POST SHAKESPEREAN DRAMA OR THE JACOBEAN DRAMATISTS: THE JACOBEAN PERIOD (1603-1625):

 * The death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603 created a situation of utter confusion and turmoil in society which had momentous impact on English literature. James-I ascended the throne in 1603.

* The early decades of the 17^th century may be called the age of transition. By this time the Renaissance exuberance and optimism are succeeded by a mood of disillusion. First, there were series of plots to assassinate Elizabeth. There was no heir to the throne. Apprehension of civil war and intervention of foreign powers gripped the mind of the people. The situation reached its crisis in the rebellion of Essex on February 1, 1601 and his execution. A feeling of uncertainty was sharpened with the accession of James I.

 * Court standards were lowered. Uncertainty and fears increased with the constant threats to the power of James. The Jesuits plotted against James constantly.

* Elizabeth was popular and tactful. She compromised in matters of religion. James was unpopular- he was ignorant of English language- he could not communicate with the people. His court was extravagant and immoral. Criticism of the court and the church became vocal and widespread. The critical temper is reflected in the literature of the age. The times were out of joint and pessimism and satire are the natural results of the dissatisfaction with the existing order. This is seen in the preoccupation of the writers with the themes of decay, death and disease.

The bewilderment and confusion of the age is made worse confounded by certain new and materialistic interpretations of the world order. Machiavelli’s The Prince was widely read. He provided a materialistic and satanic interpretation of the world order. Under the impact of this theory, the hero turned villain on the Jacobean stage, and diabolism- ruthless self-seeking to the utter disregard of all moral and humanitarian considerations- became the dominant theme of even such writers as Webster and Tourneur.

* The new philosophy supplanted the old one. The new astronomers exploded the cosmology of Aristotle and Ptolemy. The earth no longer remained the centre of the universe. Man’s faith in his own importance and that of this planet was shaken. The invasion of the old cosmology by the new philosophy brought a sense of disorder, dissolution and decay of the cosmos. This sense of decay and disorder permeates dramas of the writers of the post-Shakespearean age.

Decline of the Drama:

       “It was inevitable that the drama should decline after Shakespeare, for the simple reason that there was no other great enough to fill his place” (Long). Several causes are there for this decline.

1)       In Elizabethan period, the drama was patronized by feudal lords, but from the time of the accession of James-I dramatist depended on the king and the queen and royal domination. The dramatists wholly depended on the royal favour. In this way the theater was cut off from Common life. While Beaumont and Fletcher were writing, the theater was gradually but surely losing its hold on the middle and lower class. It marked the decline of drama.

2)       Successors of Shakespeare lacked not only Shakespeare’s genius, but his broad charity his moral insight into life. The dramatists freely adopted unpleasant themes. The plays reveal the low standard of morality. As the Standard of morality suffered, the decline was invisible in the drama.

3)       The decline of drama is visible in the lack of creative power in the art of characterization. The dramatists repeated such characters as the cheats, bullies, gamblers. In place of Shakespeare’s immortal heroes, heroines, villains and clowns we find.

4)       In the art of plot-construction with the exception of Ben Jonson’s Volpone and The Alchemist and of Webster’s The White Devil, we find signs of decline. Too often plot-construction shows careless in detail and the want of coherence as in The Duchess of Malfi. There are effective episodes but no structural growth.

5)       Decline can also be seen in dramatic technique. The dramatists could not maintain the ‘mighty line’ of Marlowe, and their blank verse become weak and rapid.

6)       The Shakespearian balance between romance and realism is poorly replaced either by narrow social activities or by romantic excess.

Thus after the death of Shakespeare drama began to show the signs of decline in morals, plot construction, characterization and technique. “The curfew tolls the knell of parting day” and the demise of Shakespeare also foretold the demise of drama. The spirit had passed away in 1616; the corpse remained to be buried and it was buried in 1642.

