[2] It was entered into the Stationers' Register on 24 July 1646 and published in quarto later that year by the bookseller Humphrey Moseley.
In the Second case, Ben Jonson and his supporters, notably Richard Brome, represented professional playwrights arrayed against the courtly amateurs like Suckling.
In the mythical kingdom of Francelia,[3] a band of robbers (the "goblins" of the title), led by their chieftain Tamoren, masquerade as devils and have the land in an uproar with their pranks.
The play, rich in action, songs and dances, also shows the influence of The Tempest; Suckling's heroine Reginella is a version of Miranda, and the antics of the goblins depend on the precedent of Ariel.
A century later, Richard Brinsley Sheridan adapted material from The Goblins, including the song "Here's to the nut-brown lass."