English Playwright and Poet, Christopher Marlowe’s Contribution to English Drama



Christopher Marlowe
made momentous and revolutionary contributions to English drama. The first great English dramatist and the most important Elizabethan dramatist before William Shakespeare,   Marlowe worked on tragedy and advanced it considerably as a dramatic medium: Read More Drama 

[A]He created genuine blank verse and firmly established it as the most appropriate medium of poetic drama.
[B]He founded English romantic tragedy.
[C]He wrote the first great English history play.

Literary historian   describes Marlowe’s achievement in all worthy words. Truly so, Marlowe raised the subject matter of English drama to a higher level. He dealt with heroic subject that had a stirring effect on the imagination. Read More Drama  His heroes were Tamburlaine, a world conqueror (Tamburlaine the Great); Faustus, a scholar seeking supreme knowledge(The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus); Barabas, dreaming of figures on the stage enlarged, in men’s minds, the bounds of the possible (The Jew of Malta)

These three plays were a paean to the infinity of military power, of knowledge, and of wealth. The subject Marlowe borrowed, the heroes he moulded, were no more than his mouthpiece, voicing his exorbitant dreams. Read More Elizabethan Literature Like him they sought the infinite and like him were never sated. Marlowe is regarded as a rebel and a pioneer. He raised the standard of revolt against the convention of writing plays in rhyme and against the “clown age” of popular comedy. Read More Drama  He seized upon blank verse as the ideal medium for drama which was introduced into England by the Earl of Surrey. By revealing the possibilities for strength and variety of expression in blank verse, Marlowe helped to establish the verse form as the predominant form in English drama. 

He was the founder of genuine romantic tragedy, as regards both plot and character. Before him, the characters in plays had too often been mere lifeless puppets. Read More Drama Marlowe informed his central characters and the whole of his dialogue with life and passion. He was an admirer of Machiavelli whose ideal, as understood by that age, was the superman was, having decided what his goal is to be, and presses on to it regardless of scruples of conscience. 

In each of his dramas one forceful protagonist with a single overriding passion dominates. In fact, Each of Marlowe's important plays have as a central character a passionate man doomed to destruction by an inordinate desire for power. Read More Elizabethan Literature  The plays are further characterized by beautiful, sonorous language and emotional vitality, which is, however, at times unrestrained to the point of bombast. Such is the here of both parts of Tamburiaine, who seeks to conquer the world, trampling humanity mercilessly beneath him in his resistless course. Such is Faustus, whose ideal is boundless and lawless knowledge for the sake of universal power; such in Barabas, The Jew of Malta, reveling first in his prodigious wealth and then in the very ecstasy of revenge on those who had deprived him of it; such are Mortimer, in Edward II, and Guise in the Massacre at Paris, both monsters of unscrupulous ambition and resolution.


Ref: 1. History of English Literature- Albert      
2. The Concise Cambridge History of English Literature

Spenserian Stanza and Its Variety of Effects on English Poetry


The stanza which Spenser invented for his epic, with its carefully chiming rhyme – scheme and concluding alexandrine, is capable of a great variety of effects, and the popular notion that it less suited for narrative verse than for static pictorial description is not borne out by the way it actually operates in the poem. Simply the Spenserian Stanza is composed of nine lines, the first eight in iambic pentameter and the last an alexandrine, in iambic hexameter. The usual rhyme scheme is ababbcbcc: Read More Elizabethan Literature

At length/ they spide,/ where to/wards them /with speed
A Squire/ came ga/llopping, /as he /would flie;
Bearing/ a li/ttle Dwarfe/ before /his steed,
That all/ the way/ full loud/ for aide/ did crie,
That seem’d/ his shrikes /would rend/ the bra/sen skie:
Whom af/ter did /a migh/tie man/ pursew,
Ryding/ upon/ a Dro/medare /on hie,
Of sta/ture huge, /and ho/rrible /of hew,
That would/ have maz’d/ a man /his dread/full face /to vew.”- Faerie Queen

The Spenserian Stanza is adept at accommodating both narrative and meditative poetry. It's been utilized in romantic, satirical, and philosophical compositions across centuries, showcasing its flexibility and enduring allure. Poets like Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, and Keats employed this form to convey intense emotions, philosophical musings, and vivid narratives. Its intricate structure demands a skilled touch, but in the hands of a master, the Spenserian Stanza offers an unparalleled canvas for conveying complex thoughts and evoking profound emotional responses, enriching the landscape of English poetry.

