Contents
Foreword Wha is Literatu Literature? re? What What is Engli English sh Litera Literatur ture? e? The First First Engli English sh Liter Literatu ature re Th Comi Coming ng of th Norm Norman an Chauc Chaucer er an After After Inte Interl rlud udee-Th Th Engl Englis is Bibl Bibl
10
II 12 13
14 15 16 17
IS 19 20 21
Th Begin Beginnin nings gs of Dram Dram Th Begin Beginnin nings gs of Engl English ish Dram Dram Earl Elizabet Elizabethan han Drama Drama William Shakespeare Shakespeare Other Other Elizabet Elizabethan han Dramat Dramatists ists Tudo Tudo Poet Poetry ry an Pros Pros Th ge o off ilto ilton: n: En ofa Peri Period od Th Ag of Dryd Dryden en Th Ne rama rama Poet Poetry ry in th Ag of Reas Reason on Pros Pros in th ge o off Reas Reason on The Romanti Romantics cs Th Victo Victoria ria Ag Fres Fres Lifein Lifein th Dram Dram Th Comi Coming ng of th oder oder Ag To th Pres Presen en Da Th Briti British sh Nove Nove Since Since 1 9 5 0 English English Verse Verse Form Chronol Chronologic ogical al Tabl Sugg Suggest estio ions ns fo Furthe Furthe Readin Readin Index
pag pagee
vii
15 23 29 39 44
51 61 73 83 93 10
13 14 15 16 17 19 20 21 22 234· 24 25 26
I.
ha is
it at e?
in tw grou groups ps-t -the he scie scienc nces es an th arts arts Th scie scienc nces es incl includ ud athe athe atic atics, s, geog geogra raph phy, y, chem chemis istr try, y, phys physic ics, s, an so on Amon Amon th arts arts ar draw drawin ing, g, painti painting, ng, model modellin ling, g, needle needlewo work, rk, drama drama music music litera literatur ture. e. The purpos purpos ofeduca ofeducati tion on is to fi us fo lifein lifein civi civili lise se co unit unit an it seem seem to foll follow ow from from th subj subjec ects ts stud stud that that th tw most most impo import rtan an thin things gs in civi civili lise se lifeare lifeare Ar an Scie Scienc nce. e. Is this this real really ly true true If take take an aver averag ag da in th lifeof lifeof th aver averag ag an seemto seemto se very very littl littl evid eviden ence ce of conc concer er with with th scie scienc nces es an th arts arts Th aver averag ag an gets gets up goes goes to work work eatshis eatshis meal meals, s, read read th news newspa pape pers rs atch atches es tele televi visi sion on goes goes to th cine cinema ma goes goes to bed, bed, slee sleeps ps akes akes up star sta rts ts al ve agai agai Unle Unless ss ha en to be ro essi essi na scient scientist ists, s, labora laborator tor experi experime ments nts and formu formulae lae hav ceasedto ceasedto hav any le te usic usicia ians ns-o -o teac teache hers rs of liter literat atur ure, e, pain painti ting ng an usic usic-t -the he arts arts seem seem to us to be only only th conc concer er of scho school olch child ildre ren. n. An ye peop people le have have said said an peop people le stillsay stillsay that that th grea grea glor glorie ie of ou civi civili lisa sati tion on ar th scie scienntist tist an arti artist sts. s. ncie ncient nt Gree Greece ce is re embe embere re beca becaus us of athe athe atici tician an like like Eucl Euclid id an Pyth Pythag agor oras as beca becaus us of poet poet like like Ho er an dram dramat atis ists ts like like Soph Sophoc ocle les. s. In tw thou thousa sand nd ears ears al ou gene genera rals ls an olit olitic icia ia ay forg forg tt n n,, ut in tein tein nd da urie urie nd Bern Bernar ar Shaw Shaw an Stra Stravi vins nsky ky will will keep keep th emor emor of ou ag aliv alive. e. hy then then re th a arrts ts an s sc cie ienc nces es im orta ortant nt supp supp s se e it th scie scienc nceswe eswe coul coul sa that that th answ answer er is obvi obviou ous: s: wehav radi radium um peni peni cill cillin in tele televi visi sion on an reco record rded ed soun sound, d, moto motorr-ca cars rs an airc aircra raft ft airair-co connditi dition onin in an cent centra ra heat heatin ing. g. Bu thes thes achi achiev evem emen ents ts have have neve neve been been th prim primar ar inte intent ntio io of scie scienc nce; e; they they ar sort sort ofby-pr ofby-prod oduc uct, t, th thin things gs that that emer emerge ge only only he th scie scient ntis is ha perf perfor or ed hi ai task task That That ti 'Why 'Why?' ?' an no to be sati satisf sfie ie till till an answ answer er ha been been foun found. d. Th scie scienntist tist is curi curiou ou abou abou th univ univer erse se he ants ants to know know hy ater ater boil boil at
E n g l is is h L i te te r a t llll r e
I V ha ha t i s L itit e ra ra t nr nr r x;
re
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ut
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it
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xc l' to be beauti beautiful. ful.
ns i mp mp er er ma ma ne ne n - ss- .
Artistic static do an l'
nt
w l n d T h f lo lo we we r ~ a lr lr e d y r ~
artist
ng
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forever.
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10
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xc
excitemrn:
IVhat is Literature? in co on it each othe at all. sculptor il take to have nothin hard, shapeless stone and force it int the resemblanc of huma figure ther unit ha been establishe betwee co pletel differen things soft fleshand hard stone, an also betwee th shapel hu an figure an th shapeles inhu an rock Th usicia take th sounds produced by scraping string an blowin do tube an he create orde ou of themby forcin on them th shape ofa tune or th orde ofharmon Th novelist take incident from hu an lifeand give them plot beginning an an end-anothe pattern. Unit order, an patter aybe create in othe ay too. Th poet maybrin tw co pletel differen things together an ak them into unit bycreatin metaphor or simile T. S.Eliot modern poet take tw co pletel differen pictures-one of th autu evening, on of patien in hospital awaiting an operation-an join them together like this: he L ik e
t h e ve ni n
i s l a i o u a ga in s t h s ky ,
p at ie n e th er i e d u po n
t ab le .
Beethoven, in hi inth Sy phony, akes th chorus sing abou th starry heavens, an acco panies thei song it comi arch on bassoon an piccolo. gain,.two co pletel oppose ideas-th sublim an th grotesque-have been brough together an fuse into unit Yo see, then that this excitement derive from or ofart ismostly th excite en of seeing connection that di no exis before of seeing quit differen aspect of life unifie throug pattern. That is th highes kind ofartistic experience Th lo es kind ispur sensation: '\'V'hata beautifu sunset colour '\'V'hat beautifu apple-pie!
Still-/[fl' with onions I~)'0zallilf. both hu an beings se th ugliness ofa diseased body an th co elinessof health one; so etimes say, Life is good'; someti es sa ,Lif is bad' \' 'hichi th true statement? Becaus ca find no s~ngleans er beco SIngleans er bysee Le show ho this ;.I'1i( IlIIi{J'
confused or of ar seem to give us th to show that ther is orde or patter in life orks
he ar.tis take ra ateria an forces or coaxes it into pattern. If heISapamte hemaychoos from th worl abou us variou sinc-leobjects-:-a ap~le, wine-bort.le, table-napkin newspaper-and a~range the Int smgle COmpOSItIOn canvas-wha is calleda 'still-life' Al thesedifferen objects areseento bepar of on pattern, pattern bounded th ou si seeing this unity,
th icture-fra e, et atisfactio unit create ou of object whic previously seemed
eans we ar overwhelme by th eans that ou sens of taste-
either no in th ac of eating or elsein anticipation-i bein pleased. Betwee this kind of experience an th experience of patterns come anothe kind th pleasure of findin fo s. rtis in an
an artist able toexpress our feelings settin do ti s-jo Artistic
passion, sorrow regret-and asit ere, help us toseparate those emotion from ourselves. Le ak this clear. ny strong emotio ha to be elie ed \' 'h nwe ar py shou nc ee sorrow want to eep. Bu th emotio ha tobe expresse (i.e.pressed out, like juic from li e) Poet an usicians ar especially expert at expressing emotions fo us deat in th family th loss of oney an othe cala itie ar soothe by musi an poetry whic seemto find in .words or sounds eans ofgetting th sorrow ou of ou systems. But, ona higher level, ou personal troubles ar relieved when ca bemad to se them aspart of pattern, so that here agai have th discover of unit of on personal experience bein part of greate hole fe ltha
do
av to
ar this sorr
ou
n:
rr
is
expression
English Literatur rm is abou
rtisti method
th
t hi n
i s n ec es s r y
la
harmonic
it
the connotations. ri er
ur concer ai ai
iswith literature
li
bu th studen
i n e r s t a ls o i n
re fi
si
re
an
ofliteratur
ai ti
ry
must al ay
s c l pt ur e
ar
r ds ,
sounds
a rt s
st
e,
dance-steps,
r k i n t er m
s pa c
la -a
t o i st e
to
s ci e t i
ff rs fr
stag
movements.
th rs
al
ss
sy
r ea d
t er m ak
i at i
al
th
s ci e t is t
to
at ti es su
er
ti
es
rd
th
rd
e te l
re
example:
ti e.
re i at el y
t,
r ds .
rf
t er ia ls - a i
are temporal materials- ords In th
s p c ia ll y t h
it ~ly
ar spatial
material used Ther
l it er at ur e
i n not restrictillg
la
- of te n
A ct io n c al l l ik e Buckle ..
b ug l
a n my heart
th
an soid
\V th
th
se th
so words.
u/ords
ra
te
ra
at ri l;
t er ia l
i t r at ur e
se
Now ther
ar tw
ay of usin
is
at
th
an
rd
so
or
or s,
s el v
se
in fu
so
ne artistic ie
ea in es
th
rd
e r' ,
i ff er e
th
e.
i ct i
s.
a ss oc ia ti o
ry
f i i ti o
understand
ll
si
-s
et
et l,
ic cl
rd r e t ri c e d t hi n
th sa r ea d
denotation)
rd ca
rr
tw
ti e.
th
th
fo it
in s, ss
le
an
es
i ff er e
ea s: 'I
i li ta r
q ui p
ll
t o a ct i
t.
sa
t ha t t h
constant us (the connotations of th
f o i ns t
ls
c al l
on non-artistic
tw
lt an
rd a ni n
ha gained throug
th
si
se
fa
lexical
called th
s.
ord) is
Take
es
collapsing
he
ed
it meet
an obstacle.'
rv
It
rd
rk
ra
r ti m
It isno
ct
ar
ea in
th
t s- i
rd us it in connection ar
e c r it y
ec se
es
it
ou ow
c o f or t ss
mothers,
e.
i at i
carrie
many associations
f ee l s tr o
ly
is se
in co
er
ab
clusters of harmonic
t he rs . ti
it
ro
rd
r ki n
th
ry
i t r at ur e l oi ti n
tion
is th
ap ea to th feelings denotation
to th brain. Thus variou
hich ir:volve th us ofword
ar concerne
an
it
activi
ak
to th em<:,t~ons.ofthe reader ar no it
tm
th co
literature ta io s,
Th
co
r y- t
se
an to
al
only to hi brain, hi understandin i n w hi c
ak
is
i t r at ur e
ISm st
~oat ~n ~ u s tr i I ll h e
se
si fa
ll co
ca le
li te
re th
rk is sa rn
th to th
ia t ha t
t o r e r es e
They
rd
th
r e; t s t
se
Yo
es
r a a ti c r es s
er ly fo
\'\ it
th
an
id le
r ds .
t er i
f or c f u l y te
ri in
as
r ds , ay sa
th
Literary [orms
re
th at
tr
most literary becaus
f li t r at ur e
ch
r ds .
ancien
r ta i
ti
aw
Greeks
poetry ha
tr
s -l o e ,
th te
it
re thre
rd
s c e nt if i
departments-lyric
as
er
f ea r- r l y
th ll th ti
ra re s)
ec se th re
ti
lo
c h r a t er . I n
ic
-a an
en f ai nt e
se se
j ot t
e p c . I n l yr i
f or m
so il
in
th ra
be define
ra ch
st
re
t at i
l us te r t ri k
te
th
so
e tr y r el i ss
riter ofli terature ismuch more concerne
th
t,
s ti v
es
ma
of words.
ry
r ic a ~ h r a t er . ! h
ra
th rs
su
se
theories fo
i ff er e
th
Literature
exploitatior
th
»/ost Iiterar» of al branches of literature
r os e
c o s ti t t i
anfo
l i e ra t r e
giving orders
fr cr at rs
as
rd
th ir mother ')
call connotations
rd
ther re
erhaps hi skil asa narrator an hi constructive rt
th
th
su
s ti v
q ua l t i
powe
ould
r ds .
C om p r e s im il a s e o f t h w or d b uc kl e i n ' Th e W in dh o e r b y 'G er ar d M a l e H op ki ns , a n a ls o W 'i ll ia m E mp so n' s d is cu ss io n o f t h e p oe m i n h i s Sel"OI Types o f A I IJ / Ji g ll i l) '
!I!,lish Litera/lire
\VIestil have thes thre ancien divisions, bu tw of them ar no longer-excep very occasionally-presented in th form ofpoetry. Th epi hasbecom the novel, writte inprose. (Sometimes people still write novels inverse, bu they ar no very popular. he dramatic poem ha
ha is
ng is
iterature?
beco th film or th play (onl rarely in vers nowadays). Lyrica poetry isthe only kind ofpoetr left In othe words, ther isvery little oppose to th play righ or th novelist rite shor lyrica poems, publishe them in magazines, an does no expect to make much mone o f t he m h er e i s n o l i i n et ca ke li in hi poetry This is ba sign an perhap eans that ther is no future fo poetry Bu this is somethin we ca discus later. Ther ar othe branches of literature and' near-literature' whic we shal consider in this book particularly th essay, hich is ha ma rite he heha no giftfor poetry or th novel. ut should likeyo to keep thos thre main form in mind-the novel, th drama, th poem -for theyare th form whic have attracte ou greatest name during th last fe centuries. In ou ow ag it seem likely that only th nove will surviv asa literary form Ther ar fe reader ofpoetry, an most people prefer to enjo dram in th form of th film(avisua form no literary form). Bu before come to th problems of th presen have good deal to lear abou th past an th past ofEnglish Litera ture is th subjec of th page that follow
Englis literature is literature writte in nglish It is no erel th literature of Englan or ofthe Britis Isles, bu vast an growin body ofwritings made up ofthe work ofauthors wh us th Englis language asa natura medium ofcommunication In othe words, the' English' of 'English literature
refers no to
nation bu to
language This seem
to me to be an importan point. Ther isa tendency amon some people to regard fo instance American literature asa separate entity body of writings distinct from that of th ritish Isles, an th sa atti.tud is beginnin to prevai with regard to th growin literature ofAfric an ustralia Joseph Conrad as Pole emetrios Kapetanaki as Greek, Ernes Hemingwa wa an American, Lin Yutang wa Chinese, bu Englis is th medium they have in.common, an they al belong with Chauce an Shakespear an Dickens-to Englis literature On
Latin, an
illiamBeckfor an T. S.Eliot havewritten inFrench. Such
writings ar outsid
th scop of ou survey Literature isan ar
hich
exploits language English literatur is an art which exploits the E~glis language Bu itis no just anEnglish art. It isinternational an Chinese, Malays Africans Indian readin thi book ma well on daythemselves contribute to English literature. Bu in thi brief histor we must confin ourselve to theliterature pro duce in th Britis Isles, chiefl becaus the' international' concep of Englis literature belong to th presen an th future an ou ai concer
iswit
th past In th page that follow we shal hardly
as to th language
et us therefor
begi
s~u by considerin
ov
very bn~fly
both th raceand th country, for, though th subjec matter of th writer is hu anity, an humanity is abov raceand nation ye heis boun to take hu anit
ashe find it in hi ow countr
hi ow age. But, to th
riter, geograph f}
and, to
seem to be
lesserextent, in or importan
E ng l a ll d a l l / / . ! c Ellg/is/'!
b~i!,li.rbLill' rlltllrl
it at f le ct e i n i t l it e a t r e f a o r t ha n t h a tt er n o f e ve nt s w hi c w e c al l th histor ofa nation Englan isan island an th se washes it litera t ur e a s m uc h a s i t s ho re s I t i s a c ol d t or m e a q ui t n li k t h p la ci d e di te r a ne a th a r w at er s t h t ro pi c I t v oi c i s e ve r f a away from th usic ofEnglis poetry an it ca behear clearl enough ite ed ai la iv Englis
landscap
made Wordsworth
tropical jungle coul
neve have cs we find ithar to accept hi beliefin kindly gentle powe brooding over e -i t le r en ti a r ai n a v t o k no w s o e t i n a bo u t h g li s l an d c ap e e fo r w e c a b eg i t o a pp re ci at e t h n gl i n at u o et s R ul in g e a a n l an d i s t h e n gl is h c li ma te . I n t h t ro pi c t he r a r n o s ea so n e xc e t h r ai n a n t h d ry , b u i n n gl a o n i s a wa r th autumn winter an th festival associate with thes seasons. Th long in fo spring is common them with Englis poets, an Christmas, th winter festival isthe very essenc of Charle Dickens. Th Christia year in England is e r c h t h n at ur a y ea r- th e r e u rr ec ti o o f t h e ar t at Easter th hope of ne lifeexpressed in joy a t t h b ir t o f C hr is t a t t h e dead time of th year Four distinct seasons, bu al comparativel gentle - th e s u e r n ev e t o h o a n t h w i t e n ev e a rc ti c B u i t i s t h c ol d n gl an d t ha t i s a rd es t f o t h d we ll e i n t h t ro pi c t o n de r t a d : le
l,
it e, at th habitant of a.perpetuall warm land ca brin himsel to appreciate thei significance fo th Englis poet an hi Englis reader It ha been said th te is ar ct n gl i a r c ol d a t e r t ha n h ot - l oo de d t e p er at e r at he r t ha n f ie ry , active becaus of th need to keep warm philosophica unde difficulties b ec au se -s o a n u nk in d p e s o a i - i y o c a s ta n t h g li s c li ma t yo ca stan anything h e n gl is h a r a l a i t o b e c on se rv at iv e d is li ki n c ha ng e ( th i i s generall true of island-dwellers) bu also becaus th se make them nation ofsailors adventurou an grea travellers Th Englis have fo nearly thousand years, been free of domination by foreig powers (a island isnot easy to invade), an this ha made them independent, jealou t he i f re ed o b u a ls o l it tl e u sp ic io u f o e i n er s h e n gl i
,;",."--
I r ' / J t l / is EflJ!,lish Lil/,ri/I/lI"I':'
EflJ!,li.rhLiteratnr» are, in fact curiou ixture an thei literature reflects th contra dictions in thei character. Th Englis rebels an eccentrics-peopl like Shelle an Byro an lake-are as typica as th rather dull diehard ho si at home an neve change thei opinions in fiftyyears th very fact of conservative society-social stability, no foreig do inati -explain th eb ls cc trics, or ly in co tr here traditio isrespected il yo findme ho sa that traditio should no be respected. In othe ords to have rebels you us have so ething to rebe against. Th Englis ar so etimes said to be ad this is certainl traditio in so uropea countries. It ishar to sa ha this eans bu possibl it refers to impatience it restrictions dislik of anything hich interferes it personal liberty. 'English en neve il be slaves,' said George Bernar Shaw 'The ar free to do hateve th Govern en an public opinio allo them to do.' ut both thes ca restrict so fa fart r: th lish lway ee le to an is Govern en an ha an nglish an call 'publi opinion' is usuall ha he hi self thinks Th Englis love justic bu hate la s, an it is this hatred of la hich akes so uc Englis literature seem ad'. Frenc write obey the Academ rules which govern the employment of th French language bu typicall Englis rite like Shakespear isalway read to ak language do 'mad things to invent ne ords or us etaphors hich take th breath away it thei daring nd it follow tha much English literatur is' formless'. Shakespear breaks all the dramatic rules, Dickens' novels proceed, seemingly without rhyme or reason no likea controlled an organise or ofart bu likea rive in full spate. Th French andltalian have al ay like traditiona verseforms-th sonnet th rondel th linewit fi~ednumbe ofsvllables-s bu th Englis have usuall preferre to invent thei ow f~rm and, eventually to have as an syllable as they ishe in line of verse.
