Thomas
Heywood's tragedy, _The Rape of Lucrece,_ did not appear in print
until 1608, and he could hardly have been old enough to have been
the author of such a drama in 1594; he may, nevertheless, have
availed himself of an elder play, and, according to the practice
of the time, he may have felt warranted in publishing it as his
own. It is likely, however, that Drayton's expressions are not to
be taken literally; and that his meaning merely was, that the
story of Lucrece had lately been revived, and brought upon the
stage of the world: if this opinion be correct, the stanza we have
quoted above contains a clear allusion to Shakespeare's _Lucrece_;
and a question then presents itself, why Drayton entirely omitted
it in the after-impression of his _Matilda_. He was a poet who, as
we have shown in the Introduction to _Julius Caesar_ (vol. viii.
p. 4.), was in the habit of making extensive alterations in his
productions, as they were severally reprinted, and the suppression
of this stanza may have proceeded from many other causes than
repentance of the praise he had bestowed upon a rival.
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