Masaryk University Faculty of Arts

Department of English and American Studies

English Language and Literature

Petra Spurná

The Plays of Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis

Supervisor: Mgr. Pavel Drábek, Ph.D.

2009

I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography.

…………………………………………….. Author’s signature

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Acknowledgement: I would like to thank my supervisor Mgr. Pavel Drábek, Ph.D. for his valuable guidance and advice.

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction...... 5

2. The Life of Johny Lyly...... 7

3. Lyly‟s Work...... 12

3.1 Specific Conditions...... 12

3.2 Inventions...... 14

4. The Plays...... 18

4.1 Introduction to the Eight Plays...... 18

4.2 Allegory...... 25

4.3 Sapho and Phao...... 28

4.4 Endimion...... 36

5. Conclusion...... 45

6. Czech Resumé...... 46

7. Works Cited...... 47

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1. Introduction

John Lyly was an Elizabethan playwright, who was active as a court dramatist mainly in the last decade of the sixteenth century. Both his person and his dramatic work are oftentimes marginalized in theoretical works concerning the English

Renaissance drama, even though by many theorists he is percieved as an author of a great importance for the development of English comedy.

This dicrepancy in attitude was the main reason for writing this thesis: to put together information about Lyly‟s life, about the specific conditions in which he was writing, and, especially, about his plays. The main task was to summarize the reasons why is Lyly from the present day‟s perspective seen as an author of a minor importance and is criticized for a lack of invention in his plays, which are described as base court flatteries.

The chapter called The Life of John Lyly concerns summarized information about Lyly‟s life and a description of his character as given by his contemporaries and by R.W. Bond, who is the main authority on the playwright and an author of three- volumed The Complete Works of John Lyly, which was the main source of this thesis.

The chapter about Lyly‟s work consists of two subchapters, in which I am dealing with some special conditions of his work and describing inventions that are accredited to Lyly. The subchapter about his inventions is particularly important, because it includes Lyly‟s contributions to the development of comedy.

The main chapter of this thesis is called The Plays and it involves a subchapter, in which I attempted to introduce Lyly‟s plays and provide basic information about each of them. The subchapter about allegory is important mainly as an introductory to the following subchapters about Sapho and Phao and Endimion, putting them in a larger context. The subchapters dealing with the two plays in particular consist of plot

5 information and description of various types of allegory that are involved. I have chosen these two plays to support the main reason of Lyly‟s later neglect, because they show how much he was influenced by his time and that is why his plays could be never wholly understood again.

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2. The life of John Lyly

There is not much known about Lyly‟s life that could be strictly stated; his biography is mainly built upon supposition based on some Lyly‟s letters or literary works by his contemporaries, in which appears a quotation of Lyly‟s works or a satirical picture of himself1. R.W. Bond in his The Complete Works of John Lyly accomplished a diligent inquiry of every accessible source and created thus an exhaustive survey of

Lyly‟s life full of supposed dates and facts. Nevertheless, Bond‟s three volumes create so far the best comprehensive source of Lyly‟s biography and works, and is thus the main source of this thesis.

John Lyly was born between 1553 and 1554 in the county of . The precise place of birth is not known; even the information about the county and his background is taken from Fidus‟s story in Euphues and his England. What is known for certain is that he studied at Magdalen College, Oxford. He was about sixteen years old, when he entered the college. There are records of his degrees obtained at Oxford in the university‟s Register: BA in 1573 and MA in 1575. Lyly was described as a student who was not so much interested in logic and philosophy, but was “naturally bent to the pleasant paths of Poetry”2 He is said to be a part of a group of young fashionable

(almost foppish) men and putting all the rumours that appear about him togehter , “[w]e shall be tolerably safe in supposing that his Oxford life was marked by a madcap temper, some disregard of the authorities, and some neglect of the prescribed studies”

(Bond 1; 8). However, Lyly was probably a diligent student concerning the branch of study he was interested in, because in many of his plays he was inspired by classical

1 Jonson‟s Every Man out of his Humour 2 from Gabriel Harvey‟s pamphlet Advertisement for Papp-Hatchett and Martin Marprelate, quoted in Bond, Vol. 1, p. 7. 7 authors and their works (e.g. Pliny or Ovid‟s ) and included many Latin quotations.

After he obtained his MA degree, he tried to apply to the fellowship at Magdalen

College. He wrote an elaborate letter in Latin to Lord Burleigh, to whom he was probably obliged for his studies at Oxford. But the result was disappointing. Later, Lyly implied a criticism of Oxford in Euphues. After this failure, he probably spent a few years at Cambridge – it is known that he was incorporated MA of Cambridge in 15793.

Around 1578, Lyly is reported to live in the Savoy, , where he probably met many of his future friends and acquaintances – among them Gabriel Harvey and, supposedly, Edward de Vere, Lord of Oxford. In the same year Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit was published and it was a great success:

[l]ess, perhaps, for the novelty of style [...] than for its originality of plan and purport, this first

considerable English romance of contemporary life was hailed by the cultivated classes of

society as a welcome change from the interminable adventures of the fair sex more chivalrous

and conventional than lively or accurate (Bond 1; 20).

Because of the major success of his first novel, Lyly decided to write a sequel,

Euphues and his England. The novel was published with a delay in 1580. It was dedicated “To the Right Honourable my very good Lorde and Maister Edward de Vere,

Earle of Oxenforde” (Bond 1; 24). It was the first notion of Lyly‟s being acquainted with Lord Oxford. Moreover, Lyly was appointed Oxford‟s private secretary. Bond assumes that the men had “common elements of character and directions of taste”

(Bond 1; 24). And probably, as Oxford‟s man, Lyly was in a good position to start a career as a playwright of the Court, because “Oxford held the hereditary office of Lord

Great Chamberlain, and was besides a special favourite” (Bond 1; 31). , the first play composed by Lyly, was probably written in 1579 and a year later performed at

3 Bond, Vol. 1, p. 16. 8 the Court by the Children of St. Paul‟s and the Chapel children. In 1581 Lyly probably started writing Sapho and Phao, an allegorical play about Duke d‟Alençon‟s wooing the

Queen, and finished it at the beginning of 1582, when Alençon, the original for Phao, left definitely England. In 1883, probably, a quarrel between Lord Oxford and Lyly had started. Bond assumes that Lyly might be accused of a falsification of accounts, but that

Lyly himself seemed uncertain of the charge and it might be only a result of Oxford‟s

“gloomy temper” after he was ordered by the Queen to his own house, because of a quarrel between him and another gentleman of the privy chamber4.

In 1584 Lyly published , his first . A year later, in 1585, he was appointed a Vice-master of the Children of St. Paul‟s. During his mastership at the

St. Paul‟s, most of his plays were performed. Bond suggests that Lyly was in 1585-90 receiving a payment large enough to get married. There is not much known about

Lyly‟s wife, except for his own mentioning her in his letter to Sir Robert Cecil, in which he says that she “personally presented yet another petition of his to the Queen” (Bond 1;

43). It could be thus suggest, that Lyly‟s wife held a position at the Court and she might be the source of the backstage gossip he used in his allegories.

During the period from 1588 to 1601, Lyly was four times elected to the

Parliament: for Hindon (1588-9), for Aylesbury (1592-3), for Appleby (Sept. 1592) and for Aylesbury again (Oct. 1601). According to Bond, it is possible, that during the period of his political activity, Lyly got acquainted with the Puritan feeling and this might led him to take his part in the Martin . The episcopacy hired professional writers – among them mainly Lyly and Nash – to write against the

Marprelate pamphlets that were aimed against the authority of the episcopacy. Lyly wrote Pappe with a Hatchett for this purpose. There appeared a scandal during this

4 Bond deals with the accusation on p. 27 in his first volume. 9 controversy concerning anti-Martinist plays – after summoning Lord Admiral‟s and

Lord Strange‟s men before the Lord Mayor for the offense of staging one of these plays, there were two special commissioners appointed to assist the Master of the ,

Tylney, in a censorship of these plays. Lyly was probably somehow involved in the case of staging anti-Martinist plays, and it is taken as the most possible reason for the complete suppression of the Children of St. Paul‟s in 1591.

During the suppression, most of Lyly‟s plays were published, mainly because the inhibition of the troupe cost Lyly his main income. In the last decade of the 16th century, Lyly wrote two other plays, The Woman in the Moon and Love’s

Metamorphosis, the latter being played again by the boys of St. Paul‟s, when they were restored to action probably in 1599.