311glishlallguage
Englis literature in short, ha freedo illingness to experi ent, hatred of rule hich ha no parallel in an othe literature So uch, briefly, fo th countr an th people W/e us no consider theEnglis language itselfand ask: hat do we mean by English' is is an ea stio to an r. W/e us term like 'Chinese', 'Malay', 'French' and' Russian' very loosel he talkin abou language, al ay assu in that each of thes na es refers to single fixe thin li ou tr la ag isno thin ri ks oo li se or si le rganis li tr e. se an deca an tree ca die,but he language seem to di (a atin ay be said to have died it ha really only undergon grea change Change im li ti ti ge ts istory an th term 'l gu sh ld reallymea st ou ad th ca rg particular grou
ofpeople, possessing
eaning fo that grou
ofpeople
I,
.lnd existine?contir:~ousl for -?ivenperiod of history. But, if language changes, ISI no likely that illchange as say,'beyon al recognirion '? Ther ay well be so grea difference betwee th Chines of 1000 :\.D. an th Chines of 198 A.D., that th tw kind of Chines ar reallytwo completel different languages. That is certainl the cas with nglish nglish ha been spoken continuously in ngland fo over Hfrcenhundr~d years, bu th Englis spoken in 1000 :\.D. isa language that th Englishman of toda cannot understand nd ve itis th sa language it isstil Englis~. This seem absurd Ifa oder Englishman cannot under,stan particular language he call it foreig language Bu ho ca I~ bea foreig language he it is th language ofhis ow
cou~t~y an.dhISow :ncestors We solve t~e difficult by talking abou th historical phases of language an usin th terms' ld English' and' oder English' ld
nglish .hasto be treate like an real foreig language It ha it gramma book an dictionaries Ifwewan first-hand le th firs lish litera ur to to th learning of ld Englis first. ut this isno thin expect ou to do at leastnot yet. Fo th omen yo willhav tobe conten it knowin ug ly ld lish literature is ut ou ly in to belearnt-
oetr ritt th ce to th li in prose. /ehave to know so ething abou thes things cannot just ignore them becaus they have had, an stil have certai influenc on th literature of oder English. That is th concer of this book-the literature of oder English. in re face it ue tion oe dern li start? fa aswe ar concerned, it starts assoo aswe findan ol poem or prose-work whic ca understand ithout gettin ou gram ar book or dictionary Betwee ld Englis an oder Englis ther is 'phase of transition he ha is virtuall foreig language is be co in like th language us toda This phas iskno asMiddle English. So iddl nglish book ca read ithout uc difficulty; others ar just as 'foreign as ld English. Ther isa reason fo this ime, ha ee is he 'dimen ions la ag anothe di ension is space. 'English eans al th differen kind of Englis spoken from th very omen th firs speakers of th language s~ttle InEng~and up to th presen day. Bu it also eansall th varyin kind of Englis spoken in differen places at an ginn omen in ti e. oday fo instance in ngland itself loca dialec of nr-lis ca be ar in ca hi e, ther in en th in rd erla an th in ssex nd th ~llha so laimto be re
E l lg l is h d i a le c ts . It usuall happen in an civilise countr that on dialect establishe itself as th os important. Thus Kuo-vi is th dialec
A l id d l
E l lg l is h
Dialects
E!1glish Literatur taught in Chines schools, an Johore scho ls ialect osen is uall
alay th dialec taught in alay th hi is po in th
capita city in th roya court, or in th universities Th Englis dialec hich ha establishe itself as th os importan istha no know as Standard Englis or King's (o Queen's) English, historically speaking ixture of th ol East idland dialec (north of th ha es an th ol Kentis dialec (south of th Thames). This is th dialec that am riti this is th di le th al foreig rs to lish st rt to le rn Ha in ee fo lo ti th iale st favoured byroyalty bylearned en an states en it tend to have more texts
Moder English texts at all It ischieflythe literatur that we ar concerne ith.
of Standard English
In th id le lish ase-th ph se tran itio '-al th ia lect ofEngland seemedto beas good aseach other, an al ofthe ha lite at res. er s, t, th ht su re iale it onopol of Englis literature This explains some of ou difficulties Chauce rote in th Englis of London an find hi co paratively easy to understand fo this Englis beca th language ourselve writ an speak. Bu ther er othe poet writin in orcestershir lish an an ashi ngli an ntis lish ar fo to understand an so beco frustrated Bu by abou 1400 th confusion is cleare up an th histor of Englis literature beco es th histor of th literature of on dialect. er earl so en in th rn erio have preferre to rite in thei ow county dialects one, clinging to th dialec of yrshir in Scotland Standard Englis perfectl well illiam Barnes schola of th nineteenth century, like to rite in nd toda Englis literature contains orks in th lect of erica, an even in th dialec of th es should rejoic in this richness an variety.
nu er of it rs Robert urns as although he knew brillian language th orse dialect. an Englis diaIndian negro.
nglish literature then is vast extendin long ih ti an id in space. Ou task no isto examin it beginnings in th temperate, isty rain island wher th Englis nation ca into being.
firs lish en re orei er In ther rd th to Englan from abroad he ngland as alread inhabite by long settle race an blesse by fairly advanced civilisation That long settle race as th Britis race an th beginnings of it settle en cannot be traced they belong to pre-histor That racestill exists to be foun ainl in ales to th west ofEngland speaking alanguage quit unlike English, differen in te pera en an culture from th Englis invader, still cultivatin literature whic ha neve influenced-nor been uc influenced by-the literature ar stud ing. It is ironical that this people should no be called th elsh (fro th ld Englis English. he ancien oman called them Britanni an thei countr 'Britannia'. \Y/ecan call them Britons. es rito re ul fo ew ce tu ie th om ns an Britannia-or Britain-wa th most westerly an northerl province of th ir he om ro gh th ir la ua (o ic traces stil surviv in th na es ofthe to ns of England) an thei architect an engineer aswel as thei garrison an go,-ernors Britai wa give to ns villas it centra heating, public baths, theatres an system of road hich is stil or or lessin existence. But, aswe know th Roma Empire eventually fell th Ro an legion ithdrew, an people softened by civilisation an colonial rule as left to itself an to an toug invade ho care to cros from Europe Th ti ofthe fall of th Ro an Empire is also th ti of th igration ofpeoples from th East of urope-such people asth Goth an andals ho them selves brok th po er of Ro e. Disturbe by thes ovements west ar by barbarou an ruthless hordes certai people from th northes of Europe crosse th seasand settled-over number of years-in Britain, drivin the Britis west andclaiming thecountry for themselves. se pe le in lu th le ns ho stil iv th ir names to what issometime calledthe Anglo-Saxon race. Their language,
ROil/ali Britain
A/lglo-Sa:\:oll Ellgla/ld
Ellgli.rh Litl'ratllrl'
Tb
Firs
Englis
Literatlln
'7
gr up dial cts, is so ti es alle nglo-S xon, but, in th interest of unity, we shal keep to th na Ol English. \'(! have fe historical detail of thes invasion an settle ents hich an thin as bein co lete by th nd th se enth entury Th lege of in rt ur an is Knight of th un Tabl tell of th defender of th ol Ro an civilisation fightin brav rearguard action agains the newbarbarians The Angle and Saxons and alon with them th Jute er barbarians perhap onlyin th sens that theywere no Christians Th Ro an Empire ha ende asa Christia Empire an Christianity ha been ell-establishe as th religion of Britain. Bu th Angles an Saxons orshippe th ol Germanic gods stil iv thei am to th da of th ek-Tho nd oden an th rest Ye they ha some civilisation. They were farmer an seaen they knew so et in la nd th rt over nt an it seem that they brough literature with them from Europe to England, as th countr us no be called Bythe en of th sixt centur th ne asters of Englan ha be co Christia people chiefl becaus of th energy of th Christia evangelist from Ireland, ho ca over to conver them nd al th record of th earl literature of th Anglo-Saxons belong to Christia England, writte by clerks in monasteries, kept stored in monasteries, an only omin to li at th ti th f ormatio he He ry VIII dissolve th onasteries must thin of this literature asbein oral, passed do byword of outh from generation to generation it creators fo th most part unknown, an onlyhein give awritte form long afte it co position. This literature is al os exclusivel vers ology, letters, biography-an th na es of th riters of uc of this pros ar known. Ther is lo ofanony ou poetry in th orld bu \'er little anonymou prose. Soun is th essenc of verse, an henc
Allglo-Sa.'\·oll illuminatio
fro
the Lsindesfame Gospels.
vers ischieflya atte ofmouth an ear.But pros isa matte fo th pe an it ha to be co pose on paper. he an co pose on pape he usually sign hi name poem is recited, re embered, passed on an it origin is forgotten-at leas as fa asearly literature ar concerned. Th oldest poem in th Englis language isBeoiuul]. It as no om th brough it over alon it thei ives goods, an chattels It as no ritt ow till th en th inth cent ry It is tirring, arlike violen poem of over thre thousand lines, an it is perhap difficul to thin itasbein se do onk, an f peac inth q uie of a monastery. Thes Anglo-Saxo monks, ho ever ha th bloo of ar rior in them they er th sons an grandson of ikings Beolvl/lf is essentially warrior' story, Ittell oftheher ho give hi na to th poem an hi struggle
ith
foul monster-half-devil
half- an-calle
Beonud]
E n g l is h L i te r a t n r
he F ir s
Grendel, ho ha fo long ti been raidin th banqueting-hal of King Hrothg of Jutlan (lan th Jute nd carr in ffan de vourin Hrothgar's warriors Beowul sail from Sweden an come to th help of Hrothgar Hi fights it Grendel-an Grendel' equall horrific
other-ar
th subjec of th poem
poem
hose grim
usic
is th snapping offangs, th crunchin ofbones, an whos colour is th grey of th northern inter, shot by th re of blood. It is strong eat, no work fo th squeamish, bu itis in no wayacrud an primitiv composition. It shows great skillin its construction itsimagery and language aresophisticated. It isnot Christianpoem-despite the Christian flavou give to it by th onastery scribe (e.g Grende is of th accursed race )civilisation.
English mgt/age
Much of th strengt an violence ofBeO/vulj derive from th nature of ld Englis itself ha as la guag ri in co so ants fond of clustering it consonants together so that th mout seem to perfor swif ac of violence Th followin oder Englis ords ar tobe foun in Ol English, an ar typica ofthat language s tr e ng t h ( ' in which seven muscular consonant strangle singlevowe '),1 b r e a t h q u e l l d r e n ch , it th softer language of th East an South, ld crash. Co pare Englis seem to bea seriesof loud noises nd th violence of th languag is emphasisedin th techniqu that th Ol Englis poet employs. Here isa linefro S te a
s ta nl it ho -s ti g
(Steep stone-slopes
id-rbyme
n ea rw e path
narrow)
Th lineis divide into tw halves an eachhalfhas tw heav stresses Thre (sometimes four occasionally two) of th stresses of th hole lin ar ma~e even more emphatic by th us ofbead-rbyn«. Head-rhyme means makm words begin with thesamesound (this is sometimes called alliteration, but. alli.teratio really refers to word beginnin with th same letter, whic IS no al ay th sa thin as beginnin it th sa sound)..~lthough, sinc th or an Conquest os Englis :ers has traditionally use end-rqyme (o ordinary rhyme, aswe ma call It)this old h:ad-rhyme hasalwayshad som influence on Englis writers. In the twentiet centur som poets hav abandoned ordinary rhyme and reverte to th Ol Englis practice. Certainly th us of head-rhy seem~natural to Englis vers an it even play larg part in everyday En!Sl:shspeech: h a a n h ea r ; fa t a n me an de a s a f id d e ; a p i g 1II a p o k e , etc. etc. This modern reviva wa perhap starte byEzra Pound, an American wh translate th Ol Englis poem T h e S e a fa r e r Irvine.
Histor of English Literatllre Book I, by Emile Legouis, translate
J.
bv Helen Douglas
into
oder
English bu retained th techniqu Bitter breast-care K no w An
have
o n m y k ee l m an y
E n g li s
of th original
abided, c ar e
d ir e e a- su rg e a n t he r
l of t
ho d, p en t
N ar ro w n ig ht wa tc h n ig h t h s hi p' s h ea d Whil sh tosse clos to cliffs Coldly afflicted, M y f ee t w er e b y f ro s b en um be d C hi l i t c ha in s a re ; c ha fi n un nd Mere-wear mood ....
s ig h ng
be
hi us of ea -r in ld nglish erse hile it roduce an effectofviolence is als responsible fora certain inability to' cal spade' spade' Th need to findwords beginnin it th sa soun eans ofte that poet ha to callsom quit co on thin byan unco on name usuall name that he himsel invent fo hi immediat purpose. Thus th seabecome th swan's wa or th whale' road or th sail-path. Fog becomes theair-helmet, darkness thenight-helmet. The O~dEnglish language wa well fitted fo playin this sort of game becaus It normal ayof akin ne ords asto take tw ol ords an join them to gether Thus as ther asno or fo crucify, th form rod-fasten ha to bemade ea ing' to fixto tree'. he or vertebra ha no ye co into English, so ban-bring (bone-ring) ha to beusedinstead. lo ofOld Englis ords thus have th qualit of riddles- gues ha.tthi is'-:an it isnot surprisin that riddlin wa favourite Ol Englis pursuit. Indeed so of th lovelies of th shorte poem ar called riddles. Ther isone on bull's horn Th horn itself speaks tellin ho it once as th eapo of an ar ed arrior (the bull bu soon afterwards as transformed int cup its boso bein fille bya maiden adorne with rings' Finall it is born on horseback, an it swells it th ai from someon else's bosom. It ha become trumpet Th actual guessing essenc of riddle-s-is lessimportant than th fanciful descriptio of th object whos name of course is neve disclosed. It is time we examined piec of Ol Englis verse, an we cannot do better than take poem co pose by Caed on This poem is perhap the first piece of Christian literature to appear in Anglo-Sa..xo England, and itis especially notabl because, accordin to th Venerabl Bede it wa divinely inspired Caedmon, humble an unlearne man, tended th cattle of an abbe on th Yorkshir coast. On night, at feast, when song were called for, he stol ou quietly asha ed that he coul contri bute nothin to th amateu entertainment. He laydow in th cow-shed an slept In hi slee heheard avoic asking hi to sing 'I cannot sing,' he said 'and that's hy left th feas an ca here.' 'Nevertheless, said th sterio oice 'y shal in to e. 'W at sh ll sing?'
English Litera/lire
T b e F ir s
a sk e C ae d o n S in g t h S on g o f C re at io n, ' w a t h a ns we r he Caedmo sang th followin verses .verse he ha neve hear before Nu weseulanheria heofonriee weard, Metodesmihte an hi modgethone \'Veorewuldorfaeder, sw he wundra gehwaes, e e d ry ht e o r n st ea ld e ho
a r t h f ir s f ou r l in es , a n t he y c a b e t ra ns la te d a s f ol lo w ' N u s p ra is e t h G ua rd ia n o f t h e k in gd o o f h e av en , t h i gh t o f t h e at th in te er lo ca th li at isno co pletely foreig language. Certai word we still possess-and h is , h e , Iveh il e o th e o rd s h a e re l c ha ng e t he i f or m l it tl e T h s , nu has become non! (still/III in Scotland), mibte ha become !!light, tueorc ha be come w or e u / ha become s o , f a e de r ha become j at he r . H e of on ri c (heavenly kingdom) suggests bishopric, w hi c w e t il l u s t o d es cr ib e t h in e, le is li to th having been composed abou 670, ke year fo Englis literature h er e i s a g oo d d ea l o f O l d n gl is h v er se , s o d ea li n w it h a r l ik e The B a tt l o j M a ld on , w ho s h er oi c n ot e t il l r in g o ve r t h c en tu ri es : Though shallbe braver th heart bolder, Mightie th mood asour migh lessens. Ther isa larger body ofverse on Christia themes sometime beautiful, b u e ne ra ll y d ul le r t ha n t h p ag an , w ar ri o p oe ms . T he r a r t w g re a poems- TheSeajarerand The Wa/lderer-whose resigned melancholy (the lament of me withou fixe abode) an powerful descriptio of nature il th tr r hy th m R es ig ne d e la nc ho l i s c ha ra ct er i t i o f u c l d n gl is h s to r s ea , t h e d ri nk in g- ha ll , t h c re at io n o f t h e o rl d- w a lw ay s s ee m t o b e a wa r o f c er ta i u n e rc ur re n o f s ad ne s P er ha p t hi s i s a r ef le c li im eie an ap is somethin to do with th mere soun ofEnglis inits firs phase-heavyte th tr ay li an ag ik ta ia it li ad e ve n w or d b y t h s cr ib e i n t he i o na st er ie s- mo nk s a wa r t ha t t hi s w or l i s v an it y t ha t l if e i s s ho rt , t ha t t hi ng s p as s a wa y a n o nl y G o i s r ea l B u t h e ns e o f m el an ch ol y i s t h er e a l t h t i e , p a o f t h s tr an g h au nt in g u si c o f l d n gl i p oe tr y
E/~I!,!iJhLi/erfl/It,.,.
lr rL'I11;llnS a y s o e t i n o f l d n gl is h p ro se . B ef or e w e c a d o this in lv al t, th ct l ll !l is h a s r i s in gl e l an gu ag e b u i s- a w it h M od e n gl i h 1l1(:~d\'h name we give to g!'oup of dialects Thin of England, abou l~ in ce ed in t 'l lr rh u b ri a t h l on g t hi c e c o f t h c ou nt r M er ci a t h f a b od y \ '( 'e s e x t h f o t , s tr et ch in g f ro m t h h am e t o a nd ' nd t he s thn:e, Northumbri wa th centre of learning with it rich monasterie cral11ll1e with manuscript book boun in gold an ornamented with prL'citlusstones. Up to t h i dd l o f t h n in t c en tu ry , a l t h p oe tr y o f EIll!Ltn wa recorded in th Northumbrian dialect. Bu in thos days as am on o ul d t el l u s n ot hi n a s p er ma ne nt , a n t h n in t c en tu r ee th le th E n l an d T h a ne s i nv ad e n gl an d (The Battle o f M a ld o bit~t:rfigh agains th Danes) an sacked Northumbri asthe Goth ha a ck e R o e . h e o na st er ie s w er e l oo te d t h p re ci ou s b oo k w er e ripped to s ia ul >; ht er ed . o w e ss ex , t h k in gd o o t l tr e t h G re at , b ec a 1':Il~land's cultural centre. \ \' h 1 l Al fr e c a t o t h t hr on e o f \ Ve ss e h e w a n o h ap p a bo u f ou n t he re . T he r i s a e r i nt er es ti n l et te r h e the t ar e o f l ea rn in g pr()\'illg it th Dane were savaging th countr an Alfred's task wa to a ni s ie at ck it lo ed r ho uu h t h D an e o ul d b ec o m as te r o f E ng la nd , l fr e d ef ea te d lhen~""i series of decisive battle an then made treaty whic confined h ci r u l t o t h n or th . o w i n a p ea ce fu l k in gd om , h e b e ga n t o i mp ro v th ta io in le ti ac u ro re , t ra ns la ti n L at i b oo k i nt o e s a xo n ( o e s e x n gl is h p re se rv in g t h w ea lt h o f v er s w hi c h a l ef t i t o l h o i n N or th um b ri .t . S o n o t h d ia le c o f n gl i c ul tu r e ca m o ut he r o ne . A lf re d i s a n i m o rt an t f i u r i n t h h is to r o f n gl is h l it e a tu re . e· as is th is ie k ne w h o t o r it e g o c le a p ro se . l so , i t h el pe r h e t ra ns la te d much Lati into Englis (including th E c c le s i a s ti c a l H i s to r y of th Venerle it li ig ideas. Englis ha been mostly concerne with shee description: it h a t o l ea r h o t o e xp re s abstractions, An also becaus of hi concer For educatio anclbooks Alfred ma be said to have establishe th cont i u ou s c ul tu ra l t ra di ti o o f E ng la nd -e -d e p ir e t h f or ei g i nv a i on s h ic h w er e s ti l t o c o e . Fo u c o f t h l at e h is to r o f A ng lo -S ax o t i e s a r i nd eb te d t o at is Anglo-Saxon Chronicle-a r ec or d o f t h ai ap pening of th country, kept by monk in seve successive monasteries,
ld E/~~/i.,;'/,,.,,..
.1//;"('(/
22
Ellglish Literallir II 54, th le he en II ca t o t h t hr on e h i i s t h f ir s i st o e r a ni c e op le , i n o m w a t h f i s t n e p ap e c er ta in l t h o s s ol i a n i nt er e t i i ec e o f l d n gl i ro p os se s in it we eeOld Englis moving steadily toward Middle English, that transitional lanin to
C hr i t ia n e ra . I t e nd s
it
t h i mp a s i n e
ro
of an
rc bi ho
Co JJ go
No ma
of
iindeed itwas th end, no ofthe worl bu ofAnglo-Saxon England. Th Dane over-ran th whol countr and, afte only brie moment ofindependence th Anglo-Saxons were to know an even greate servitude. In 1 0 6 , th e o r a n c a o ve r t o a k n gl an d t he ir s t o c ha n t h o l ay l if e a n a ls o t h l an gu ag e H ea vy - o ot e ld g li s w a t o e sunnie lands-th of history.
Th
riches an most variou literary medium in th whol
i\llrm'ln' rncu o rt h- ma n ' . h e o r a n e re , i n t a ct , o f t h a m hi,,,"I as till Danes, bu they ha thoroughly absorbed th cultur of th l.uc .m.m Empire ha been long Christianised an spok that offshoot wc () l . u r i n ir ITn' .Iilkren St:1of tradition from thos of th countr they conquered. Y " l I 111.1 I' slim it up by saying that th Norman wa of lifelooked south11111"1 nls th \1editc ranean toward th sun, toward wine an laughter whi!,: h c , \n gl o- Sa xo n a y o f l if e l oo ke d t o a rd s t h g re y o rt he r Sl'; IS l!;rilll,heavy, melancholy, humourless. "'{JI' that th conquering Norman were irresponsibl or inefficien ('l lI,r1ilil's which, wrongly, people ofte associ~t wi_t th southern r .i c v ) . \ \' il li a t h C o q ue ro r ad t ho ro u o b o r r ak lI 1g o ve r t h ( () lI nl n' , a n a d e ve ry th i e at l i nv en t r ie d- do w ro th nu be triuhrcninu
riti 11" in'Enabn isa caralovu of th king's property fo \Villiam sa himself :IS t h w ne r o f t h c ou nt rv . n e t h l a a n e ve ry th i ill hu grante land to th nobles wh ha helped hi achiev hi con'IUl'SI,an so se up that feudal system whic wa to transfor nglish l if e I :t :u da li s ay t ho u h t o f a s a s o o f p yr a i d i t t h k in g a t i m i n l o e r a n l o e r d eg re e o f t h a pe x a n s oc ie t r an ge d b el o rank tillat th base vo have th hu bles orde ofmen tiedto working ts th characteristic offeudalis wa responsibility workin tw ways u p a n d o n . h e b ar on s e r r e p o s i l e t o t h k in g b u t h i n a d pvr.imid.
\X'iththe coming of th Normans, thei laws thei castles, thei know position ofabjectnes whic killed thei cultur an made thei language despised thing. Old Allglo-Saxon is th blgt: of th ar of war, th Anglo-Saxons sank to
-J
24
Englis
Literature
The Comill of the Normans
Chronicle tick awayand with th co mo
people th ol poem ar stil
half-remembered) and, to take th plac of ld Englis literature th or an produc little of value. But, of course th or an re em bere th literature theyshare it uc of th rest of France an itis th alitie of ld re ch literature ic ar to ap ea in la later, hen, in fact th countr ha recovere from th shoc of change
ld Ellglish Literature
south. ca only give here very genera impression of th ol French literature It themes like th themes of ld Englis literature er ofte arlike asin th grea SOllgof Roland, but, if on aytak etaphor from th cine a, ld Englis vers is in blac an hite French literature incolour. ld Englis vers isdrenche in ist, greyand grim whil French literature is drenched in sunlight In th Song of Roland we se th silver ofthe ar our, th bright re ofthe spil blood, th blue of th sk ar teri ti rd in th et ra ce is eg is points out, "clere '- le rth gh th auth is lway awar of th clarit goes th lighte elod of end-rh e. French oreover, is light-footed language lackin th heav ha erstroke of Ol and, fo that atter, oder English. To th nglo-Saxon French us have appeared feminine language, softer and gayer tha their ow masculin tongue Bu ou of th mingling of feminine an asculine as to co marrIage.
rman in land rote literature ic as it er on thin no th other-neithe true Englis literature no true French literature Living in England, they were cu offfro French culture, an th kind of French they used lost it purity it flexibilit -something that al ay happen to language he it is exported to foreig land an ha no opportunit fo refreshing itself throug frequent contacts it th other-countr Th nglo-Saxon ho trie to us th languag ofth conquero er no very skilful. nd so Latin-rather than lo co promise. In th twelft an thirteenth centurie find song an historie inLatin so ofthe latter thro in good deal oflight on th il,fythology
changing mythology of England Bya tholog ea body of beliefs-no necessaril base on true happenings or true historical characters-which touc th imagination ra an e, inspir it literatu an so etim it haviour, an provid kind of romantic glamou to colour th dullness of everyday life In ou ow ag find many of ou yths in film-stars or popula singer or even strip-cartoo characters Thes th ar bigger than life they ar id ay betwee gods an en they are, in th ol
Gree
sense, heroic
religion does no provid
ythica figure
whde II "ill .rlive as long aswe believ in th religion it grea name He dl\-Ille-lik Christ or Krishna-or linked it divinity like oi"lmed Bu he religion dies isno longer seriousl believed in then It ril!;ure ca beco part of tholog Thus th ol Gree gods bel<)~l! European mytholog still, an so do th ol Gree warriors ho ~ained so uc of thei strength an skil from th gods-Aga em~on, Ulysses, eneas, an so on Thes heroic figure bega to ;tppearin th Lati writing of Englan afte th or an Conquest an ho wa presente in 50 di Brutus (the legendar grandson ofAeneas) Geoffrey01 :-'!nnmouth's Histor of th Briton (written abou 140)as the father 01 the British race. (This work wa translate int French byWace, and his translation wa translated-about zoo-into Englis byLaya.a n' or is in erse an it is lled afte th thical founde of th British, quit simply Bmt.) But-an this is interestingemerge in th figure of ;t fa greate hero than an of Greece or Ro King Arthur This isinterestin an curiou becaus rthu belong to th rh lo ra e-th el tr rito s-th th lo ns ro la an th th or s, in adin th ir rder stru it av ist. \v this re interest in th sh.ulowv Britis king an hi Knight of th Roun Table? ell, Geoffreyof :\I
(Latin bein
th parent tongue of French),
Kin .Artbn
26
Englis
Literatur
The Coming
so that
ha is in fact quit good Englis
ca soun
wi enough to keepit sweet.' Th second isnearl p~re Ol English; the firs is ixture of French an Latin. Th date which ou ca keep In mind asmarking th beginnin of th Normans' interest inthe langu~ge of th conquere is 204,whe or andy as lost an th connection of th ormans with th Continen wa severed. Ther isplenty to sayabout th literature writte in iddle.Englishth la guag tr nsitio -b t, as ou ar ot at pr se likely to be interested in readin anything writte between, say, 200and 340(th year of Chaucer's birth) shal erel stat very briefl what on ne~d to know abou th riters ho pave th ay fo th firs grea Engils Ther asa good dealof religiou riting-works like th Ort/llIll1m, translatio of so of th Go pels re at ass, de th nk rmabou zoo. Ther is th .Ancrene Rilvle-advic give bya priest to thre reliziou ladies living no in conven bu in little hous near ture of England, ther isan awarenes of oman aswo an-a creat~re to be treate courteousl an delicately in gentle language Ther ISa co ecti er it th devotion to th lessed irgi th hrist, cult hich th rman ro gh ver, practise them in prayer an ho ag even he it as forbidde by Ro ~. Chiv.alry, whic demanded devotion to omankind al os amountin to worship is anothe yt of ol Europe killed finall by Cervante in hi satire DonQtlixote, written in Shakespeare's time. There isa curiou boo written abou 30o- translatio from th French spoken inEngland by Robert annyng called Handlyng Syn11e settin ou in vers storie th variou path of sin-satirical, amusing, aswel as edifying Ther is the Pricke of Conscience probably ritten by ichard Roll abou 340, hich deal with th pain ofhel in horrifying detail-the da ne souls, tortured by thirst findin that fire il no quench it suck instea th head of poisonou snakes Demons yell, strike with red-ho hammers, while thei victim shed tear of fire nauseate by unspeakabl filthand smell of an indescribabl foulness. Middle English non-religious ]vriting
2'"
strang an even
absurd to th Englis ear. Dr Johnson, in th eighteenth century: s~ok of certai play sa ing: 'I ha insufficient vitality to preserve Itfrom putrefaction. He coul havesaid an actually di sayearlier: 'I ha no
Middle English Religiolls writing
the Normans
th non-religiou orks in iddl English, on ca poin firs to certai lyrics ritten it grea delicacy an skill, bu signed by no na e, hich stil have po er to enchan us an still, in fact ar sung This is know everywhere together with it delightfu tune
L hu d
s in g c uc cu !
