Bonus Blog: Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, John Webster, and Sir Francis Bacon

While episode 4, “The Deer Hunters,” focuses predominately on Rory’s need to pass a Shakespeare exam, it is also memorable for introducing the character of Max Medina, one of Lorelai’s predominant love interests. I am not a huge fan of Max fan, but I am not sure if this is because I am so in love with the character of Luke that I automatically dislike anyone else Lorelai dates. It could also be because Max is an English teacher and I automatically critique his teaching methods and his credibility in every classroom scene. I can say that Mr. Medina’s class 

is nothing like a typical high school English class. I find myself muttering things like “His lesson had no closure!” and “He didn’t give students a rubric for that assignment!” Sometimes I don’t know what is wrong with me that I critique fictional teachers. But that is not the point of this blog post! While Mr. Medina is giving his Back to School Night presentation, he rattles off a list of authors that are the perfect amount of obscure and impressive (what a show off). So in order to read a bit of each author, I had to whip out my Norton Anthology of English Literature I still have from my years of an English major in college and my trusty fun colored pens.

He is no Luke. No sirree.

Christopher Marlowe

Look at that hair!

            Christopher Marlowe was one of Shakespeare’s contemporaries and one of Shakespeare’s influences. He is a fascinating man and could have risen to even greater heights if he had not been murdered when he was 29. So much potential lost! The motivation behind his murder remains a mystery, but it is clear that Marlowe was a man who was involved in a lot of drama. He spent time working as a spy (Yes! A spy!) for the Protestant regime. His job was to help stop the English Catholics from overpowering them. In my head, though, spying and religion don’t mesh very well, but there is your history lesson of the day!

            Marlowe’s is remembered for the play Dr. Faustus. The Faust story was not new, but Marlowe was the first to put it in the form of an Elizabethan drama. Making a deal with a devil is not a new literary trope; it is constantly being reinvented. I read this play during my sophomore year of college in one of the three Literature in History courses I took. Marlowe, being one of Shakespeare’s contemporaries, was an important author to analyze in conjunction with Shakespeare. It was definitely one of the more memorable texts I read that year. I will probably eventually reread it; however, right now I want to focus on reading newer texts on the list.

Ben Jonson

            Another English playwright who could’ve who could’ve been a spy! When one pictures a spy, you imagine them as someone serious and who is focused on taking care of business. Ben Jonson doesn’t fit that mold as most of his writings were considered comedic or satirical. He is considered to be the most important playwright after the time of Shakespeare and was the unofficial poet laurite of England in his time. I had never read Ben Jonson before despite being familiar with his name. I didn’t have the time to read an entire play so I chose a short selection from my Norton Anthology called “The Masque of Blackness.” What is a masque you may ask? No it is not a mask that covers one’s face. According to my Norton a masque is “essentially an elaborate dance form. It was a multimedia event combining songs, speech, richly ornamented costumes and masks, shifting scene panels depicting elaborate architecture and landscapes, and

intricate machines in which gods and goddesses descended from the heavens” (1326).  In my head, I imagined it as a mixture of a play and a highly elaborate pageant show. I found “The Masque of Blackness” difficult to read. For one, it did not flow like a typical play. It was choppy and had sections of dialogue, but also descriptions of the set design. This masque dealt with the racial tensions of the time and, honestly, did not approach it appropriately. Maybe, next time, I will read one of Jonson’s plays.

John Webster

           

Sadly, John Webster was not a spy…that we know of anyways. Webster is another English playwright who is often lumped together with Shakespeare and his contemporaries. His plays can hold their own to Shakespeare, but they are not as well known. Many of plays focus on strong female characters who speak their minds and aren’t afraid to go after what they want. I read John Webster’s play The Duchess of Malfi during my sophomore year of college (in the same course I read Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus). I read it as a play of my choosing and recall enjoying it. I will definitely want to reread it one day, but it was not a priority as I have an endless list of other books to read. I do remember it being very dramatic with hints of incest (you weren’t the first to do that Game of Thrones!) Those Elizabethan playwrights were definitely not PG.

Sir Francis Bacon

            I just have to start out saying that I think Kevin is the better Bacon man. Was that too cheesy? I’m sorry. I can’t resist a cheesy joke. My students are used to it so you should be too. Francis Bacon is the one outlier of this group of authors. While Shakespeare, Marlowe, Jonson, and Webster were all playwrights, Bacon’s primary literary form was the essay. He is actually credited as one that helped shape the English essay form. Bacon touched on a wide variety of topics in his essays, but is probably best known for practicing the scientific method. I teach English so it has been awhile since I have even thought about the scientific method. I think I recall the word hypothesis? (Just kidding, I know what this means.)

