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Early Drama with Special Focus on Gorboduc Early Drama with Special Focus on Gorboduc MODULE 32 In this module you will learn: How literature was used as a means of propaganda from the early 16th century How the revival of learning contributed towards the evolution of different dramatic forms The influence of the classical writers like Seneca, Plautus and Terence Four plays written around this period: Gorboduc, Arden of Feversham, Ralph Roister Doister and Gammer Gurton‘s Needle Introduction: Literature as Propaganda Drama, for its ability to address and influence a large number of people at once, was perceived to be an important tool of propaganda from the early days. You must realise that we are speaking about a time, when there was no other form of art that could communicate to a huge mass. Publication of books for the common people was not thought of and literacy was more a matter of a privilege than of right for the individual. The public would be mostly addressed to from the pulpit by the clergy. Interestingly, drama in England germinated from the regular services held in churches. The relation between drama and religion is an old one, for in ancient Greece—whose literature would influence the minds of many in Europe in the fifteenth century—plays were enacted as a part of religious celebrations. Early drama in England was also an extended part of the religious services. You must have already encountered such dramatic structures and forms while reading about the Miracle and Morality plays. In the Middle Ages, the development of literature was controlled by the Church, for it was the clergy who received the benefits of education and the literature, composed by them, aimed at disseminating the word of God to the populace. Towards the beginning of the 15th century, a holistic change in the society caused literature to become secularized. This does not mean that the literary texts would become totally devoid of religion but rather the influence of religion would be less directly felt in the texts. While using the term secularization, one must keep in mind, that the process of secularization owes its impetus both to the humanistic school of learning that developed as a result of the Renaissance and the interest of the kings who wanted to use art and literature, particularly the plays, for their mass appeal, to become the mouthpiece of their worldview. This process of secularization is also not something that happens only in the isolated arena of literature, it affects the entire society; it has a tremendous impact on the lives of common men and women, and consequently, the parameters of literary compositions change as the people change and their perspectives alter. The conflict between the king and the Church resurfaced in England during the fifteenth century when the Tudor Monarch Henry VIII decided to divorce his wife and remarry, and it intensified when he being excommunicated decided to embrace the Protestant faith which was already gathering momentum in Europe and disturbing the ancient roots of the Catholic Church. King Henry VIII‘s decision had a strong impact on the polity and society of England for the next fifty years as James, Mary and Elizabeth, his three children, chose either Protestantism or Catholicism as the national religion. It became common to lose life on the question of faith. This religio-political turmoil is known in history as the Reformation. Many historians would agree on the point that in England the influence of the Renaissance arrived a bit late and it coincided with the Reformation movement. Together, they thus changed the nature and form of literary practices prevalent in England at that point of time. The Reformation caused the gradual establishment of the supremacy of the kingly authority over the religious dominance. Both Henry VIII and Elizabeth passed the Acts of Supremacy in 1534 and 1558 respectively to declare themselves to be the supreme heads of the Church of England and to ensure their control over the English nation. The fate of literature was also determined. In 1543, by an Act of Parliament, plays ‗meddling with religious doctrines‘ were banned. One can easily understand that the Morality plays and Interludes were being freely used to criticise the King. Interestingly, this Act was repealed in 1547, when an anti-Catholic play was performed to mark the coronation of Edward VI. In 1549, Kett‘s rebellion takes place and all English plays were banned for two months. However, the State could easily understand the importance of plays as tools of propaganda, and thus thought it to be wiser to control its content, rather than banning it altogether. In 1551, a Royal proclamation decreed that all professional acting companies must be licensed. Humanist: a student of humanitas (Lat. However, the performance of the seditious plays ‗humanity‘; also ‗literature‘); a lover of continued and therefore the