Sing cuccu!
There is love poetry lik th fineson Alison (a co mo inthe \[iddl ges) hich ha th refrain:
nt
yh on
namefor girl
so n.
ma translate thi as follows: By
F ro ." n a l
There arcpatriotic songs, carols for Christmas and Easter eve political songs. Longer poem ar The Olv an the Nightingale-th stor of disput et ee th tw bird to ic as th f ine song Pearl-a long lamentin very ornamental language on th deat of chil an vision ofthe heaven to hich sh ha gone Containe in th samemanuscrip as Pear! (and belongin with it to th middle of th fourteenth century) isa remarkable work writte in th Lancashire dialec calledSi Galveryn yths ofthe Roun Tabl {lffr! the Green Knight. This takes its talefrom th an tell of th knight Gawain an hi curious encounte with th Gree Knight of th title, gian ho having ha hi head cu offby Ga ain, calmlypick it up tuck it unde hi ar an alks off.But hehad made acompact that afte ea he should delive return blow at th Gree Chapelwhere Gawain undertake to meet him On the wa there Gawain staysat castleand is subjected to variou temptations by thelord's wife. li resist them bu he th lord of th castleprove to be th Gree Knight Ga ai conceals from hi th girdle ofinvulnerability th lady ha give hi Th Gree Knight ha hi self planne th temptations, an becauseof th on deceptio Si Gawain isgiven blowwhich however only slightly wounds him, hi meri in resistin th ai tempta tion bein sufficient to save hi from receivin fata blow Th poem is ritten (appropriately enough in head-rhy e, in language hich shows little Norman influence but is nevertheless notable for lightness oftouch, certain humour an grea powe of description th othe orks of th fourteenth centur we must mentio very stra book of travel ritten certai 'Sir John andeville' probably the nam is fictitious Th rite seem to have been fond of
Longer Middle English poo»:
28
Th
C om in g o j h e N or ma n hi ow book fo apparently he rote it in Lati first, then in French finall in English. It isan interestin book in an ays, an seem to have been popula one, fo it as copied ou agai an agai (printin ha no ye been invented an in th Britis useu ther are, at this day, twenty or so anuscrip copies of it andevill introduces grea nu be of French ords into hi English- ords hich have no be come commo coinage, suc is cause and quantity. record of travel in th East it isa ludicrou ork; ther ar fantasti tale of cannibal an en it only on foot-a larg on whic they us to shield themselves fr th n-do -hea ed en nd th st incr ible onst rs evertheless, it fe th hunger fo knowledg of strang lands, andliving in orld hose ever corner is known-on rather envies th thrill andeville' reader us have derive from arvellin at th strangenes of th foreig part so fe coul visit. Th Englis isquite intelligible to us usli reader ay be interested in th followin transliteratio
of th Prophet'
achamete tha wente
P i er s P l ow m a n
na e:
as born in Arabye that
as
pore knav
that kept carnelcs
with mnrchantes for marchandise.
Finall must mention William Langland (1332-1400), the las write of an erit to us th ld Englis techniqu of head-rhyme fo a,long poem. T h V i o n o j P ie r P lo wm a attack th abuses of th Christia Church in England, bu alsocall upon th ordinary people-the tuty to ceasetheir concer with th things of this worl an to follow th only thin rt foll in -' ly ruth'. loug an ho gi hi name to th poem appear before the' fiel full of folk whi: repres.ent th orld an show themthe wa to salvation. Th poemIS allegoncal; that isto say,asin John Bunyan's P i lg r im ' P r og r e ss , we meet figure with na es like Covetousness Gluttony Theology and, like that late or also th tory is th of il ri agefoll in of th ar road to salvation. P i e r s P I O J I l J J la nho ever to ofte anders from th way, th , story becomes shapeless, but the author's dramatic powe isconsiderable an hi vers ha beauty-a el as vigour-perhaps only atched by tha greate poet, GeoffreyChaucer, wh use vastly differenttechniqu from Langland Chauce look forwar to th future hile Langland in an ays, su up th past Th future lies it regula rh e-patterns French stanza-forms, classicallearning wit, and colour Th past,_ ith it head-rhy e, it formlessness it concer with si an itslov ot sermon nevertheless ha perfec swan-son in Langland's poem This usic ha haunte al os from childhood: In
sorner seson,
he
soft
shop mein shroudes asI
as th sunne, shepherd
ere;
In habire as an hermite unholy of werkes en
id in this
orlde, wonder
to here
Chat/cer an Afte
GeotfreyChauce live in an eventful age. He as born so we believe, he th Hundre Years' ar it France ha in HO or thereabouts, nlreadybegun Three timesin hislifetheplagu known asthe BlackDeath 5m te'the countr he he as in hi twenties th Englis language as established, fo th firs ti e, as th language of th la -courts. he he as in hi latethirties th oung an unfortunat ichard IIscendedthe throne, to be depose and murdered yearbefore Chaucer' deat bv olingbroke th rebe ho beca Henr IV In 1381 there came the Peasants Revolt an ith it recognitio that th labourer linddigger ha hu an rights quite as uc as th iddl clas an th nobility Chaucer died in 1400, abou forty years before reall importan even in ou literar history-th inventio of printing Chaucerbelonge to tha growing classfromwhich in thecenturie to follow so manygreat riters sprang He as no peasant, no priest no allaristocrat, bu th so ofa anengaged in trade: hi father asa in erchant. Bu youn Geoffrey as to lear lo abou th aristocracythrough becoming page to th Countess of Ulster Promotio an foreig servic as youn soldie (h as take prisoner in France bu ralls()tnc:dbv the Kin of England himself), marriag int the family of th grea John of Gaunt, th opportunit to observ polite anners to study th sciences an th arts th literature of France an Italy-al thes ha thei part to play in making Chauce on of th best-equippe te r, in si al ar an th abilit to tell st ry-h ul {heyoun poet fail Chaucer' achievements are many First, despit his knowledge of the 'politcr' languages of the Continent, he patrioticall confined himsel to usin th East idland dialec of Englis that wa spoken in London li foun this dialec no at al rich in ords an co pletel lackin in he coul learn. In sense, he ha to ; 1 1 1 importan literature from whic know toda an to establis it literary crrat» th Englis language traditions To do this he ha to turn chiefl to th literature of France an brin somethin of it elegance to East idland English; he ha to 29
C ha nc e
an
After
-k [ill:.IM 'I'L 111 1 1 1 ' m;lSterpiece
I1n.
ar
'C
litcrature
be Callter!;lIlJ' Ing it
sornet
Tales servation ot ore-o r e a l ( no t J u abstrac-
lived,
hie _ t
lC
c ep ti c s m
p a s lo n
an
In
l ov e ,u
ar C ha uc c
Sth i s a ls o m od er n
Cbancers
,fo
In
!aIlJ!,lI{(~I'
rime. At least it /ookJ like it; to listen to i t i s s ti l o r : il !1 1t l n gu e th on
wa
oo
t o it
at itand li te
is perhaps
it.
really to aprre;iate
ng
nl
be
tdler
_)
\\
ri
no
An
I i, \
P ea sa nt s R ao l
as out-cast
od
_,
to
is a tt e t e
r'
I:llr
[ ro v F ro is sa nr » C br on ic te s
he
ud
ol
o rn an i e d e'
Maay
h in e e , o r
r du . I t i s v er y i mp or ta n
Th a n t ha t
p ri ll e
it
hi
h ou re s
te ro
b at he d
alibI' lillie
Cbancer'» /,ir!h
oj
Chancer
Try '! ~J/I'J):
Psaltrr prodflce
n um be r
r on un ci a ri o
qualir f o t ha t r n. u t cr , JIll iu 10 .c
Par oj"Ibe Lfllln)1
by th
hi
v er y
v er t
e yn e i n
n g n dr e
ic
ic ur
is he fl ur
Callterbllry
ElIg!i.rh Litrratnr
Chauce and /'1fte W ha n Z ep hi ru s c e w it h h i s wc r b re et h I n p ir e h at h i n e v r y h ol t a n h ee t T h e nd r c ro pp e a n t h o ng e o nn e H at h i n t h R a h i h al f c ou r y -r on ne , An srnale Fowles rnaken melodic, T ha t s le pe r t h n ig h i t o pe n e , ( S p ri ke t h e n at ur e i n h i c or ag es )
d if fe re nc e b et we e C ha uc e ' s n gl i a n o u w n c a b e s ee n clearl enough from this extract, an they will strike yo asnot verv im portant. Fo instance plural verb have an ending (-en whic presentay lo ' l n ge n I n t ea d o f t he m C ha uc e s es ' h e f ro m h ic h g t: t t h in em'. th an n gl i an fr th i bl e ' Y - r n n ' , i t i t p re fi x y - i s f a r c l( ) t : to Middle High German or to Dutc than topresent-day English: Middle ig e r a n f o i n t an ce , g iv e u sgerllllllfll and gelvll11l1e11 w on ' w he n t he s w or d a r u se d a s p as t p a t ic ip le s C ha uc e ' s h i h a become thei '. But, fo th rest hi language issubstantially th same as o u o wn , a n a r j us ti fi e i n c al li n h i t h f ir s o e t o u s i \f od e English. e, ar er li i pt i f o g e t ha t a r r ea di n oe h o l iv e s i h u d re d y ea r a go . a k this fo instance from th Nun' Priest's Tale Th cock Chaunteclecr ha been carrie of by fox, an genera hullabaloo follows: ..
O u a t d ar e t er re n t he y a no o n d e n t h f o t o a r t h g ro v up
T h g ee s f o f er e f lo we n o ve r t h t re e ut be
w if t e s i s s o e t i n
ne
i n n gl i
Ile
s h p il gr i t el l v er s s to r t er ri bl y d ul l t ha t a rr y inthe middle ofit. Then Chaucer-th grea poet-tells 1\ prli.i"1" stt irv hardly less dull (This, think, is th firs exampl in litera t ur e h . p ec ul ia r n gl i hu ou h ic h t ak e k ee n e li g i n e lf d er is i n . I t i s a k in d o f h u u r h ic h y o f in d a t i t b e i n t h B ri ti s arruy, with it song about' W/ecanno fight, wecanno shoot' an it cr e' lake himsel very seriously. Th othe tale ar delightful an varied (he:
h e r an n s o h e h ou gh t h i h er t b re ke . T he y y el le de n a s f ee nd e d oo n i n h el le ; T h d uc ke s r yd e a s e n w ol d h e q ue ll e
an
cl
B;lilcy stop hi
a n c o a n c al f a n e k t h v er y h og ge s e r t he y f er e f o b er k n g o f t h d og ge s
i go u
1"II't
Itself. Pilgri ages were as much part of Christia life in Chaucer' time as they a r t od a o f u sl i a n H in d l if e h e s pr in g c a e , w he n t h ~r10W a n f ro s a n l at er , t h l oo d h a l ef t t h o ad s o f n gl an d a n m.ttle them safe fo traffi again, then people from al classe of societ o ul d n uk e t ri p t o h ol y p la ce s O n o f t h h ol y t o n s n gl an d w a Cl!ltcrhury, where Thoma Becket, the' blissful holy martyr murdered in th reig t) Henr 11 ha hi resting-place. It a s c o v en ie n f o t he s p il gr i t o t ra ve l i n c o p an ie s h av in g u su al l e t e ac h t he r a t gOt\1C s uc h t ;t rt in g- po in t a s t h a ba r I n a t o ut h a r n do n lh occasitlll of th immortal pilgrimage of Tbe Canterbtiry T a l e s , Harry Bailey,the landlord of th Tabard making th pilgrimage himself, offers II f re e s up pe r t o h ic he ve r o f t h p il gr i s ha l t el l t h b e s to r o n t h I on),'; road to a nt er bu ry . n ev e i n o u h o i t i s t h a i n t h l an d hi
g oo n
A n c ry de n ' Ou t H ar ro w a n W ey la wa y he x! A n e k i t s ta ve s m an y a no th e m an ; o ll e o u d og ge , a n a lb ot , a n G er la nd , A n M al ki n w it h d i t a i n h i h an d
ha
,.,".'11'1'
t 1 .. ,
T ha n l on ge n f ol k t o g oo n o n p il gr im ag es .
Chancers realis
'/;do:work, bu stil unfinished_a Chauce,r's lva ne Idea partly an ol one. Collection orshort stones ~';I~l ee I,,'p ~,b fo ,lon time on th ~ontinent,(an~ also in Islam, as rhc ,.!rdhidll ,'\I.gb/,f remind us). Chauce aster):Jl~ceISn ~ore than collcctit >1 o f s to ne s a n v er y e w o f t he m a r o ri gi na l h a I So n ay of lonkin at Tb C a f lt e rh l lF ] 1 T a l e s Bu what ha neve been done before was to rakt:a colle~tio of huma beings-o al temperame,nt an social ~ it in n - an d i ng l t he m t og et he r a k t he m t el l t on es , a n ak thes storit: illustrat thei ow aracters Chaucer' work sparkles with dr;ln an li cl ~I'eakint:and hi ow p~lloso~hy an th result,l no only ~picture of es th ld '/
p oe t y .
p nt hc ri c t al e o f t h r io re ss , t h r o a nt i t al e t h K ni gh t a n a l t h rest them Th Prologue to th Tale is marvellous portrait-gallery t yp ic : p eo pl e o f t h a ge -t h c or ru p l on k t h a i t y P ri or es s t h es exise, tl have Summoner an Maunciples an Pardoner nowadays though we dn have Physicians an Parson an Cooks. But, beneat th costumes an th strang occupations, we have timeless huma beings Ther ar
i,'
II
E ng li s
no ghosts in Chaucer; his work palpitates with blood, it is as warm as living flesh. Th next greatest work of Chauce is T r oi ln s a n d C r is e yd e ,
r oi lu s a n d Criseyde
Love-poems
C h a uc e r a n d A ft e r
:I
i te ra tu r
\V
nz ofScotlan
love-son of his,
bu becaus he wa
love-story
ta en fr th n al s o f t h r oj a ar ar ic r ov i European writer with innumerabl myths. Shakespear also told th bitter tal of these tw wartime lovers Chaucer's version, with its moral of th faithlessnes ofwomen isnot only tragic bu also full ofhumour, andits psychology isso startlingly moder tha it reads in som wayslike modern novel. Indeed it ca be called th firs full-lengt piec of Englis fiction. Of Chaucer's othe long work will sa nothing. With some of them afte making good start, he seem suddenly to have be come bore an left them unfinished Bu we must no ignore hi shor love-poe s, writte in French forms, extollin th beauty of so mythical fair one, full of th convention of courtl love whic exaggerated devotion to woma almost into religion
true poet Here is part ofa
joytul welcom to th spring th th
Awa
th
is
li
ll to h i
m er c
ll
An later came Robert Henryson (1425-1500) to sing in th dialec of theScottis lowlands, and William Dunba (1465-1520) to brin rich nessoftexture that is likea return to pre-Chaucerian days asin hi poem inprais of th City of London G em m
o f a l j oy , j as pr e
j o n di ti e
th Of ro al
But, even in th seriou worl
E mp r
of love Chaucer's humour peep out:
'leoltish
Iiterature
es
nd
p ar ad y
r af l u r
ex lt in on ur ir
p re ce ll in g
ll
i n p le as ur e
to
Chauce opened th ay to ne ag ofliterature, bu it wa long ti e fo r po g re a a s h e to al t o u il d is foundations. Th yea 1400 should think, ushe in grea century, bu itdoe not. Chauce seem tohav beenin advanc ofhistime, neve full appreciate even by th me wh called themselves hi disciples. And, unfortunatel for Chaucer's work, big changes began to tak place in Englis pronunciation, change whic quit swiftl brough some thin likethepronunciation ofour ow times. Th final' e' ofwords like 'sonne' and' sote wa no longer sounded. Henceforward people coul fin no rhythm in Chaucer's carefully-wrough lines; the regarded him asa crud poet-pro isin bu primitive-an he as classe it dull me likeGower an Occlev an Lydgate, me wh wer~member no only becaus they catc so ething of th grea ligh hich blazes on thei master In Shakespeare' time certainly, Chauce wa no much esteemed, and hundred years after Shakespeare poets thought it necess ar y t o t ra ns l t e u c r , p ol i u p h i c r i ti es ' a n ak im fi readin fo 'civilised' age. nl in Scotland di so ething of th hauceria fire stil burn in poet like Kin Jame
ro
to
ti S we e
n e e r t hi n
i ti e
(1394-1437)
whom we read no
no becaus he
Gavin Douglas (1475 ?-1 522?) is anothe interestin Scot whos im portan achievemen wa translatio of Virgi~'s Aeneid into c~uplets. Bu Dougla seem to push th language back Into th past agaIn-we have to struggle it learne words, obscur dialec ords ords seemingl invented by Douglas himself, ar:dwe fee weare w.orldaway from th clarit of haucer Bu translatio as to play an Importan part in th developmen of Modern Englis literature a.ndDouglas-:despit the limitations of his language-did honourable pIOneerwor In thi field. Th only considerable poet that England-as oppose to Scotland seem to have produced in th fifteent centur is Joh Skelto (1460?long period ofneglect cameinto hi ow agai i? th 15 9) who, afte twentiet century. It wa Robert Graves th modern poet wh pointe ou hi virtue an allo ed thes virtue to influenc hi ow ork. modern Britis co poser, Ralp aughan illiams, se five of hi poem to usic an introduced to er usic-lover th hu ~u~, pathos an fantasti spirit of this strang writer 'Strange becaus IS hard to classifyhim: heseem to ow nothin to Chauce no to anybod else He is fond of shor line loos rhyme-pattern, an th si ples of words:
Skeltoll
pJ
English Literatur .Sir Patric Spens i s t h b es t s ai lo r That ever s;lil' th sea,
Merry Margaret, A s m id su mm e f lo we r Gentl as falcon
t!'I
of With solace an
Sl.lf1ll'11
gladness,
(r,(.,
M uc h m ir t a n n o m ad ne s A l g oo d a n n o b ad ne ss ; So joyously, So maidenly, So womanly Her demeaning
lUI').
\1 '/
le
t:
,/1(,.
..
c a i nd it e
A lo n
S.I:
rdb c r ( ) .I
pi ur
un
om
,f
still
I'
\( IS
such
;I
Wt
1\\
the
.
un.m
o ut si d
th
m ai n c ur re n
o f E ng li s
i te ra tu re -t h
. I
1l11Il
:IS
he ha
ov
dy
w il l o u a ke , a n
Ballad.
,\nd
l th e
S()
In t.:OIIl
ro
t ac h m ak e
A s s ho rt l vo
as
c an :
An no
b an is he d m an .
on
of he ge
he
of
qu
tell us Se)
of nt re
c an n» : p r( )p er l was bewildered
Spells
T h k in g s it s i n D un fe rm l n e D ri nk in g t h b lu de -r e ha
t ow n
os ha
w in e
ge
T o a i t hi s n e
hi
mine?' 11\00ll:y
u p a n s pa k a n l de r k ni gh t a t a t t h k in g' s r ig h k ne e
11l:1IIS
ou
b e c la ss e
Ct prose
nt
a s i te ra tu re .
dl gl hi
Pas/oil ~et/e~'s-whlch ge \ \, i l ,i a . Ca ,x to n ( 14 2. .1 -9 1 r ea 1 1 1 5 p nn t. lO g- pr es ~ I n 1 47 6 h e dd
to
10
Si Patric
nt
ll!t
~'CI'Sl'.
fr
t}
Sp
.
