indeed, scholars have disagreed about almost every aspect of the play; it has been dated as early as 1582–83 and as late as 1599–1600. the play is primarily political commentary—or religious propaganda. baldwin maxwell argued that the play has a discontinuous nature: the first half, through act iii scene ii, is dramaturgically well-crafted, while the second half is disorganized and loosely put together. maxwell interpreted this as indicating that the extant text was the telescoped condensation of a two-part original; alternatively, others have suggested that the play is a collaboration between two unequal partners, or a work that was left incomplete by its original creator and finished by another hand.