The Dramatists:

Although much of the dramatic work was composed during Shakespeare’s life-time, the most typical of the plays appeared after his death. On the whole, moreover, the work marks a decline from the Shakespearian standard, and so we are probably justified in calling this type of drama post-Shakespearian. In fact, British drama, after Shakespeare, exhibits a loss of potency and a touch of decay. The mark of decadence are wide spread and well noticed in every species of dramatic literature- tragedy, comedy and tragic-comedy. There were after Shakespeare several great names of the English stage-Ben Jonson, Chapman, Webster, Beaumont and Fletcher, Dekker, Middleton, Heywood, Ford and many others. They gave to the English theater a glory of its own and tired to continue the great heritage of English drama till the Closing of the theater by Puritans.

1) BEN JONSON

Ben Jonson was the most towering figure in the English drama after Shakespeare. He is known as the ‘First great English Neo-Classic.’ As a literary figure his contribution to all branches of writing especially in drama is unmistakable. In the field of drama he wrote both tragedies and comedies with immense potency, but his genius was more particularly felt in realistic social comedies, known as ‘Comedy of Humour.’

His Comedies:

In his comedies he aimed to return to the controlled, satirical, realistic comedy of the classical dramatists. He hoped to bring back the classical tradition and to reform the drama on these lines. He is mainly concerned with drawing the great comic characters. In nearly all his comedies he opened up a vein that was nearly new and was to be very freely worked by his successors- the comedy of London life and humours, reflecting the manners of the day.

His early comedies are----

a)      Every Man in his Humour:-

It is modeled upon Plautus. The characters like the boastful cowardly soldier (Bobadill), the clever servant (Brainworm), the jealous husband (Kitely) even the gay young men  and gull are the prototypes of the dramas of Plautus. Its special aim was to ridicule the follies, foibles, obsessions, pretensions and absurdities of the different characters and humors of the city.

b)      Every Man out of his Humour:-

It carries the tradition of the comedy of humour. It is also a satire against the cotemporary city life. “The play is more episodic than its predecessors and incidents are contrived to illustrate the follies and idiosyncrasies of the different characters with little regard to the development of the main action, although everything is tied up at the end with considerable ingenuity.”

c)      CYNTHIA’S REVELS:-             

It satirizes the humors of the court. It uses mythological characters and includes some fine songs and masques. It is the last dramatic tribute to the aged Queen.  

d)      The Poetaster:-

Here Jonson satirizes his dramatic rivals – Marstone and Dekker. This play was his most notable contribution to the ‘war of Theatre’- a kind of dramatic quarrel between the playwrights of the Chapel children at Blackfruar’s and those representing the professional actors of the globe.

* His early comedies show his ingenuity of plot, his hearty humour, his wit, and they are full of vivacity and fun.

* His middle group comedies are—

a) VOLPONE OR THE FOX:-

It is a keen and merciless analysis of a man governed by an over whelming love of money for its own sake.

b) THE ALCHEMIST:-

It is rightly claimed as Jonson’s greatest play. Its main figure, Sir Epicure Mammon is a generalized type of sensual greed and a man of extraordinary vitality. The whole play is written in blank verse. In plot and artistic construction it is an almost perfect specimen of the best English drama. (Coleridge- ‘the three most perfect plots ever planned’.)

C) EPICAENE OR THE SILENT WOMAN:- 

It is a prose comedy, finely constructed, full of life, abounding in fun and unexpected situations. The play is full of odd characters ad fantastic humour. Here Jonson blends his characteristic learning and realism, boisterous humour and contrived grotesquerie. In this play there is abundant satire on the manners and affections of the day and thus it approaches the comedy of Manners.

d) BARTHELOMEN FAYRE:-

This prose comedy is full of colours and incidents of Elizabethan London. The play is overcrowded with persons and incidents. The plot presents the scenes of a London holiday fair, with its ballad singers, stall keepers, bullies, bawds and cutpurses.

* These comedies are move mature than the early works. They are all satirical in tone, realistic and natural in dialogue, and in genius in plot. The characters are less angular and more convincing.

His later comedies are-

   The Devil is an Ass, The Staple of News; These dramas show a distinct falling off in dramatic power.