Speak, Parrot
Ballads
s . ie I S unmov c.s -[ . h IS compan). in
icr
he purl'tlSC, ve
- ri l a r ie l h a r ds h ip s t11LIChha
lovcs
A s m id su mm e f lo we r Gentl as falcon ge
or
to
ru
\ \' he re f" r a di eu , m in e o w h ea r t ru e N C In eo th e r ed e c an : ['Clr m us t to t h g re en .w oo d g o A lo ne , b an is he d m an ,
O r s uf fi c t o w ri t Of Merr Margaret
me
Ibe Nm-bron» ig a n e ne m kille
-inu
;1I1t
I n e ve r t hi ng , Far, fa passing T ha t
O : ,I or d B oo k o ] El/c~/ish
be o n LT c la i can c er ta in l
cc
Ll
whIt
r.lnn(lc must
r h cs e b a ll a d
t'
lest
\IOIst(}
os
nd ha ne
ng ge ot
be om
xe
ng d,
pl ry
jJ
Englis
Literatllre pn)_ \~asmos interes.te .inproducin book of prose. An so he ha v id e o s o f t hi s h i e lf , u su al l t ra ns la ti n f ro m F re nc h r o a nC l: S s ti ~u la ti n a n s at is fy in g a n a pp et it e f o t or ie s i n s ma l a y a nt ic i ch ic ll l: da i ll io n w o d s o f p ro s t o n e w or d o f o et ry . u t o n i ~p or ta n p r~ se - r it e i d e me rg e I n 1 48 4 C a xr o p ri nt e the Marte Arthllr of SI Tbomas Alalory. Malory's is th fulles record th ca ig t he i l ov es , t .r ea c e ri e t he i e ar c f o t h ol r ai l a lo r h a e co m u r a i o u~ c f o t h A rt hu ri a l eg en ds , a n i t i s s at is fy in g t o k no w that thes stones ar se ou in prose-styl that though simple isdiu-ni_ fied an clear.! io pe~iod with it ne spirit of enquiry, it sens of bigger worl than th M id dl e A ge s c ou l p ro vi de , o u f ir s i mp or ta n p ri nt e o r i n p ro s
T h E ng l
t()
Alalory
h is to r
r at he r t ha n t o t h f ut ur e
f if t e nt h- ce nt ur y l ib ra r
I n 1933 ~ n
it ?a
a nu sc ri p b ee n
o f M al or y' s
u bl is he d
by t. li rt
r na nu sc ri pr s
of hi
a ut ho rs .
or
wa
f or d
i sc ov er e U ni ve rs it y
i n W in c e st e P re ss . re
C fl il e
c or np ar is .n to
it
' fl f th
Interlude
Bi
usconside very briefl book whos influenc on Englis writing, ch an ti )rimaril literature-I ISth sacred book of Christianitv-e-bur recently ~Icr h:l~been growin tendency to appreciate th Bibl fo it artistic li es :~ ly grea writers. ~\hatever ou relIgIOUSbe~lefs If we WIshto have full appreciation or th developmen of Englis literature we .cannot.affor. el e ra r ulmost to grea to be measured Th Bibl isa composit book consisting of tw main sections-the ld T e t a e n a n t h N e Ol e st a e nt , r ig i a ll y w ri tt e mainly in Hebrew is collection of poems, plays, proverbs prophecy I'hilosophy. history, theology-a massiv anthology.o~ th wri~ings ?f t h a nc ie n e wi s p eo pl e h e e w T e t a e nt , o ri gi na ll y w nt te n I n Greek. contains th Gospels an the stor of th spreadin ofChristianit by it firs propagandists. In addition ther ar certai od book whos origins, particularl from th religiou viewpoint, ar obscure. Thes ar g en er al l k no w a s t h Apocrypha.' P re se nt -d a ew an u sl i ~h;lreth Ol Testamen with Christians-the Ol Testamen provides thre differen religion with somethin in common Sinc th sixteent century, Christianity in Wester Europe ha been divide into tw main bodies: th internationa Catholic Church an th national Protestant Churches Th Catholic Church ha always insisted t ha t t h o r o f o d i s e n h ri ne d w it hi n t h h ur c i t e l a s C hr i t ' ek h e t er m i s m or e g e e ra ll y th
ta
T es ta me n
: \p oc ry ph a
I \p oc ry p
g iv es , o r
on"
r es ur re ct io n
of
t o t h a d i ti o
in
c on si st s u rp or t h ri st ,
a p l ie d
o f h i st or ic a t o g iv e
t c T he s
to th
ld
e st a e nt ,
t he ' s us pe ct '
'N an
f ur th e er
p hi lo so ph ic a et il
a dd e
39
w ri ti ng s
of th
fo th
l iv e
Th
of th
s t p ar t b et we e
Ne
T es ta me n
p os tl es , t)
an
th )0
i rt h A.
he E/~!', li.rb 13i/!/
,11'11i.;wr\,o earl Protestantis is also th histor of making 'c·,·s.;ibleto everyone, translating It Into th vernacula tongues 1C the le le ed ca ea it lIO ~ I :~ ia e\ 'a l u ro p k ne w t h B ib l i n L at in . a rt s o f t hi s a ti n B ib l ~ ce n t ra n l at e i nt o O l E ng li sh -e it he r a s ' cr ib s w ri tt e o ve r t h w or d t he ms el ve s o r i n t h f or m o f v e r f re e v er s t ra ns la ti on s I t no unti th fourteenth centur that pros translatio ofpar of th am as in id ch abou such translations they were tolerate in th hand of monk whos Lati wa poor or non-existent bu considered dangerou a d n va il ab l t o t h c om mo n p eo pl e h y d an ge ro u C hi ef l t he r w a a lw ay s t h p os si bi li t t ha t r ea de r i gh t i nt er pr e o f t h B ib l i n h i s o w n a y a s o pp os e t o t h w a o f t h e C hu rc h o r r eg ar d t h s ac re d t ex t a s a g re at e a ut ho ri t t ha n t h o rd s o f t h t s a n d b i h op s A n s o b ef or e t h R ef or ma ti on , t ra n l at io n er th most part made agains th wishes of th Church authorities. John \Vycli (1324- 4) as le an ab in C hu rc h o f h i t i a n w an te d to r ef or m t he m H e a ls o w an te d t h in th srrcet to h av e a cc es s t o t h B ib le , a n to h i w e o w t h f ir s / ed o n o k no w w he th e h e h i m e l d i a n o f t h e plctc r an sl at io n th am er ed 80. lowers to ce tr at am ts in ut ey ca lo te ea te i se d B ib le , a ki n i t n gl is h m or e n at ur a a n f lo wi ng , m or e l ik e yclif s po ke n n gl i o f t h t i e . h i B ib l w a w id el y r ea d "But in 1408 itwas laid down by th authoritie that an ma attempting tr te th e- it io as to ishe with excommunication, that is to s ay , i t b ei n d ep ri ve d o f IIll1cll1lll:rshipof the Church Thus William Tyndale (1484-15,6) had defy an ecclesiastical ba in orde to star hi translation. Admittedly a sk e p er mi s i o o f t h B is ho p o f L on do n b u t hi s p er mi ss io n w a grantt.:d,leaving Tyndal with no alternativ bu to go overseas an hi work ina countr wher no ba on translatio of th Bibl existed. n da l t ra n l at e t h N e e st a e n f ro m t h r ee k a n t ar te d to th au ti 1525. v c a n s o h e f le d t o o rm s ( al s i n G er ma ny ) h er e h e w a a bl e th ew a n l at i is im ta in 11 later translations. lc lo or a n i n 15,5 la io th e st a e n ( st ra ig h f ro m t h H eb re w w a n o y e c o p le te d S o i le s C ov er da l r u h e i n w i t h i o w f ul l v er si o ( ow in g m uc h t o y nd al e A nd al s t o t h G er ma n B ib le ) I t i s h ar d t o a pp re ci at e t od a t h s to rm s whic thes translations aroused. When Coverdal wa revising an re
-I'
50
I'
BIBLIA i6,cbc
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b~{n6cripcurc ~f
tully
faicf)-
~ n c ru l a n( la tc b ~ D o f i Do ud J a n J !. .a c~ r
i n c o I 1 :n g h f l7 e .
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praiefol 11S,C94t:cgcrtlOtbe
of<5ob maie 9aue fr paffage,4nl> be g[orijittl.~,r.
a.paul «01. !IT. Le ci}e It!olbc ofl!:l}liflblt!dlin 'You p ( c n t c Q u l 1 yin alllt!'ffilJQIm~c;1. J !. .e t n o
J Q l U t r.
t i} e b ¢~ e o f t i i s la
(lPCof t9 manti), but ererqfe ci)trinlJa'l't a n ' O "igi)te~cf.
Tit//' p a g e o f j ir .r t p r in te d E ng li s
B ib le .
btpartt
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T,)'I/dal"
T h e E l1 g li s B i/ J! i 42
E ng l
th
1538,
h ee t
er
c on fi sc at e
an
m an y
Refo-,
'o\,ou~I\' In
demned
to
rt
us In
1604
-st
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Authorised 'Version
-I,'
Literatllre
.'
t:..
Untortun homelines I' lous rrera
tur h tc ,r a (' [lneSS
nt go
ha
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In
16
he
on
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he Stuart
prose. 16
Job
f u l y r ep ro du ce d
i n h e E ng li sh :
An
t he r w a w a b et we e Rehoboarn a n J er ob oa m a l t he i d a nd s le p w it h h i f at he rs , a n w a b ur ie d w it h h i f at he r i n t h c it y o f D av id . A n h i m ot he r' s n am e w a N aa ma h a n A mm on it es s A n A bi ja m h i s o r ei gn e i n h i s te ad . Rehoboarn
hn
call
E
70
l
ly tm
tly
d'ffi
sam
Nell' Ef~~/i.i/; HiM·
Th
egi
gs
D ra m a
dnl' ),1 surrtlL1!1dsIlly house, ther ar tiny people whos live ar 11'1"'l C"delicfs Thev se connection betwee things whic to '.. i n have n ot hi n t o !O with each othe at all: fo instance (1,·1 I~l. ,,'rtlUS to l au g a t b ut te rf li e o r to (111
r,tOrlll.
Imitation
u rv e o f l it er at ur e i s l i k a il wa y j ou rn ey . t ra ve l t hr ou g t i e , t op pi n a t t h g re a c it y t at io ns , r u h in g t hr ou g t h t in y v il la g s ta t io ns , n ot ic in g l it tl e o r t ha n t h n am e o f t h l at te r C ha uc e w a o u f ir s i mp or ta n s ta ti on ; s oo n w e u s b e r ea d t o s to p a t t ha t h ug e j u c t io n c al le d h ak e p ea re . S ha ke sp ea r i s n gl an ds -a n t h \ vo rl d' s g re at e d ra ma ti st , a n b ef or e c a t al k a bo u h i a c i ev em en ts , a n t h a ch ie ve me nt s o f h i f el lo w- dr am at is ts , w e u s f in d o u f ir s w ha t d ra m i s a n h o d ra m b e a n isth tu th ts in fundamenta of th huma an animal faculties-th facult of imitation. it ti th grea number of complicate
IIJagic
il al to er huma functions. This imitativ facult or mimetic lt al ac al c ra dl e C hi ld re n p la y a t b ei n d oc to rs , c o b oy s il e s p io ne er s s pa ce me n k in g a n q ue en s K it te n p la y a t b ei n t ig er s p up pi e p la y a t b ei n d og s T hi s i s a ct in g b u i t i s n o y e d ra ma . I t i s b el ie ve d t ha t t h firs dram wa no play bu seriou activity performe by grow men, expressing man' highes instinct-the religiou instinct T o l ea r a bo u t h f ir s d ra m a v t o l ea v l it er at ur e b eh in d a n g o t o a nt hr op ol og y- th e t ud y o f p r i i ti v h u a n s oc ie ti e b ui l s oc ie ty , a n h a t o l ea r t o c on tr o t h o ut si d o rl d h e c iv il is e ay i s t hr ou g s ci en ce ; t h p ri mi ti v w a i s t hr ou g a gi c S ci en c r ea ll y succeeds in controllin th outsid world; magi only seem to succeed. ie ll ak ct at an c. ll tr iv ec ea il lo ic ll em es ll ic im ts il tr ti
ts
er 44
am
ti
in
III{/"/(. Asvo know many race believ that on wa of killin Cl1elll\"s to ; ~ e a im im lt th im er i r ' h a\ ' in is in t he r s tu c p in s i nt o t h c la y e ff ig y o f a n u np op ul a t ea ch er ; h e it w a c o o n p ra ct ic e i n t h v il la g w he r h e l iv ed . h i i s s y i c m ag ic , s o c al le d b ec au s t h i ma g o f t h p er so n i s s up po se d t o s\,mpath with th person himself: whatever happen to th imag lliso happen to th person Similarly, some of Ill)' jungle neighbours ir es es ic tr an t l t re e ( cu t d ow n o r t ru c b y l ig ht ni ng ) s o e th in g t er ri bl e h ap pe n t o t h p er so n w ho s l if e i s i n y mp at h i t i t I t i s r at he r ia l- tr ed to en th tw lm ce ac tr th ll a ls o h e s tr in g a r i n s y p at hy . B u c ie nc e c a e xp la i y m ti strings; it cannot explai away sympatheti magic. p el 1p l b el ie v t ha t t h f ir s d ra m a s b a e d o n f ou r t hi ng s i me ti c f ac ul ty , s y p at he ti c a gi c b el ie f i n g od s a n f ea r o f io iv et as en ag tu ie ct ar th - su pp lv . a vi n n o s ci en ce , t h e mb er s o f u c s oc ie t t en d ' Il k t ha t t h g ra nt in g o f t hi s f oo d i s i n t h h an d o f c er ta i n at ur a b e\ ,( ln d t he i c on tr ol . t he y c an no t t hi nk , l i t h s ci en ti st s i n of ;li>stfactions they thin instea in term ofpt'rJolIijied forcesh e w or d g od s I n c li ma t w it h c le ar l d ef in e e a o n t he y w il l
o f t h e y ea r w he n n ot hi n g ro ws . h er e i s n o c ie nc e t o t ea c t he m th in ar ar ap ce a ft e , W he n te co to th th as k il le d p er ha p b y t h g o o f d ea th . H o c a t h g o o f f er ti li ty l if e- go d t h c or n- go d t h i ce -g od -b e b ro ug h b ac k t o l if e a g ai n iously by sympatheti magic. ic ce ie ag ep rn.m, ld ep co u ni t p re te nd s t o b e t h l if e- go d arid a n en dcath-god. They figh an th life-god iskilled. Bu then th life-god
h " p cl 1l :d i n
ac to th aw at ic e r r ep re se nt at io n m u h ap pe n i n f ac t
c, as h e r ea l g o o f
FertiliU
1111'lh,,,
..I)
EIIJ!,lishLiteratllre fertilit th eart
Resurrection
us co back to life nd in fact is fruitful again. Magi ha triu phed
does
he eart
tllrns
Here yo have acting here yo have plot action (fighting) lead to clima (death of thegod an th clima leads to happ denouement_ resurrection This isdrama, bu it is also reli ion. primitiv agri cultural societ advances perhap ther develops more subtle idea that becaus th resurrection of go is such glorious thing, hi deat also must beglorious: yo cannot have resurrection withou dyin first. he go issacrifie so that he ca rise agai fo th good ofthe eople. Here yo se ho even subtle religion like Christianity is connecte re otel with ha we ca call fertilit myths' Th Mass of th Cath olic Church celebrates th sacrific of Christ it is religiou ritual bu it is als drama. Ther stil exis in Englan certai plays-conceive many centurie ago--which ar recognisably base on fertilit myths. Ofte th myth is overlaid it istorica characters an th plot itself seem to have travelle some wa from it agricultural origins, bu th them of deat an resurrection isclearly there. Ther isa play performe in Englan at Christmas-usuall in villages-which ha th followin simple story. in Ge - pa tr o sa l a - ki ll s in tu th th i s K ni g t , th Gi in th l s t hr e resurrections fo Fathe Christmas, wh acts as compere, callsfor adocto wh ca rais th dead This doctor ha little bottle ofalicurnpane' hich he ad inisters toeac of th victim of Sain Geor in turn Here Jack take
little of
Pour it do
ti top;
th
flipflop,
Rise up an figh again.
An they do rise an figh again. This resurrection them on stil find sometime in popula drama. Recently sa musica parody of O t h e l l o perfor ed by hinese alay an In ia girls. thello killed es de na at th end, then ille hi self bu th doctor ca in it hi iraculou cure an everybod stoo up to sing ow they'r
up
ho once
er do n,
Toas of al th natio ....
G re e k d ra m a
sh ld li th th th to t' re rr to re the to wheat, thus pointin theinfluence of fertility myth; bu perhaps that is taki things to far. shal se religion an dram closel mixe throughout th earl histor oftheart inEurope. it th Greeks tw thousand fivehundre year ago, drama ha reache more sophisticate stage of developmen than th mere representation of th deat an resurrection of god, bu it ha its beginnings invery crude village ceremonies tragec!J comes from
, \ E ng li s
T h e B e g in ni ng s o f D r am .
L it er a /l i tragos, t h t, an er tr di er e re l d an ce s r ou n a cr if ic ia l g oa t o r s on g f ro m c ho ru s d re ss e a s g oa ts . ( Th e g oa t h a a n i nt er es ti n h i t or y i n t h o ld e r el ig io ns : i t a s r eg ar de d b y t h G re ek s a s t h m o l us tf u o f t h a ni ma l a n h en ce , p er ap th ti e: an al il ty as cl ly ct fertilit ofthe earth. Th Hebrew used symbolically to load goat with t he i s in s a n d ri v i t o u i nt o t h d es er t C hr is t i s s o e ti me s c om pa re d to this s ca p e g o a t. ) C o m e cf y come from komos, m ea ni n r ev el , t h s or t o f
.vegetation,
rbarsis
sufferin god, wh dies an come to lifeagain particularly e' h e g re a G re e t ra gi c d ra ma ti st s- Ae sc hy lu s S op ho cl es , a n u ri ig as ch er er th th al relation betwee gods an me an usuall ha an instructiv mora purp os e P er fo r a nc e o f t he s p la y w er e l e a n e nt er ta in me n t ha n r e io em th th tr er cr ed ac w ea ri n m as ks , e n t hr ou g t at el y m ov e e nt s m ou th e n ob l l in es , h il e c ho ru s c u i n o cc as io na ll y t o c o m en t o n t h t or y a n p oi n t h l. to ar al al ak th al ad ll th au ce ag al it th om by ns ct awin c ha ra ct e o r b y s o s pe ci fi c s in . K in g O ed ip us . f o i n t an ce , f in d h i k in gd o r av ag e b y d is ea s a n f am in e h e g od s a r o bv io us l a ng r i t s o e on e b u w it h h om ? o bo d i n t h k in gd o w il l c on fe s t o an grav sin. Eventually Oedipu discover that he himselfi th sinner a n h i t w s in s a r t h o s d et es ta bl e k no w t o o ci et y- pa rr ic id e an i nc es t H e k il le d a n o l a n o n t h e r oa d h e m ar ri e a w i do w B ut , h av in g b ee n c u o ff f ro m h i p ar en t f ro m b ir th , h o w a h e t o k no w t ha t t h o l at er te th it te io an th e. et t h u ic id e o f h i o th er -w if e a n h i o w s el f- in fl ic te d b li nd ne s a r m ea n o f e xp ia ti n c ri me s w hi ch , t ho ug h u nc on sc io us , a r s ti l c ri me s W e v ie w e di pu s t ra ge d it i xt ur e o f e mo ti on s W e f ee l p it y f o ip an at in el p ro te s a t w ha t s ee m a n u nf ai r t ri c p la ye d b y t h g od s- dr iv in g hi to h i d ow nf al l f o s o e th in g t ha t w e r eg ar d a s n o r ea ll y h i f au lt ; i ns te ad , ce at er te th hi el il th er an a n e se n l ee o f e mo ti on , i n s ta t t ha t M il to n d es cr ib e a s c al m o f i nd , a l p as si o spent'. h i w or d p ur ge ' i s s ig ni fi ca n o ne . A ri st ot le , t h G re e p hi lo so The Oxford Companio to ClassicalLiterature ed Si Paul Harvey tragedy by Sophocles.
O e d i p « : Tyranntls,
-/
catharsis, th th in ty an te te ic te th ee io isgo ci li l e to have primitiv emotions arouse occasionally so long asthese primitiv emo-
hlms in orde to become excited. Bu ther isa bi difference betwee th it ar ed am ex te im th nd al tc ex it ti t i e s l ea di n t o f ig ht s A t t h e n o f d ra ma ti c p er fo r a nc e t h e xc it e ment whic ha been artificially arouse isals artificially quietened. We e e Hamlet. W/edevelo slowly certai feelin of pity fo th hero a n h or ro r a t t h c ir cu m t an ce s h e f in d h i s el f i n B u a t t h e n o f t h la th isho to t. ie t hi s N ob od y c ou l d o a ny th in g t o p re ve n i t B ec au s o f a f la w i n H am let' character, flaw he coul no control, al this tragic disturbanc ha replaced by
mood of resignation.
t ra ge d
a n t h S ha ke sp ea ri an . h e S ha ke sp ea ri a h er o h a t h p ow e ic ee ll is au ts ac er a bo u h i d o n fa ll . M ac be t i s a mb it io u b u w ea k O th el l i s j ea lo us ; le ca ak is in e e lIIight have made t he m e lv e i nt o b et te r h u a n b ei ng s t he y lIIight h av e l ea rn e h o to c on tr o t h f la w i n t he i c ha ra ct er s N ot hi n o ut si d t he m e lv e p re tr
c,
es ek ag er ll co an e st i It is b ec au s o f t h b i d if fe re nc e b et we e t h r ee k v ie w o f l if e a n ia ew een en te il t ha t t h r ee k t ra ge di e h av e h a l it tl e i nf lu en c o n E ng li s d ra ma . When Englishmen bega writin tragedie they needed mode of some k in d b u t h G re e m od e a s n o a tt ra ct iv e \ Xh a a s a tt ra ct iv e w a B.c.-6 A.D.). He modelle ay ig ec h i t ra ge di e o n t h g re a r ee ks , b u h i p la y a r n o m er e c op ie s e it he r i n l an gu ag e f or m o r s pi ri t h e g od s a r s ti l i n c o p le t c on tr ol , b u a n t ho ug h h e u s a cc ep t t h d iv in e r ul e d oe s n o n ec es sa ri l h av e t o in th itis to do av t ha t d oe s n o e a t ha t t he y h av e a ls o t h m on op ol y o f v ir tu e T h g od s c a d ef ea t m an , c ru s h im , b u t h a n c a s ti l f ee l s o e wh er e d ee p am te ar ey ca il il th fact that am thei mora superior \X'hatever they sa o r d o , I 'v e d on e goin into th Nazi gas-chambe or facing th firing-squad hi enemie a r t ro ng , b u w ro ng ; h e t ho ug h p o e rl es s a n d ef ea te d i s r ig ht . T hi s peculiar attitude issometimes know asa stoical o ne , a n i t s e e t o h av e
toicis,»
English Literatnr re
~ t~ ac ti .
fo
sp re
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thirstiness, lm
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II period
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th sa
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t-
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an
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that appealed to th Elizabet an ty
re
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la
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that seem
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er
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man comedie
rp se mankin
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and, perhaps, correc
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thos
re
follie
in ourselves.
t o l as h t h f ol li e. s t he y s e i m
th lo
is
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th
ut most co ic
in fr
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of course
deal
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qualitie
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ay
it
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re ri i-
s tl y
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at
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r vi c co
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ic qu li ie t,
l d s ee m
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e,
rc
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c o c er n
je ~umo~r in Charli in ancient r e c e
haplin=-rh la tu
eternal' re
little man'
Bu
sOldl.er.'.comp cate
a rt , t h
l es s t o t h s e
l~ sl r it er s
it 's
te
fa r a a ti c
an
ls
ed fo
in
to th
eo le
s ur r t i
r is t i s
comic
.o ig
th lo
rist phanes
i n a nc ie n
rt ~oastf
re
fo
th th
re co edians
l os e
pl ts in
into f i
la li
ra
hich mistaken identity play ts
is es
e ne c
ed
im
r ta n
te
in
th
rc
es inserted
into t h
ss fo
a st e
Su
re .g drama, stil in th
servic
ru of reli ion.
e di at e
ro
al
tw
th
ls at
ri t'
to
th
'2
E n g li s
L it e ra t ll r
Tl» B(:r,iflllill/!,J AI1<~ds: !F'Olllt'll:
'W
ee
A'(gel.,:
'H
sno
th
Christ as
J es u
h ri s
ho
h a r i e n f ro m t h
c r c if i d ,
describe thes play is Alirac!l's. Th term iracle PIa\"is ofte used to cove al th religiou play of th iddl ges; thi~ it best to appl it to thes play that came ou of th churches into th town and, fo th
. -\ n e l . '
s ep ul c r e. '
Christ as especially fo th
stor
of Christ's birt
an
th circumstance of that birt ar rich in dramati~ possibilities-th star appearin to th is N~en,the song of th Angels announcing th birt to th sheperds th coming ofthe Thre is en to th stable Herod' Slaughte ?f th In~ocents. !her isa thirteenth-century anuscrip in France which contains ver SImpledramati scenes on these las tw sub jects, an also th ir cles of t. ichola (Santa laus at er Christ~a~) onthe conversion ofSt.Paul, on Lazaru risingfro~ th deael, on Christ appearance to th tw disciple on th road to Em aus. Th la guag of ll thes earl dr ti pieces is ourse, ti vernacular h~d, as et no part to play in religiou elra wa still part of Church ceremonial
liracle plcrys
drama, fo religiou
It is certai that no religiou dramas of this type existe in Englan before th or an Conquest an that it as th or an themselves ho introduced sacred dram to England. This dram became popular. Play abou th Gospel characters an th miracles of th saints became ore elaborate, demanded more stag managing', eventually turned Into co plet presentation divorced from th ritual of th Church In fact they oved ou of th church building into th church ard, an
most part deal with th miracles of Christ an hi followers. come li Church play no part-eithe literally or figuratively. In 1264 Pope Urba instituted th feas of Corpus Christ (Bod of hrist) hi fe st neve observed ti 13 I, en hurc Counci decree that it should becelebrated with al du ceremony This ay-the lo gest th northern su r- as ch se by th tr de guilds of th to ns of Englan fo th presentation of cycl of play basedon incidents fro the Bible, plays which wecan cal Mystery Plays (the term 'mystery eaning craft, skil or trade; compar th French lIIetier an th Italia mestiere). These trade-guilds or craft-guilds were organisation of skille men, me banded together fo th protection of thei crafts fo th promotio of thei genera elfare an fo social purpos s. is pr se tation of pl on th f eas rp rist becameone of th most importan of thei social activities. Each guil ould choose an episod from th Bible, an th episod woul usuall beappropriate to th craf or trad practised Ho appropriate-sometimes amusingl so--ca be seenfrom th followin lis of play presente by th Cheste guilds
then in.t ~hetow itself here th proces ofsecularisation began. B: seculans~tlO wemea contro and participatio bythe non-religious, by th an In th street asopposed to th priest in th church Th clervv stil perfor ed fo ti e, bu then citizens ofthe to took hand an so etimes alsowandering actors singers, an jugglers Assoo asthes play beca divorced from th sen-ices of th Church th Church itsel be an to fr bert l\Iann priest
on them nd to forbid lerica participatio g, in is Hal1c[ylillg S_Yflne te 4)
in them
sun le
at
th
r es ur re cy u
ro
..
t h f le s h e a n
b lo d gre
hy
EIlJ!/ish Drama
sernys.