Spenser does indeed excel in certain kinds of set descriptive piece, but he can vary the speed and movement of the stanza to produce contemplative, discursive, dreamlike, exclamatory, formal, colloquial, satirical, and other styles and moods. His use of deliberately antique word forms, Chaucerian and pseudo – Chaucerian, is largely for purposes of stylization appropriate to a heroic poem, but he can also use older words to give a homely, proverbial effect. Read More Elizabethan Literature  

 Altogether, the Faerie Queen is a poem of extraordinary richness and diversity, a remarkable synthesis of Elizabethan culture whose total effect cannot be properly judged because the work was left unfinished but whose quality and splendors can nevertheless be easily discerned. Read More Poetry   It has a sustained rhythmic sweep, and the final long line adds an epic dignity. Yet the synthesis was a personal one: the union of chivalric, patriotic, Christian, and Platonic, of medieval and protestant, of courtly love and Christian marriage. It was no imitable language; there was no further road, along that way – the way of the allegorical heroic poems deriving its form the Italian epic – in English Literature. Read More Elizabethan Literature   

However,  Spenser’s place in the English poetic tradition is indisputable: he was the first modern poet to exploit the full poetic resources of the English language; he had the highest ambitions for poetry while at the same time retaining a freshness of approach characteristic of the more casual and “occasional” singer. The Spenserian stanza form was mostly used for romantic prose in the grand style and for philosophic poems.  He inspired both Milton and Keats, in very different ways: to the former he was “sage and serious Spenser”, “England’s first epic poet, while to the later he stood for enchantment and high romance. There is other long list of followers: Robert Burns, Lord Byron, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson or the like.

Here we quote from The Eve of St. Agnes by John Keats and Adonais by Percy Bysshe Shelley for illustrative purpose: Read More Poetry

“ St. Ag/nes' Eve/—Ah, bi/tter chill/ it was!
 The owl,/ for all /his fea/thers, was /a-cold;
The hare /limp'd trem/bling through /the fro/zen grass,
 And si/lent was /the flock/ in woo/lly fold:
 Numb were /the Beads/man's fin/gers, while/ he told
 His ro/sary, /and while /his fros/ted breath,
 Like pi/ous in/cense from/ a cen/ser old,
 Seem'd tak/ing flight/ for heaven,/ without /a death,
Past the/ sweet Vir/gin's pic/ture, while/ his prayer/ he saith. ”- The Eve of St. Agnes

or

“I weep/ for A/dona/is—he /is dead!
Oh, weep/ for A/dona/is! though /our tears
Thaw not /the frost/ which binds/ so dear /a head!
And thou,/ sad Hour,/ selec/ted from /all years
To mourn/ our loss,/ rouse thy/ obscure/ compeers,
 And teach/ them thine/ own so/rrow, say:/ “With me
 Died A/dona/is; till /the Fu/ture dares
 Forget/ the Past,/ his fate /and fame/ shall be
An e/cho and/ a light /unto/ eter/nity!””- Adonais


Ref: 1. History of English Literature- Albert   

2. The Concise Cambridge History of English Literature
3. Spenserian Stanza <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spenserian_stanza> 
4. A Critical History of English Literature – DAVID DAICHES

Model English Note -15 for PGT , TGT and Other Competitive Examinations

Difficulty Level:  Graduation     Time: 2hr
Each Question:2 marks Word Limit: 30  
 
1. How can you identify Lucy in Wordsworth’s poem? 

Ans-  The identity of Lucy is vague in Wordsworthian Lucy poems. In the poet's solemnity, decency and decorum of perception with which the romantic poet imbibes through a specific learning Lucy is more them a physical existence. She is supremacy of love, aesthetic, solemnity and natural sportiveness. Read More Model Question