            I read one of Bacon’s essays called “Of Truth.” Elizabethan authors loved to title their works “Of Blah-Blah-Blah” or “On Blah-Blah-Blah.” Let’s see some creativity people! Honestly, I did not get much out of reading this essay. It was difficult to read and to comprehend and my heart was not in it. I tried, but I know I am whole-heartedly a novel lover!

Because Kevin Bacon is sooooo much better!

Pictures:

Lorelai and Max: 

http://www.gilmoregirls.org/images/group/43.jpg

Christopher Marlowe: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Christopher_Marlowe.jpg

Ben Jonson: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Benjamin_Jonson_by_Abraham_van_Blyenberch.jpg

John Webster: https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1508825668p5/39090.jpg

Sir Francis Bacon: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Francis_Bacon%2C_Viscount_St_Alban_from_NPG_%282%29.jpg/220px-Francis_Bacon%2C_Viscount_St_Alban_from_NPG_%282%29.jpg

Kevin Bacon: http://wmespeakers.com/sites/default/files/speakers/Kevin%20Bacon%20crop.jpg

Book #24: The Sonnets by William Shakespeare

I am going to tell you something shocking. You ready for it?...I am not a poetry person. I am just like my students. When I had to read poetry for school, I always dreaded it. It wasn’t because I didn’t understand it or it is too difficult to figure out. No, it was because I preferred to get lost in a story and become invested in characters. Poems are typically short and to the point and overly dramatic. I preferred and still prefer to get lost in a story instead.

            It wasn’t until college that I earned a deeper appreciation for poetry. When you spend several hours discussing the same twenty lines, you can’t help but appreciate the effort that

went into creating those twenty lines. BUT, you can’t make me determine the scansion (scansion is the rhythm of a poem) of a poem ever again. That is the most vile thing you can make an English major do. It is like forcing the words into a math problem and they just won't fit and the thought of doing that again makes my stomach squirm.

            I love Shakespeare, but I dislike poetry. So you can imagine my conflicted feelings when it came time read Shakespeare’s sonnets. What is a sonnet you may ask? According to poetryarchive.org, “an English sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines, usually in iambic pentameter that has one of two regular rhyme schemes.” The form of a sonnet does not just apply to Shakespeare; Petrarch, Dante, and John Donne used them too. Sonnets, at least Shakespeare’s, mainly focus on love, beauty, and mortality.

            I’ll be honest with you. I didn’t particularly enjoy reading the sonnets. I appreciate them from a literary standpoint, but, man, are they boring to read, especially when you read all 154 at once. The first 126 sonnets are addressed to a young man. It is unclear who this young man is; whether he is just a friend or a secret lover. Some claim that the young man could be Shakespeare’s rival Christopher Marlowe. One of Shakespeare’s most famous

sonnets, Sonnet 18, contains the famous line “shall I compare thee to a summer day.” Sounds romantic, right? Like it could be written to a pretty lady? Wrong. This sonnet was written towards the young man. Some of these poems sound extremely romantic while others seem to be yielding advice. Deciphering Shakespeare’s sonnets is like figuring out who Taylor Swift is singing about. I’m not bashing Taylor Swift here. I’m actually defending her. Artists have been writing, singing, and painting about the important people in their life for a long time. Taylor Swift just gets a lot of crap for it because she is a successful woman in the time of social media.

            The second set of sonnets, 127-152, is written to a “Dark Lady” mistress. These poems focus on sexual love in which there are mixed emotions. Shakespeare discusses how this woman is irresistible and his dream woman, but she also disgusts him. I have an issue with this because it implies that if a woman is sexual than she is also dirty. It is a double standard because the opposite is never thought of in relation to men. Granted, these poems were written in the 1500s where women did not have as many rights, but these double standards are still evident today. It’s sad when you find flaws in one of your favorite authors, but even Shakespeare is not perfect.

            The last two sonnets (153-154) are translations of Greek epigrams; another piece of evidence that Shakespeare did not originate many of his stories.

Other Thoughts

- Paris quotes a sonnet as an insult/threat to Rory. I love literary insults!!! Lorelai also quizzes Rory on facts about the Sonnets for her Shakespeare exam. Poor Rory, I’m sure this would be one hell of an exam (not like she had a chance to take it).

- The sonnets have a reputation for being quite romantic. However, I find them depressing. Many of them have sad undertones of darkness. The “Dark Mistress” for instance is seen as a villain, beauty is seen as fading, and time is an enemy of love. Not the kind of stuff I’d want read at my wedding.

Next Time: We will get a break from Shakespeare. I find it best if Shakespeare is read in moderation. I am currently reading selections from several authors from the same time period: Christopher Marlowe, Francis Bacon, Ben Jonson, and John Webster. I am revisiting my old Norton Anthology of English Literature for this and I AM LOVING IT!