In 1595 Lyly sent his first petition to the Queen, in which he complained that after ten years of service he still was not appointed to any office nor was rewarded in any other way. In 1597 he wrote a letter to Sir Robert Cecil, son of William Cecil and the new Secretary of State, because of his fear that the Revels Office was promised to

Sir . Cecil did not act in Lyly‟s concern, but Tylney held the post of the

Master of the Revels till his death in 1610. A year later, in 1598, Lyly wrote another petition to the Queen, using much bolder words than in the first one: “My Last Will, is shorter, then myne Invention; Butt, three Legacyes, I Bequeath, Patience to my

Creditors: Mellanchollie, wthout Measure to my ffrindes, And Beggerry, wthout shame, to my ffamilye5” (Bond 1; 71). However, in the following year the boys were allowed to play again, so Lyly‟s financial situation was probably improved. Nevertheless, eight

5 Lyly‟s first son John was babtized in 1596, another by the same name in 1600, thus it is assumed that the first son died, in 1603 a daughter, Frances, was born; in 1605 a son called Thomas and in the same year died a daughter called Elizabeth, whose year of birth is not known. 10 years later, in 1606, Lyly died in “poverty and neglect”6 without ever being appointed to the position of the Master of the Revels, in which he hoped for so long.

Lyly as a person was described by his contemporary, Jonson, in his satirical

Every Man out of his Humour as:

A neat, spruce, affecting courtier, one that wears clothes well, and in fashion; practiseth by his

glass how to salute; speaks good remnants, notwithstanding the base viol and tobacco; swears

tersely, and with variety; cares not what lady‟s favour he belies, or great man‟s familiarity: a

good property to perfume the boot of a coach. He will borrow another man‟s horse to praise, and

backs him as his own. Or, for a need, on foot can post himself into credit with his merchant, only

with the gingle of his spur, and the jerk of his wand (Bond 1; 61).

Bond sees Lyly as “[f]amous, clever, poor and disappointed” with “a keen eye for the follies, the fashions, the swagger and pretension of the courtiers” (Bond 1; 79-80).

Although Lyly was famous and innovative during his time, his literary works did not outlive their author; the reason why could be his obsession with fashion, which changes very fast. As soon as in 1632, Blount‟s attempt7 to bring Lyly‟s works back to their previous popularity seemed to fail; and in 1758 the once famous playwright was referred to as “one Lyly” (Bond 1; 81). Wilson describes Lyly‟s case in a way that needs not to be commented:

Never before had England seen anything like it, and we cannot wonder that his public hailed

him in their delight as one of the greatest writers of all time. How could they know that he was

only the first voice in a choir of singers which, bursting forth before his notes had died away,

would shake the very arch of heaven with the passion and the beauty of their song? But for us

who have heard the chorus first, the recitative seems poor and thin. [...] That it should be so was

inevitable, for the wit which illuminated these works was of the time, temporary, the earliest

beam of the rising sun. This sunbeam it is imposible to recover, and with all our effort we

catch little but dust (113).

6 Bond, Vol 1, p. 78. 7 Blount‟s edition of Sixe Court Comedies, all of them by John Lyly 11

3. Lyly’s Work

3.1 Specific Conditions

Lyly‟s work is marked by specific circumstances in which it was created. The most important fact about Lyly‟s plays is that they were written to be performed by boy actors before the Queen .

When Lyly in 1579 became his career as a playwright, the Queen was already 46 years old8. In fact, Elizabeth was crowned a queen only a few years after Lyly‟s birth.

During the time the Court panegyric of the Queen has changed from the cult of the marriageable virgin to the virgin goddess of the Moon, because the Queen was not supposed to get married and produce an heir any more. Her representation as Cynthia, the moon goddess, became common mainly in the second part of her reign, when the courtiers paid honours to Elizabeth as “an ever-youthful yet unapproachable object of desire” (King 59). This shift can be seen in Lyly‟s allegoric plays. In Sapho and Phao, which was written during Elizabeth‟s last marriage negotiations, the Queen is allegorically described as a virtuous woman struggling with her affections but gaining power over them in the end. In Endimion the allegory is different: the Queen is already represented as Cynthia, the moon goddess, and is described as removed or superior to

Endimion, who admires her; she is, exactly according to her cult, shown as a woman who is able to stimulate affections but is not created for love. From these examples it can be seen that Lyly in his allegorical attempts stayed more or less within the official panegyric. As a matter of fact, it was not safe to imply allegory of the queen into a

8 The historical information about Elizabeth‟s reign and about the panegyric is taken from John N. King‟s “Queen Elizabeth I: Representations of the Virgin Queen”. 12 literary work, because if she noticed something that did not please her, it could have disastrous outcome for the author9.

The reign of the Queen Elizabeth was marked by a rise of boy acting troupes.

They were largely popular in the first half of Elizabeth‟s reign. Jeanne McCarthy in her essay “Elizabeth I‟s „picture in little‟: Boy Company Representations of a Queen‟s

Authority” says that “they appear to voice the queen‟s response to the conventional linking of authority with adult masculinity expressed in traditionally male-centred entertainments and ” (426). McCarthy even suggests that the Queen patronized the boy troupes, because she enjoyed the great lords of her time being played by children, and used it as a tactic to “infantilize” them to make them subordinate to her as a woman sovereign (462). However, the second period of her reign “witnessed the extension, for a decade or so, of the boy companies, in spite of the new impulse given to the latter by the activity as a playwright of John Lyly” (Chambers 5). Or, there is the above mentioned theory accepted by Bond and many others, that the activity of John

Lyly was the reason of the inhibition of the Children of St. Paul‟s during the last decade of 16th century. Nevertheless, Lyly wrote most of his plays for this troupe and this circumstance was mirrored in his works. The fact, that his actors were young boys enabled Lyly to create some of the inventions that are described in the following chapter. Mainly comical subplots were based on the boys, because they were created usually around three pages, who were “urchins, full of mischief and delighting in quips”

(Wilson 85). Also Latin quotations, which are very often included in the plays, were an easy task for the young choristers who were trained in this language.

To conclude, Lyly‟s works were influenced by these two aspects of his age. It is not known to which extent, but what is still visible, at least, is the incorporation of these

9 As happened , for example, to John Stubbs, viz. 4.3. 13 aspects into the plots of the plays – the Court allegory with the Queen as a central figure creates oftentimes the main plot and the boys enjoy their quips and puns in the subplots, to create a comical relief and safely turn the Queen‟s attention from the allegory.

3.2 Inventions

Lyly‟s dramatic career began in a period of changes in the English society as well as in the English drama. “The medieval order was in dissolution; the modern order was in process of formation. Yet the old state of things had not faded from memory and usage; the new had not assumed despotic sway” (Symonds 21). The same changes were present in dramatic works of that time: moralities and miracles were being replaced by modern comedies and tragedies. But in Lyly‟s works in particular, the old genres were mingled with the forthcoming modern comedy, mainly because Lyly himself invented some features of the new genre. Wilson might be slightly exaggerating when he calls

Lyly “The Father of English comedy” (103), nevertheless, his inventions had a great impact on the creation of the genre and influenced many of his successors.

When Lyly wrote his Euphues, he created a new style of prose and subsequently a popular way of speaking at the Court. This somewhat complicated prosaic style is based naimly on antithesis, puns, elaborate natural-history similes, classical allusions and series of parallel clauses10. Lyly‟s prose was rhythmical and rhetorical enough to replace metrical verse in comedy. His obsession with form created a “dramatic prose

[that is] rested on adequate structural foundation” (Barish 34). However, euphuism, as every object of fashion, had been in a short time replaced and criticised for its artificiality. But, as Jonas A. Barish states in his essay,

10 Almost every work about John Lyly includes an elaborate chapter about euphuism. In the text, it is a paraphrased part from Bond‟s second volume of The Complete Works of John Lyly, p. 288. 14

[i]f, in his passion for logicality, he evolved a style too rigid, too removed from common speech

to lend itself easily to a wide range of effects, it was at the same time a style that needed only the

further flexibility and modulation brought to it by Shakespeare to become an ideal dramatic

prose (35).

This almost “ideal” euphuistic prose enabled Lyly to create another of his inventions: a love dialogue. Robert Y. Turner wrote a whole essay about dialogues of love in Lyly‟s comedies11. He suggests that Lyly is the first author, who tried to dramatize love by conversations; that he avoided the two types of presenting love on the stage – by direct statement of love or by emphasized action. Lyly‟s technique of dramatizing love is to present circumstances unfavourable for the couple‟s disclosure of their affections, letting them talk about love in euphuistic allusions and metaphors, creating thus a tension “in which each assertion is tentative and each response quivering, and this dialogue, by not mentioning love directly, captures an unmistakable sense of what it is like to be in love, sometimes poignantly and sometimes wittily”

(Turner 279).