In othe ords apries coul ac Christ's resurrection in th church fo that as part ofchurc instruction, bu on high ay an greens it asa differen matter-ther it tended to be regarded as entertainmen rather than as religiou teaching Incidentally th or used by annyng to
he
ll of
he
r e t io n h re e as
Th
by th
by th in s,
an an
a nn er s
r ap er s
by he
up er
Passio
Cooper
c if er ,
th
in
r ch an ts .
B ak er s
Crucifixio
of Christ
by th
Arrow- akers,
Ironmongers.
That isjus selectio from th tota catalogue; th tota number ofplays amount to twenty-four. akefield guilds presente thirty-three Coventry forty-two; York fifty-four Th actors an audience needed th long da ligh of Corpus Christ to ge throug such formidable schedule. ac uild ad it ow ecor te cart alle 'pageant', sort portable stag to be dragge throug th to n, se up at differen spots, th th to noth ear. he pper ar of the pagean asa in stage' in th ro nd '-th au ienc in th stre ul beable to surr un it an se th action from an angle. Th play er presente in strict chrono lo ical
rder-startin
it
th
al of
orld ending with th Da of udgement-a
cif e or th
re ti
comprehensiv
of th
dramatisa-
A£ysteO' pl'~)IJ
T h e B e g in ni ng s tionof th Jewish an Christia stories. Archdeacon Rogers wh died in 1 5 9 5 , sa on of th last of th Cheste perfor ances; he tell us al about it: s ca fo ld e
it
w o r ow me s
h ig he r
nd
l o e r u po n f ou r w h e le s I n h e
lowe they apparelled themselves an in th higherrowm they played bein a l u po n h e o pe , t h a l b eh ou ld er s m ig ht e h ea r a n e e t he m T h p la c h er e t he y p l e d t h wa v er y s tr ee te . T h b eg an e f ir s a t h e a ba y gates, an when th firs pagiante wa played it wa wheele to th high crosse b ef or e t h m ay or , a n s o t o e ve r s tr ee te ; a n s o e ve r s tr ee r h a p ag ia n p la yi ng e b ef or e t he m a t o n t im e t il l a l t h p ag ia nt e f o t h d a a pp oi nt e weare played. Thes play were take very seriousl by th guilds wh have left us detailedinventorie of dress, make-u (th ma wh played Go wore whitecoat an had hisfacegilded) and moneyspent. Th following were fe ofthe su expended by th Coventry Smiths Guil in 1490: I te m f o R yb b o f b ef e i ij d I te m f o q ua rt e o f w yn e j d I te m p ay d a t t h S ec on d R eh er s i n h yt ts o w ek e i n b re de , A yl e a n K ec hy n i js . i ij d M d p ay d t o t h p la ye r f o c or pu s x is t d ay e I mp r m i G od , i js . I te m t o H er ou de , i ij s iiijd, It t o t h d ev y nd u da s x v i jd , Al thes play ar anonymous, bu theyhav certai ar in language an construction certai powe of characterisation whic no mino oe ne av e e a sh a to ut hi na to t he y l s av h u o ur . e st e la of th l ug e ( p r f r m by th t er le er an ra er th i ve r e e x pl oi ts , f o t h f ir s t i in English dramatic history, the comic potentialities of the self-willedwife an th exasperate husband. Noah's wife refuse to boar th Ark, despiteNoah's appea and warning tha theFloo isabou to commence; sh want to brin he wo en-friends on boar too, and, if Noah will no le her, sh proposes floo or no flood, to staywith them Y ea , i r e t u p o u s ai l A n r o f or t w it h e vi l h ea le , F or , w it ho u a n f ai l w il l n o o u o f t hi s t o n . B u h av e m y g os si p e ve ry on e O n f oo t f ur th e il no go T he y h al l n o d ro wn , b y S t J oh n If a y a v h ei r i fe .
E ng li s
D ra m a
The Beginning of English Dral//(/ 56
E ng li s
L it er a/ li r
ut thou Else ro
il le them in th chest, forth,
nd ge thee
oa
an hi sons to et er
ible fo nailino-Chris to th cros an fo erecting that cro~ arerespodnsl h· rd ~r th ords ofYorkshire orkmen an thei
oah, ne
anag
oa
from purely religiou content. In th akefield Second Shepherds' Play whic deals, of course with th homage paid by the' certai poor shepherds' to th new-born Christ th Bibl stor itself occupies very little th poet's or th actors ti e. he play isreall purely secula
;r
211d
In th ·1 rs Hero
ters that emerge ar Hero an Pontiu Pilate Th Wakefiel play of th Crucifixio open with powerful speech from Pilate whic us have caused some tremor of pleasurabl fear in th audience hat? peace, in th devil's name dastards al bedene
gallow yebe made full tame Thieve an micher il yeno peac
ke he
ar
you,
beat you,
To hell th de'i shal draw you, bone
Afte which, presumably he gets silenc from th audience an th play ca proceed. Th realis
th
R e I sr ae l mightiest conquero that ever walked on ground
agog an An
t ha t
it
ad
th
po er holdet
e a e n n d e ll , up this
Madroke. both them di this bright bran
orld round.
confound
thei bone
brak asunde ..
am th caus of this grea ligh an thunder; It is throug
myfur
that they such nois do make
fearfu countenanc That ofte
fo drea
In this play Hero re
th cloud so doth encumber
thereo th very eart
doth quake...
make claims that th real historical Hero special in H er o in ct is
~~:mati~tsof thi age heis descende fro
of th play isremarkable. Th four Torturers'
wou~ ot
upiter,.related to Mohame
heis himsel eb Hero io
kind of fals god. He isalso, myView th Pfr~~otipe~ dl natl J: th el em e m t _ ho to rant an bluster, bu it IScertai rhathe sa represe~ He in il l a H a l e t el l t h la rs lu
assion
to
woul
that anon
Body back an
of Shearmen an
tr at it la make an impressive appearance
a m e ve n
shal ordain soon fo yo
Full boldly shal
h, it stands up likea mast
Tortllrer:
nd of mymight
you?
Pain that neve e'er wa seen Beyeso bold beggars,
ell, an le uslift,
Full shor shal be hi shrift
come to th palace bi
ByMahoun's blood! If yeme teyn
An
Bind hi
Qlli status ill J ud e
An
of th la an ofMak' villainy is really er amusing. (You ca read th la th rs E ce ry ma n m it b O th e I nt er lu de s in Everyman's Library.) Th singin ofthe Angels announcin Christ's birth, th arrival at ethlehem of thes very nglish shepherds, thei adoratio of th Child-this is er epilogue to what is very satisfying comi one-ac play. Th writer of thes Myster play ar capabl of taut dramatic action an strong characterisation as well as humour Tw powerful charac
Yet help, to makeit fast
Tortllrer:
tb Tortllrer: rs o rt ur e
stor abou Ma th sheep-thief, hi thef of ew-bor la b, an hi punishment fo th theft. Ma steals th la from th thre shepherd and, he theyco to searchhis hous fo it hean hi if pu itin cradle pretending it is child. Th episod that lead to th uncovering
an
So sir, gape agains th sun! (To Oms!.)
Ah fellow wear th crown! md Tortnrer: Trowes thou this timbe will come down rst Torturer:
sarcas
ticall says 'Welco e, ife, into this boat', to whic is if replies, 'And have them that fo th note accompanying th word with slap on hi face Weseein suc episode asthat the gradual drawing-away of the dram
Harlot
terrifying ring ofauthenticity:
- It b T or tu re r
ife.
to ge he on board.
..
hris have
hither thou list
er
-I
n f at th ti
s me t es oh ra tatters, to very rags to spli th ears of th groundlings; fn ti
have such
fellow
ra
oi
fl
ence
of writin
hipped fo o'e rdoin
wt
ra
hich':
Termagant; It out-
noise;
er
it
w w th dramatists an actors ofhi ow age.
Hamlet,
H e t ha t r ei gn s a s k in g i n J ud e
r ef e r e
a n I sr ae l
su
rt
u,
fr
T b e B t :~ i ll n il l g soj E n gl is h D r am a
E n g l is h L i te r a / li r e t ar ti n James
in th
f o r te en t
c en t r y
t he s
g ui l
dr
as
ad in al
e ar l
it f ai rl y o on , d ra m
p ro fe ss i n a
a ct or s t o a c t he m
M o r a l ir y p l C ! )' .
in
th
th ir
in
lvloraliry. mora/lesson t hr o
a ll e
a s t h ou g
t ha t i s a s i n P i e r
ry
t he y
er
ea
e op le .
Eoeryman. s ta nd s
co
e nc e
o r e ac h o n
e xa mp l
is
an
om an
of th
of th
us an
a p e ar a c e
i v - wi t
to th
e ry ma n
ra e.
10 am.
i mp l
o ra l
tr
ut it isma
th no
th
ta
e xt re me l
c er ta i
i sc re ti on -
l ea rn s t ha t t h
.olav like Othello
l: 'T
j ea lo us y
t ri ne . H e i s s a i n
bu
t,
te in
e fo re . T hi s i s a l a y
is
th
i ve n
in
s ig n o f o o
a rt .
it
a ke s e ar e
th
te
th
(p
ecuiarisation
i t p r d ec es so r
).
c er ta i l y i n E n l a d ,
l vl in d
U 7 il l a n d U n de r st an di ny ; A la ll ki nd ;
o th e
p ar ad e t he i
Folly, Backbiting
c ar d o ar d
n o v er y e nl ig ht en in g
T h e C a st l
c ha ra ct er s
Indignation,
ar
Perseverance, and
i sd o
Sturdiness
i sc hi e
le rn
il i n t an c
th
Th
late
morality
s et t
_ pt he i
ce es asa
to o de r
c ir cu s
et
qu
ti
l ay s
it
p ro fe s i on a o r l it ie s
r el ig io u
( no t a t l l i nc er e
p ie t
ar
o m a ni e
f in d t ha t t h
ll
to
it te ts an
n d a ls o t o
c a a bl e o f c ut ti n an
e al i
th it
s el ve s ur ly
h_uman be~n
an
i t i s n ot ab l
th
:o i gi o
te r ea t t ea ch e
id
'a
t ha t t . e t h e
o ut h
Illterftl~e. Th seems to l i s o e th i
l se ,
o r l o e r- cl as s
o ne .
e n i n t he i t hi n
i ll a
ca es an
a ls o
to
name suggests er ap
in
o us e
th
co
shor
f ea st -
m~
pla~ p~rforme
o r . o I hc I~ e t a
ti
tr
ca
t hi n
th
r ea t l or d
a tc hi n
ki
r ef in e
ti
to dI
difference
10the. middl
e nt er ta m e ?t .
to
e op l
ic
l it y
la
a t h in g- i in
li
ll
in
thei castles, or rich r al it y p l~ y ;
th
ro
lu
s tr ee ts .
te
le (t
ca
i nn - a r s , lg
li
to
i vi d
ll ll
t io n o f a n o l wrote
t oc k t he me s
ir
bethan play (lik la
a ti sf ac ti on , or
ar
writes
ta
F li lg e n
and
Lucrece,
ia of
ro
th as as th
t s) ,
in a li t
tu to ards
i~
l it y
to to
c-
e nc ~
p is p
Perseverance
ll
co se
T h W or l a n the Cbild, Hlckscomer,.an
plays-like
ie
iscord
la
T h e C a st l
la
th
in
Y'ollth-are
te
le
fo
r e I gl Ou S
a bo u
be compassionat
i nt e In
cl nf
l ea s r e
l\:falice: Reveng:'
if
In
in
th th
ju
ar
't to
interlud
ly
predecessors.
Professionalism
10
It a t e r
Everyll/an i s g oo d a rt .
nd
isno
th
in th th
r a a ti c
l ie s
isan ll tr ti
i n e ff ec t ' R l ig io n ti
e nc e t h by ei
r er e
S[
to t h l lo '
l ea s r es ,
im
f o c ef u
this
th
10 terr:n
Ssu
la irtu
er
us
c al l
t re ng th ,
ut
t he m
e ry ma n
th
an
ca
Eueryman
t, ra
t ra ge di e , .
d oc tr i e .
i t t el ls ,
e at h t o
v er y
r ld . E ve r
h i - Be a t y
an
a k s p~ a. re '
r el i i ou s
r al it y t ra di ti o
of
h i i nf or mi n ex
abstract idea
Elkerlijk,
th
t h l on g j ou r e y t o t h
f ri e d s t o a cc o t ra ve l i n
fi
ti
i n i mp le , d i n if ie d l a g ua g (w
P l ow m a n , by presenting
la is ti
c a a bl e o f p re se nt in g
~f p~rsollt1/conflict ( a i n
1.
' U s tr at i
is
le
il
)II
s to r
fo th
to
e tt in g- f r t
it
is
G e nt le n es s a n d N o bi li r
' di s u ta ti on ' th
li
ra ir
av
t it l
su ge tI
a n E li za -
. A nt on y a n d C l e op a t ra ) , an it Ro an settmg,.It
th
and
t he me s ti
o f i t a r _ u ~ nt , a ~ ic
to
adapta
I tS h u
ur
tollow. Rastel
C a l is t a n d i 'v le l tb e a -a g I n te r lu d e o f G o d ' r o ,, :i se s breathes
a le '
Late drama
60
Englis
Literature saying that ma cannot achiev salvatio throug good orks bu only th powe ofChrist's sacrifice,onlyby th grac that Go bestow freely Bu th real interest of al thes play lies in th fact of an aristocratic audience an th need fo taste, learning an skil in co position Perhaps th os enjo able of al th interlud dramatists is[ oh n H e yw o o hose play have no instructiv purpose. In Th Four P's, (1497-1580), Palmer Pardoner 'Pothecary an Pedlar do nothin or than talk bu thei rp se isonly to se an tell th iggest lie.In th P l e r y of th Weathe nu be ofpeople have aske Jupite (not God! fo th in eath th they refe to be ra te al th time; bu th variou requests ar contradictory-th laundres want perpetua su to dr an bleach he linen, th schoolbo ants perpetua inte so he ca play with snowballs, th an wh runs water-mill ants nothin bu rain an so n. tw people an agre an so thin ar leftas theyare. Thes play ar shee entertain ent, an thei hu ou is gentle an in excellen taste. That is or than ca be said fo th oralit play it hich th ordinary people er entertained. Ther as growin tendency here fo Si or ic or th evil to indulg in hu ou of th dirtiest kind ostensibly so that th virtuous characters coul
condem it. Bu this wa
orri le an an hi funn st ries re disgusti g; to sh ha ea I'll tell yo fe of them.' ow th ra aterials fo Elizabetha dram ar bein gathered to gether The noble houses hav their groups of interlude-players wearing th li er thei aster-thes ar to ec th liza et an co panies with name lik th Lord Admiral' en th King's en an so on Th wanderin player of moralities, playin in inn-yards, ar soon to ta er thes in -yar permanen theatres earn en ar itin ra as-lik the' niversit it ho ar goin to la th foundation fo Shakespeare. even have th Clown, or Vice', waitin to beco Touchstone in Kin Lear. Even Senecais waiting to show Englishmen ho to rit tragedies, an Plautu an Terenc to give advice on comedy Soon-surprisingl soon -w shal beable torin up th curtai on th greatest dram ofal ti e.
Ea
El
Th stor of Elizabetha dram begins no in th theatre bu in th Inns ofCourt of London it begins with tragedie writte bygentle en wh practise th la and, in thei spar ti e, tr to copy Seneca sa agai that th influenc of Senecaon th Elizabetha dramatists wasvery considerable There wa something in thi Roman philosopher, Certainl
th firs true Englis traged owes ever thing-except th im Gorbodllc-by Thomas orto an Thomas Sackville-produced at th Inne Te pl of th Inns of Cour in 1562. (I anothe tw year Shakespear an Marlow will be born.) he stor th istory Geoff rey nGorboduc is ta en f r ut (s apte IV an tell th uarrel et en Ferrex nd Porrex sons of King Gorboduc an Quee idena, over th division of th ki gdom of ritain Porrex ills erre nd Qu en id na kill ith hi fello ofCornwall, suggests Porrex, Th Duke ofAlban (who K in g L e a r tries to take th countr over himself, an civi wa breaks out. \"\' shal ee al thes ingredient again, an ti es especially th rd rs ha shal no se agai is certai restraint, here violen action ar neve show on th stag bu only reported Late dramatists includin Shakespeare, ar to show us on-stage al th horror the can Bu Sackvilleand Norto respec the Seneca tradition hich is to reserv th horror fo th language an neve fo th visibl action. this poin ad ette sa that th re er thre bein in fluenced by eneca. ne as to read im (proba ly at chool) in th original th second as to read certai French play hich acknow ledged hi influenc bu atered do hi language th thir as to readthe Italia play whic called themselves Senecan' bu were full of horror enacte on th stage. Th thir aywas th os popula it the Elizabethan dramatists, including Shakespeare. Shakespeare' Titus os grueso (arecen reviva in Andronicus is Italianate Senecaat it 61
Seneca's injll/f/lte
62
E a ( y E li za be th al l
Blank uerse
E ar (
ra
London ad people faint) fo it contains utilation, buryin alive, severa murders, an th eatin of huma fleshon-stage Senecais seen even in th medium that Sackville an Norton choose fo thei dialogue-blank verse. Th Earl of Surrey ha translate Virgil into this ne medium an this translatio ha been publishe fiv year before Gorboduc. It must have seemed both to Surre an to hi followers that vers withou rhym wa th best medium fo renderin Latin. Th first effort ofblank-verse writer certainly resemble the noble musicand statel rhythm of th Ro an riters hardly at all, bu blan vers isa difficul medium an it took tw geniuses-Marlowe an Shakespear -t show what coul bedon with it Here isa sa pl ofpre-Marlovian blan vers from an anonymou play calledLocrine: gods an stars! damned be th gods an star That di no drow
mein fair Thetis plains
Curs be th sea, that with outrageou With surgin
waves,
billow di no rive myships
Agains th rock of high Cerannia Or swallo
into he
Woul
ha arrive
Go
Wher Polyphemus an Or where the blood
at'r
gulf
upon th shor
th Cyclops dwell,
Anthropophagi
With greedy jaws devour th wanderin
-Sceptrone -Quo
nostro janmills
istejamllills
es potio
on to th stage. Th language of th play is curiousl memorable, showin that Ky wa no mean verse-writer. Th following were catch-phrase fo year with the Elizabethans \Vha outcries pluc
ha an Ed ard, till
Richar
Harry, tilla Richar
Thou hads an Ed ard, till Richard, till
Se T. S.Eliot's essay' Seneca in Elizabetha
me from my nake
An chill my throbbin
he
Hieronim
is distraug
it
fear
daun before
Wh calls Hieronimo? Speak, here
nd
bed,
hear with tremblin
Which neve danger ye coul
am
grie
ha
th
f ollowin
outburst: eyes no eyes bu fountains fraugh with rears! life, no life, bu livel form of death!
tibi?
world, no world, bu mass of public wrongs Confused an fille with murder an
misdeeds
iugu~?
hav italicisedthe echo-words. The sam effectappear again and again in Elizabethan drama
Thou hads
grea deal of dramatic vitality. Th stor concerns th urde of Horatio--who is in love it th beautifu Beli peria-by agents of hi riva in love Hieronimo, th Knight-Marshal of Spai an father of Horatio, spends th rest of th playcontriving revenge. Like Hamlet afte him, he delays talk rather than acts, but, again lik Hamlet he make us of playabout murder to effecthi vengeful purpose. (Except, of course that Hamlet still goes on delayin fo anothe tw acts. Th play ends in horrors-murder suicide-and before th end, Hieronim performs an ac whos horror neve lose it absurd appeal-h bite hi ow tongue ou an spit it
tradidit reges neci,
regi servit et patitu
ha
il no bore ou it catalogu of th Seneca play produced in th Inns of Court, or in th Universities, or in th nobl houses They al seemto pave th wa fo th firs tragedy capabl of holdin th public stage- T h S pa ni s hi la as T ra ge 1 by Thomas Kyd (1558-94), popula all throug Shakespeare' lifetim (it seemed, indee.d,to be.pre ferredby th public to hi own, fa superior, work), an revivals of ~n th oder stage, on th radi an on television show that it ha stil
wights
Poor asthat is it show genuin attemp to imitat Seneca,not onlyin itsuse ofclassicalimagery, bu in th effectof declamation, of speaking emotions ou loud'. Blan vers is to lear othe things to fro Seneca -the brea in p' th line et en differen sp akers, th se repetition, th subtle effectsof echo Here is lin from Seneca(it does no atte ifyo donot know an Latin; yo il stil beableto seeone of Seneca's tricks):
E li za be th al l
kill'd him;
Ky is especially importan to th studen of Shakespeare, fo it seem likelythat he rote th earlie versio of th Ha le stor upon hich Shakespeare wa to bas his ow masterpiece and certainlya memory of Th Spanis
Trageq
makes Hamlet say
kill'd him; Richar Richar
kill'd him; kill'd hirn.!