ban on the plays litterae humaniores (‗more humane letters‘); containing religious matters was implemented and an admirer of classical models derived from withdrawn again and again. It also became dangerous antiquity; a writer following such models. to perform such plays: Sir John Savage, Mayor of Later meanings—such as promoter of Chester was imprisoned in 1575 as he allowed the humane values, believer in ‗the religion of th city‘s Mystery Cycle to be performed. humanity‘, atheist—date from the 19 century. (Source: Michael Alexander, A The rising importance of the State over the Church History of English Literature) was also supported by two other changes: the change in the economic orientation of the society and the rise of an educated class. The Tudor era in England witnessed a definite break in the prevalent economic condition as the old guild systems gave in to more centralised and competitive business culture, which can be seen as the nascent form of capitalism. The market also expanded as the sea-routes were explored. There was also a remarkable increase in the number of enclosures, whereby the traditional rights of the people to use the common land for mowing or grazing livestock came to an end. The influential owners started to enclose the land as their personal property, thus creating a large number of landless labourers. Kett‘s rebellion was organised to protest against such enclosures and it was one of many such revolts that marked this period. However, the enclosures gradually gave rise to the class of wealthy landowners who would play a significant role in destroying the feudal structure of the society, and as they were able to afford education, they would become instrumental in spreading the ideals of Renaissance. This newly emergent aristocratic class benefited from the spoils of the Monarch and in turn lent support to it. As the monarch helped to further their interest they too took initiative in making the monarch superior to any other social force. Humanist literature aimed at educating this particular class, by teaching them to become effective statesperson or diplomats who would be able to make significant contribution to the workings of the state to gain absolute power. In his Book Named the Governor (1531), Thomas Elyot emphasized on the need to educate the diplomats in the ideals of humanism to evolve them into good statesmen. The model of the liberal training was taken from Erasmus and Thomas More. The book was dedicated to Henry VIII. The book was extremely popular, not because of the novelty of the subject but mostly because it was a timely publication, and it went through seven different editions between 1531 and 1580. Thus, L. G. Salinger is right when he says, ‗The Renaissance in England was thus bound up with the consolidation of the Tudor regime.‘ (P 16) Thus, it is not difficult to understand why secular art was not simply a result of Renaissance learning but rather a conscious decision of the Monarch to curb the power of the Church and also to secure its power over the evolving English nation. However, one must also remember that though the art can be used as propaganda, yet it has the power to transcend the parochial boundaries of nation, time and history. Art may reflect the spirit of the age, but that does not mean that it would become redundant in the following age. It is not unlikely to find that the old authors are uncannily relevant in understanding our modern crisis. Shakespeare, for instance, continues to be our contemporary. Tudor Translations William Tyndale: New Testament, 1525 Ralph Robinson: More‘s Utopia, 1551 Renaissance and its effect on the dramatic form Sir Thomas Hoby: Castiglione‘s Boke of the Courtier, 1561 Renaissance had different implications for different Arthur Golding: Ovid‘s Metamorphoses, people. For some, it meant the recovery of Greek 1565 and refining of Medieval Latin that they read in the William Adlington: Apuleius‘ The Golden classical texts. It also meant the ‗…restoration of Ass, 1566 George Gascoigne: Ariosto‘s Supposes, learning, the dawn of a new civilization, the 1567 rediscovery of the physical world, the beginning of Jasper Heywood et al.: Seneca his Ten physical sciences, the breaking with the primitive Tragedies, 1581 past, the growth of sophisticated art, the Richard Stanyhurst: The First Four Books establishment of a humanistic world to replace a of Virgil his Æneis, 1582 rigidly theocentric existence.‘ Renaissance Sir John Harington: Ariosto‘s Orlando influenced literature in two ways: it introduced new Furioso in English Heroical Verse, 1591 genres and new content to match the new form. Sir Thomas North: Plutarch‘s Lives of the Drama, which was already quite a popular art by the Noble Grecians and Romans, 1595 time Renaissance arrived in England, was quite John Chapman: Homer‘s Iliad, 1598 Christopher Marlowe: Hero and Leander, mature for experimentation.
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