA from Oxford University, almost certainly as a courtesy degree. Thereafter he sometimes placed the phrase Utruisq. Academiae in Artibus Magister', "Master of Arts in both Universities" on the title page of his works.
The lack of records hinders any complete biography of Greene but he did write an autobiography of sorts, but where the balance lies between facts and artistic licence is not clearly drawn. According to that autobiography ‘The Repentance of Robert Greene’, Greene is alleged to have written ‘A Groatsworth of Wit Bought with a Million of Repentance’ during the month prior to his death, including in it a letter to his wife asking her to forgive him and stating that he was sending their son back to her.
His output was prolific. Between 1583 and 1592, he published more than twenty-five works in prose, becoming one of the first authors in England to support himself with his pen in an era when professional authorship was virtually unknown.
In his ‘coney-catching’ pamphlets, Greene fashioned himself into a well-known public figure, narrating colourful inside stories of rakes and rascals duping young gentlemen and solid citizens out of their hard-earned money. These stories, told from the perspective of a repentant former rascal, have been considered autobiographical, and to incorporate many facts of Greene's own life thinly veiled as fiction. However, the alternate account suggests that Greene invented almost everything, merely displaying his undoubted skills as a writer.
In addition to his prose works, Greene also wrote several plays, none of them published in his lifetime, including ‘The Scottish History of James IV’, ‘Alphonsus’, and his greatest popular success, ‘Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay’, as well as ‘Orlando Furioso’, based on Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso.
His plays earned himself the title as one of the ‘University Wits’, a group that included George Peele, Thomas Nashe, and Christopher Marlowe.
Robert Greene died 3rd September 1592.
Robert Greene
Robert Greene is the author of three bestselling books: The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, and The 33 Strategies of War. He attended U.C. Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he received a degree in classical studies. He has worked in New York as an editor and writer at several magazines, including Esquire, and in Hollywood as a story developer and writer. Greene has lived in London, Paris, and Barcelona; he speaks several languages and has worked as a translator. He currently lives in Los Angeles.
Read more from Robert Greene
The 50th Law Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wisdom in Poetry Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Interviews with the Masters: A Companion to Robert Greene's Mastery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Third and Last Part of Conny-Catching. (1592) With the new deuised knauish arte of Foole-taking Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe DIY Guide to Home Wi-Fi Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Poetry of Robert Greene: 'He is dead, at this her sorowes were so sore: And so she wept that she could speake no more'' Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Scottish History of James the Fourth: Why, angry Scot, I visit thee for love; then what moves thee to wrath? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlphonsus, King of Aragon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Critical Edition of Menaphon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRobert Greene: [Six Plays] Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Scottish History of James IV, Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Greene’s, Groats-Worth of Wit, Bought with a Million of Repentance
Related ebooks
The Scottish History of James the Fourth: 1598 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Scottish History of James IV, Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Critical Edition of Menaphon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Scottish History of James the Fourth: Why, angry Scot, I visit thee for love; then what moves thee to wrath? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlphonsus, King of Aragon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Poetry of Robert Greene: 'He is dead, at this her sorowes were so sore: And so she wept that she could speake no more'' Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe History of Orlando Furioso: 'Victorious princes, summon'd to appear, Within the continent of Africa'' Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHarvard Classics Volume 40: English Poetry 1: Chaucer To Gray Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRobert Greene: [Six Plays] Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSymposium Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Machiavelli Mindset and The Psychological Warfare: Your Guide to Build Mental Toughness and Mind Control Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Prince Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lion's Den: Success Physically, Mentally and Psychologically Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Art Of Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art Of War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Self Control: Its Kingship and Majesty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/54 Books by Niccolo Machiavelli Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Art of Worldly Wisdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Meditations Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMark Twain on Common Sense: Timeless Advice and Words of Wisdom from America?s Most-Revered Humorist Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beyond Good and Evil Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Self-control Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Book of Remarkable Criminals Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Complete Biography of Alexander the Great Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli: Niccolo Machiavelli Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Classics For You
Flowers for Algernon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wuthering Heights (with an Introduction by Mary Augusta Ward) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Odyssey: (The Stephen Mitchell Translation) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fellowship Of The Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Master & Margarita Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Confederacy of Dunces Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silmarillion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5East of Eden (Original Classic Edition) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Quiet American Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Old Man and the Sea: The Hemingway Library Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Animal Farm: A Fairy Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mythos Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Iliad: The Fitzgerald Translation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sense and Sensibility (Centaur Classics) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Learn French! Apprends l'Anglais! THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY: In French and English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Jungle: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Canterbury Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5For Whom the Bell Tolls: The Hemingway Library Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Little Women (Seasons Edition -- Winter) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bell Jar: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Count of Monte-Cristo English and French Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Farewell to Arms Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As I Lay Dying Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Count of Monte Cristo (abridged) (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Titus Groan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ulysses: With linked Table of Contents Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5We Have Always Lived in the Castle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Greene’s, Groats-Worth of Wit, Bought with a Million of Repentance
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Greene’s, Groats-Worth of Wit, Bought with a Million of Repentance - Robert Greene
Greene’s, Groats-Worth of Wit, Bought with a Million of Repentance
Describing the follie of youth, the falshoode of makeshift flatterers, the miserie of the negligent,
and mischiefes of deceiuing Courtezans.