Another Lyly‟s invention concerns the genre. Wilson suggests that Campaspe was a first English historic play and describes Lyly‟s new type of comedy as created by putting allegory, farce and romantic play upon a classical theme in together. This pattern was repeated in almost every play written by Lyly and it was widely criticised as a lack of invention. But some theorists see the fact differently, mainly that

“[r]esemblances, circulating among the plays [...], hint at Lyly‟s larger interest in a lively, self-referential world” (Cartwright 212); and that Lyly introduced in his works

“the same mixture of mythological and romantic characters, Ovidian transformations, and witty prose dialogue, which his audiences at the commercial indoor theatres and at the court came to expect” (White 278). Both these theorists see Lyly as a possible first

11 “Some Dialogues of Love in Lyly‟s Comedies“ 15

“serial” dramatist, who took advantage of his popularity and tried to please his audience with just another play written according to their preferences.

But the most important contribution to the creation of modern comedy was

Lyly‟s focus on women. To begin with, he was probably the first author who acknowledged the importance of women as a part of his audience. He already recognized it when writing his novels, which could be seen from his own introduction saying that Euphues “had rather lye shut in a Ladye‟s casket than open in a scholar‟s studie” (Wilson 67). Symonds even says about Euphues that “the discourses on marriage, education, politics, and manners conveyed some such diluted philosophy as ladies of present day imbibe from magazines and newspapers” (402). But Lyly did something more that certainly attracted the ladies‟ attention. He introduced female heroines more developed than appeared in any other previously written play. Bond comments on this in a rather poetic way, saying that:

First among English writers for the stage did he master a knowledge close enough, a taste fine

enough, a hand light enough, to render in her wonted speech and fashion that inconstant gleam,

that dancing firefly, the English girl: and that is a proud – it is his proudest – achievement (Bond

2, 283).

And it was indisputably Lyly‟s greatest achievement, because he helped to create the modern comedy mainly by giving female characters an equal space on the stage. Wilson adds that this change was not unpredictable, because during the time of Lyly‟s career, three neighbouring countries were governed by a queen: England by Elizabeth, Scotland by Mary and France by Catherine de Medici. Thus women were entering spheres formerly reserved only for men.

But on the stage, women were still played by men, especially by young boys, whose voices were not changed yet. This situation enabled Lyly to create or use another invented device – cross-dressing – in his play Gallathea. Of course, that this device is

16 possible even when female characters are performed by actresses, but the situation in which a boy plays a girl disguised as a boy must have been extremely enjoyable for the audience of that time.

Lyly was not obsessed only with the form of language; he was also interested in the structure of a play. He was active in constructing subplot and interweaving it with the main plot – even though in the first plays the connection of the plots lacked smoothness, he improved in this attempt in the later ones, e.g. in . He introduced farcical subplots to achieve a comical relief and when even the characters of subplot dealt with something serious, the songs appeared. Lyly is said to be the first dramatist who recognized the efficiency of songs and gave them such a prominent role in his plays. The reason was probably the fact that his actors were members of a choir and that

Lyly had a musical talent and wrote the lyrics himself12. These subplots full of pages and songs belong to Lyly‟s inventions as well. He took the pages from plays by

Edwardes, but he “made them all his own” (Wilson 85). But the pages were not the only comical figures; they were replaced by Gunophilus in The Woman in the Moon and accompanied by Sir Tophas in Endimion. And namely Sir Tophas is often seen as an original of future clowns that were created, for example, by Shakespeare.

In conclusion, Lyly, who is sometimes seen by the critics as a courtier with a lack of imagination who devoted all his works to a superficial flattery, was actually at the birth of a new kind of comedy and greatly contributed to the development of English drama.

12 Described in Wilson‟s John Lyly, p. 96-100. 17

4. The Plays

4.1 Introduction to the Eight Plays

As it was already mentioned, Lyly started his career as a playwright probably in

1579. The chronological order of Lyly‟s eight plays is disputable, but, according to entries of the plays in the Stationer‟s Register, they are set up in the following order:

Campaspe, Sapho and Phao, Gallathea, Endimion, , Midas, The Woman in the Moon and Love’s Metamorphosis. Two main authorities concerning Lyly and his works, R.W. Bond and G.P. Baker, agreed on the division of the plays into four categories according to their character13: Sapho and Phao, Endimion and Midas form the allegories; Gallathea, The Woman in the Moon and Love’s Metamorphosis belong to the category of ; Campaspe is the only historic play and Mother Bombie the only realistic one. The allegorical category is problematic, because a kind of allegory appears in most of the plays, but in the three above mentioned the allegory plays a major role, mainly creating the plot. This chapter consists of a short introduction to each of the plays and serves mostly to provide general information about Lyly‟s dramatic works. Bond‟s extensive publication was again used as the main source of the information.

Campaspe, as it was already said, is the first play written by John Lyly. Its main plot concerns , who becomes fond of his Theban captive,

Campaspe. She is virtuous and beautiful and the king decides that he wants his painter,

Apelles, to paint her. But and Campaspe fall in love with each other during the painting sessions and they find themselves not able to suppress their affection to please the king. But Alexander‟s generosity wins over his passion for Campaspe and he decides to move his attention back to warfare and permits the couple to get married. The

13 Mentioned by Wilson in his John Lyly, p. 83. 18 farcical subplot of Campaspe is created mainly around the figure of Ancient philosopher, , and his servant, Manes. The original entry of this play from the

Stationer‟s Register has disappeared, but it is known, that it was first printed for

Thomas Cadman in 1584. Lyly‟s name does not appear on the title-page of the quarto, but the fact that the play resembles Euphues, mainly in the reappearance of the character

Apelles and the euphuistic style, and the inclusion of this play in Blount‟s Sixe Court

Comedies in 1632, serve as sufficient proves of Lyly‟s authorship. The source of this play is Pliny‟s Natural History, which includes a story about Alexander‟s surrender of

Campaspe to Apelles. Campaspe is according to both Bond and Baker classified as a historical play and Wilson adds that it is one of the first dramas in English based on a historical background. There is supposedly no allegory in this play, except for a possible flattering the Queen by showing Alexander as unemotional, which could be matched with “indifference of the virgin Queen to all matters of ‟s trade” (Wilson 85); or by centring the play “upon a monarch whose court is the epitome of artistic, intellectual and martial excellence”14 which could be a flattering mirror of Elizabeth‟s court.

Campaspe serves, according to Wilson, as a compliment to the ladies of the Court, acknowledging them for the first time as a significant part of the theatrical audience.

Concerning the content of Campaspe and its dealing with love and passion, it could be also perceived as a first romantic drama.

Sapho and Phao is the first allegorical play written by John Lyly. It was published for the first time in a quarto for Thomas Cadman in 1584. Lyly‟s name does not appear on the title-page, but it appears in the entry in the Stationer‟s Register and his authorship is further supported again by the appearance in Blount‟s Comedies and its euphuistic style, even though the dialogues become less euphuistic and thus more

14 Scragg, Leah. “Campaspe and the Construction of Monarchical Power”, p. 60. 19 effective in this play. The plot of Sapho and Phao and its allegorical meaning are the content of the chapter 4.3.

Gallathea is Lyly‟s first pastoral play. Its plot consists of a story of two beautiful girls, who were disguised as boys by their own fathers to save them from being sacrificed to a sea monster, Agar, which is sent by the angry god Neptune. The girls,

Gallathea and Phillida, meet in the woods where they are hiding and fall in love with each other, both expecting the other one being a boy for real. In the same woods, Cupid decides to punish ‟s who made a vow of chastity and despised love, offending thus the god of love. As a result, Cupid makes the nymphs fall in love with

Gallathea and Phillida. Diana is enraged by Cupid‟s sport and orders him to take his spell back. But a true love cannot be reverted, and thus Gallathea and Phillida stay in love with each other. At the end of the play Neptune pardons the villagers and , as a goddess of love, helps the poor couple and turns one of the girls into a boy. There is no dispute about Lyly‟s authorship of the play, even though his name was for the first time connected to it as late as in Blount‟s Sixe Court Comedies. An entry in the

Stationer‟s Register was made by Gabriel Cawood as soon as 1585, but the play was printed for the first time in 1592 for the widow of William Broome. In 1585, Lyly became the schoolmaster of St Paul‟s choir school and all his plays (except for the first two, which were written by 1585) were published no sooner than after the inhibition of the boy troupe‟s acting rights in 1591, because Lyly was then probably no more interested in keeping the acting rights exclusively for himself (Wilson 84). This play is important mainly for the dramatic device of cross-dressing, because it may be assumed that Lyly was the first playwright who used it, but as Wilson says and as it was already suggested above: “Its full significance cannot be appreciated by us to-day, for the whole point of it was that the actors, who appeared as girls dressed up as boys, were, as the

20 audience knew, really boys themselves; a fact which doubtless increased the funniness of the situation” (93-4).