2. What is called ‘raisonneur’? Who is the raisonneur in Arms and the Man
  Ans- In order to state his views explicitly, the problem playwright sometimes introduces to raisonneur, who moves through the plots a philosophic spectator, and acts as the author’s spokesman or accredited representative. The raisonneur generally has an air of superior wisdom and his utterances have special weight or authority. Bluntschly in Arm and The Man acts as raisonneur who being the spokesman of the author criticizes the romantic ideals of war and love. Read More Model Question

3. Write a short note on the date production and publication of the play Arms and The Man

 Ans- George Bernard Shaw wrote and Arms and The Man in 1894. It was first performed at the Avenue Theatre, London on April 21, 1894 which ran uninterrupted till 7th July. However, the play first papered in print in 1898 as one of the pleasant play in the author’s first two volumes of dramatic works known as Plays: Peasant and Unpleasant.

How to Read Andrew Marvell? Representative Poet of the Late 17 th Century


Reading Andrew Marvell  (1621 – 78), a representative poet of the late 17th century, requires an appreciation for his unique blend of metaphysical and lyrical poetry. Marvell's works are characterized by their intellectual depth, wit, and intricate use of imagery. As a poet who lived during a time of political turmoil and societal change, his poems often reflect a complex interplay between personal emotions and broader themes. To delve into Marvell's poetry, it's crucial to understand the metaphysical conceits he employs – elaborate and extended comparisons that link seemingly disparate ideas. These conceits offer layers of meaning and demand careful analysis to fully grasp their implications.

Of the puritan poets and satirist, who were not many, one of the most endearing was Andrew Marvell  (1621 – 78) and the other the greatest of the poets of the century was John Milton. Marvell was tutor to the daughter of Lord Fairfax, the great parliamentary general. Marvell was, strangely, unlike ‘the conventional harsh and gloomy puritan, the enemy of all wordly and artistic amusement’. 

Andrew Marvell’s portrait, done by Hanneman, represents him as a thirty seven year old, brilliant – eyed laughing person with a mocking mouth and a calm brow. His verses written in his thirtieth year glow with human love and feeling for nature. Even in poems of maturity we find the same gaiety – a jovial and mirth – loving spirit. There is not much of space for religion in Marvell’s poetry. Marvell's works often weigh conflicting values, such as introspection versus action, or nature versus society.

Scholars consider 17th-century English poet Andrew Marvell a member of the “metaphysical” school, along with poets John Donne, George Herbert, and others. Marvell’s poetry covered many forms, ranging from sharp political satires to pastorals and love poems.
 
True to the Zietgiest – the Renascence, Marvell suffused his poems with a sense of joyous romanticism which is its cordial, vital quality. He respected the Bible, but at the same time ‘loved wine, women and song’. Through he disliked pastoral convention and descriptions, he was inspired by the country. 

Andrew Marvell was lover of nature. His love of nature was spontaneous as that of the lake poets. He strikes a Wordsworthian note in the poem Upon the Hill and Grove at Billborough. He describes with familiarity the aspects of the country and its trees and birds in his longest poem, Upon Appleton House. He anticipates Wordsworth when he prefers the song of the dove to that of the nightingale. Marvell’s love for animal is gracefully expressed in his poem The Nymph Complaining for the Death of her Fawn. Marvell identified the suffering of those creatures with that of his own. It was Marvell who sang first about the glory and beauty of gardens and orchards. That was his dearest joy. It seemed to him that all creation is  / Annihilating all that’s made / To a green thought a green shade.