Written before his death and published at his dyeing request.
Robert Greene was, by the best accounts available, born in Norwich in 1558 and baptised on July 11th.
Greene is believed to have been a pupil at Norwich Grammar School and then attended Cambridge receiving his B.A. in 1580, and an M.A. in 1583. He then moved to London and began an extraordinary chapter in his life as a widely published author.
His literary career began with the publication of the long romance, ‘Mamillia’, (1580). Greene's romances were written in a highly wrought style which reached its peak in ‘Pandosto’ (1588) and ‘Menaphon’ (1589). Short poems and songs incorporated in some of the romances attest to his ability as a lyric poet.
In 1588, he was granted an MA from Oxford University, almost certainly as a courtesy degree. Thereafter he sometimes placed the phrase Utruisq. Academiae in Artibus Magister', Master of Arts in both Universities
on the title page of his works.
The lack of records hinders any complete biography of Greene but he did write an autobiography of sorts, but where the balance lies between facts and artistic licence is not clearly drawn. According to that autobiography ‘The Repentance of Robert Greene’, Greene is alleged to have written ‘A Groatsworth of Wit Bought with a Million of Repentance’ during the month prior to his death, including in it a letter to his wife asking her to forgive him and stating that he was sending their son back to her.
His output was prolific. Between 1583 and 1592, he published more than twenty-five works in prose, becoming one of the first authors in England to support himself with his pen in an era when professional authorship was virtually unknown.
In his ‘coney-catching’ pamphlets, Greene fashioned himself into a well-known public figure, narrating colourful inside stories of rakes and rascals duping young gentlemen and solid citizens out of their hard-earned money. These stories, told from the perspective of a repentant former rascal, have been considered autobiographical, and to incorporate many facts of Greene's own life thinly veiled as fiction. However, the alternate account suggests that Greene invented almost everything, merely displaying his undoubted skills as a writer.
In addition to his prose works, Greene also wrote several plays, none of them published in his lifetime, including ‘The Scottish History of James IV’, ‘Alphonsus’, and his greatest popular success, ‘Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay’, as well as ‘Orlando Furioso’, based on Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso.
His plays earned himself the title as one of the ‘University Wits’, a group that included George Peele, Thomas Nashe, and Christopher Marlowe.
Robert Greene died 3rd September 1592.
Index of Contents
The Printer to the Gentle Reader
To the Gentlemen Readers
GREENES. GROATES-WORTH OF WIT
Lamilias Song
Lamilias Fable
Robertoes Tale
A Letter Written to His Wife, Found with This Booke After His Death
Robert Greene - A Short Biography
Robert Greene - A Short Biography
The Printer to the Gentle Readers
I Haue published heere Gentlemen for your mirth and benefite Greenes groates worth of wit. With sundry of his pleasant discourses, ye haue beene before delighted: But now hath death giuen a period to his pen: onely this happened into my handes which I haue published for your pleasures: Accept it fauourably because it was his last birth and not least worth: In my poore opinion. But I will cease to praise that which is aboue my conceipt, and leaue it selfe to speake for it selfe: and so abide your learned censuring.
Yours W. W.
To the Gentlemen Readers
Gentlemen. The Swan sings melodiously before death, that in all his life vseth but a iarring sound. Greene though able inough to