His Tragedies:

a)                  Sejanus his Fall:-

This roman tragedy deals with the rise of Sejanus, his machinations to achieve the throne, his fall and finally his execution.

b)                  Catiline his Conspiracy:-

Along with ‘Sejanus his Fall’ it is written with the design of competing with Shakespeare. It is distinguished by a faithful portrayal of the Roman background.

* In tragedy, Ben Jonson is less successful. His tragedies are composed on classical models. They are very much laboured and mechanical. Though his tragedies show immense learning, power, variety and insight, they lack the last creative touch necessary to stamp them with reality.

His Masques:

       After ceasing his work for the stage, Jonson wrote many masques in honour of James-I and of Queen Anne, to be played amid elaborate scenery by the gentlemen of the court.

* The best of his masques are- The satyr, The Penates, The masque of Beauty, The masque of Queen.

* His masques are graceful and humorously ingenious.

* In the estimation of his own age Jonson stood second to none; to a later generation he is overshadowed by the towering bulk of Shakespeare. But even the enormous prestige of Shakespeare cannot or ought not to belittle the merits of Jonson. Of Jonson we can justly say that he had all good literary gifts except one and that the highest and most baffling of all- true genius. He had learning- perhaps too much of it; industry and constancy well beyond the ordinary; versatility; a crabbed and not unamiable humour, diversified with sweetness, grace, and nimbleness of wit; a style quit adequate to his needs; and an insight into contemporary life and manners greater than that of any writer of his day. But the immortal spirit that created out of words and buckram “forms more real than living man”- these were lacking; and without these he cannot join the circle of the very great.

2) FRANCIS BEAUMONT AND JOHN FLETCHER:

            The two dramatists met at the Mermaid tavern under the leadership of Ben Jonson and soon became inseparable friends, living and working together. Together they produced about fifty-two (52) plays. It is unknown whether these plays are all written jointly or not.

* Their well-known comedies are-

a) A King and no King:-

It is a romantic comedy with an ingenious theme. Arbaces, the king of Iberia (an unreal country) falls madly in love with Panthea whom he believes to be his sister and finally he comes to know that she is not his sister they unite lawfully at last. Dryden esteemed this play as the best of all.

b) The Knight of the Burning Pestle:- 

It is a burlesque and may be consider as the first parody play. Every mood of the play is deliberately introduced. The adventures of Ralph (the hero) are the satire upon the popularity of Spanish romances and similar chivalric works among London apprentices and their masters.

c) The Scornful Lady:-

It is full of high spirit and the good straightforward fun.

Their well known tragi-comedies are-

a)       Philaster:-

It is about the jealousy of a lover and faithfulness of a girl. The play centers round the characters of Philaster, Arethusa and Bellario.

b)       The Maid’s Tragedy:-

It is as if the tragi-comedy has been adapted to the revenge play. The play is about the king of Rhodes’ whimsical wish. He commands Amitor, Rhodes’ whimsical wish. He commands Amitor, a young courtier to marry Evadne (king’s mistress). Amintor is in love with Aspatia. Evadne’s brother Melantus protests and finally Evadne kills the king and she and Asspatia die. The play takes its name from the tragic lot of Aspatia.

* Beaumont and Fletcher produced the London life faithfully in their comedies. Their plays are superficial by nature. They are full of striking incident and stage effect. Their plots are ingenious, lively and entertaining in spite of the looseness. The characters are numerous, widely and varied. The plays attain the high level of lucidity and simplicity in their style. The dialogues are witty.

3) GEORGE CHAPMAN:

          He is though better known as the translator of Homer’s ‘Iliad’ and ‘Odyssey’ his dramatic quality is no less insignificant.

His comedies are-
       The Blind Beggar of Alexandria, A Humorous Day’s Mirth, All Fools, The Gentleman Usher etc.

They all are amusing comedies. They are characterized by a pleasant wit, a sober manner and a graceful style.

‘Eastward Hoe’ is written with the collaboration of Ben Jonson and Marston. It is rich in humour and comic sense.

His tragedies are-

      Bussy d’ Ambois; Charles, Duke of Byron; The Admiral of France etc.