Endimion, or the Man in the Moon is another play in which Lyly deals with

Court allegory. It was first printed for Joan Broome in 1591, which was the only known quarto, for the next time it was published in Blount‟s edition. Lyly‟s name does not appear on the title-page, nor in the Stationer‟s Register, but the typical triad of proves appears: it was performed by the Paul‟s boys, it includes euphuism and it was published in Blount‟s Comedies. John Dover Wilson describes Endimion as “the boldest in conception and the most beautiful in execution of all Lyly‟s plays” (90). The chapter

4.3. consists of the introduction into the plot and subsequent theories of allegory in this play.

Midas is the last of the three plays described as allegorical by Bond and Baker.

Its main plot is woven around the title character, Midas, the king of Phrygia. In return for his hospitality, he is offered by Bacchus anything he might desire. Midas chooses wealth; he asks for a power to change everything into gold only by a touch. But after he turns even food and wine into pieces of gold, Midas begs Bacchus to take his gift away.

He is advised to bathe in a river to wash away the power. Later, when Midas is hunting in the forest, he meets and who are just going to compete in playing a musical instrument. Midas decides for Pan and is punished by Apollo with asses‟ ears.

He tries to hide his ears under a tiara, but the gossip is spread quickly, even by a whispering of reeds in the wind. The king, by advice of his daughter, goes to Apollo‟s oracle at Delphi. There his curse is removed and when he returns back to Phrygia, he promises to cancel his plans for conquering other countries, especially Lesbos. The play was, as in the previous cases, printed for the first time in 1592 for Joan Broome and again, there is no name presented, only the same three reasons supporting Lyly‟s

21 authorship – euphuism, boys from St Paul‟s and Blount‟s edition. Lyly sought inspiration mainly in Ovid‟s Metamorphoses, but he adjusted the story about Midas to serve his intentions. The fact that Midas is probably a satirical allegory on Philip II of

Spain was first observed in 1814. Bond presents the allegorical theory by Halpin, but he suggests that Halpin went too far in search for possible originals – e.g. Philip II is the original for Midas, Lesbos means England, the Golden gift could mean the influx of gold and other metals into Spain from colonies in South America, the contest in music implies the controversy of the Reformation, Pan represents papal supremacy and Apollo protestant sovereignty (Bond 2; 109-10). The play was obviously written after the defeat of Spanish Armada in 1588 and that is probably the reason why Midas is more a patriotic than purely Court play. Concerning the structure, Wilson suggests that even though the subplot is satisfactorily connected to the main plot15, the play is still fragmented by the division of the main plot into two parts that could work as separate stories.

Mother Bombie is described as a realistic play. Its plot bares no connection to the

Court but is very complicated by involving three young couples and four paternal figures who want their children to be married. Firstly, Memphio and Stellio, two rich men, are planning a wedding for their children, Accius and Silena, who are both mentally ill. The fathers are trying to hide this fact from each other. Secondly, there is a couple, Candius and Livia, who love each other but their fathers want them to marry

Accius and Silena instead. Siblings, Maestius and Serena, who are unnaturally in love with each other, form the third couple. Only after the intervention by Mother Bombie, a wise woman and the title character, an old nurse, Vicinia, confesses that Accius and

Silena are her own children, whom she changed at birth for the real children of the rich

15 The subplot concerns the character of Motto, the royal barber, who is in possession of the king‟s golden beard, but it is stolen from him by pages, who later convince Motto for treason because he has revealed a secret about king‟s ears and blackmail him to give them the golden beard by himself. 22 men, Maestius and Serena, who are now allowed to get married. The play appeared in first quarto printed for in 1594. Mother Bombie was, according to

Bond, probably written in 1590, but it is only a suggestion because of the lack of any contemporary allegory. Lyly‟s authorship is supported again by Blount‟s edition and the performance by children of Paul‟s, but there is also the fact, that the play is set into

Kent, Lyly‟s county of birth. Wilson describes this realistic attempt as an experiment – the English theatres of that time were full of realistic stories and Lyly was perhaps trying to adapt his style and topics to fit more to what was perceived as popular16.

The Woman in the Moon is described as a pastoral play. The plot begins when

Nature, by request of the shepherds of Utopia, creates a perfect woman, Pandora. Nature granted Pandora several excellent features of the gods, the Seven Planets. They, enraged and envious, decide to destroy Pandora by making her a subject to their influence.

Saturn is the first god who appears and makes Pandora moody and impolite towards her servant Gunophilus and the shepherds. Under the influence of , she refuses the love offered from the god and enjoys her power over Gunophilus and the other men.

Mars turns her into a vixen, which hurts Stesias, one of the shepherds, with his own spear. Sol, in the opposite, makes Pandora sweet-tempered; she apologizes to the shepherds and chooses Stesias as her husband. But Venus, who comes to her turn after

Sol, makes Pandora wanton, courting Gunophilus and other three shepherds. then turns her into a liar and a thief – she elopes with Gunophilus, taking her husband‟s treasure with her. On their way, the influence changes again and Luna is now on duty.

She makes Pandora change her mind. Stesias then finds Pandora and Gunophilus and wants to kill his wife, but she is saved by the Seven Planets. Nature decides to put

Pandora to a place in the Moon, from which she will influence the women on the Earth.

16 Wilson‟s John Lyly, p. 95. 23

Stesias, who is to go there with Pandora as the Man in the Moon, in anger tears

Gunophilus, who has turned into a hawthorn, and takes him to the Moon as the bush on his back. The authorship of this play is not a matter of discussion, because Lyly‟s name appears on the title-page of the quarto, but what cannot be clearly stated is the time in which the play was written. There is a line in the Prologue of this play describing it as a first attempt, which could mean that it was the first play ever written by Lyly or that it was a first play written in blank verse. Generally, the latter assumption is accepted. The reason for this decision can be, for example, a total absence of euphuism, which was in this play replaced by “a far more natural humour” (Bond 3; 232), suggesting a development in Lyly‟s style in time. The Woman in the Moon is, as it was already mentioned, described as a pastoral, but there exists a theory17, that the play could be allegorical. Nevertheless, the allegory, in which Pandora should represent the Queen, would be very offending and is thus not perceived as probable, concerning Lyly‟s later petitions to the Queen, in which Lyly was still expecting favour (Bond 1; 64).

Love Metamorphosis, probably the last play written by John Lyly, belongs together with The Woman in the Moon and Gallathea to the pastorals. The plot begins when a farmer called Erisichthon becomes jealous of the goddess Ceres and her nymphs and decides to destroy a tree sacred to Ceres. Doing so, he kills Fidelia, another Ceres‟s , who, turned to a shape of a tree, was hiding from a satyr. Ceres is enraged by this cruel act and sends Famine to punish Erisichthon. He soon becomes poor and sells his own daughter, Protea. She, with the help of Neptune, escapes her purchaser in disguise and later is transformed again to save Petulius, her lover, from the spell of a

Siren. In the meantime, three of Ceres‟s nymphs displease the god of love, Cupid, by their behaviour towards three foresters and are punished by being turned into a rock, a

17 The allegorical theory by Mézières is mentioned by Bond in the second volume, page 236. 24 rose and a bird. Ceres pleads for the release of her nymphs and Cupid, who is now protecting Protea because of her faithful love, wants Ceres to pardon Protea‟s father in return. The nymphs then reappear in their former shape and their wedding with the foresters is held at Erisichthon‟s house. Lyly‟s authorship of this play is proved by his name written on the title-page. Nevertheless, the dating of this play is the most difficult from all the plays. Bond suggests18 that the play was written between 1584 and 1588, performed at the Court at latest in 1589 and revived by the Children of Paul‟s in 1600.

It is mainly the fact, that it appears in the Stationer‟s Register in the year 1600, that places Loves Metamorphosis as the last play written by Lyly.

To conclude, Lyly‟s plays were, as it could be suggested from the plots, different and also very similar at the same time. But, obviously, a development in plot creation can be tracked through out the plays – Campaspe and Sapho and Phao are plays based namely on conversation and their plots are very simple. But a slight change can be seen in Gallathea and Endimion starts the line of plays, in which action becomes more important and plots are better structured.

4.2 Allegory

In the time of Lyly, the English drama was undergoing certain changes.

Medieval genres, such as moralities and miracles, were being slowly replaced by modern comedies and tragedies. And Lyly played his part in this change.