Now let's quote few famous lines from Andrew Marvell :-


"I have a garden of my own,

"Such was that happy garden-state,

Shakespeare’s Soliloquy in Close Contact with Audience - Easier to Deliver Long Asides with Effect


A soliloquy is an actor’s address to the audience, a long aside.  It  is a monologue in which a character reveals inner thoughts, motivations, and feelings. Shakespeare used the technique often, and his soliloquies are poetic and rich in imagery. It was a convention current in Shakespeare’s day, which shake spear also adopted in his plays. Modern taste is against the use of soliloquies and in fact it is now considered an unpardonable defect in a drama. Not so was the case in Elizabethan times whose apron platform helped the actor to come in close contact with his audience and thus made it easier to deliver his long asides with effect. 
William Shakespeare 

William Shakespeare
  embraced the convention of soliloquies, which was well-suited to the theatrical conventions of his time, and he perfected the technique in his later plays with great skill and economy. The use of soliloquies had different effects in tragedy and comedy, and their functions varied accordingly. In his comedies, we can see clear comic effects in the soliloquies of characters like Benedick and Malvolio. In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock's soliloquy is strictly relevant to the situation and the development of the play. In the histories, Henry V's soliloquy on the eve of Agincourt is lovely to read but not as dramatically effective, as it raises a smile from the audience over the king's complaint to the public for their failure to appreciate his efforts to maintain peace. Iago's soliloquies in Othello are famous, or perhaps notorious, as they mainly serve to provide explanations that are generally accepted. Read More Elizabethan Literature 

The greatest soliloquy in Shakespeare and perhaps in the whole of literature is reserved, however, for the prince of Denmark when he utters his “to be or not to be” those are perhaps the most widely –read lines of a drama and have a force and beauty of their own. Read More William Shakespeare Again, we , however, can't resist ourselves from quoting Macbeth where Macbeth meditates on the futility of human endeavors.Read More William Shakespeare Macbeth’s schemes for gaining power are falling apart, and he has just heard that Lady Macbeth is dead:
"Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing." 


Soliloquy in Shakespeare has many functions. The speaker of a soliloquy may act as a narrator as Edgar does in King Lear. The soliloquies may again function as a chorus commenting on the action of the play as does Kent in King Lear again. 
Soliloquies can also serve as a chorus commenting on the action of the play, as demonstrated by Kent in King Lear. Like a chorus, Kent's soliloquies provide insight into the characters and events of the play, offering commentary and interpretation for the audience. Through his soliloquies, Kent serves as a moral compass for the audience, highlighting the themes of justice and loyalty that are central to the play. His commentary adds depth and complexity to the characters and events, enriching the audience's understanding of the play. By functioning as a chorus, Kent's soliloquies also contribute to the overall dramatic structure of the play. They provide a moment of reflection and contemplation for the audience, allowing them to process the events of the play and understand their significance.

Soliloquies may expose the real nature of a character in an early plays, for example when Richard III says, “I am determined to prove a villain”.  Again, in his mature play Hamlet, a play about a man whose mind may be his fatal flaw, we find the glory of complexity. Read More Elizabethan Literature Nowhere is this complexity more apparent than in Hamlet's famous soliloquy in Act III, Scene 1. Since first performed in the early 1600s, the title role in William Shakespeare's Hamlet has remained a favorite of many actors because of the emotional complexity of Hamlet's personality:

" To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep—
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep—
To sleep, perchance to dream, ay there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil
Must give us pause. There's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life:
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th' unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action. Soft you now,
The fair Ophelia.—Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remembered."

One of the key reasons why William Shakespeare's soliloquies are so effective is because they create a close connection between the character and the audience. His soliloquies are often delivered directly to the audience, breaking the fourth wall and creating a sense of intimacy. By speaking directly to the audience, the character is able to establish a personal connection with them, drawing them into the world of the play.

Furthermore, because soliloquies are spoken by a character alone on stage, they allow for longer asides that can be delivered with greater effect. Without the need to engage in dialogue with other characters, the soliloquizing character is free to express their thoughts and feelings at length, allowing the audience to fully understand their perspective. For example, in Hamlet's famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy, he reflects on the nature of life and death, grappling with the decision of whether to take his own life. By delivering this monologue directly to the audience, Hamlet is able to create a deep emotional connection with them, inviting them to contemplate these weighty existential questions alongside him.

 Shakespeare's use of soliloquies is a key factor in the enduring popularity of his plays. By creating a close connection between the character and the audience, and allowing for longer, more impactful asides, Shakespeare is able to provide a rich, immersive theatrical experience that has stood the test of time. Again, Shakespeare's use of soliloquies extends beyond the individual characters, serving as a powerful tool for commentary and interpretation. By using this technique, Shakespeare creates a rich, multifaceted theatrical experience that continues to captivate audiences to this day.

