famous elizabethan playwrights

7/27/2019 Famous Elizabethan Playwrights

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ELIZABETHAN PLAYWRIGHTS


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ELIZABETHAN Drama


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Blackfriars Theatre

TheatreInteriors

Sketch of the Swan Theatre


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The Elizabethan Era (1558 -1603)

A golden age in Englishhistory.

height of the EnglishRenaissance, and saw theflowering of English literature

and poetry. Elizabethan theatre grew and

William Shakespeare, amongothers, composed plays thatbroke away from England'spast style of plays.

More people were educatedduring this time in London thanever before.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Shakespeare.jpg


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Elizabeth I Symbolizes

the Age Queen Elizabeth Glory of England

To people, she represented beauty and

greatnessone of the most powerful countries in

the world


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British Empire


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Accomplishments

The Elizabethan age is characterized by a

quest for knowledge

Brought respectability to the theater

Colonized many parts of the world

Defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588

Took over Scotland and Ireland

Emergence of the middle class


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Elizabethan Theatre

Why was Elizabeths reign such an important

period in the development of the theatre?How does it still influence us today?


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Drama in the Elizabethan Age

After defeating the Spanish Armada, England became

intensely interested in the past. (Patriotic) Historical plays

thrived.

Playwrights were practical men, bent on making a livingPlays were written to be acted, not read.

Once a playwright sold his manuscript, he had no personal

right to it.


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Genres of Elizabethan Drama

Genres of the period included the history play, which

depicted English or European history. Shakespeare's

plays about the lives of kings, such as Richard IIIand Henry V. Tragedy was a popular genre.

Marlowe's tragedies were exceptionally popular, such

as Dr. Faustus and The Jew of Malta. The

audiences particularly liked revenge dramas, such as

Thomas Kyds The Spanish Tragedy. Comedies

were common too. A sub-genre developed in this

period was the city comedy, which deals satirically

with life in London.


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Genres of English Renaissance

Theatre in Summary

History play (MarloweShakespeare)

Tragedy (revenge tragedyKyd, Marlowe,

Shakespeare)

Comedy (city comedyBen Jonson)

Romance (Shakespeare)


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The Playwrights (Before

Shakespeare)

In the 1530s, English drama was dominated by a

group of playwrights known as the University

Wits, who utilized a variety of genres including

Classic literature

Academic drama

Morality plays

Contemporary Renaissance literature from

Italy and France.


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ElizabethanPlaywrights

The most well known playwright of

Elizabethan times is Shakespeare. But

there were also other writers who in

their time were just as, or even more

famous than the Bard.


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PLAYWRIGHTS

The most famousplaywrights fromElizabethan times areChristopher Marlow,Ben Jonson, JohnLyly, and Thomas

Kyd.


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CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE

Educated at Cambridge

Associated with the darker

side of the Elizabethan

period

Died in a tavern fight at 28

Most famous play The

Tragical History of Dr.

Faustus


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Christopher

MarloweContinue

MA from Cambridge

Established blank verse as

dramatic medium:Marlowes mighty line

Overreacher

Killed in a brawl

Tragedies:

Tamburlaine

Dido Queen of

Carthage

Dr. Faustus

Edward II

Massacre at Par

Jew of Malta


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BEN JOHNSON

Most influential afterShakespeare

Had strong convictionsabout what audiences should

likeArrogant, quarrelsome,volatile temper

Imprisoned 2 times

Most famousworks:Volpone, TheAlchemist, The Devil Is anAss

1stpoet Laureate of England


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Ben Jonson

1572-1637

Educated at Westminster School -- no university butthe most learned of playwrights

Important comedies of humor include: Every Manin H is Humor, Volpone, The Alchemist,Bartholomew FairWrote and staged court masques with Inigo Jones Celebrated poet and conversationalist:

Sons of Ben


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Lyly began his career as a writer

with several novels, called Euphues.

He then began writing plays, at first

mainly for young acting groups made up fromboys choirs. His plays often contained songsand commented on court life. His famousplays are Endymion(1591), Galathea(1592),

Love's Metamorphosis(1601), and TheWoman in the Moon(1597).

JohnLyly15531606


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Thomas Kyd 1558 1594Kyd was well educated and shared a room with

the other famous Elizabethan writer Marlowe.Kyd's play, The Spanish Tragedy(1589), was

the most popular and influential tragedy ofElizabethan times. Other plays attributed tohim are CorneliaandArden of Feversham. In1593, he was arrested on the charge of

heresy. He was eventually released but diedin poverty and disgrace.

famous elizabethan playwrights

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