Allegory was traditionally a device of moralities. But when Lyly used allegory in his plays, it was “no retrogression” because Lyly did not use it as an ethical instrument (Wilson 86). Huppé states, that Lyly‟s allegory does not appear to be as

18 Bond, Vol. 1, p. 46. 25 definite as the medieval allegory of moralities, which was always easily understood.

Lyly is, in this aspect, perceived as innovator, because he changed the traditional allegory by infusing “concreteness” into it (Bond 2; 255). Bond points out three kinds of this Lylyan allegory – mythological, physical, and personal or political.

Concerning mythological allegory, Lyly uses acknowledged mythological characters to represent various qualities: Diana representing chastity, Cupid love and

Venus wantonness. Physical allegory appears, for example, in Endimion and The

Woman in the Moon, where the Earth, the Moon and other planets appear as dramatic personae.

The third kind of allegory, personal or political, is used in Lyly‟s plays very often, and that is why it is more important than the other two types. Personal allegory mainly serves Lyly as a device for flattering the Queen. According to Bond and Baker, there are at least three plays by John Lyly that include allegory of the Court of the

Queen Elizabeth I as a major source of the plot. Bond characterizes Lyly as:

Simply a clever young man in a subordinate position about the Court, whose wit, address, and

literary achievement would make him a natural recipient for such facts of gossip as were current,

and whose special connexion with Oxford or Burleigh, or perhaps Leicester himself, would

afford him some special opportunities (Bond 85-6).

And Lyly was probably able to make the best of those “special opportunities” because the plays – Endimion, Sapho and Phao, and Midas – are, if the allegorical theory is to be believed, full of characters representing real aristocrats and situations resembling real historic events. Endimion is supposed to cover a rather short period of the disgrace of

Lord Leicester in 1579, Sapho and Phao resembles Duke of Anjou‟s wooing of the

Queen Elizabeth, and Midas is supposedly a satirical allegory of Philip II of Spain and the defeat of Armada. These plays imply many hypothetical hints of little scandals that were talked about at the Court and it is probable that today‟s reader or even a scholar is

26 not able to perceive them all, because there are no written documents concerning the situations. Mostly because the main aim of the plays was to entertain the audience, and

Lyly was probably quite eager to do so, he used every gossip he heard to make his audience laugh. There even exists a contemporary letter from Jack Roberts to Sir Roger

Williams written in 1584 warning the latter to “take heed and beware of my lord

Oxenford‟s man called Lyly, for if he see this letter he will put it in print or make the boys in Paul‟s play it upon a stage”19 Gabriel Harvey, Lyly‟s contemporary and a former friend, warns ironically that all people who want to keep their reputation should please Lyly, otherwise their “credit [will be] quite vn-done, for euer and euer”.20 It is possible that Harvey was talking from his own experience, because he is, according to

Bond, a suitable candidate for the original of Sir Tophas from Endimion.

The three types of allegory are oftentimes implied in one character, for example,

Cynthia in Endimion represents the Moon-goddess or chastity, the Moon as a heavenly body and the Queen Elizabeth (Bond 2; 258). Lyly‟s allegory is sometimes difficult to understand, as is shown in this example, and Bond suggests, that the allegory might be perceived completely only by a reader, because the audience would not be able to catch all the hints while watching the performance, but, on the other hand, he adds that the audience in Lyly‟s time was used to allegory and that the originals of the allegorical characters were often still alive. Wilson supports this idea even more, saying that:

“Nothing indeed is so remarkable about the Elizabethan stage as the secret understanding which almost invariably existed between the dramatist and his audience” and that “[t]he spectators were always on the alert to detect some veiled reference to prominent political figures or to current affairs. Often, in fact, as was natural, they would discover hints where nothing was implied” (Wilson 86).

19 Quoted by Leah Scragg in her essay “The Victim of Fashion? Rereading the Biography of John Lyly”, p. 218. 20 Ibid. 27

The last kind of allegory implied in Lyly‟s plays is the allegory of love, or

Courtly love. It was a common topic of medieval literature21 and Lyly used it in connection with flattering the Queen. His Endimion, Leicester in original, is supposed to represent the ideal courtier, who is in love with a virtuous lady, and would thus serve as a perfect example of this kind of allegory. With the exception of the political allegory, Endimion could be perceived as a story of typical Courtly love: Endimion is

“dedicated to Spiritual, Virtuous Love, the marriage of true minds, represented by

Cynthia” (Huppé 103). A fact that Endimion and Cynthia are not married at the end of the play is reflecting the rule of the Courtly love that it is by no means connected to a marriage. Andreas Capellanus22 in his De Arte Honeste Amandi states that a husband in love with his own wife commits even a worse sin than an adulterer, because he abuses the sacrament of marriage. Lyly, dealing with the problems of representing the virgin

Queen, would not go as far as to incorporating adulterous love into his plays, but he certainly kept within the basic principles of Courtly love when creating his characters.

His lovers were always faithful, loyal and respectful – the perfect courtiers; and his ladies were chaste, virtuous and amiable – the perfect objects of love.

4.3 Sapho and Phao

The play called Sapho and Phao was performed before the Queen at Shrove

Tuesday 1582 (Bond 2; 367). This play is after Campaspe the second play written by

John Lyly and from the plot it can be seen that it belongs to a potential first half of

Lyly‟s career as a playwright because it mostly consists of flattery and love or courtship counselling. The main plot concentrates around Venus, the Goddess of Love, and her

21 More about Courtly love can be find in C.S.Lewis‟s The Allegory of Love. 22 Quoted in Lewis, p. 39. 28 plotting against Sapho, the Queen of Sicily. Sapho is virtuous and refuses love and courtship, so Venus, who is jealous of Sapho‟s beauty and virtues, changes a mere ferryman, Phao, into the fairest man among all, assuming that Sapho will not be able to resist the temptation and will fall in love with him. And thus when Sapho and Phao meet, they fall in love with each other. Phao then seeks advice from Sybilla, on old wise woman living in a cave. She tells him to flatter his queen and woo her with gifts. In the meantime, Sapho has fallen ill from her passion and cannot fall asleep. She commands her lady in waiting, Mileta, to go and find Phao, because he is well acquainted with healing effects of various herbs and could thus help her to find a remedy for her sleeplessness – this being apparently an excuse for seeing Phao, because for a lover the best remedy is to set eyes on her or his beloved. When the two lovers meet, they indirectly talk about their affections and possibly understand each other‟s uneasiness concerning their social rank. When leaving, Phao meets Venus, who as a goddess of love, but mainly of passion, cannot resist Phao‟s beauty and thus falls in her own trap.

She decides to have Phao for herself and plots against his love for Sapho. The goddess plans to use her son, Cupid, to make Sapho despise Phao and change the object of

Phao‟s affections to herself. But Sapho, being the virtuous queen, wins over Cupid and he decides to become the son of the queen instead of the goddess. The result of Venus‟s plotting is in the end very disappointing to her: Sapho is relieved from her affections towards Phao but he is still in love with Sapho and even despises Venus. At the end,

Phao desperately leaves the country saying: “This shalbe my resolutiõ, where euer I wãder to be as I were euer kneeling before Sapho, my loyalty vnspotted, though vnrewarded” (5.3.17-19).

The comical subplot is created mainly around the characters of three servants:

Calypho, Vulcan‟s servant; Criticus, a servant of Trachinus, a courtier; and Molus, a

29 servant to Pandion, a scholar who has recently come to Sapho‟s court from a university.

Another subplot concerns six ladies in waiting and could be perceived as satirical because it seems very believable that the ladies used to spent their time in such idleness as it is described in this play, merely gossiping or interpreting their dreams.

The fact that there exists a mythological allegory in Sapho and Phao is quite obvious, for example, from the appearance of the typical characters of Venus and Cupid who connect the main plot with the subplot through the character of Vulcan, Venus‟s mythological husband. The story of the play is derived from a combination of classical stories – one of them is the story of Aphrodite‟s love for Adonis, who was also called

Phaeton or Phaon (Bond 2; 364). Sapho was the Ancient Greek poet who was born at

Lesbos23 and there is also a legend about passionate love for Phao connected to her.

Lyly used and changed the mythological characters and their allegorical meanings for the purposes of his play, as for example Huppé states in his essay24:

To be sure, Lyly has not handled his allegorical figures with medieval exactness. The part of

Venus, for example, is not completely fixed: she is at one time almost completely a woman, at

another a classical goddess, only sometimes completely the allegorical figure, the Queen of Love

(Huppé 99).

