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According to E. K. Chambers, "Some anonymous poems have been attributed to Shakespeare. The only one worth consideration is a sonnet prefixed to John Florio's Second Fruits (1591), which was put forward by W. Minto, Characteristics of English Poets (1885), 371."[1] There are a number of reasons for rejecting this attribution. But first let us review the poem.

To arrive at a considered opinion an analysis of the work is necessary, and this begins with scanning the poem. To keep it simple I have reduced the number of accents to two: 1 for weak, 2 for strong.

The results of scansion indicate that the chances of Shakespeare having written this work are between zero and none.

First, the rhyme scheme in all of Shakespeare's sonnets is A, B, A, B, C, D, C, D, E, F, E, F, GG, without variation. It is Shakespeare's particular form, different from the Petrarchan sonnet, and that is why it is known as the Shakespearean sonnet. "Phaeton" is not in this form. It has couplets at 2-3, 4-5, and 6-7, where couplets are not called for, as well as 13-14 where the couplet is necessary. Since the work is not in the Shakespearean sonnet form, it is hardly illogical to conclude that Shakespeare did not write it.

Second, in his Sonnets, Shakespeare has less than 4% spondees. "Phaeton" has eight spondees in fourteen lines. There is one in the first foot of line 1, one in the third foot of line 2, one in the first foot of line 3, one in the third foot of line 6, one in the first feet of 8 and 9, one in the fourth foot of line 12, and one in the third foot of line 13. Furthermore, the spondees in lines 1, 3, 8, and 9 are not applied in the Shakespearean manner. As an orchestra, which does not like a weak downbeat, Shakespeare does not use the spondee in the first foot.

Third, again in his Sonnets, Shakespeare has less than 3% trochees. There are two in "Phaeton," one in the fourth foot of line 2, the other in the first foot of line 11. While Shakespeare does not use as many trochees, they are applied in the Shakespearean manner. Shakespeare uses the initial and medial trochee. He does not use trochees in the second or fifth foot. Trochees in the fifth foot, it may be added, destroy the finite quality of the iambic line.

Fourth, to say as Chambers that the work in question "has merit" is saying a great deal. Every poet of the period has references to the seasons, daisies sprouting, and little birds singing. If anything, the imagery of "Phaeton" is trite. "Herbs" and "plants" is a tautology. It is true that Shakespeare himself could fall into this trap, writing in haste, but such lapses are rare. We would expect him to be more careful in a laudatory work to a friend.

Fifth, Shakespeare would not sign himself Phaeton. "Phaėthon" is one of Ovid's best stories, charged with exciting detail. Phaeton, the half-mortal son of Apollo, wants to drive his father's fiery chariot (the sun). Ignoring his father's warnings of a potentially disastrous ride, Phaeton, visions of glory in his head, stubbornly forges ahead. The chariot ride develops as predicted by Apollo and Phaeton plunges to his death into the sea. The character of mythology is impulsive, headstrong, dreams of glory, and will not listen to sound advice. Everything we know about Shakespeare leads us to conclude that he was the very opposite of Phaeton--thoughtful, humble, and cautious. It stretches credulity to the breaking point to suppose that Shakespeare would identify with Phaeton.

Sixth, though we are in uncharted waters, there is no evidence of any connection between Shakespeare and John Florio as early as 1591. Florio (1545-1625) was the English-born son of Michelangelo Florio an Italian Protestant refugee. After graduation from Oxford, he completed two Italian grammars, Florio his Firste Fruites (1578) and Florio's Second Fruites (1591) to which "Phaeton" is attached. These were followed by his Italian-English dictionary A World of Words (1598), and a translation of Montaigne's Essais (1603).

Shakespeare knew Florio since in 1591 Florio was appointed tutor to Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton and Shakespeare's patron.[2] But we do not know when Shakespeare met Southampton. He may not have met Southampton until well after Florio's book was published. The well-informed devil's advocate might claim that as a Strange's man Shakespeare visited Southampton's estate at Titchfield while on tour before 1591. That is entirely possible since the town of Southampton was an occasional stop. But the argument is strictly academic since it is clear that on literary grounds Shakespeare is not the author of "Phaeton."

We are left with questions that cannot presently have definitive answers. Who signs himself Phaeton? Though Shakespeare would not identify with Ovid's character, the identification would fit perfectly with one of the self-destructive University Wits. Moreover, there may very well be an Oxford connection between Florio and George Peele, both of whom attended that university in the late 1570's. Nash, Greene, and Marlowe attended Cambridge, so of the four, Peele would be the most likely to have a relationship with Florio.

Peele's versification has some similarities to that of the author of "Phaeton". He has a penchant for beginning lines with spondees--forty in just the first two acts of David and Bethsabe (as noted by Robertson). He often falls into tautology. Peele's imagery is trite. He borrows freely from himself and others. Still, these generalizations can hardly qualify as evidence in favor of his authorship of "Phaeton" when we know so little about the prosody of Elizabethan poets and dramatists.

On the other hand, despite the possible Oxford connection to Florio, George Peele cannot be the author. While like the author of "Phaeton" he makes considerable use of the spondee in the first foot, his versification overall is not as heavily spondaic. In fact, Peele's versification is just the opposite: It is heavily trochaic.

Scansion of Hero and Leander shows that, as one might suspect, Marlowe's versification is closer to Shakespeare's than any other Tudor or Stuart writer. Like Shakespeare, Marlowe uses the spondee sparingly and he does not use the spondee in the first foot. These two characteristics alone rule out Marlowe as the author of "Phaeton."

Are the wits who "lay dead" in fact the University Wits? That is possible, but there is no way to tell for sure. Who is the "Laurel" that is "ever green"? Marlowe? Spenser can also be a candidate. He was certainly held in the highest esteem by the poets of the time.

Of the University Wits then, as the possible author of "Phaeton," the choice seems to come down to Greene or Nash. Of course, the author of "Phaeton" does not have to be a University Wit. There is only one certainty here: Shakespeare did not write the "Phaeton" sonnet.

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1. E. K. Chambers, William Shakespeare, I, 555.

2. Oscar James Campbell, The Reader's Encyclopedia of Shakespeare, 234.