The Fortunes of Fletcher’s “Against Astrologers”

Abstract

This essay charts the fortunes of the longest and most significant poem by John Fletcher (1579–1625), an author chiefly remembered for his work as a collaborative playwright. Despite its unique status in the Fletcher canon, the poem has never received sustained critical attention and, as this essay argues, scholars have relied for centuries on a corrupt and mutilated text. The poem was first published in the 1647 Beaumont and Fletcher Folio under the title “Upon an Honest Man’s Fortune” as a paratext to the play The Honest Man’s Fortune (1613). Using evidence from seven early manuscript witnesses, this essay argues that the publisher Humphrey Moseley not only fabricated this title and dramatic connection but also omitted lines from the poem to fit it within the available print space. Reintroducing critics to Fletcher’s poem, this essay provides a new text, edited from a manuscript with a connection to Fletcher himself and containing twenty-three hitherto unpublished lines, and proposes the adoption of a new title: “Against Astrologers.” Considered on its own terms, “Against Astrologers” can be appreciated as a devotional work that expands our understanding of Fletcher’s literary career and the personal networks that influenced his writing.