These changes were made to serve Lyly to imply historical allegory into his play. It is generally accepted by the theorists that Sapho and Phao is associated with the period of

Duke d‟Alençon‟s wooing of the Queen Elizabeth I. Alençon finally left England at the beginning of February 1582 and the Shrove Tuesday on which the play was performed at the Court is dated on February 27, 158225– this dating can prove that Lyly was able to present a play about these wedding negotiations probably without a fear of punishment, because everything had been already decided. Many people, especially those literary

23 Lesbos is used as an allegory for England in Lyly‟s Midas 24“Love in Lyly‟s Court Comedies” 25 Bond, Vol. II, p.367. 30 active, felt during the period of negotiations a necessity to warn the Queen or just to express their opinion that this marriage would not be suitable and a possible childbirth would be for the Queen, who was nearly fifty years old at that time, very dangerous.

The punishments for disapproval were harsh – from disgrace to a loss of a right hand, which happened to John Stubbs26 because his work was actually published and the

Queen was outraged at his audacity. But as it was already mentioned, Lyly probably did not intend to advise any suggestions by writing this play, otherwise he would not present it so late. His intention could be thus perceived as flattering the Queen for her decision. This perspective explains the play‟s lack of action and the large amount of courtly flattery aimed at the figure representing the Queen. Sapho is thus changed from the Ancient poet to a queen of Sicily surrounded by her court and mainly by her ladies in waiting. She is described as amiable, virtuous and having power over her affections.

But her later sickness from her passionate love for Phao is seen as the main reason why this allegory would be dangerous for the author and is thus seen in the play only by the theorists and was not intentionally implied by Lyly himself. Huppé states in his essay that the main argument against this objection is the possible excuse of Sapho‟s affections being caused by Venus27. There is even another aspect of the play that might be assumed as insulting: the passage of love counselling by Sybilla. If the play is taken from Phao/Alençon‟s side, the wooing described by Sybilla would be certainly offending, mainly because it is aimed at women in general, but also if taken as a direct advice how to woo the Queen. Even more insulting would be Bond‟s suggestion that

Catherine de‟ Medici, Alençon‟s mother, is an original of Sybilla, because Sybilla says to Phao:

I woulde wish thee first to be diligent: for that womenne desire

26 King, John N, “Queen Elizabeth I: Representations of the Virgin Queen”, p.50 27 Huppé, p.98. 31

nothing more then to haue their seruants officious. Be alwaies in

sight, but never slothful. Flatter, I meane lie; little things catch

light mindes, and fancy is a worme, that feedeth first vpon fenell.

Imagine with thy selfe all are to bee won, otherwise mine aduise were

as vnnecessary as thy labour. It is vnpossible for the brittle mettall

of women to withstand the flattering attemptes of men: only this, let

them be asked; their sex requireth no lesse, their modesties are to

be allowed so much. Be prodigall in prayses and promises, bewtie

must haue a trumept, pride a gifte. Peacocks neuer spread their

feathers, but when they are flattered, Gods are seldome pleased,

if they be not bribed (2.4.58-69).

From this description of wooing women in general appear as foolish creatures who will believe in every lie, if it is flattering enough. This certainly would not flatter the Queen, but there could be another explanation why the play was not received with a significant disgrace. As Bond states: “In spite of the marked favour of his reception in August,

1579, Elizabeth never really loved him [Alençon]; and it must soon have become apparent that her declarations of affection proceeded far more from her policy than from her heart”(Bond 2; 367). So the Queen herself was probably very well acquainted with the art of flattery and wooing and if her affections for Alençon were only a matter of state, she probably would not be overly sensitive concerning its turning into a comedy.

And, according to Bond, the Queen could not afford to react to every suspected allegory because she would draw even more attention to the aspect that offended her and might be even seen as insecure in her position.

Another flattering feature of the play concerns Duke d‟Alençon‟s appearance. In spite of Alençon‟s “marked ugliness” Elizabeth said that “she had never seen a man who pleased her so well, never one whom she could willingly make her husband” (Bond

2; 366). Lyly tactfully solved the problem of Alençon‟s attractiveness by changing

32

Phao, Alençon‟s dramatic counterpart, into the most beautiful man in the world. The change was made by Venus, the Goddess of Love, and can be thus allegorically seen as a change of perception caused simply by the affection. Thereby Lyly explains the

Queen‟s liking for Alençon by her being in love with him and it would probably not offend the Queen to be seen as a woman who is still able to fall in love for a man and consider marriage. It might be even more appreciated than to be perceived as merely a political figure, who has the state‟s affairs on the first place.

The end of the play seems to be composed exactly in accordance with the real events. The queen changes in her affections after Cupid‟s intervention and Phao, still deeply in love with Sapho, says that he will always be loyal to the queen, wishes her nothing but happiness and then leaves Sicily for ever. Sapho‟s last words in the play are: “I will wish him fortunate. This wil I do for Phao, because I once loued Phao: for neuer shall it be said that Sapho loued to hate, or that out of loue she coulde not be as courteous, as she was in loue passionate” (5.2.98-101). In reality, Elizabeth cancelled the negotiations and Alençon left for the Netherlands and two years later died28.

In conclusion to the Elizabeth-Alençon allegory it could be said that Lyly‟s main intention was to create

[a] delicate compliment to Elizabeth in the allegorical manner, demonstrating the triumph of

Chaste, Virtuous Love over Passion, picturing the triumphs of the Chaste Queen, mistress of her

affections yet able to arouse affection: “hauing the beautie that might allure all Princes, she hath

the chastitie also to refuse all” (Huppé 102).

Beside the characters of Sapho, Phao and Sybilla, there are other suggestions for allegorical figures in the play – mainly Pandion, Molus and Mileta. Pandion, according to Fleay29, who states this suggestion without any supportive arguments, could be autobiographical allegory for Lyly himself. Pandion is a scholar who newly arrived at

28 More historical information in Bond, Vol. II, p. 366. 29 Fleay. A Biographical Chronicle of the English Drama, Vol. II, p. 40. 33 the Court and creates a comical couple with Trachinus, the Courtier. Their main task is to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the Court and the university. There is a quote by Trachinus that could be perceived as if he talked to the playwright:

“Schollerlike said; you flatter that, whiche you seeme to mislike, and seek to disgrace that, which you moste wonder at” (1.2.67-69). Nevertheless, Lyly probably would not draw attention to a possibility that he flatters what he does not like, because he mainly flattered the Queen. But more than Panidon, Molus could be seen as Lyly, as he resembles Euphues in his attitude towards the university, and Euphues is suggested to be an autobiographical character30. When Molus says: “[c]unning in nothing but making small things great by figures, pulling on with the sweate of our studies a great shooe vpon a litle foote, burning out cãdle in seeking for an other, raw wordlings in matters of substaunce, passing wranglers about shadowes” (1.3.19-23), he sounds as if he was continuing in Euphues‟ criticism of / Oxford university.

Mileta, the Sapho‟s maid of honour, could have, according to Bond, a real original, but because so little is left from the period about people who were not particularly important, no one can say who the original was. But more important is the whole subplot involving the queen‟s ladies in waiting, because as it was already mentioned, it might be a satire, a mirror of the everyday life at the Court. According to

Derek Alwes‟s theory, Lyly was in the time, when he wrote this play, still more a humanist scholar than a courtier and it might be assumed, that he perceived the life at the Court as ridiculous. Thus the ladies are described as being flirtatious, fickle, gossip loving creatures, who offend each other, like when the ladies are talking about love:

MILETA. I laugh at that you all call loue, and iudge it onely

a worde called loue. Me thinks lyking, a curtesie, a smile, a beck,

30 More about Pandion, Molus and Euphues being Lyly‟s autobiographical figures in Derek B. Alwes‟ essay “„I would faine serve‟: John Lyly's Career at Court” 34

and such like, are the very Quintessence of loue.

FAVILLA. I, Mileta, but were you as wise, as you would be thought

faire, or as faire, as you think your self wise, you would bee as ready

to please men, as you are coye to prank your selfe, & as carefull to

bee accounted amorous, as you are willing to be thought discrete. (1.4.15-17)

And even Sybilla‟s love counselling seems to be aimed against the ladies, making them an object of merriment: “Oh simple women! that are brought rather to beleeue what their eares heare of flattering men, then what their eies see in true glasses” (2.4.71-71).

This image of the ladies, if connected with the other subplot including the three servants, who are talking mainly about Venus‟ adultery and Vulcan‟s cuckoldry, creates another kind of Court allegory that could be perceived as the critical allegory of Courtly love.