The Tradition of Tragicomedy throughout English Literature



Stated simply, tragicomedy is a blend of the elements of tragedy and comedy. To quote the seventeenth century playwright john Fletcher from the preface to his play The Faithful Shepherdess ; Read More Criticism a tragicomedy is not so called in respect of mirth and killing, but in respect it wants deaths, which is enough to make it no tragedy, yet brings some near it, which is enough to make it no comedy.

In the 18th century Dr. Samuel Johnson defined tragicomedy as “drama compounded of merry and serious events”. Read More Criticism Contrary to classical injunction against mixing the tragic and the comic in one composition as is insisted by Socrates at the end of Plato’s symposium; Dr. Johnson praises Shakespeare’s mixture of the two, when he says, “Shakespeare has united the powered of exciting laughter and sorrow not only in one mind, but in one composition.” 

Effective Opening Scenes of Eugene O'Neill's Plays




One significant feature of O’ Neill’s dramatic art is seen in the effective opening scenes of his plays. In almost all his plays the problem of the beginning has been managed with the remarkable skill conversant as he was with the stage intimately, on problem in dramatic technique escaped the attention.Read More about American literature   

Eugene O'Neill leads the serious dramatists in America today. For two successive years his plays, Beyond the Horizon, and Anna Christie, were awarded the Pulitzer prize. His plays are being produced in England, France and Germany, and have been greeted with tremendous enthusiasm.Read More about American literature   Emperor Jones was a pioneer experiment in audience hypnosis. The Hairy Ape proved that tragedies may be popular successes.

To O’ Neill since the first is important he makes it a point not to open it with some form of pantomime that is vital to the story, symbolic of the theme and impressive in itself.  Keith  has remarked about the opening scenes o’ Neill’ plays form the one act plays to the latest work this technique of the beginning is practical. Again, being very much aware of European experiments in drama, O'Neill utilized a wide variety of dramatic styles, including symbolism in The Fountain (1925), expressionism in The Hairy Ape (1922), and realism in Desire Under the Elms (1924). Notably in all of these plays there is a striking beginning. Read More about American literature It combines action and interpretation at the same time unifying and interesting the audience while it wastes no times in staring the serious business of revealing the theme of the play.

The Emperor Jones provides as good a case as any for specific analysis.Read More about Drama   When the stage is revealed the pantomime is immediately tense   very dramatic. A native Negro woman sneaks in cautiously from the entrance of the right. Read More about Drama This action in itself is full of evil foreboding. And if it is not enough to focus the attention of the audience there is more to follow. He hesitates beside the doorway, peering back as if in extreme dread of being discovered. The she beings to guide noiselessly, a step at time toward the doorway the rear. At this moment Smithers appear beneath the portico. He sees the woman and steps to watch her suspiciously. Finally Smithers springs forward and grads her firmly by the shoulder. She struggles to get away, fiercely but silently. The graphic pantomime takes several minutes and is so dramatic in its character that by the time it is all carried through the audience is waiting for the words that will give meaning to the action.  More about Drama 
 
Read More about American literature   And what may be said of him in this respect may be said of many of O'Neill's characters with reference to the romantic ideal. An uncritical analysis might lead a reader to believe that O'Neill had stacked the fates against them. The opposite is really true, for it is typical of the romantic dreamer that he does not, nor can he, comprehend the falsity of his position until it is put to the crucial test, and then it is too late to turn back. It is O'Neill's clear development of this point that gives tragic reality to his work, and it is the failure to grasp this truth which has led many people to condemn him. More about Drama But he is too much of an artist not to realize truly a fact of life that is the very essence of his own nature. He is the romantic dreamer who knows the deadly power of the dream's appeal. In his life, as in his work, he has striven against it, and out of the struggle he has created the bitter tragic beauty of his art. He never forgets that life will exact a double toll from those who believe that dreaming of what life ought to be will make it other than it is. Read More about American literature  

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