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Ben Jonson and the Court. Mildred Shows Chapman Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1969 Ben Jonson and the Court. Mildred Shows Chapman Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Chapman, Mildred Shows, "Ben Jonson and the Court." (1969). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 1579. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/1579 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This dlsMrtatfon has bssn microfilmsd sxactly as rscslvsd 70-226 C H A P M A N , Mildred Shows, 1914- BEN JONSON AND THE COURT. The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, Ph.D., 1969 Language and Literature, general University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan © Mildred Shows Chapman 1970 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BEN JONSON AND THE COURT A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of English by Mildred Shows Chapman B.A., Northwestern State College, 1935 M.A., Northwestern State College, 1958 May, 1969 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to Dr. William J. Olive, my major professor, for his generous interest, encouragement, and guidance which made this endeavor pos­ sible; to Dr. Thomas A. Kirby, Dr. Lewis P. Simpson, Dr. Lawrence A. Sasek, and Dr. Don D. Moore for their assis­ tance and valuable suggestions; to Mrs. Vernon R. Alston for technical services rendered; and to my husband Jack for his consideration, understanding and support in this under­ taking . ii CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................... ii ABSTRACT .................................................... iv INTRODUCTION. THE RELIANCE OF THE THEATER ON COURT PROTECTION AND PATRONAGE ...................... 1 Chapter I, THE FORMATIVE YEARS AND THE EARLY PLAYS IN THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH .............................28 II. JONSON'S VIEW OF THE COURT IN THE COMICAL SATIRES ........................................... 60 III. COURT RECOGNITION THROUGH CLASSICISM AND ERUDITION ....................................... 129 IV. THE PERIOD OF JONSON'S GREATEST SUCCESS AT COURT AND IN THE THEATER ........................ 158 V. CONTINUED PROMINENCE AT COURT OF JAMES I AND DECLINE AT COURT OF CHARLES I .................. 209 CONCLUSION ................................................ 241 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................... 248 VITA ....................................................... 254 iii ABSTRACT This study endeavors to show Ben Jonson's relation­ ship with the courts of Elizabeth I, James I, and Charles I and the influence that each of the courts exerted on his literary career. One major aim is to determine to what ex­ tent the court affected Jonson's writings, particularly his dramatic works; a second is to ascertain to what degree the court and court society influenced his choice of subject matter; a third is to show Jonson’s conception of royalty and nobility, and more importantly, his opinions of their aristocratic society. This involves several lines of in­ vestigation, but the major endeavor centers on researching all of Jonson's extant works and selecting for study those that in any manner reflect his conception of the court or that mirror courtly life. Although this inquiry focuses its attention on the plays, it of necessity gives consideration to the masques, poems, dedications, letters, the Discoveries, the Conversa­ tions , and comments on Jonson by others. Even though this is primarily a literary study, it inevitably makes use of materials of biography, history, and literary history that shed light, if only obliquely, on ways in which the court influenced the dramatist's progress. Thus an introductory iv chapter shows the dependence of Jonson and his fellow- playwrights on noble patronage and protection. Jonson him­ self often had to call upon his noble friends and patrons to intervene with the legal authorities in his behalf. For the purpose of showing Jonson's changing atti­ tudes toward the court, I discuss the plays and most of the other works in the chronological order in which they are written. Thus, Chapters One and Two focus attention on his satirical depiction of certain affected courtly manners in his two earliest comedies and on his progressively more pro­ nounced attack on court behavior in the comical satires. Jonson is first and foremost a reformer, and he attempts to point up the undesirable aspects of the court because he feels that they are not only detrimental to aristocratic society but a corrupting influence on society at large. The next part is a study of the period in which the playwright achieved his greatest success, both in drama and in favor at court. It shows Jonson's rise to a place of prominence at court, discusses his preeminence as a writer of masques, examines those works that relate