That Will Be Shall Be

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Historical Records

Payments

To Philip Henslowe

Fol. 23 (Greg I.45)

Rd at the second time of playinge that wilbe shalbe}
the 4 of Janewary 1597 the some of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . } xxxxs

Performance Records

Playlists in Philip Henslowe's diary

Fol. 25v (Greg I.50)

Under the heading, "Jn the name of god amen begininge the 25 of novembʒ 1596 as foloweth the lord admerall players":


ye 3[1]0 of decembʒ 1596 . . . . ne . . Rd at that wilbe shalbe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ls
ye 3 of Jenewary 1597 ——— Rd at that wilbe shalbe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxxijs
ye 6 of Jenewary 1597 Rd at that wilbe shalbe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxxijs
ye 13 of Janewary 1597 Rd at that wilbe shalbe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxijs
ye 18 of Janewary 1597 Rd at that wilbe shalbe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvs


Fol. 26 (F.26 / Greg I.51:)

Janewary 1957
|24| tt at that wilbe shalbe. . . . . . . . . . 0|17|00 — 19 — 07
ffebreary
1597
Candelmaseday
|2| tt at that wilbe shalbe. . . . . . . . . . 01|18|01 — 03 — 00
begynyng in leant
Marche 1597
|3| tt at that wilbe shalbe. . . . . . . . . . 00|09|00 — 16 — 00
Aprelle 1597
|6| tt at that wilbe & shalbe. . . . . . . . . . 00|07|03 — 00 — 08


Fol. 26v (Greg I.52)

(Aprelle 1597)
|30| tt at what wilbe shalbe. . . . . . . . . . 00|14|00 — 17 — 08


Fol. 27 (Greg I.53)

June 1597
|6| tt at what wilbe shalbe. . . . . . . . . . 00|10|00 — 16 — 00
July 1597
|5| tt at what wilbe shalbe. . . . . . . . . . 00|10|02 — 00 — 00


Theatrical Provenance

"That Will Be Shall Be" was played by the Admiral's men at the Rose from 30 December 1596 through 5 July 1597.


Probable Genre(s)

The title appears proverbial, but no specific proverb has been linked to it. Its subject matter, therefore, is unknown.


Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues


No doubt there were circumstances in which early moderns said "what will be shall be," but no stories have specifically been associated with the phrase.


References to the Play


Information welcome.


Critical Commentary

Malone lists the play by the title, "What will be shall be" (p. 299; Collier chooses "That wilbe shalbe]], acknowledging that Malone's choice occurs "sometimes" in Henslowe's manuscript (p. 84). Fleay BCED regularizes the spelling to "That will be shall be (2.#188, p. 305); Greg II confirms this modernized phrasing and confirms what had previously been implied that the title was indeed the proverbial "Whatever will be, shall be" (#98, p. 181).


Gurr considers it worth noting that Henslowe differentiates "That Will Be Shall Be" from "Jeronimo," "Alexander and Lodowick," and "A Woman Hard to Please" in a block of entries (Fol. 23) by specifying that its listing in that block corresponds to a "second performance" whereas items for the other plays correspond to their maiden performance (p. 224, n.57).



For What It's Worth




Works Cited

Gurr, Andrew. Shakespeare's Opposites: The Admiral's Company 1594-1625. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.




Site created and maintained by Roslyn L. Knutson, Professor Emerita, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; 4 January 2020.