Translation'
in hi S e l e ct e d E s sa y s (Faber dramatists.
and Faber). Th boo als contains som stimulating essays on the Elizabetha
have hear That guilt
creature
sitting at
Have bythe very cunnin
play
of th scen
Been struck so to th soul that presentl They have prodaim'
thei malefactions
D ra m
6,'
Thollla.!"K),d
64
E a ri » E li za b e th a n
English Liiterature es
em ry
th
istr ug
ie onim
rh
fo th love of th beautifu
captiv
ampaspe. Here is
specimen of
Lyly's prose-style
N ic ho la s U d a l
popula 'revenge tragedy' ofwhich H a m l e t is the most notable example arly co ed owes so ething to th oman co ic play rights as al li ab than trag -early late ow so et in to ca N i ch ol a s U d a / (150 -56) wa headmaster successively ofEton and est inster schools, an heseemsto have encouraged th acting no erel th reading, of th play of erence an Plautu amon hi pupils Hi play R a lp h R oi st e D o is te r is despit it breezy Englis at ospher an it gallopin rhymed verse, very uc unde th influenc of Plau us It is arranged into fiveacts an severa scenes followin th Ro an pattern an th ai character- alph hi self-i odelle on th miles gloriostls, or boastful soldier, of Plautus. (Shakespeare is to ak grea dealout ofthisbraggar typein Henry IV.) als hav Mathe errygreek, base on th rascallyservan foun so ofte in Plautus, an plot of courtshi an misunderstandin which owes something to the Roma master. Associated with R o is te r D o is te r is G a l J lm e r G a r to n' s N e e dl e (published in 75 an possibly ritten by Ca bridge scholar, illiam Stevenson) farcical tale of an ol villag oman ho lose he needle and, afte upsettin th whol villag abou it eventually find it stuc into th trousers of Hodge, he farm-servant This like th othe play is pure nglish countr co edy, bu it owes so ething to th Ro an co edians in it skilfu plot-construction. It contains incidentally th finest drinking-song in the English language
..
ut
l ac kb er r
the
o u l ov e a h g r i f !
hi
s ee m t h
ut
re
Venelia Th
p r c io u
f or so ot h
t on e
G e o rg e P a l e
songs certainly are excellent:
An
il
comi dramatis of the period-John Ly(y (I 554?-16Q6) Lyl started his literary re th thor ry la ve lled ElIphlleJ, writte in an elaborat prose-style-flower an full of alliteration-a style since the calledEuphuistic This elaborate prose-style wa carried er into th co ie that ly rote se rs nl in hi casional lyrics. Th plays are charming-Elldimiofl (a love-affair between th oo an ortal) M ot he r B om bi e M id as , and Campaspe hich is abou th rivalr betwee lexander th Grea an painter, pelles
i t i s n o r ip e r es e b li n
ai
ofa poor an called ack ~nds.thatJack's ~host is grateful and, thr?ugh hissuperio supernatural gIfts, ISable to detea theenchanter That ISthe plot bu uc of th char of th playlie in it interludes of song an
nd
John Ly(y
s ha m
G e o rg e P e e l (1558?-97? is responsible for on of the mos~.delightfu of the pre-Shakespearia comedies-Th O l W i e s T a l (a tltle.A.rnold Bennett, th novelist as to us thre hundre year later) ~hlS ISone of th earliest atte pt at dramatic satire on thos ro a~uc tale of enchantmen an chivalry hich er alread so popula England. brothers ar searchin fo thei sister elia ho isin th ~and of th agicia Sacrapant, an they themselves ar capture~ by hi Bu Eu enides Delia' lover, ho gave hi lastpence to pa to th funera
chopcherry
Strawberries
Quee as genuin patron of drama, encouragin it by liking to it ss it ther in ns urt, iversity at th ro re el .) Thes children (onl boys acte play ritten by th firs really polite'
he
C ar np as p
break.
re
or sophisticate kind of co ed as develope in th oyal Cour itself in th entertainments give bythe Children of St Paul's an th ir ch ls ef re th ue (\ sh ld te re that th
ho
c ho ol b y s
th
ti
chopcherry
swimming p la yi n
om
ripe
in th
ithin,
cream,
in th
t re a
ag in
John ilto took th them of th tw brothers an th enchante sister fo hi Comus, He produced so ething or poetic bu hardly or la
re
ak sp aria
rite
co
di
il mention .IS
R o be r t G r e e n (1 8?-92) whose best-know pla is F r ia r B a c o n. a l l ta Blillga)'- Here in th clearl define main plot an sub-plot a~ th ~s of the clown we are reminded of Shakespeare's earlycomedies. The.titl refers to th agical po er of tw friars ho amon o~her.things, produc kind of television se an creat.e bra~en head whic ISto.tell th secret of th universe love interest ISprovide by Ed ard, Prince of ales wh is enamoure of th lovely maid of Fressingfield, swe~ argaret. Th play ha freshnes an char an hu our, bu Greene
Rober Crem
66
El1glishLitcratnr
I n o n u er in g
l ov e
C ae s r '
r et ,
v i t or ie s in
tO
ru
f,
Y ie ld s t ha nk s . .. .
Kyd wus re
The Uniuersir» Wits
fi d,
rl
ve
he
nv
gr p-
pr
ra
ru:
ol r.
nd
ha
va bl ot
pr fe
he IUCGl-
LI'!I' ~1
d if f
ra
or ne
re
The buildillg of theatres
liquid
erv ng
ut ro
on
he
r in g
ou I~
Le
i7
apa nt
or
va
refreshir Sf) on. s' (a ro
.ll nc
ns
qu
on
fo
nc
d.iiiv
ov L e c es te r
he c om pa n
b ui l
un t he at r
ne ott!
pe
rm
idl' 1576.
ft rw ds
ot
ou
rt n.
In
87
he
Soon
6J
Englis
E ar l
Literatur 1594 th
Swan
Shakespeare'
'great Glob itself uilt in 1598, Theatre. Al these playhouses followed the sam architectura lines-the inn-yard surrounded by galleries, th stag hich jutted ou into th audience an itself had, at th back tw or thre tier of galleries. ca thin ofthe popula dram of th da asbeing divide amon tw grea co panies ofpla ers-th Lord Chamberlain' an th Lord dmiral's th Lord Chamberlain' (later called th King's Men) operating in thei greatest da at th Globe; th Lord dmiral's at th Fortune Thes tw co panies er only no inally the' servants of th nobl person wh lent thei titles they were virtuall free agents protect by thei nobl atro from th harg of bein vaga nd 'm sterle n' Ho co ld th be either of thes if they re th liveryof nobility? Bot group were large, perpetually infuse with new bloo (a ith modern football teams) throug transfer of player an throug an apprenticeship systemwhich provided steady flo of boys fo th omen's parts. ll embers of th theatrical co panies er versatile-they coul play tragedy, co ed they coul dance, fence, sing leap Tw actors were very great-Richar Burbage, so ofJames Burbage, star of th Lord Chamberlain' en firs interprete of al th leadin Shakespearian parts; Edward Alleyn, son-in-la of Philip Henslo e, star of th Lord Admiral' en creato of Faustus, Ta burlaine
Christopher Marlowe
th Je of alta-all th arlo heroes Elizabetha Englan produce grea drama, an it ha grea actors to interpre it Th greatest orna en of th public theatr unti Shakespear as or nl fe ek before ak Christopher M a r l o w e (1564-93), speare bu destined to have orking lifever uc shorte than his. Marlowe wa stabbed to death ina' tavern brawl in circumstance which we shall never fully understand, although scholars hav spent much tim in trying to elucidat them Like al th University Wits, ha il reputation-it wa believe that hewasanatheist, consorte with thieve an ruffians kept mistresses fought th police Ye this reputation el have been th deliberate disguise of an hose true nature
Renaissance
ill Eng/alld
ay as
no at al wild an irresponsible It ispossibl that Marlow wa secret agen fo th Queen' Government an that th enemie ho killedhim were th country' enemie before they were his. Bu th ystery of hi short lif remains. arlowe's reputation as dramatis rest on fiveplays-Tamlillrlaillf, D oc to r F an st us , T h jell' o f l vI a/ ta , E dw ar d I I and D id o Q /l e o f C ar th ag e To these fiv masterpiece might be added Th Massacre at Paris, blood thirst elodra no it seems, little read In this handfu of play ppears th firs tr voic of th en issa ce th erio ew learning ne freedom, ne enterprise of th period of worshi of an rather than of God:
E li za be th a
D ra m
69
T ha t d a t ha t M ar lo w a n i nt o o u s ki e i t m ou t o f g ol d a n m or n n g h i e ye s
.'.,[arlow sums up th Ne ge Th ol restrictions of theli~ Urch~nd thelimitation on knowledg hav bee destroyed the or ISopemng upand th ship ar sailing to ~e:\Vands wealth ISbe.In?amasse~ th at atio al ag re sors ar rising t, bove ll It ISthe spln hu anfreedom ofli itless hu an po er an enterprise at ~row play convey Tamburlain is th grea conqueror, th embodiment of tyrannica power; Barabas, theJew of Malta stand for monetary pow~r; Faustu represents th os deadly hunger of all, fo th po er hich e c th part th ke Guise.i LV[:ssa~re~t Pa "" fin the personification of curiou 'dramatI motl: which ISto f~scInatemany Elizabetha playwrights-intrigu an evil al ~s fo t~el ow sakes, mplete lack of an kind of orality, ha ISsometimes called th 'Machiavellian principl '. Th referenc is to iccolo rv ac. lav nd is oo The Prince treatis on statecraft whic ha -15 '7 theaimof bringing abou unite Ital throug an eanswhich Italian leader found workable cruelty, treachery tyrann \~ere all acce~tabl solon as they produced in th end, strong an united s.tate.It ISth ,Machiavellian' note No
hich we hear from th Duke of GUise: G ui s
b eg in s t ho s d ee p i ng en dr e
t ho ug ht s
T o b ur s a br o t ho s n eu e d y n g f la me s W hi c c an no t b e e xt in gu is he d b u b y b lo ud . O f h au e l eu el d a n a t l a h au e l e r nd , T ha t p er il l i s t h c he ef es t w a to happines, A n r es ol ut io n h on or s f ai re s a im e h a g lo r i s h er e c om mo n g oo d T ha t h an ge s f o e ue r p ea sa n to atchiue? T ha t l ik e
be
t ha t f l e s b e o n
m y r ea ch .
S e m e t o s ca l t h h ig h P er am id es , A n t he re o s e t h D ia de m o f F ra un ce , Il eihe
r en d i t w i
m y n ay le s t o n au gh t
O r m ou n t h t o i t m y a sp ir in g i ng es , A lt ho ug h m y d ow nf al l b e t h d ee pe s h el l
Itis th note hear sustaine throughout th tw part ofTa/~lllIIrlaille. This play is procession of agnificent scenes eac~ representm some stag in th rise of Tamburlain from hu bl Scyth.lanshepher~ to co~queror of th orld Ever thin is larger than l:feIn Tnmburlaine. He IS no conten erel to conquer; he impresse hi greatnes on t~ conquered by such acts as slaughtering al th girl of Damascus ~sJn th captiv Soldan of Turkey asa footstoo an carrying hi abou cage
Tnmbnrlaine
Englis
Earl
Literatur till he beat ou hi brains agains th bars burnin th town in hich hi mistress Zenocrate, dies killing hi ow so becaus of hi allege
have invade
cowardice; harnessing tw
Go~ernor-int
king to hi chariotand shouting:
Halla yepampere What ca yedra nd have so prou An such
bu twenty mile
day,
o f w a r e i gn s h i r o
to
eaning to make meGeneral of th
th angels on th
orld
on yo all,
To pinc
me with intolerabl
infidels
of heat pangs:
Dido
An seld-see costly stones of so grea price, As on of them indifferently rated ofa care of this quantity
Ma serv in peril of calamity To ransom grea king from captivity
ealt by th Govern alta ho ib in t e t hi s Baraba embark on long career of revenge, no only on th Governor himself, bu on Christian an Muslims generally He poison whol conven of nuns contrive that th tw lovers of hi daughter shal kill eachother an finallyproposes to slaughte th leader ofthe Turk wh
turret migh behold
infant swimming in thei parents' blood,
Virgin
alls of heaven
topaz, grass-green emeralds,
from
Headles carcases piled up in heaps,
from hi throne
Beauteous rubies sparkling diamonds,
of al hi
begins th extremit
Youn
an
... Bags of fier opals, sapphires, amethysts,
arabas is de rive
confusio
dogs an Turkis
rose
The [eu. of lvIalt is the story of Barabas, whose wealth is magnificent! celebrated in th long openin speech (after Machiavelli ha spoken th prologue)
An
this stratagem,
Bu no
nd lookin
half-dead dragge it
ld
en with swords thrust throug
Wh
Ther
by thei golden hair
nd
main forc flun on
Kneeling with merc
To entertain divine Zenocrate
Jacinths, har
he ha prepared fo hi
T. S. Eliot, in hi essa on arlo e, points ou th us of caricature in is riting ot fo hu orou eff ectbu f o an eff e of horror In Dido Quee of Carthage ther isa descriptio of th taking ofTroy whic uses techniqu of exaggeratio to convey th nightmar violence
As sentinels to warn th immortal soul
[o» of Malt
mona
ie life Fly, soul tongue curs th fill an die!
th bereaved lover: al
bu escape
Damned Christia
e,
mein arms look pale an
earing mypower should pull hi
ow
Ha
oi whic
soldiers in
D ram
are:
ould have brough
coachman as grea Tamburlaine
Jove viewin
Here is Tamburlain
..
chario at your heels,
the braggart:
to massacre th Turkis
cauldron of boilin
enemies. Hi fina word
jade of Asia
Tarnburlaine takes Babylo an ha th Governor pierce with arrows (a perfor ance bythe Lord dmiral's en on of thes arro acci dentally kille child in th audience an ever inhabitant of th town drowne in lake This is th oder ag with vengeance, ho ever much Tamburlain belong historically to olde times. It is caricatur of ou owl).age, with it Nazi an Communis atrocities, bu caricatur made magnificent with Marlowe's ric blank verse. Her is Tamburlaine he Go
th island an
Elizabetha
to
ring ofpikes thei aged sides,
Greekish la
with stee pole-axes dashed ou thei brains.
is no caricature no
Doctor Fanstns, perhap learne an wh ha
inglin
of th co ic an th horrible in
Marlowe' greatest play This is th story of th astere al arts an al sciences find nothin
furthe in th orld to study, an so turn to th supernatural He conjure up ephistopheles, 'servant to grea Lucifer' an throug hi conclude bargai whereb he obtain twenty-fou year of absolute powe an pleasure in exchange fo hi soul Faustu make~the most of hi ti e. He brings th glorio past of Gr ec ba to lif e an even weds Hele of Troy Thes ar th onderful line headdresses to her: Wa this th face that launched An
thousand ship
burn th toples to er of Ilium?
weet Helen,
ak meimmortal
He lipssuc fort
mysoul-see
it
kiss
here it flies:
Come Helen, come give me my soul again.... th la in th beauty of
thousand stars,
Brighter ar thou than flaming Jupiter \Vhe
he appeared to haples Semele
Fallstfls
72
E n g l is h L i te r a t ur e or lovelytha
th monarc
W i a m S ha ke sp ea r
of th sk
In wanton Aret_husa'sazured arms, nd none bu thou shal be my paramour
An just asremarkabl is th long finalspeec of th play when Faustu iswaitin fo th evil to carr hi to hell-his cry' Seewher Christ's bloo stream in th firmamentl an hi ulti at crea s, amid thunde an lightning, he is dragge to th flamesby de ons: My
od
G od , l o
n o s o f i er c
Adders an serpents le me breath
e: awhile
Ugly hell, gape not, come not, Lucifer 'l
Mephistophilis,
Despite faults of construction obviou carelessness and other artistic flaws attendan on youth, arlowe's achievemen is very importan one. He is grea oe nd ra atis ho ha he ot ee kill un timel in tavern in London migh well have become greate even than Shakespeare. An not eve Shakespeare could do allthat Marlowe could do: the peculiar power gained fro caricature; the piled-up magnificenc oflanguage abov all, 'Marlowe's mighty line'-thes dual achievements Ther is nobody like Christophe
ar grea indivi arlowe
hi chapte should egin an nd it th titl or ha or ca sayabout Shakespear than ha alread been said He is th subjec of innu erable books, ritten in al th language of th orld He ha been studie exhaustively Ever lin of ever on of hi play ha been analysed re-analysed, edited, an re-edited; th scanty detail of hi life hav bee examined under countless microscopes the world has judged hi an foun hi th greatest playwright perhap th greatest writer of al time This chapte ca contai nothin new. An ye eachage perhap eveneachdecade, ca fin somenew aspect ofa grea writer simply because, bein great, no on age, no on person ca se al of him. Th twentieth-centur Shakespear is differen from th nineteenth-century Shakespeare; th Shakespear of th 970Sis differen from th Shakespear of th 960s So it il go on as long as civilisation lasts; an ever ne aspect of Shakespear will be as tru as any other. Is Shakespeare' lifeimportan to us oe it atte to us that hewa born in Stratford, ad possibly un is arriag there, igrate to London amasse fortune, ca back ealthy citizen, an died ac ordi to tr diti nf e er f t drin ing- out? In sens it does for, knowin wh Shakespear wrot hi plays, knowin what he wanted ou oflife wecanattune ou viewof th play to hi view understan them bette fo gettin inside th skin of th an wh wrot them It is conceivabl that Shakespeare' ai ai in life as to beco Shak speare ante pr pert -l nd an ouses-an that ea cquiring money; th writing of th play wa primaril mean ofgettin ne Th th atre as as good ea ny of akin ne if on happened to be an of fair educatio an certai verbal talent Shakespear as such an Hi ey as neve on posterit (excep perhap in hi poems) it as on th present. It as left to He in an ondell-t frie ds his-to brin ut afte hi eath th f irs col7}
5 b a k e s p e a re ' s aims
[f:'illialll le te
ti
la
litl
in
a k" "p "
in
le .ina
see-n
did Shakespeare i nt er e
in th
re de
in th
la e ti d
·-·-"~:if:
st dy
o nl y i n t h
u di en c
in th
th i f w e f or ge t t hi s f ac t \ '
we h o l d e re c i n u r t hi n i n - a
th
l ay h u se .
ti e ne ve r
eye
i nd '
t ar t t o r ea d
theatre somethin
i ne te e t h- ce nt ur y
sc
la
ne
is la
lik Shakespeare's
elid-e-of
COl/dilio//.!" ill whitb . l " l , < ! / : . , . ' P l w · , ' }J"orh·c/
"h in
th
io
' \' V' a
t h' s
ld
Th G ir lh oo d o f S ba k es p ea r e' s id
ir
H e ro in es .
This view of Shakespeare'
th
ti
characters
le
le
le
ly
Scene ii
ta
is
isdi
e f r e t ha t
i s a r at he r n er v
actor. an
part, probably is
ancien
a k s pe ar e' s
tuas f a a n
ca it
to
Greece or Britain.
J"/i"
in th
an
d de nl y c ha ng e i nt o
felt
b re at h a n
t?
Rome
e r i ne s
boys
hi heroines nierr
clothes? Becaus
f e c in g
im
oy
(prob-
er
e ll .