to the court, and shows the strong influence that the court of James I exerted on his literary endeavors, particularly his plays. Despite his high place at court, Jonson shows considerable concern about certain economic evils of the age that were sanctioned by the court and nobility. The last chapter shows Jonson's decline at court v under Charles I and later a slight resurgence of royal favor, even though he attacked the ultra-refined tastes of the new court and its doting on elaborate spectacle, courtly romances, and Platonic posturing. Throughout his career, Jonson strongly denounces any influences that will under­ mine the great image that he believes the court should pro­ ject. vi INTRODUCTION THE RELIANCE OF THE THEATER ON COURT PROTECTION AND PATRONAGE The important role that the courts of Elizabeth I, James I, and Charles I, played in the growth and develop­ ment of English drama can hardly be overemphasized. The period from the accession of Queen Elizabeth until the closing of the theaters in 1642 is one of unprecedented dramatic activity. During the reign of Elizabeth, modern English drama came into being and came to the fore as a full-blown genre; under James I it attained an excellence unsurpassed in the history of literature; and in the reign of Charles I, despite its qualities of decadence, drama continued to flourish and to dominate the literary scene. Royal interest, patronage, and protection not only contributed immeasurably to the great forward strides in the dramatic movement, but also figured prominently in helping drama to survive. For example Ward, in speaking of the Elizabethan age, says that the popular drama "would have run a serious risk of drying up, if not of being extin­ guished, had it not been for the patronage which was above 1 2 the law,"^ and C. G. Fleay observes that "had it not been for the Queen's liking for the drama and the courtiers' imitation of her taste . it would have been long be­ fore the stage would have emerged from its earlier condi­ tion as a mere vehicle for the production of mysteries, 2 miracles, and moral interludes." The Queen's fondness for dramatic performances, strongly evidenced from the beginning of her reign onward, steadily affected the strength of drama. Shortly after her accession, dramatic entertainment became the court fashion. Between the years 1559 and 1586, more than two hundred dra­ matic performances were given at court, which occasions Schelling's remark that "it is probable that no week in any year elapsed without at least one afternoon or evening de­ voted to this form of amusement."3 Moreover, she was pro­ vided with her favorite diversion throughout the realm by subjects anxious to please their sovereign. Noblemen in and near London, gentlemen residing in the country, the col­ leges of the two universities, and the Inns of Court were happy to entertain her Majesty with dramatic productions. And as was to be expected, most of them vied with one ^Adolphus William Ward, A History of Dramatic Litera­ ture (London, 1899), I, 154. 2 Frederick Gard Fleay, A Chronicle History of the London Stgge (New York, 1909), p~] HFI 3Felix E. Schelling, Elizabethan Drama 1S58-1642 (New York, 1908), I, 100. 3 another in the elaborateness of their entertainment. Ward comments that there were many competitors "for the smiles of the Queen" and "a lavish expenditure upon her favorite 4 amusement was incurred both by her and for her." Queen Elizabeth's love for plays remained steadfast with the passing of the years, and so did the nobles' eager ness to supply them. As a result, theatrical performances became readily accessible to the people, who, in time, came to prefer them to any other form of entertainment. Thus, with royal sanction and support and an ever-growing public demand for plays, the theater became London's most popular form of entertainment by the late part of the Tudor rule. Because of its immense popularity, the theater attracted scores of young men who felt that the stage offered both a livelihood and an opportunity to those who wished to make a reputation for themselves in letters. On the whole, however, the theater did not prove as rewarding as was popularly supposed; on the contrary, it was attended by many adverse conditions, which were quite naturally imposed upon the dramatists. It is indeed impor­ tant to recognize some of the special disabilities under which Shakespeare, Jonson, and their fellow playwrights pursued their profession, difficulties which made the sup­ port of the court and aristocracy essential. 4Ward, I, 155. 4 To minds like these, it was doubtless quite dis­ couraging to see that drama was only slowly and grudgingly accorded its deserved literary merit. The age, J. W. Saun­ ders explains, exhibited a certain moral hesitation about the value of imaginative literary arts, particularly lyric poetry and drama.
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