Chapman represents his tragedy mostly on contemporary history and they are inspired by Seneca and Marlowe. But his tragedies are marred by a metaphysical jargon and sprinkled with moral reflection taken from Greek and Latin authors.

* Chapman writes agreeably and well; he has firmness, competence, and variety and his tragic and comic powers are considerable. Chapman is romantic by nature and with all his learning he pushes to the extreme the melodrama of the popular stage.

4) JOHN MARSTON:

He belongs to Senecan school and is specialized in violent and melodramatic tragedies. From his we get the dramas like-

a)      Antonio and Mellida:-

It belongs to ‘blood and thunder’ school. In two parts it gives the comic crosses of true love and Antonio’s revenge respectfully. In the drama Marston introduces the device of dumb show as well as the appreance of the ghost. A note of melancholy hangs all over the drama.

b)      Malcontent:-

The play is dedicated to Ben Jonson. It is the story of a banished duke Malevole, Who returns to his former court in disguise and at last, gets back his dukedom.

c)      The Dutch Courtezan:-

It is a well made comedy notable for the rollicking Cockledemoy, one of the most amusing characters in Elizabethan drama.

d) The Tragedy of Sophonisba:-

It dramatizes the story told by Livy and other historian regarding the tragedy of Sophonisba.

* Marston is a baffled genius. His plays are spoiled to a great extent, due to exaggeration, rant, and excessive speeches. To R. Brooke-“He loved dirt for the sake of truth, also for its own. Filth, horror and wit were his legacy.”

5) THOMAS DEKKER:

        Dekker lacks the intellectual power of Ben Jonson but has the intense sympathy for the common men and things, and the humour of Shakespeare. He writer Six plays single handed and collaborates in at least eighteen plays.    

His best comedies are-

a)      Old Fortunatus:-

This morality type comedy is based on upon a German Legend. It tells the story of Fortunatus at us who comes across Lady Fortune. She offers him a number of gifts and Fortunatus takes a purse which never runs empty. This leads not only his death but also to his son’s (Andelcio). In spite of some poetic passages the drama lacks the dramatic unity.

b)      The Shoemaker’s Holiday:-    

The play is based upon one of the episodes of Deloney’s ‘Gentle Craft’. It depicts the fortune of a jovial honest shoe-maker of London namely Simon Eyre who becomes the Mayor of London. The play is the study of London life and vividly presents London with “portraits of tradesmen, apprentices, aldermen, courtiers, their wives, daughters and sweethearts, a motley procession surging through the streets, each, elbowing the other in shop and tavern”.

C) The Honest Whore:-

The play has two parts. The first part is collaborated with Middleton. It tells the story of a whore, Bellafront who after her seduction marries a man. The second part is entirely written by Dekker. In this part it is seen that in spite of her husband’s pressure Bellafront does the resume the prostitution.

* Dekker is called as ‘the Dickens of the Elizabethan stage’. He is romantic, spontaneous and truly a man who knows London more than anyone else. His plots are chaotic and his blank verse that he uses in his plays is weak and sprawling.

6) THOMAS MIDDLETON:

      Middleton is a complete Jacobean. He represents the seamy side of London in his comedies without any glorification or romanticizes. In almost Jonsonian humour he presents the follies and trickeries of the characters. He has little care for morality. Realism marks his comedies. In these sense he may be called as the forerunner of comedy of manners.

His Comedies:

A Chaste Maid in Cheapside; A Trick to catch the old one; A Game at chess (Allegorically it treats the breaking off of the negotiations with Spain for marrying Prince Charles to the Infanta).

His Tragedies:

    The only tragedy that he writes himself is

a) Women Beware Women:-

It deals with the crime of the Italian courtesan Binaca Capello. She runs away from her father’s house and marries Leantio, a merchant’s clerk. During Leantio’s absence she develops at secret love with a Duke and it is for this Leantio is killed by the men of Duke and finally gets married with the Duke. It follows the Senecan revenge tradition.

b) The Changeling:-

  

* It is written is collaboration with Rowley.