C a e sa r and Coriolalll/s proclaimed th
a t o m a n t h s al li e i s « .
ie th
comfortabl
i tt l
th
la
or
if
imilarly
th
stag
's
le a k s pe ar e
i s c in e a ti c
in
is
if
ce e- ha
es
i s s wi f
a ct io n
.I/)(}R.espc"r,,·.r
I'I'r/J"I.(l'lIills '\/a k r
"de.-il
pi
at bc ol
C /o /J e T he a e .
ju t, un
or
isau ie
a ke sp ea r th
im il a nt e
th
th
t o b at te r
inan
nc an la
t h e ar s la
76
n gl is h L it e a tu r
de audience
ollaboration and competition
the word-hoards areopened wide and thegold scattered lavishly In early plays-Romeo and Julie or Richard II for example-Shakespeare' verbal genius isa lyri one, musica one. Long speeches hich ofte hold up th action of th play weav lovely poetic images play with word an sounds In late plays, such as Allton) and Cleopatra and King Lear languag beco es abrupt co pressed, so etimes harsh, an it is ofte hard to understa d. th rd till ou out-ther is ev an impression of carefu slo composition, the leisurely searchfor the right ord. have it on th evidence ofHemin an Condell, an alsoBen Jonson that Shakespear rote it grea spee an facility rarely crossing anything out Thi explainsa certai impatience with language: Shakespear ofte cannot wait fo th righ word to come an soinvents or hi ow concer ith th sound ofwords implie concer with th earsthat hear th sound. Shakespear is al ay greatl awar of hi ow Elizabethan audience, tha mixedbag of aristocrats, wits, gallants, cut-purses, sailor an soldiers on leave, schoolboys an apprentices, hich bear greate rese blance to th oder cine audience than th oder theatr audience (inEurope, anyway) He tries to establish intimacy with thi audience, to bring it int theplay and hissoliloquies arenot speeches whic th acto pretends to be deliverin to himself, bu intimate communications with the audience. It as anyway difficul to preten that th audi nc no ther th ayli ht blazed th audi nc th audience surrounded thre side of th stage, so of th audience even sa on th stage. Th oder actor, cu of from hi audience by foot lights an dark ess, ca retend that they ar ro of abbage no people at all. ot so th Elizabetha actor: he ha to establis contac with auditors wh were critical, sometime rowdy certainly alway day lit flesh-and-blood, no abstractions hidden by darkness This audience to variet of things-actio an bloo fo th unlettered finephrase an le scholarly, subtle hu ou fo th refined, boisterous clowning fo th unrefined love-interes fo th ladies song an danc fo everybody. Shakespear give al thes things no othe dramatis ha give an thin lik as uch. Before we takea bird's-eye viewof Shakespeare' ork, wehad better re in ourselve that it is no always easy or even possible to sa of th Elizabetha drama, 'Thi ma wrot that that ma wrot this.' Collab oratio wa common, and Shakespeareprobably worke with Beaumont an Fletcher aswel as othe notabl writers. Moreover he occasionally took an existing play (suc as th original Hamlet probably ritte bv Kyd) and re-fashioned it, alway certainly improvin it. This re-fashionin as or congenia to hi than th inventio of ne plots; in fact
!f7iIJia!llSha ke speilrr he normally prefer to take somebody else's plot or di ou stor from histor book or popula pa phlet-hi interest is or in th teffill,g of th stor than th stor itself Ho ever of th play 1shal ention now, Shakespear is certainly th author either wholly or ostly. Shakespeare' poetic (a oppose to dramatic fame bega with tw long poems- Venlls and .Adoni and he Rape of Ltlcrea-an it th firs of th Sonnet whic he continue writin alongsid hi plays. In hi earl London days he had, aspatro an friend th Earl of Southampton an so hi knowledg of th great, ofsuch power-seeker asthe Earl of Esse an th whol busy world ofcour intrigue an politics, is no holl second-hand. on hi firs play ar th thre part of pagean of histor with patriotic flavour which as ShakeHenry VI-a speare el knew as factor unifying al th divers elements of hi audience This as th ti he national prid as greatest-the Armada defeated th Englis navy th stronges of Europe th countr itsel unifie unde powerful monarch. Th popularity of thes play as such as to excite antagonism in at leas on fellow-dra atistRobert Greene whose posthumous G ro a s uo rt b o f w ri t B O l gh t t v t h parodi for of Shakespeare's nameIUillion of Repentanc introduce 'Shake-scene '-in onte of bitter en Fo th ro isio of ne playsfor the Londo theatres had bee the responsibility, self-elected of en it xfor an Ca bridge degrees-University its, learne poet lik Greene Peele, arlo e. Here wa ne come from th provinces with no more tha grammar-school education wh wa beatin th asters of rt th ir ow ame. Gr en sa in Shakespe re Johanne Factotn»: or jack-of-all-trades-a clever an ruthless opportunist ho gave th public ha it anted, no ha it ough to have If ther wa an appetite fo th pornograph ofviolence Shakespear wa
wellabl to satisf it, providin in Titus .Androuicus remarkable mixture of rape, torture, massacre and eve cannibalism Ifthe farce of mistaken identity wa required, Shakespeare could, with hisCOlller!_y Errors, outdoPlautu an Terenc in ad complication Fo thos Roma co edian ha been conten to gain thei laughs from th them of twin ho separate from birth, suddenly turned up in th sameplaceunknow to eachother. Shakespear as no satisfied,as they ha been with on se oftwins: he ha to ak thei servants twin too. Hewa essentiall an outdoer, writer ho like to go further than hi predecessors whethe in intrigue violence or shee lyricbeauty. The lyrica Shakespeare first manifest himsel in series of romantic comedies of which the earliest-Love' Labour's Los/-was conceivably ritte fo an aristocratic audience aime indeed directly at th Earl of Southampton' circle It is full ofhigh-flown language in th manner of John Lyly it make subtle references to th cour of Henr IV ofFrance ther isan attack-undoubtedly eant to please Southa pton-o that
Earb
romantic romcdirs
l,f
William Shakesp,'are
English Literature ma so adept at makin enemies, Sir Walte Raleigh. 'Itwascertainl not la fo th ausa e- he rs of th ubli theatres bala ce it polished exquisitries, Shakespeare wrote Th Taming of theShre/v, whose
Topicality
co parative cruditie ar te pere by bein presente as play within play Christophe Sly,a drunke tinker is th victim ofa practica joke hich ha hi believ that heis lord ho ha lost hi emor an th interlud of ife-ta in is presente before hi It is hard no to feel that akes eare as ut omethi imself in th part Sl -a arwickshir tinker (o tinkerer ith plays) sl ma ho is taking the plac in th orld of dram ofpoo dead Christophe arlowe lowl provincial ho ha beco th friend an proteg of nobl lord Th play that Slyseesis se in Padua, an Shakespear is beginnin to show so second-han knowledg of north-easter Italy-perhap know in th Southampton. The Two Gentlemenof Verona-which ha th firs th exquisit incidental songs, 'Who isSylvia?'-is flooded with Italia sunlight hich aythin of asLondon-bottle Chianti, an th Italia ambience (o specifically th enetia ambience is to haun Shakespeare's next productions. Romeoand [nliet, ith anothe Verona setting, is re arkabl lyrica tr~gedy, in hich Shakespeare, it hi opportunis eyes id open tries.to pr?duc so ething to please ever sectio of hi multi-layered public audience-fights lowcomedy philosophica truism (fo themen ofthe Inns ~fCour to rite do in thei notebooks) oung love star crossed, unti el death. Ther iseven underlying th talehe took from popula poem that streak oftopicalit hich isusually to befound in eve the remotest-seeming dramatic subjec of Shakespeare'snotori ou an murderou quarre betwee tw Englis families th Long an th ~anver brothers th latter friend of Southa pton ho despit th Issu ~r ants fo thei arrest arranged fo them to sc pe to France Ther ISth sa topicality in Th Merchant of Venice, which, though following Marlowe's The [ei» Malta in it conventional anti semitism exploits th particular feelings arouse by th allegatio (o th~par ofthe Earl ofEssex Southa pton's friend an hero that Quee li ab th's ewis hysician Lo ez as Spanis sp opez hanged draw an quartered; Shylock, whos sole crim isusury, istoo complex for easv condemnation
j~IidslllJ/llle~ight' Dream hasa ad sunlit, or moonlit settin hich co bine ythica then it Shakespeare' ow ar ickshire \' ritten fo th nu ti ls on supposes th ad li abet er (who Southampto ha been ordere by hi godfathe Lord Burleigh to arry though hepreferred to refuse an pa fineof fivethousa~ pounds an th Earl of Derby, it extend th fair musi of ercutio's Quee ab speech in Romeoand juliet into hole play It also blames
th Ki
-9
ad um an harv st of th ea 1594 on th dissension of th an Quee of th f airie nd in th Pyra us rhodomonta
ot~m th
eaver, satirise
th
elocutionary techniqu
Heyn,chief tragedia of th Lord Ad iral's no shareholde in th Lord Chamberlain'
of Ed ar
en Shakespear wa by en an resident play
righ of th Theatr in Shoreditch He as beginnin to do ell. With RichardII Shakespeare returned to Englis histor and the serial co position of dramatic epic on th troubled er that as to resolv itself gloriously in th establishmen of th Tudo dynasty. Richard III ha ome, appare tl th ot heel th H en r V I trilog and, espite it lo ra atic po er us regard as ro uc an apprentic phase; Richard II as lyrical, subtle and, again, topical. Shakespeare undoubtedly learned from Marlowe's Edward II ho toput together an historical play that should be or than er pagean of violence bu in th them of th weak onarch an th usurping strong nobl (Henry Bolingbrok depose Richar II an turn hi self into Henr IV th follower of th Earl of Esse sa trac fo th ti es Elizabet as so an thought, beco in senile in th absenc of declared heir to th throne should no th rule go to that grea popula hero-soldier an flower of chivalry-Rober Devereux Earl of Essex? Whether Shakespeare deliberately intended .hi Richard II propaganda cannot know bu do know that th playwa soon to beregarde asinflammatory and indeed wa use asan act ofinflammation he specia perfor ance of it preceded th Esse rebellio in 1601.
King john, whic appeared in 1596, is an interlud in th gr at ro cessio of plays about the Plantagenets and perhap intended primarily -a ar fr it entertai nt al e-as co en on th ad ti es Th Spanis were causin trouble again, th French ha allo ed them to take Calais an th play is full of fickle France an defian England. er ar also evid nt ref ere ce to th deat hakespea e' so Ha net, hich took plac in that year Grie fill th room up of myabsen child, Lies in hi bed,
alks up an do
it
e,
Puts on hi pretty looks, repeat hi words, Remember
me of al hi gracious parts,
Stuffs ou hi vacant garments with hi form
It wa painfu year fo Shakespeare, an certai failure of inspiratio akes this play th worst, probably of hi aturity bu th year ende it hi bein confir ed in th rank of gentle an co plet it coat ofarms, an hi making arrangements to purchase Ne Place, th finest th ty confidence.
Histories
80
English Literatur
Willia
Th tw play ar direct sequel of R ic ha r I I bu theyare or than er histories. Th characte of Si John Falstaff ho hold up th action gloriously is asL. C. Knight pu it th meat surrounded bydry historical bread. characte of huge popularity hewas to appear again-it is believed by th Queen' ow request-in T h M er r U ?' il 'e s oj!f indsor, here heis much diminished by bein show ridiculously in love or lust Lecher does no suit Falstaff an he ha played ou hi it in more congenia setting, Henry th os swingeingl patriotic of ll th la s, on ay thin rh ps openin up th ew Gl Theatr in 1,99. lt ug th them th conq es of ra ce Shakespear undoubtedl ha in mind th impendin conquest of Ireland-a conquest unfulfilled, alas-b th Earl of Essex. Th horu of re in usth th th atre isa 'woo en 0' ke Henry direct referenc to hi Were no ingoo
th genera of ou gracious empresstime hemay-fro
Irelan
coming
Bringing rebellion broached on his sword Ho
manywould th peaceful City quit
To welcome him
ut it th shamed return of unvictorious Essex, thes patrioti en largements turned sour and, indeed Englis histor became danger ou thin topresent upon th stage: it as to easyto find inanyaspe of England' past seditiou parallel to th present. Histor from no on ha to beremot an foreign- Jlllilis Caesar Corio lanus, and anyothe tale ncie akes eare co ld filc from Suet iu an Plutarch. Mor
comedies
lo it approach to that essentia elemen in Elizabetha co edy-th clown. il Ke p, with hi leers, tripping an lewd improvisations ha been th highly popula funn ma of th Lord Chamberlain' en bu no Shakespear as conceiving of or subtle comple clown, on wh coul sing sa song an stic to th script Ke left th company, an obin rmin to hi pl ce or im hakespeare rote th arts Touchstone in an Fest in IL is fine pastoral co ed with melancholy characte called Jaques Shakespeare' atte pt at outdoing Chapman, wh ha create notabl black-suited elancholic calle owceser-wh recite speech that makes direct reference to th otto ofthe Glob Theatre, oven onit fl de th re rese tation of er ul carr in th rl on is shoulders: T ot u m un du s a gi t b is tr io ne m lo sely transl te as 'All th world's stage' Twelft Night, strangely melancholy tapestry despit hard-drinkin Si Toby Belc an th foolis Si ndre guecheek ha lost topicalitie (los to al bu th probin schola of court-life) in it
references to th disgrace istres ar Fitton called all, an Si illia Knollys, Controlle of th Queen' Household, who, though arri an ld fell in lo it her. Mal! voglio--I nt ll th characte of alvoglio home inti atel to th cour fo whic th play wa ritte as an entertainmen suitable fo th last da of Christmas. on dark tragedy ofRoman [ulius Caesar and roilns and ressida-the history, th othe dark co ed of Gree myth-see to reflec Shakespeare's ow perturbation abou th troubled ti es in hich th re elli th ar of ssex disgrace cour ut stil th f lower chivalry to many wa preparing itself Shakespeare's concer is with the ee or orde to ai tained in th stat -' ut degree nt th trin ,! ar at is or f oll .. If Troilu and Cressida failed as play (and ther is evidence that it ha only on performance), it wa becaus itpreached to uc abou orde an th need to aintai degree he th Earl of Esse revolted an trie to smas th orde of th Englis co on eal, Shakespear gave up politica preaching. He as silent fo hole ear, or very nearly an then he um up th hole th in li abet an age-th co f lic be tweeninherite mediaeva though and the new scepticism, the inherent sickness of the world-in Hamlet. It isperh ps this ne la llth play ever written, that th worl ould leas willingl be ithout, an it ushers in period of Shakespeare' aturit hich is arke by disillusion and hopelessness. That grea phas belong to th Jacobean period no th Elizabethan. Quee Elizabet died in 1603, an Ja es of Scotland united tw kingdo asJames of England. Th Lord Chamberlain' en became th King's en an Shakespear beca Groo of th Ro al Bedchamber. on of th euphoria of this promotion, an hi undoubte establishmen as greatest poet of hi time is foun reflecte in hi ork, even in th comedies and ,\IeaslIr for Measur !' We ar no eant primaril fo laughs Macbeth, hich it it Scottish settin on ur ottish in is level, co en iu
ShakujJl'tll'l'
DiJi//lIJioll
thin that intere te ames I- is ow ncestr th revale ce of itchcraft- ut on anot er it isa er bitter isio lif e 'O t, out, brie candle.' King Lear and Till/on oj Athens are near-hysterical denuncia tion of ingratitude (wha ingratitud ha th poet hi self ha recently to suffer?). Coriolanns has, in it titl role an ho despises th ob perhap as Shakespear wa learning to despis it. .Anton» and Cleopatra oars abov er istory nd f i ds th on re lity-t ou bitterly irresponsibili ty. Shakespear half-retired to hi grea hous in Stratfor in 1610, and, findin co fort in hi daughter Judith an Susannah reflects so ethin of th rede ptiv powe ofan innocent female soul inthe lastgrea
Th lat« comedies
t'S
82
Englis
Literatur
Other Elizabethan Dramatists
comedies. Th IP'ill/er' Tale Pericles ( pe rh ap s n o s o g re a a n p er ha p on.lyhalf Shakespeare' work an The Telllpe.r ar in ne an deliciou in ic th tr te as ee th ci b ur ie s h i s ta f a n a wa it s h i s er en e e nd . I n 1613 the Glob Playhouse H e nr y V II I a~bu in er ce w hi c h ak es pe ar e s ee n: : t o h av e w ri tt e i n c ol la bo ra ti o w it h J oh n l et ch er , o n o f t h c o i n y ou n en n ot he r l ob e w a t o b e b u il t b ~ i t ~ ul d n o ~ on ce r t h l iv in g S ha ke sp ea re . H e h a p u s o u c o f im li th th ts ct av ee c ti o lt li th il
er ie es ha ar ea es ld em th l ~e s~ n a c on si st en c o f a ch ie ve me nt . M an y e n w h w ro t p la y i n h i l if et im e p ro du ce d s in gl e w or k o f g re a e xc el le nc e b u n on e a ch ie ve d ~h same consistenc of excellence as from abou 1593 o n h e s ho we d Inpla afte p~ay..He coul do aswel in traged as th tragic specialists, a nd -I n a st on is hi nj - w or k l ik e Hamlet-far b et te r H e c ou l m at c t h ~omi specialist and, moreover wa able to do strang an grea things I n f i el d w hi c h ar dl y a ny on e e l t ou ch ed d ar k c om ed y l ik eMeas/~'t fo Measure, th exalte vision of The Tempest. It is an all-roun dramatic excellence an it is served by suprem gift of language We remember ~ uc he s o f M al f o r T a mb ur la in e o r D e l or e o r V ol po ne -b u n ob od v es al er vi es ak ar en c ~o se s th e ~ l ay wr ig ht s o f h i s t i e ; h e i s t w en t e n i n o ne , a n h e i s a l s hirnself enigmatic bu curiousl sympathetic. Hi greatnes wa summed as ea as at al
en ak ar at l, ct of im as no e re l d o i na ti n t h E li za be th a t he at re , b u s ta nd in g a lo ne . h i i s b ec au s p la y b y h i c on te mp or ar ie s a r s o r ar el y s e f o e xa m i na ti on s b el o t h U ni ve r i t o r n iv er si t n tr an c l ev el . I t s ho ul d b e t h t as k o f h is to r l ik e t hi s t o c or re c t h i mp re s i o o f S ha ke sp ea re ' u ni qu en e s ' a n t o h o t h r ic hn e o f t h E li za be th a t he at r g en er a ll y T h t ro ub l i s t h a t h r ic hn es s i s s o i nc re di bl e t h e n o f t al en t s o many an spac so short, that only th most superficia impression of th ic ch em ts th ag ca en al te S ha ke sp ea re , a n t o g iv e t h n a e s o f t he i a ut ho rs . Shakespeare' greates contemporary (afte Marlowe) wa Be Jonson jo on ai er is nd (1574-1637). i nd ee d s o d if fe re nt , t ha t f ee l f ro m o n o n' s w ri ti ng s a bo u S ha ke en
es ea an dr at eo as cl ci te er th ci ts an e ve r p la y a s c om po se d o n a n e st ab li sh e a nc ie n p at te rn . J on so n p la y g en er al l o be y t h r ul e o f u ni ty ' t h a ct io n t ak e l es s t ha n d a an th en er es th it al tt ic Volpone, The Alchemist
am ti ch ct ea at in il espeare sees huma beings asstrange mixtures walkin masses of conflict an contradiction, unpredictable, always surprising Jonson sees them a s v er y s i p l a n a l o s e ch an ic a c o b in at io n o f f ou r e le me nt s hi a s m ed ia ev a i de a t h h u a n s ou l w a a d o u o f h u o ur s -sanguine, choleric phlegmatic melancholic-which, mixe in variou p ro po rt io ns , g av e d if fe re n h u a n t yp es ' o ns on ' c ha ra ct er s a r a l h um ou r ' , a n h i c o e d Every Ma» ill H s I II lI O l ee t o b e l it tl e o r t ha n d e o ns tr at io n o f t h t he or y I n e ac h c ha ra ct e o n q ua li t predominates amorousness, cowardice, avarice, irascibility boastful 8}
Em
JOIl.iOIl
84
E ng li s
L it er at ur e
Other Elizabethan
ess. se in an to lose to th oralitie with thei personification of virtue and vice';the character onc established, never changes-indeed an hint of complexity or capacity fo change ould destro th self-contained worlds that Jonson builds. Bu Jonson despit th li itations that theory impose on hi is very grea playwright Hi tragedie have littl appeal (for traged on needs conflict and capacityfor change the appeal of Macbeth is precisely th warrin ithin hi self th gradua corruption ofhis nature bu hi comedies are admirable. Volpone and The AlchellJist both have th sa theme-th rogu an hi assistan ho ge fa an rich on th credulit of th st pi In Volpone, ld th pretends to bever rich an very ill: lyin on hi pretende death-be he inform ever on of hi visitors that he an he only shal inheri ol pone' wealth. Needless to say eac visito brings substantial presents so that olpone shal no change hi ind. The Alchemist deal ith tw rogues ho preten to have discovered th agic formul fo turnin basemetal to gold They receiv dupe afte dupe take mone an good fro them, and becom involved in series of rollickin comic situation hich ar ofte fa less knock-about' or keenly satirica than anythin in Shakespeare' comedies Romanc is outsid Jonson's scope, as nderfu lyrica if that ow lo to arlo nd hi love-scene have sensuousness of language whic al ay seem to be unde control-unlike so of Shakespeare, here th very flow an floo of language seem to have th poet in it po er Here is olpone the lover: Wh droops my Celia Thou hast in plac of orth
lover: us th
base husband, foun fortun
ell,
\\'i th secrec an pleasure See, behold \'qhat thou ar quee
of no in expectation,
AsI feedothers: bu possess' Se here
an
crown'd.
rope ofpearl an each more orient
Than that th brav
Egyptia
quee
Dissolve an
drin
them See,
i \I ay p u t o u
ot
t h e ye s o f o u
diamond, woul
caroused
carbuncl t.
When sh camein lik star-light, hi That
ar
have bought Lolli
Paulina,
with jewels
er th spoils of provinces; take these,
An wear an lose them ye remain To purchase them again, an
an ear-ring
this whol
state.
Jonson is th grea dramatis of realis '. He does not, lik Shakespeare, turn hi back on Elizabetha London an visi strang places like Illvri or th Forest of rden heis concerne it akin hi co ed ou of
DralllatiJ/...
,I'
the situations of hi ow time he is al ay contemporary in hi themes an settings Bu he ca be fanciful as el as realistic, as hi asques show (The asqu as th late versio of th interlude: an elaborat bu shor piec ith usic dance, gods goddesses, an abstractions playe in the great houses ongreat occasions.) An Jonson isthe greatest purely lyri poet of th earl seventeent century, th founde ofa hole school of poets-the' Trib ofBen'. This is perhaps, th os popula song in th language rink to meonl An
nd th followin
with thin eyes
il pledge with mine ..
seem to contai
th very essenc ofBen onso
th
poet colour light form Have yo seen bu
bright lilygro
Before rude hand have touch'd it? Ha
yo
a r ' d b u t h f al l o f t h s n
Before th soil hath smutch'd it? Have yo felt th
oo of beaver
Or swan's down ever? Or have smel th ha
ta te
th bu
the brier,
a r i n t h f ir e th
ag
te
jons 's gift like Shakespear 's co pled it shar observ ti
t h ~ ee ? issh
is
ri rily verb one, ee sens of sati e, an
ut it is stro
concer with form. onso is no th only dramatis to presen uswith living pictur of ]oh 84 1616) Fletcher (1579-1625) ai in entler colo rs thei ht he ompellin vi of iddl -cla ndon B/lTlling Pestl is The orke together fo severa ears Alchemist. Thes tw play rights achievin common style, so that it ishar in an give play to separate Beaumont's contributio fro Fletcher's. The learne great dea fro Shakespeare, especially in th fiel of ro anti co ed bu lacked Shakespeare' genius an Shakespeare' delicac of touch. Thei treaten of amorou themes fo instance ofte leaves nast tast in th outh in incestuous love betwee brothe an sister occurs quit casually ith no attemp to prob th mora issues of such guilty love Bu T h K l1 ig h o f t h B ur ni n P es tl e is holeso an charming It stands in the shadow of Cervantes' DOliQuixote and satirises th iddle-clas tast fo book on knight-erranty th star of th play London grocer an hi if clim on to th stag an insist that thei apprentice Ralp be give part fter so argu ent, Ralp is
Bealllllont an FMcher
86
E ng li s
O th e E li za be th a
L it er at ur e ll
to la
i nt e
t,
it
in
ie
th
as th
lf
is to
o f t h a p r en ti c
in
tu re
Ja pe
iv
ts
h o t ri ve s f o t h
ig fu
th
an
th
le Q ui x t e
ofhi
l ot -
to
a st er '
d a g ht e
Flarnineo
Vittoria.
follows-th
ay
also kill hi virtuous
quarrel. Fo hi part th
brothe
Marcello afte
Duke poisoned
by Isabella's brother,
Vittoria an
re ag
ta
it th
id le
in
tu
id le
te
in
th ts
ic ti
lo
li
th
ly re
(I 7 0? - 6 p) ,
a n t he r c o e d
a bo u
lo i st o
on on
an
th
i dd le -c la ss .
lu !'
(t
is
if
in
th
ts
i n i vi d a li st ,
th
is
i dd le -c la s
th
n gl i
ic
jo
is
in ma
th
hi
membered.
an
is sy
at
rk
th
o nl y The
e rh a
th
io
th
th
Jo
Ja
t o i m r is on me n
a dm ir ab l
p ic tu r (ded
ld
Ll7ebster
of th
to
hillocks that shal keep hi
nd (whe
(J
t he rs ,
0?
ga tomb ar robb'd
withou
in
l iz a e t a n
th Lf"est (an
r i t ol )
th
ie
T ho ma s
tw
ofmin
a ft e la
h a e sp ea r ed
in
or
ebster
i n t h f e e s p os si bl e
The Ll7hiteDeui c on ce rn s t h
te
te ke
a s u n o ub te dl y ie
th
t it l
th
lt
like Jonson an
o rd s
When
le
t or tu r
it
madness, an re
r de rs .
e nt a
I t c li ma x c o e s f ro m
er tw
sublim
an
er
r ot he r
l dr e terrible poetry
in
question abou hell
by Ho
tediou is
guilt
conscience!
look into th fish-ponds in my garden
ethink
se
thin
arm'
with
rake
That seem to strike at me
i tu at i h ak e
th r ac hi a n o (sic) an
in
an
nd ye it shal no burn al me alike.
