# Francis Meres names Shakespeare as a leading English dramatist and poet in Palladis Tamia

Date: 1598

## The fact

In 1598 Francis Meres's Palladis Tamia compared [Shakespeare](/people/william-shakespeare) to [Ovid](/people/ovid) and Plautus and listed several plays and the poems. The book was entered and printed as Meres's work. Shakespeare did not sign it.

## Context

Palladis Tamia is a commonplace book of comparisons. Its Shakespeare paragraph is the earliest printed list of several comedies and tragedies later in the canon. It is evidence of reputation, not of performance dates for every title named. Two Gentlemen, Comedy of Errors, Love's Labour's Lost, Merchant, Richard II, Richard III, Henry IV, King John, Titus, Romeo, and 'his sugared sonnets among his private friends' appear. Those titles are Meres's claims, not extra Facts.

## Evidence and sources

The British Library describes the 1598 Palladis Tamia volume. Birthplace Trust biographical notes treat Meres as a dated contemporary witness. The source establishes that a Cambridge-educated cleric in print treated Shakespeare as a major English writer in 1598. It does not establish that every listed play already existed in the later Folio text. Wikipedia is not used as a causal source.

## Significance

Public reputation is a cohesion path only insofar as a shared canon exists. Meres is a witness, not a theatre builder. Contribution is therefore complex: Shakespeare supplied the plays; Meres supplied the list.

## What is established and what is not

Established: 1598 printed notice naming Shakespeare and several plays. Not established: exact composition dates; that Meres saw every play; that this book taught schools. Confidence high on the notice, low on any quantitative cultural index.

The event remains dated 1598-09-07. Shakespeare's documented role is: Shakespeare is the subject of Meres's comparison, not the author of Palladis Tamia. A printed English canon list made Shakespeare's plays a shared public reference set among literate readers. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1598-09-07. Shakespeare's documented role is: Shakespeare is the subject of Meres's comparison, not the author of Palladis Tamia. A printed English canon list made Shakespeare's plays a shared public reference set among literate readers. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1598-09-07. Shakespeare's documented role is: Shakespeare is the subject of Meres's comparison, not the author of Palladis Tamia. A printed English canon list made Shakespeare's plays a shared public reference set among literate readers. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1598-09-07. Shakespeare's documented role is: Shakespeare is the subject of Meres's comparison, not the author of Palladis Tamia. A printed English canon list made Shakespeare's plays a shared public reference set among literate readers. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1598-09-07. Shakespeare's documented role is: Shakespeare is the subject of Meres's comparison, not the author of Palladis Tamia. A printed English canon list made Shakespeare's plays a shared public reference set among literate readers. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1598-09-07. Shakespeare's documented role is: Shakespeare is the subject of Meres's comparison, not the author of Palladis Tamia. A printed English canon list made Shakespeare's plays a shared public reference set among literate readers. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

## People

- William Shakespeare: https://factrail.ai/people/william-shakespeare

## Drivers

- Social Cohesion: https://factrail.ai/drivers/social-cohesion

## Sources

- https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/palladis-tamia-wits-treasury-by-francis-meres-1598
- https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/william-shakespeare/

## Methodology

https://factrail.ai/methodology

Canonical: https://factrail.ai/facts/shakespeare-meres-palladis-tamia-1598