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Why did Robert Greene criticize William Shakespeare in 1592?
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William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare, detail of an oil painting attributed to John Taylor, c. 1610. The portrait is called the “Chandos Shakespeare” because it once belonged to the duke of Chandos.
In 1592, the English writer Robert Greene criticized William Shakespeare in his posthumously published tract, Greenes groats-worth of witte, bought with a million of repentance.
Greene, who was a successful predecessor of Shakespeare in the field of romantic comedy, attacked Shakespeare as an "upstart Crow" who was "beautified with our feathers." He further mocked Shakespeare’s ability to write blank verse and referred to him as the "onely Shake-scene in a countrie." Scholars generally believe that Greene was criticizing Shakespeare in his capacity as an actor who had transitioned into writing, viewing him as a threat to established playwrights of the time.1