There is a saying about George Harrison, one member of the classic rock band The Beatles. It was his misfortune, they say, to be a good songwriter in a band that had two great songwriters. In other words, his considerable talent was overshadowed by that of his bandmates, John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

    The same could be said of English playwright John Fletcher (1579-1625). He was slightly younger than his peerless contemporary, William Shakespeare. In fact, he is known to have collaborated with Shakespeare on some of his plays, and may have been buried next to Shakespeare's younger brother Edmond (who had died nearly two decades earlier) in Southwark Cathedral.

    But perhaps his greatest claim is as "successor to Shakespeare." It happened like this.

    In those days, a theater would have a troupe called an "acting company," which was a company both in the sense of "people working together" and in the sense of a business. A company would often employ one or more playwrights to keep churning out the plays demanded by the populace. Shakespeare spent most of his career in one company, first called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and later the King's Men. In that company, he acted, wrote, and in fact owned a share.

    Upon Shakespeare's death in 1616, his former collaborator John Fletcher took his place as principle playwright, and remained there until his death--probably from the plague--in 1625.

    We generally refer to Shakespeare as an "Elizabethan," a person who lived during the long reign of that queen (1558-1603). Though Shakespeare lived 13 years into the reign of her successor, King James I, he is seldom referred to as "Jacobean." Fletcher, on the other hand, who was born under Elizabeth, attained his greatest success in the time of James, so he is generally referred to as a "Jacobean playwright."

    For a time after his death, Fletcher was regarded nearly as highly as Shakespeare. But over time, esteem for his work waned, as Shakespeare's waxed, so few today can name a single play by John Fletcher.

    Vocabulary: Which word above means:

    1. became more important or significant

    2. without equal, unique

    3. group of performers

    4. grew smaller / grew larger

    5. trouble, bad luck

    6. worked together

    7. people in the same music group

    8. people who live together in one place

    9. make in a hurry, not carefully

    10. person who serves after another

    ANSWERS: 1. overshadowed 2. peerless 3. troupe 4. waned / waxed 5. misfortune 6. collaborated 7. bandmates 8. populace 9. churn out 10. successor