Driven To Extreme Shifts, By Robert Gorinio

The lesson which the author wishes to teach the readers is not at all the same lesson which Gorinius wanted Roberto to purchase with his Groat's worth of inheritance, in the beginning of the tale. Quite the contrary, the author urges the readers to place faith in God, remain loyal to their wives - reject all follies, especially the chasing of beautiful women - and show kindness to all, especially the poor. Usury is denounced, as well as ostentatiousness and greed.

But for some reason the bulk of the writer's Moral is devoted to play-writers. He addresses three writers specifically, with whom he is no doubt acquainted, although they are not identified by name. Conveniently, one is presented as a writer of tragedies, the other as a writer of comedies and the third as a writer who like the author is "driven to extreme shifts" (Ibid, p. 19).

The author criticizes the tragedist for his atheism and Machiavellism, urging him to repent. His advice to the comedian is that he should not use his gift for sarcasm too slightly, for fear of offending people. The author's remark towards the third play-writer is
"…trust them not", he says of those which collaborate with the play-writer, to whom he refers to as "…those Puppets (I mean) that speak from our mouths, those Antics garnished in our colours" (Ibid, ibid). At this point came the author's criticism of a specific play-writer, which he describes as "…an upstart Crow, beautified with our feathers" (Ibid, ibid). Many have identified this figure with no other than William Shakespeare, an identification which has incited much scholarly attention in this work. I, however, do not wish to deal with this aspect of Greene's book but rather with the over-all criticism he voices towards the world of