* It is the story of Beatrice-Joanna. She is ordered by her father to marry Alonso whom she dislikes. She loves another guy namely Alsemero. In order to avoid the propose marriage she employes De Flores to kill Alonso. Alonso is killed buy the murderer. De Flores wants Beatrice in his bed as the reward of killing. She has to do so. After her marriage with Alsemero the secret death is revealed and finally when the trial is going on De Flores kills Beatrice and finally he kills himself.

* Middleton has a decided fanciful turn. He is a close observer and critic of life of the time. In poetry and diction his tragedies are almost worthy.

7) THOMAS HEYWOOD:

       Lamb called him as “the prose Shakespeare”. He worked in a variety of dramatic genres- historical, romantic mythological and comedy of manners; but in case of domestic drama he is unique. To the glory of that drama he contributed, according to his own statement of nearly two hundred twenty plays.

His best plays are-

a)      A Woman Killed with Kindness:- 

* It is a kind of a domestic tragedy.

* A country gentleman named Frankford comes to know from that his wife Anne develops an illicit love relation with his friend Wendoll. Instead of murdering them he pities her and sends his wife to a lonely manor-house where she dies and is thus punished by her husband’s punishment.

b)      The English Traveller:-

It is the story of Geraldine who after returning from his travel he finds his beloved gets married an old man. They two decide to marry after the old man’s death and finally she is seduced by Geraldine’s friend.

c) The Fair and of the West:- It is a melodrama with plenty of fighting of the popular kind.  

His other plays are- The captives, King Edward the Fourth, etc.

* Heywood excelled in his picture of London life and manner than other dramatists of his age. “He was singularly skilful both in devising most effective dramatic situations, and in providing for his plays a background – which gave them individuality and variety.”

8) JOHN WEBSTER:

 * The most striking follower of the Senecan Revenge tradition, Webster turns from the mere horror of event to the deep and subtle analysis of character.

* His plots are not well constructed and there is still some crudeness of incident, but his horrors are usually controlled, and are subordinate to the total artistic purpose of the play in which they occur.

He deals with gloomy, supernatural themes, great crimes, turbulent emotions, and in largeness of tragic conception he resembles Marlowe. He is a great dramatic poet, whose verse, though sometimes faulty, often reaches the highest levels and has great power. Tender and pitiful scenes add a touch of fine pathos to his greatest works.

His important plays are-

a)      The White Devil:-

* It is the story of the Duke of Brachino who in order to get the beautiful Vittoria kills not only her husband (Camillo) but his own wife (Isabella) also. They elope and get married, but the two brother of Isabella take revenge on the guilty pair at last.

* To A.Nicoll- “The atmosphere of the play is dark clammy, dark with a kind of cypress gloom, lit only at moments by lurid flashes of light.”

b)      The Duchess of Malfi:-

* It is Webster’s masterpiece.

* It is the tragic story of a young widowed Duchess. Her two domineering brothers forbade her not to remarry. She falls in love with her young steward Antonio and secretly marries him in spite of her brothers’ (Ferdinand and Cardinal). The two brothers employ Bosola to spy upon her. Years pass on, Bosola pries and plots. He betrays the couple. She is now put to fearful physical and mental tortures by her brothers. Finally she and her two children are strangled to death. Retribution is quick to come upon the murderers. Ferdinand goes mad; Cardinal is killed by the remorseful Bosola who is again killed by the mad Ferdinand.

* The real theme of this drama is not revenge, but the graciousness, tenderness, affection and constancy of a noble and loving woman (the Duchess).

* It is sensational and melodramatic in nature. The plot is weak and it is full of horrible and macabre elements. The drama because of it characterization, poetry and

dramatic imagery is better than other Senecan tragedies.

 * The Duchess is one of the finest woman characters in Elizabethan drama. Where can one find such an immortal line except Shakespeare- “cover her face; my eyes dazzle. She died young”.

* To Charles Lamb- “She has lived among horrors till she is become native and endowed upon that element. She speaks the dialect of despair; her tongue has a snatch of Tartarus and souls in bale”.

* His other less remarkable plays are- “The Devil’s Law care and Appius and Virginia.