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| Gammer Gurton's Needle |
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| Ralph Roister Doister |
The first comedy in English was "Ralph Roister Doister" by Nicholas Udall (1504--1556), Head master of Eton and later of Westminster School. This play was based on Plautus' comedy "Comedy Miles Gloriosus" written in Latin. This play was written in rhymed verse using stock characters (stereotyped characters that recur often in plays) like the foolish braggart and the mischievous servant (Matthew Merrygreek) who finds delight in fooling his master. In this comedy the stock characters of Greek and Roman comedies are blended with the those of English morality plays. This comedy deals with the theme of a love-sick braggart (Ralph Roister) wooing a dame (Constance) who was betrothed to another suitor (Good Luck). At the end Ralph was beaten and driven away by Constance and her maids. This play was staged by school boys in 1553.
The next play "Gammer Gurton's Needle" written by William Stevenson in 1562 deals with the life of English peasants. In this Terentian comedy the plot centers round the loss of a needle belonging to the lady named Gamer Gurton. It was eventually found when her servant Hodge was slapped on the buttocks by the trickster figure Diccon , who found it stuck in the breeches of Hodge. It is almost like a farce with crude jokes of country life.
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| Thomas Sackville |
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| The tragedy of Gorboduc |
The first tragedy in English was "Gorboduc" by two lawyers,Thomas Sackville (1536--1608) and Norton (1536--1608) in 1561. The influence of the Roman tragedies of Seneca is seen in this play, though they took the story from the early annals of Britain, Geoffrey Monmouth's "History of the Kings of Britain". This is the first play written in blank verse which set the trend for other dramatists to follow in later times. Gorboduc abdicates his throne in favour of his sons, Ferrex and Porrex. Ferrex, the elder, was killed by his younger brother, Porrex. Porrex in turn was killed by the mother, Videna, in vengeance. The subjects rise in rebellion and killed both the king and the queen. This led to civil war and usurpation.The usurper was also killed leaving the throne vacant.Thus the line of Brutus became extinct with the death of Gorboduc. Through this play the dramatists tried to suggest the turmoil and anarchy caused to a kingdom without a successor and also to advise indirectly that the virgin queen should get married to continue her dynastic rule in the interest of the kingdom.
In fifteenth century the English teachers, in order to create interest in Latin, encouraged the boys to enact the plays they had read. All of Seneca's plays written in Latin were translated into English between 1559 and 1581. The early English drama followed the classical Greek and Roman dramas as its model. It borrowed most of the plots from classical books like Plutarch's " Parallel Lives" (translated by Thomas North in 1579) and Richard Holinshed's "Chronicles"(1587) and plays written by Latin writers like Plautus, Terence and Seneca. The classical dramas followed rules very strictly allowing no scope for freedom or modification of rules. They followed the rule of three unities: the unity of Place, Time and Action. The action in the play should be shown only at one place in the duration of a single day and the plot should be a single one to sustain the dramatic effect on audience focused without any distraction . So there is no change or growth in characters as all action happens in a single day. As the plot is a single one, there is no scope to add humor and fun . The tragedy continues till the end as a tragedy without any comic relief. As per the rule of decorum and decency, no scenes of violence and bloodshed should be shown on the stage. Hence there is little scope for action on the stage. Every incident is reported by a messenger or described by chorus, a group of singers on the stage.
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| The Swan Theater (1595) |
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| The Rose Theater (1592) |
During the time of Elizabeth I and James I the Elizabethan drama flourished with the advent of many great dramatists like John Lily, Robert Greene, Thomas Kyd, John Webster, Thomas Dekker, Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher etc. Many theaters were set up as people showed more interest in watching the plays. This period may be called the Golden Period of the English Drama. Two types of drama existed side by side ; the classical drama strictly following the Greek and Roman plays. The native English drama or Romantic type, which became more popular as it appealed more to the audience by its natural resemblance to day-to-day life and by its free mixing of various elements and experimental ways. It flouted the rule of Three Unities, mixed tragic and comic elements and introduced much fun and humor in the plays to attract audience. It showed much action on the stage and used scenery, mechanical devices and sound effects to make plays seem more realistic and attractive and to suit the strong emotional temper of the audience. The native English drama did not follow the rigid rules of the classical drama.
In 1559 Elizabeth I prohibited all plays that were not licensed by the Crown to curb the propaganda against the crown and the immoral and unhealthy elements in the plays. To regulate the mushrooming of theaters in London and check unsocial and notorious elements, Elizabeth I banned all drama companies that were not bound to a patron in 1572. Thus only genuine and honest drama companies like "Leicester's Men" and "Lord Admiral's Men" remained. In 1574 Elizabeth I placed her Master of Revels in charge of licensing all plays performed in England. The Master of Revels was an officer of the state who worked for the Lord Chamberlain, the officer of the royal household. Many theaters came into existence to meet the growing demand of viewers who flocked to watch the plays. "The Theater" by James Burbage was set up in 1576; the "Curtain" by James Burbage in 1577 ; "The Rose" by Philip Henslowe in 1587 ; "The Swan" by Francis Langley in 1595 ; "The Globe" by "Lord Chamberlain's Men" in 1599 and "Fortune" by Henslowe and Edward Alleyn in 1600. In most of these theaters the actors themselves were partners or share holders. The Elizabethan dramatists borrowed plots from the famous classical plays and books or revised some of the old plays by introducing some changes and introducing some new characters to suit the tastes of their contemporary audience. Often two or three dramatists worked together to produce these plays. As the church was very rigid and opposed the performance of dramas, the female characters in the plays were enacted by young boys till the Restoration Time in 1660.
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Apart from these public theaters private theaters were built in the former monasteries and church grounds to entertain the select audience belonging to higher and respectable sections of the society. Young boys of Chapel Royal and St.Paul's Cathedral Choir Schools in London acted in these private theaters, but the fee was rather high.
Thus the Elizabethan Drama which flourished during sixteenth and seventeenth centuries found a unique place in literature by its own innovative approach and by assimilating some features of the classical drama .
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24th August, 2015 Somaseshu Gutala
References:1) Plautus: (254 B.C.--184 B.C.)-A Roman writer of many comedies of which only twenty
plays survived.
2) Terence : (195 B.C.--159 B.C.) A popular Roman Writer of comedies. He wrote six
comedies.
3) Seneca : (4 B.C.-- 65 B.C) Born in Corodoba (in modern Spain). Worked as Tutor
to young Nero. He wrote eight tragedies.His plays though based on Greek models are noted for their rhetorical style and violent scenes filled with horror
He introduced soliloquies and asides in his dramas.