Shakespeare,
u t h e a p pr oa ch e
tr te
La hi
t h g re at ne s
p oe t a bl e t o c on ve y
u n e rg oe s
He says in hell there's on material fire
J oh n
th
I t i s h ar d t o c o v e
i ft ; h e i s a r e a r a bl e to
th
that follow vengeful murders,
Jo
no harm
ol fa thence that's fo to men,
lv[afji i s a n t he r t al e o f
uc es
arm,
sustai
hi nail he'I di them up again.
i ll a
Ll7hit Devi and The Duches of
Th
r ea t t ra ge di e
much quotation.
a bi li t
it
am puzzle
r a a ti s
3 8) .
s tr on g v er ba l s ta t
h e F ai r M a
th
lf
bu hi
of thes
he
th
a ut ho r io
Jv[afji, s ee m t o b e e nt ir el y h i o w
or
friendless bodies of unburied men.
The Duches
( 1 7 5 ? - 6 34 ) t h
i ri c
b us tl in g l if e
6 50 )
eq
te
to
ts
f o a l t hr e
h e g re at es t t ra gi c
ha
with leave an flower do cove
Th
Fo
ar
th
Jo
an th wren
groves they hover,
An
Bu keep th
ic le
m ot he r
To rear hi
Girl,
io
(1559 ?- 6 34 ?) ,
have lost myvoice
Th ant, th field-mouse an th mole
Gipry, la
in have caught
Call unto hi funera dole
l o e r o rd er s o f s oc ie t
th
i st ra ct e
Sinc o'e shad
le
i s d ra ma ti c
it
cold
Call fo th robin-redbreas
ey ',
th
p la ys , a n
i nt o e d
Holiday T h H on es t W ho re , and Old Fortunatu The Shoemaker' Holiday
Shoemaker's l iv el in e s ,
An everlastin
e cc en tr ic .
lu c ol la b r at o
Th
blac charnel.
Most irrecoverably. Farewell, glorious villain ...
ic
o de l e mp lo ye r
is in
Mylife wa
ll
' - l li n
la
li
Holidcy by Thomas Dekker
with this play is The Shoemaker'
ssociate
Flamineo th
te 's
standards.
Other Elizabethan comedies
violen
Duke kill hi wife Isabella ..Rev.enge inevit~bly
in hi illici love f~
in
lo
th
Cove he face mine eyes dazzle sh died young.
is
te
D ra ma ti st s
, \' -
Olher Elizabethan
Dr{//J/(lli,II"
,I'll
\ \e bs te r d es pi t h i s ma l o ut pu t i s v er y g re at , B ot h h i t ra ge di e a r vision of hell displaying verbal powe an an imaginatio that Shakep ea r o nl y c o l d t ou ch . n d n o e ve n S ha ke sp ea r c ou l s e e vi l i t th terrible clarit of vision that is Webster' peculiar gift (1586-1639?)
vision an th same sort of tast fo horrors. Hi tragedy' T i P i he IF'hore deals-like Ki nd ng Beaumont an Fletcher's incest Bu whil Beaumont an Fletcher seem no to have th courag of t he i c o v ic ti o s , a vi n i t r ev ea le d t o a rd s t h e n o f t h p la y t ha t t h i st e
th
ic ti
in
brother, speaking to hi sister is
f t r ti m
Of ou
f a t -k ni t
\ '( 'h ic h
w ou l
a ff ec ti o s ,
i n t he r
I n t h s e w el l- c l ou re d
th ug
i n e st s e in s
p er ha p
b ho rr ' ow
o ns ta nt l 1co
Wi
fl
es te ab th tr s it ua ti o t he y f in d t he ms el ve s i n t o k il l h e a n t he n h im se l t o d ie . Anothe dramatis who' supped full with horrors' wa Cyri Tourneur h os e t w i mp or ta n p la y a r T h e R e p e l/ g e r' s T r a g eq y and (157 ?-1626), T h e A th e is t T r ag e r{ J' . I n t he se , e sp ec ia ll y t h f ir st , t he r i s e vi de nc e o f audience of th post-Shakespearian theatre: Tourneur is evidentl tryi n t o f ee d p ub li c a pp et it e a l o s a s c r ue l a s t ha t o f t h R o a n u nd e e nt a l y in a n p le as ur e i n c ru el t w a a lw ay s t he r i n t h l iz ab et ha n a ge , a n a g o f b ea r- ba it in g p ub li c b eh ea di ng s b ur ni ng s a n h an gi ng s t ra it or s tu ig it te as r ev en g o n t h u ke , w h p oi so ne d V in di ce ' b et ro th e f o r ef us in g t o th ev isa te e, t ri ck , i s a d t o k i t h p oi so ne d s k l l o f V in di ce ' l at e i st re ss , by
"I
ce ther
am ed in hell beside this villains?' elicit no little sympathy from us
TOl/m //'
g li s
L it er at u
Othe Elizabetha Tilli .Andronicus, b u t h
h ud de r c o e s n o
ro
t h e ve nt s t he ms el ve s
sophistication of thes late tragedie that make them sofrightening Th earl reveng play ar so crudel writte that they ar aslittl terrifying in
in
in
nd
i si o
ev
ey
ju
in
sa to
Thomas Middleton
id
to
tr
The Changelillg
id at ar lo te io el lo de Piracquo Sh enters this scheme light-heartedly,
th er er and, when De Flores
a no th e t ra n a ct io n l ik e b uy in g j ew el s o r h or se s B u F lo re s w an t no money, no goods, hewants her. Beatrice-Joann isshocked her virtu outraged: hy 'tis impossible thou cans be so wicked Or shelte such
cunnin
To make hi deat
Th language is so bold an vicious, ca no se
hich
ayI ca forgiv
it
With any modesty
Y et , a s t h e p la y p ro gr es se s s h l ea rn s t ha t s h i s t i e t o D e F lo re s t h co ic ty in el as le A t t h e nd , s h h a c ha ng e f ro m a n i nn oc en t b u i rr es po n i bl e o ma n t o c re at ur e w it h m or a s en s l ea rn e f ro m h e o w c ri me . h e h a t h a n h e l oa th ed , t h m a a bo u w ho m s h f in al l s ay s Beneath th stars, upon yo meteo Ever hung my fate, 'mongst thing
Whil
corruptible
De Flores cries: love this
oman inspite of he heart;
er loveI earned ou
Piracq o'
murder ..
Yes, an he honour's priz as my reward
than
lifefor nothin
Bu that pleasure it wa so swee to me, That
ha
drun
Fo an ma to pledg
Thomas Heylvood
g re a p la y ey Kindness, t h s to r ( un li k
all, left none
ehin
me
hi is
t h o th er s s o f a
If/oma Killed lI'itb le e nt io ne d s e i n n gl an d
II
ofan unfaithful wife whos husband, discoverin th infidelity does no s ee k r ev en g i n t h n or ma l p as si on at e a y o f h u b an d b u i nd ee d k il l h e w it h k in dn es s H e s en d h e t o l iv e i n a c o f or ta bl e c ou nt ry ho u e , ll to ee th or il in al llof t. th er er at iv in la ll in in an nn of th fe l iz ab et ha n t ra ge di e t o h av e s et ti n i n c on te mp or ar y E ng la n i ns te a o f a n u nr ea l t i e le s I ta ly . ll th ag ti en ly C ha pm a a n h i t w p la y a bo u B us s D ' A mb oi s C ha p a n i s k n ow n ts ee ik
ch
th
p la ys , c ol la bo ra ti ng , a s h av e e en , w it h o th e d ra ma ti st s i n v ar io u comi producti oris bu BlfS{), D' .Ambois and The Reveng of B/lS{)' D' .Ambois a r h i o w w or k T h h er o o f b ot h p la y i s a f ie r g al la nt , q ua rr el so me , en at ca ed
cruelty,
th murderer of my honour
Dramatist»
brother to ev em en c ou rt . T h p la y h av e t re me nd ou s w ee p a n p ow er , a n a ga i g re a gift of language is in evidence Bussy' huge rantin speeches recallin Tamburlain bu possessing greate maturity of phrasing an rhythm w er e u nf ai rl y d es cr ib e b y r yd e a s d wa rf i t ho ug ht , d re ss e u p i n g ig an ti c w or ds , r ep et it io n i n a bu nd an ce , l oo se ne s o f e xp re s i o a n g ro s h yp er bo le s' . v e s uc h c on de mn at io n a s t h a i nd ic at e t o u s t h a t he r i s a t l ea s n ot hi n t a a bo u C ha p a n \'{'e have been usin th term Elizabetha Dram fo many page now, p er ha p g iv in g a n i mp re ss io n t ha t a l t he s p la y - an d t h a n o th er s u nm en ti on ed -w er e w ri tt e a n p er fo r e d i n t h r ei g o f Q ue e l iz a beth 1. t hr ou gh ou t t h r ei g o f J a me s a n o nl y b eg a t o p et e o u i n C ha rl e I ' Puritans in 1642(w shal hear more abou th Puritans in late chapter) is te ha ti es en a rk i ea uc
l on ge r i f t h P ur it an s h a
n o p er fo rm e
t hi s p ur it an ic a
a ct . B u
c ou l n o l as t v er y l on g a n l on g b ef or e t h c lo su r o f t h e t he at re s i t w a already losing inspiration, taste, an skill. Th lastimportant name istha o f P hi li p M as si ng e ( 15 84 -1 63 9) . ( Ot he r n a e s- su c a s t ha t o f J am e Shirley (I h is to r c an no t t ak e t he m i n. ) ac te ar
c;{'()/:!!,{'
Cbaplllilil
92
Englis
Literatur
er lo a be t lo t hu nd er ' t ra di ti on : i t a lw ay s s ou nd s a n r ea d a s i f i t w er e u c e ar li e t ha n a s i ng er . a s i ng er ' w or k c ou l n o e l h av e b ee n p ro du ce d at an earlie period Ford show th imprin of Shakespeare' influence, whil Massinger' isa developmen of Be Jonson's example. Massinge is en i re w in is r~7,!y t o P '! ) O l D eb ts . comedy, h ic h d es pi t i t k il l i n c on structio an language isto Be Jonson as black-and-whit is to rechni color. Th chie characte is th monstrousl mean power-ancl-golcl loving cruel, atheistica Si Gile Overreac (the last grea characte rl iz a e th a d ra ma ) w h e sp is e t h w ho l o rl d g et s p le as ur e f Wl l t h t ea r o f w om e a n c hi ld re n a n o nl y a nt s h i a ug ht e t o a rr y effectively. Hi speeches ar powerful
bu we have none of th magnit-i
e gi n is d i e ns io n h a b ee n r e o ve d f ro m t h d ra ma , a n s o w e s ha l n ee d t h at ti li ' no n- El iz ab et ha n w ay . \ ' e s ha l n ee d e w i nf lu en ce s e ve n n e k in d ofstage So th Puritans wh ha warred agains th theatres fo so Inng h o h a b ee n r id ic ul e t h p la yw ri g t s b u h a t h l as t l a g h w er e in in at ts w er e e re l c lo si n t h s ta bl e- do o a ft e t h h or s h a l ef t
I.
at
e, is th a. hnvespen quit long time considerin it Bu th othe form of litera r u w er e l o r i h in g a s w e ll , a n o u t as k n o i s t o s ur ve y b ri ef l w ha t in ie dramatists. Let LIS imagin that Shakespear himself, in 1616, is sittin quietl in h i p a l ou r i n S tr at fo rd , d ri nk in g l it tl e a l a n l oo ki n b ac k n o a t h i o w a ch ie ve me nt s o r t ho s o f h i f el lo w- dr am at is t b u a t t h b oo k a di n ti te in li time or in hi father's lifetime In th fiel of prose, translatio seem to come first. pros literature c a o nl y g ro w b y t ak in g n ou ri sh me nt , a n t hi s o ur is h e n c a o nl y b e obtained from foreig sources. Thus translations from th Greek, Latin,
TraIiJ/"/
inll
e br e a s w el l a s t h r ee k- th e n gl is h i bl e h e i nf lu en c o f t ho s versions of th Bibl made before 1611 is quite eviden in Shakespeare' ay ea le ea c hu rc h- th o g h p er ha p S ha ke sp ea r i s t h l ea st ' r el ig io u o f n gl i ty it ly la Venice-are almost s pe ec he s- li k o rt ia ' g re a o n i n The Merchant Christian sermons. C on te mp or ar y i t t h r ea t y nd al e w a S i h o a s o r (1480(535), ' on e o f t h p re cu r o r o f t h R en ai ss an ce , t h e w e ar ni n - a ma ofbol imaginatio an vision He ca be mentione in connection whic fragment wi th Shakespeare, fo it seem that apIayon hi life-o tl li tt a gi n it is r ee k f or ' o wh er e b oo k h ic h d ep ic t a n i ma gi na r i sl an d w he r
Si
T ho u/ a
M or t
g li s
Lier tn
T ud o everything is nearlyperfect \v
stil us th
or
Utopia to describe rh
paradise that ever politician promises th idea worl whic en ca buil reas n, arit nd prop so ia rg ni atio a\'c recently co to distrust th vision of perfec stat that is realisable have ha to an disappoint ents in th presen century-an perhaps th lastof the' Utopiographers as H. G. ells Bu ore' poin iscontained in hi title: hi perfec island does no exis an neve canit is nowhere
r a n sl a t io n s
Bacon
Secula translations of the Elizabethan ag includ SirThoma North versio of th Lives of Plutarch made in 79,and Philemon Holland' renderin of th Live of th T//Jelve Caesar by Suetonius, ad in IGO(,. Shakespear as devote to th former fo he frequently borrowed hi plot from thos ters biographie of th grea Greeks an Ro ans, an ot av rs to 'lifti le sent ce nd ra ra from orth Th fa ou descriptio of Cleopatr on th il in.Anton and Cleopatra is little or than skilfu versifying of orth's ow ords li ab th re inte este in bi raph espe iall th ancients an to this wa allied an interest in history, especially of thei ow country. \'X' ay note here that Si Thomas or as pionee in th fiel of historical riting an hi L if e a n ei ll Edward is mode of clear, objectiv docu entation Th historia ho provided Shakespeare with material for his historica plays wa Raphael Holinshe (died 1580?) whose Chronicle he used agai an again. An importan Elizabetha translatio from th French wa Florio's renderin of the Essais of ontaigne Th Essa isa prose-form that ha oppresse al of us al over th orld in classroo an examinationhall Sowell-established isit, that tend to thin it ha existe from th beginning of time. Actually ichel Eyque de Montaign (1533-92.)\\'JS it inventor an he conceive of it as brief-or occasionally no 51' brief-loos compositio in whic he coul informally chat of subjects that interested hi ontaigne wa on of th first' oder en', an with no stron religious belief but great tolerance an kindness, Strong intellectual curiosit bu an awarenes of th limitation of reason an science. In essayafter essaywe are faced with the question QIIe sais-je?'>: '\vh no ?' taig ce tic, co in at ti en scepticis wa necessar asa foundation for modern science. It iscertain that Shakespeare' Ha le ha read good deal of ontaigne as han: th characters wh argu abou perfec island inThe Tempest. (Here we 's Utopia.) lori as th ecretary th rl tham ton, render ontaigne into flui Englis prose, catching th gentleness th hu our, an th char of th grea French an's personality. Th firstEnglish essayistwasSir Franci Baco (I 6I-I62.6)-th ma ho accordin to certai fanatics wrot Shakespeare' play amon
(}therthings Bacon' bi
Lati work lieoutside ou scop (h
P oe tr y a n
P ro s
rote in
atin ca se liev that glis ld last), bu ention that in hi iVO/IIIIlI Organlllll he laysthe foundation fo modern scientifi study. The Essays, however, have kept his namealive more tha nn of hi weightie achievements Thes ar brief, pith observati_on on variet of subjects-death revenge, reading, gardens, educa.tlon an soon-an ge th impression ofideas rapidl jotted do n, Idea hich have no plac in bi philosophica or but, nevertheless ar orth recording. Thes essays ar simple strong ad irably clea an concise, an an statements ar as emorable as line of poetry \v ca neve forget thes openings 'Men fear deat aschildre fear to go in th rk'; 'Rev ng isa ki il justice' 'G lmig ty irst plante garden'; '''Wha is truth? said jestin Pilate an ould no stay fo an answer (the Bibl again) bn book that Shakespear neve live to read (althoug John Ford did, an as uc influenced by it as The Al1afoll~)' of Me/allch00' by Robert Burton (1577-1640). It is grea pity that th or appeared so sho.rtlvafter th deat of Shakespear (onl fiveyears), fo on is tantalised th though ofwhat us Shakespear ould have ad ofit. Th
Al/afo!l~V Ale/til/rho!J'
neurosis or depression th diseas that Ha le suffer from Ever ag ha it pe alad (the twentiet centur ha ha angst, or anxiety, just as th iddl ge ha accidia), an Elizabethan melancholy seems to hav been characterise by inability to ak up one' mind perfor necessaryactions or ge an pleasure ou oflife So etimes elanchol lead to ~uicid (Hamle contemplates it), bu usuall th elanchol an thinks to uc abou suicid ever to ge do to co itting it The .Anatomy of Ale/al/cho!y is huge ork-over half-a-million ords-and full of th most fascinatin stories, incredible scraps of learning astonishing quotations from ol riters Th sectio on Love elanchol is speciall to Librar editio Shakespear
ec nd (T re is very go er n' in thre volu es Love elanchol co es the last.) as probably no greatl interested in th religiou con-
impresse by th B;ok of Alartyrs by John Foxe (1 6-87), luri an bitter accoun of th deaths ofProtestants at th hand ofCatholi perserequired Englis Protestant reading; it is furious, passionate book long-winde at ti es bu ofte oving. Th reallygrea religiou book Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity by Richar Hooker (1 4organise that th Catholic-Protestan struggle ould be resolved once fo all: th Church should take th middle ay absorbin from Catholicism an Protestantis th best qualitie of each Hooker's prose-styl
Religiolls n.orles
T ud o
P oe tr v a n
is betwee th solemn styl of Lati an th homely earth) styl ofspoke English. Spoken English-that is th ke to understandin th peculiar virtue of Elizabetha prose. Th Elizabethans addresse themselves to th ea r at he r t ha n t h e ye , a n t hi s e xp la in s t h s e s at io n a r t h a n i nt i ac e t f ro m e ve n t h o s c ho la rl y E li za be th a r it in g un te ee ca c on ce rn e it a ki n u ma n c on ta c t h o ug h u g e st i co on speech and, although literature thus gained throug greate precision, i t l os t t h o ug h d i c a d in g o me ly , i nt i a t q ua li ti e h e p op ul a b u i no r p r s e r it in g o f l iz ab et h d ay -p ro s f o e nt er ta in me nt d ir ec tl y t o s , o rd s u sh i ou li r iv er , o n- st op . It is th modu l at io n o f a o ic e t ha t w e h ea r n o t h c ra tc hi ng s o f a e n T he s i no r ly journalism churne ou to pa th rent-but even th cheapest pamphlet Rl'/i'!,ioll.c jJcr.cl'mfif;1I as .r/JUIi'1Ill Fo."'!' '.r Book of:\ larf),r.r.
journalistic prose. p ro s t or ie s th l iz ab et ha n a g a r i nt er e t i g . I n t he m e e t h b eg in ni n o f w ha t y er y s o n , i s t o b e o u s t o pu la r l it er ar y at am asShakespeare-Migue de Cervantes, creato of DOll Qlli.yote. This pera ps , i s t h f ir s t ru e n ov el . e xp ec t n o e l t o f ai rl y l on g ( th in k o f Tolstoy, Dickens, Scott) an DOli Qlli.\,,·ote i s s o l on g t ha t t ho s o f u s h o ' En gl i o ve l a r o r l i l on g h o s to ri es , a n t h r it er s l on g o ve ls - e op l l ik e o ll et t a n F ie ld in g a n D ic ke n - ar e n o l ik el y t o l ea r c h f ro m t he m f r t h p oi n o f v ie w o f c o ns tr uc ti on . ut as To", et in em Jonesand Oliver Twist. Certai novels of th ancien worl were translate during Shakespeare' lifetime-particularly D op bn i a n C hl o and he l s t ha t c ur io u w or k b y e t o n u s- th e Sat),ricoll-was Golden Ass. r ea d g oo d d ea l i n t h r i i na l a ti n e s p r b ab l i nf lu en ce d e n li a sh e a n e l n e t o c re at e r at he r i mp ro pe r t al e f ul l o f i nc id en t c ri me , l o e , a n o th e t il l p op ul a i ng re di en ts . h ea rt il y r ec o en Nashe's T b e U n J o r tl ll la t e T r a N ! !e r - a lurid tale full ofastonishin dialogue es tr if ([ 567-[601), te ly ences, an most of thes ar recounted-blown-up itis true exaggerate e nr y I II . h e h or ro r t ha t d re w s pe ct at or s t o b« Spallisb Tragec[J' or Titns .Andronicns, o r t o t h b ai ti n b ) o g t h b ea r a ck er so n i n P a i s
Pm.I·,
E:Ji:;:iI
iiI
1;"1/1
pro.,i'
9J
T u o r P oe t
English Litrramre ve ve Deloney
ru om
r ip t o n
or
ho
J a c k o f N l 'l l' /J / l rl ' Gm C ra j is T h e S h o e IJ l a k e r· .
(1543-1600)
Th Holida» b y
kk
no
re
J oh n L yl y' s Enpbues
re
dy
d-
or
pe
po n sp ir a o n
he
os
ht
ou
dr gentle knight
re
h-
Wherei
utfu
[v
uc ug of
us
as pricking on th plain,
ol dint of deep
ound
Th crue mark of many Ye ar
mo
f in d oe
Ycla in mighty arms an silver shield
Arcadia,
poet, scholar-wrote
nz on o~ Th
T h e F a e ri e Q / le e l le :
(1554-K(j)-
soldier,
ri
till that time di he neve wield:
Hi angr
he
di remain
bloody field;
stee di chid hi foamin
bit,
much disdaining to th curb to yield: Full joll
knight he seemed an fair di sit,
As on fo knightly jousts an
Utopia.
fierce encounter
Epithalamion, by
ns
fit
or 'marriage-song'
hi
di
ff
no
by bu
xt ns n,
ha
pe
po
on
us
Epithalamion: ow al isdone; brin
ha
ul
od
nd po
ha pe 55
Spenser
pr
bl bo
pr
he hy
home th triump
Brin
home
it
ever ha \Vho
he an
gl
of
Pour ou th
.Aeneid T h e F a e ri e Q l le e ll e , which,
ha
ot
allthis live-long day, ol is
ithout restrain or stay
by the bellyful,
o u t o a l t ha t
ll
nd sprinkle al th post an wall with Crow
ay sweat, an drunke
ye go
nd Hyme
r,
ue
in c up s
That they
ht or
heap with bliss. no
h i d a f o e ve r t o ur
of he gain
with jollity
an more joyful da than this
heaven woul
Make feas therefor
i rco
of ou victory;
yo th glor
With joyanc brin
un ou
home th brid again,
Brin
Bacchu with also crow
with
ine,
bewithal.
coronal, reaths ofvine,
nd le th Graces danc unto th rest
ho
pe
dd
t he y c a
hi
Th
To whic
he
on hi
on
ov
T h e S h e p h e r d' s C a l l 'l ld a r ) , but oc T h e F a cr i
Q/II'e/1f
words.
i t e st :
while th maiden do their caro sing th wood shal answer an
thei echo ring
he
d io u
rr
an
rose
f)