In conclusion, Sapho and Phao is a play constructed mainly to flatter the Queen after the cancelled wedding negotiations with the heir of the French throne, Duke d‟Alençon, in 1582. The plot of the play is thus undeveloped, because it was not necessary to entangle the characters into a more elaborate structure. The comic characters are flat, serving only to entertain the audience. And the apology from the prologue at Blackfriars, saying that: “Our intet was at this time to moue inward delight, not loude laughing: knowing it to the wise to be as great pleasure to heare counsell mixed with witte, as to the foolish to haue sporte mingled with rudenesse” (Bond 2;

370) could serve as a flattery to the courtiers and ladies in waiting, to prevent them from not liking the play at all.

35

4.4 Endimion

The play was according to Bond performed at the Court on Candlemas, February

2, 1585-631. It was the fourth play in the series of Lyly‟s plays written for the Court. It belongs by its content to the allegories and Courtly flatteries but in comparison with

Sapho and Phao, for example, its plot is more elaborate, showing thus a kind of development in Lyly‟s style.

The main plot of this play is related to the title character of Endimion who devotedly admires the goddess of the Moon, Cynthia, but simultaneously pretends to be in love with Tellus. Thus when Tellus realizes this shift in his affections, she feels betrayed and, as a result, she plots with the witch, Dipsas, to charm Endimion into a deep sleep. As a result, he falls asleep on the lunary32 bank and cannot be awakened or moved for forty years. Cynthia, who was formerly indifferent or even resentful towards

Endimion, now begins to relent and sends her courtiers – among them Eumenides,

Endimion‟s faithful friend – to find a remedy for Endimion. In the meantime, Tellus, who speaks inappropriately about Endimion in Cynthia‟s presence, is sent to be imprisoned in a castle under Corsites, the captain. After several years of his journey,

Eumenides meets Geron, an old man, who lives at a magic fountain that can answer any question, but only one, to a true and faithful lover. Thus Eumenides has to decide whether to ask about his love, Semele, who acts very coldly towards him, or about his friend Endimion. His loyalty is so strong that friendship wins over love and, as a result, he learns that Endimion can be awakened by a kiss from Cynthia. On his way home,

Eumenides is accompanied by Geron who turns out to be a husband of Dipsas.

Meanwhile, Tellus sends Corsites, her guard who falls in love with her, to move

31 Bond, Vol. III, p. 11. 32 Lunary – Lunaria Annua, a fern, believed to have magical powers http://www.elizabethanauthors.com/endmodGloss.htm 36

Endimion from the bank to a cave, which is an impossible deed, and Corsites is punished by being pinched by fairies that live on the bank. Cynthia and her courtiers happen to be visiting the spot at the same time and laugh at him. However, the philosophers who have come on Cynthia‟s command from Egypt and Greece are not able to break the spell and awaken Endimion. When Eumenides, who is supposed to be dead, finally returns to the court, Cynthia agrees to kiss Endimion and the remedy turns out to be successful. Endimion wakes up as an old man but eventually his youth is restored by Cynthia who, being the Moon, governs everything. All the couples are happily united at the end of the play – Eumenides will have his Semele, Tellus agrees to be married to Corsites, Geron is after fifty years of exile reunited with Dipsas, and Sir

Tophas, who is a boaster serving in the play as an object of laughter and mischief of the pages, will have Bagoa, Dipsas‟s maid. Only Endimion is left with no wife but still admiring his queen and goddess from a respectful distance. The play also includes a dumb show presenting three ladies and an old man that appear in Endimion‟s dream, and a typical Lylyan subplot of three pages talking unrespectfuly about their masters, in this particular play jesting at Sir Tophas‟s love for Dipsas, that probably serves as a satirical counterpart to Endimion‟s admiration of Cynthia.

This play based on the classical myth about (traditional spelling concerning the mythological character and another possibility of writing the play‟s name) includes according to the scholars several types of allegory – a physical allegory, an allegory of love and a Court allegory. The physical allegory is generally accepted – it involves the names of Tellus and Cynthia who represents the Earth and the Moon. There are many parts in the play that concerns describing Tellus and Cynthia according to the characteristics of the heavenly bodies they represent: Cynthia is described as being christened “with the name of wauering, waxing, and waning” but “[in]constant that

37 keepeth a setled course, which since her first creation altereth not one minute in her mounig” (1.1.34-36). Tellus is described as the Earth: “whose body is decked with faire flowers, and vaines are Vines, yeelding sweet liquor to the dullest spirits, whose eares are Corne, to bring strenght, and whoose heares are grasse, to bring abundance” (1.2.20-

23). Cynthia is as the Moon superior to Tellus, the Earth, because the Moon governs the tide and natural cycles on the Earth.

The theory of love allegory in Endimion is according to the essay by Huppé more probable than the Court allegory. In his essay Love in Lyly’s Court Comedies, As

Huppé elaborates in his theory, Cynthia represents “Spiritual, Virtuous Love, the marriage of true minds” (Huppé 103), and Tellus is “Earthly Passion [...] struggling in the lover‟s mind against his dedication to Passionless Love” (Huppé 104). He also uses his theory to describe Endimion‟s dream, the dumb show. The first lady holding a knife and a mirror is True Love, the other two damsels are Justice and Mercy. They appear in

Endimion‟s dream to “debate whether to punish or forgive him for his lapse from grace, his forgetfulness of True Love” (Huppé 105). Justice wants punishment but Mercy wins over her and True Love “must forgive of her own accord as an act of pitiful benevolence” (Huppé 105). Huppé even recognizes a similarity between the three ladies from Endimion and four Daughters of God: Mercy, Justice, Peace and Truth.

The Court allegory is the most hypothetical but also the most extensive of the allegories possibly implied in Endimion. Bond in his essay “On the Allegory of

Endimion”33 compares theories of Halpin and Baker with his own theory. They all agree on the fact that the main subject of the plot is the relationship between the Queen and her favourite, Earl of Leicester. Bond suggests that the main plot of the play concerns

33 Included in the third volume of The Complete Works of John Lyly, edited by R.W. Bond 38 the situation of Leicester‟s temporary disgrace in the year 157934. Endimion in his monologue in the Act II complains about Cynthia‟s coldness: “Have I not spent my golden yeeres in hopes, waxing old with wishing, yet wishing nothing but thy loue”

(2.1.21-22), proceeding with confession that his love for Tellus was a mere “cloake” for his feelings toward Cynthia, so that no one would suspect him. The first sentence of this soliloquy is exactly the same as in a letter written by Leicester to Lord Burleigh – but intended to be read by the Queen – in 1579:

Haue I not crept to those on whom I might haue troden, onelie because thou didst shine vpon

them? Haue not iniuries beene sweet to me, if thou vouchsafedst I should beare them? Have I not

spent my golden yeeres in hopes, waxing old with wishing, yet wishing nothing by thy loue?

(Bond 3; 85).

Bond states that it is probably only a coincidence (though even the spelling is the same) but that it would not be impossible for Lyly being at the time a secretary of Lord

Oxford, Burleigh‟s son-in-law, to read the letter or hear it read.

As it was already suggested, the theorists who believe in the presence of Court allegory in this play have generally accepted Leicester as the original for Endimion and the Queen Elizabeth being the original for the Moon Goddess, Cynthia. The first noticeable fact supporting the theory about the Queen is the name of Cynthia itself, because “praise of Elizabeth as Cynthia (or Diana, or Belphoebe, or any one of a number of other variants) became indelibly imprinted during the last half of her reign”35. Lyly used the character of Diana in his pastorals but in this play he chose the name Cynthia36, probably because this depiction of Elizabeth as a goddess of Moon is very useful concerning the Court flattery that is very often implied in the play, depicting

34 Bond, vol 3, p.87. In this year the secret marriage of Leicester and Lady was revealed to the Queen and Leicester fell into a temporary disgrace 35 King, “Queen Elizabeth I: Representations of the Virgin Queen”, p. 59. 36 Cynthia is originally an epithet of Artemis, Diana‟s Greek counterpart, meaning that she was born on the Mount Cynthos http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/artemis.html 39 her as a virtuous sovereign with the power over all natural cycles. As another possible proof of Cynthia representing the Queen may be seen the resemblance of various speeches by Cynthia with the famous speeches by the Queen Elizabeth:

CYNTHIA. It shall neuer be said that Cynthia, whose mercy and

goodness filleth the heauens with ioyes, & the world with meruailes,

will suffer eyther Endimion or any to perrish, if he may be protected.

EUMENIDES. Your Maiesties wordes haue beene alwaies deedes, and

your deedes vertues. (3.1.56-60)

Cynthia‟s being the depiction of the Queen is also supported by the subservient behaviour of the other characters towards her (e.g. Eumenides in the previous quotation) and by their addressing her as Madame, “a title of respect [elsewhere] reserved, both in

Endimion and Sapho, for the Queen herself” (Bond 3; 91).

As for the fact, that Leicester and Elizabeth as originals are sufficiently supported by the text of the play, the argument about the original of Tellus becomes more interesting. Contrary to Halpin‟s suggestion that Tellus could represent Lady

Sheffield, Leicester‟s mistress who claimed to be his wife, Baker prefers Lady Lettice

Knolys being Tellus‟s original on the basis of Endimion‟s proclamation: “with Tellus, faire Tellus, haue I dissembled, vsing her but as cloake for mine affections” (2.1.22-23), his affections meaning his love for Cynthia-Elizabeth. Both scholars base their theories on the presumption that the temporary disgrace of Endimion is a representation of the real event of Leicester‟s being out of favour after the revelation of his secret marriage with Lady Lettice, which happened in 1579. This fact supports Baker‟s theory of the original of Tellus being Lady Lettice, because she was banished from the Court for many years for this marriage, which could possibly correspond with the imprisonment of Tellus. But the text of the play mainly supports Bond‟s theory of Tellus being Mary

Queen of Scots. The historical character of the Queen Mary has the qualification

40 necessary for being an original of Tellus: she was said to be beautiful, educated and also very emotional. She was a relative but also a rival of Queen Elizabeth and had a right to become the heiress of the English throne. She was imprisoned by Elizabeth and was accused many times from being involved in a plot against her Majesty. In the play there can be found Panelion‟s37 comment on Tellus‟s deeds that is matching the image of

Mary Queen of Scots: “Who would have thought that Tellus beeing so fayre by nature, so honourable by byrth, so wise by education, woulde haue entred into a mischiefe to the Gods so odious, to men so detestable, and to her freend so malicious” (5.3.1-4).

Concerning Leicester, in the years 1563-65 there was an attempt disposed by Lord Cecil and Queen Elizabeth herself to appoint him as a consort of Mary Queen of Scots.

Robert Dudley was an English nobleman – promoted to an earldom to be more fitting to the possible position of a husband of a queen – a Protestant by religion and, above all,

Queen‟s favourite, who would support her interests in Scotland. But Queen Mary was not excited by being married to Elizabeth‟s subject and Leicester himself acted against the marriage. There can be found a monologue of Endimion that could illustrate

Leicester‟s feelings during the marriage negotiations:

O Endimion, Tellus was faire, but what auaileth Beautie without

wisedome? Nay, Endimion, she was wise, but what auaileth wis-

dome without honour? Shee was honourable Endimion, belie her

not, I but howe obscure is honor without fortune? Was she not

fortunate whome so many followed? Yes, yes, but base is fortune

without Maiestie: thy Maiestie Cynthia al the world knoweth and

wondereth at, but not one in the world that can immitate it,

or comprehend it. (2.3.11-18)

37 Panelion is by Bond supposed to have his original in William Cecil, Lord Burleigh, the main counsellor of the Queen. 41

The negotiations were not successful, therefore Leicester and Mary Queen of Scots were not wedded, so as Endimion and Tellus, their suggested fictional counterparts.

In the case of the two rather minor characters, Geron and Dipsas, there are no arguments among the theorists. Lacking the existence of any better originals, Baker and

Bond agrees with Halpin‟s suggestion that Lord and Lady Shrewsbury (Bess of

Hardwick) are the real originals for the witch and her old husband. Being in charge of

Queen Mary‟s custody, Lord Shrewsbury spent a long time away from the Court, which is supposed to be the “original of Geron‟s exile” (Bond 3; 97). Lady Shrewsbury, on the other hand, spread rumours about a relationship between her husband and his ward,

Mary Queen of Scots. She was also involved in a plot concerning the marriage of Lord

Charles Stuart, Mary‟s brother-in-law, to Lady Shrewsbury‟s daughter, which upset the

Queen Elizabeth38 – this plot being, according to Bond, the original for the plotting of

Tellus and Dipsas.

The presumable originals of the other minor characters differ in the three theories. Baker even suggests that it is not necessary to search for allegory concerning every single character of the play. There are different assumptions relating to the couple of Eumenides and Semele, for example. Halpin‟s theory says that the originals for this couple are Lord of Sussex and Frances Sidney, his second wife. However, Bond does not approve this theory, because it was known that Sussex and Leicester were enemies and one positive intervention in the case of Leicester‟s disgrace does not qualify him for being an original of a faithful friend. Bond, on the other hand, suggests Sir Philip

Sidney for Eumenides. He was a nephew of Leicester and because of his letter to the

Queen in 1580, concerning his opposition to the match with Duke of Anjou (i.e.

38Bond, Vol. 3, p. 94. Lord Charles Stuart and Elizabeth Cavendish were both in the succession line to the English throne and their marriage strengthened Mary‟s family connection in England, so it should be granted by the Queen; Lady Lennox, Charles‟ mother, even spent several months in Tower for this offence. 42

Alençon), he was “compelled to spend seven months of that year in retirement at

Wilton, his return to Court coinciding with Leicester‟s restoration to favour” (Bond 3;

95). This occasion, according to Bond, resembles Eumenides‟ absence at the Court during his journey and his return which is closely connected to Endimion‟s awakening.

As for Semele, Bond argues that her original is Lady Penelope Deveraux. Lord Essex,

Penelope‟s father, planned for her to be married to Sidney. But when he died in 1576,

Sidney‟s father cancelled their engagement, probably because Leicester was said to be involved in Essex‟s death or because by his marriage to Essex‟s widow Philip Sidney lost his right to inherit Leicester‟s property. This situation could be seen as the original of Eumenides‟ decision to put friendship over love at the magic fountain. The fact, that in the play Eumenides and Semele are, even if she at first refuses, getting married, but the originals of the couple were at that time married to someone else, may be, according to Bond, “regarded as a merely stage-necessity” (Bond 3, 96), so as in the case of Tellus and Corsites, because Mary Queen of Scots was also not getting married to her guard.

This could be viewed as a weakness of Bond‟s theory, but he defends himself by stating, that: “Dramatic necessity or the State censorship may compel him [Lyly] to alter times and places, to marry people who were not really married, or not to those whom they are represented as marrying, and even to combine in one character features of two persons holding successively the same position”39 (Bond 3; 86). The changes in the classical mythological stories or in the real events were a devise that Lyly used while writing most of his plays, as it was mentioned before in the chapter about Sapho and Phao.

39 Bond suggests that the originals of Corsites are both Lord Shrewsbury and Sir Amias Paulet (who succeeded Shrewsbury in his position as Mary‟s guard), combined into one character – Shrewsbury for his supposed relationship with Mary, Paulet because he was a soldier and his appearance and characterization fits more the fictional Captain Corsites. 43

In conclusion, this play is one of the first plays by Lyly that involves more elaborated plot and characters and is thus more than conversational comedy serving to flatter the Queen. In contrast to Sapho and Phao, Endimion could be enjoyed for the story itself, excluding the allegory which might not be easily understood by every reader. However, the extent of the implied allegory suggests, that the play would not be as enjoyable as it was for the audience that could understand it.

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5. Conclusion

The attempt of my thesis was to find reasons why Lyly is not percieved as a great dramatist any more and why his plays are not exciting for today‟s audience. In the second chapter, concerning Lyly‟s life, I focused on various information describing

Lyly as a man of fashion to support the theory that the main reason for the neglect of

Lyly‟s works was his obsession with fashion and contemporary issues. As the Court dramatist, Lyly was limited in scope of his writing. In the period, in which he started his career, it was more or less expected from the Court dramatist to flatter the Queen according to the established panegyric. By performing his duties, he created plays that were doomed to be popular only as long as the Queen was alive. In the subchapters about Sapho and Phao and Endimion I focused on describing all the supposed hints on contemporary events and affairs that probably even a hundred years later the readers were not able to fully understand. And thus, the possible inventor of modern comedy rose to the top of his popularity only to quickly fall into obllivion.

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6. Czech Resumé

Bakalářská práce Hry Johna Lylyho je zaměřená na prokázání faktu, že John

Lyly, přestože byl tvůrcem mnoha znaků moderní komedie, byl příliš pohlcen módou tehdejší doby, aby ji mohly jeho práce přežít.

První kapitola popisuje Lylyho život a kariéru, a také jeho povahu, tak jak ji popsali jeho současníci.V další kapitole jsou popsány specifika jeho pracovního prostředí, tedy fakt, že psal pro královnu a že jeho hry předváděl chlapecký herecký soubor. V hlavní kapitole o hrách jsou nejprve jednotlivé hry krátce uvedeny a v dalších podkapitolách se potom zabývám alegoriemi, které nejlépe poukazují na Lylyho omezenost dobou.

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