Pictures

Book Cover:http://www.loyalbooks.com/image/detail/Shakespeare-s-Sonnets.jpg
Book Cover 2: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ca/64/77/ca6477537a23337d5bb3eb93652fad9c--shakespeare-sonnets-midcentury-books.jpg

Book #23: The Tragedy of Richard III by William Shakespeare

More Shakespeare! Yay! And I am not being sarcastic. I actually really enjoyed reading this play and it may be one of my favorite selections I have read thus far in the challenge. I think I enjoy Shakespeare’s history plays more than his comedies. For some reason, they are easier for me to understand. It is usually the opposite for people. Leave it to me, to actually ENJOY Shakespeare’s more difficult plays. Don’t get me started on Hamlet.

            The Tragedy of Richard III (I know it says tragedy, but it is really labeled a history) is The Comedy of Errors (see last post) and then is asked about the date of Richard III (1592 just FYI). The date seems to slip by her.

referenced in episode four while Rory is cramming for her English exam on Shakespeare. First, she answers a question on

            Richard III chronicles Richard’s rise to power and his short reign as king. Richard is the last Plantagenet king and does not represent the line (which descends from the House of York) well. Richard was heavily involved in the War of the Roses which is too complicated to get into here. I am first to admit that I am not very knowledgeable in Medieval British history; however, it does interest me. I was pleasantly surprised, though, that I was familiar with the context of Richard the III. I recently read the first in Philippa Gregory’s Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, The Lady of the Rivers. This novel focuses on Elizabeth Woodville’s (the prominent female character in Richard III) mother, Jacquetta of Luxembourg, and the beginning of the War of the Roses. I was unnaturally excited that I recognized some of the figures while reading Richard III. Maybe it is because of those connections that I enjoyed this play so much.

            If you are not familiar with the history of Richard III, just know that he is pretty much the epitome of evil. Richard desperately wants to be king, but he is not exactly likable or attractive or in direct line to the throne. So what does he do? He kills anyone who poses a threat to him no matter how minuscule they are. Men, women, children…the body count is high. Richard is considered a “vice” character meaning he is purely evil without any redeeming qualities. We are well versed with the idea of the antihero in today’s stories. Even if a character is considered Dexter for example. Dexter may be a murderer, but he is an oddly charming guy and you don’t want him to get caught by the police. Richard, though, is evil through and through. He is not a realistic character in this way.

“evil,” there is some good qualities evident in them. Just look at

            While the play Richard III is quite complex, the character of Richard is not. He may be a good oratory, but this is because Shakespeare puts those words in his mouth. Shakespeare makes all of his characters an expert of word play. In the real world, people are not this way. We have multiple levels and different shades that make us who we are. It is easy to write someone off as one way because that is what we are presented with, but we have to remember there are different perspectives.

            There is no doubt that Richard III actually did some atrocious things such as killing Elizabeth Woodville’s two young sons. However, it is also important to note that Queen Elizabeth I, who commissioned this play to be written, was a descendent of King Henry VII. King Henry VII was the king who overthrew Richard III. Obviously, Shakespeare wasn’t going to write Richard as a man with redeeming qualities.

 

I think Richard III looks an awful like Orlando Bloom in this
depiction. 

           “Now is the winder of our discontent.” These words hold a lot of meaning to me right now because it is really f-ing cold out right now, excuse my language. I know Shakespeare means this figuratively and is referring to the political climate of England in 1471. But if you’ve been to the east coast in the last few weeks, you know how cold it has been! And I am not being a baby! All joking aside, Shakespeare uses numerous metaphors throughout his plays. In this one, he often uses word play to refer to Richard’s physical deformities and the often changing political alliances. This is why Shakespeare is so interesting to me; every word he writes is deliberate and has meaning on multiple levels. I would have hated to be dating him back in the day.

Other Thoughts

- Reading vs. Watching: I never realized how many different ways you could interpret Shakespeare’s plays until I went to England and went to several performances at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Their performance of Hamlet, in particular, opened my eyes. I always think of literature and writing from the perspective of the writer. Why did they choose those words? What are their intentions with this character? I never really thought of how an actor can change how I could see a story. I have not seen a Richard III performance, but I can imagine that Richard is a meaty character to play.

- This is Shakespeare’s second longest play, Hamlet being the first. I liked this a lot better than The Comedy Errors, which was his shortest play. Funny how that worked out.

- Richard III is the final play in Shakespeare’s tetralogy. The first three Henry VI plays came before it. I have not read any of those, but we all know that I will read them someday.

- Shakespeare is not one to shy away from writing gruesome scenes for his actors to portray (he made a character eat a pie made up of the dead bodies of her sons in Titus Andronicus). However, in Richard III, most of the deaths happen offstage. Maybe this is because Shakespeare wanted the focus to be on the words and not the blood. Maybe it was to try something different since he just wrote a really gruesome play. Maybe he just wanted to try something new. An author does everything deliberately and Shakespeare must have chosen to exclude these action packed scenes for a reason.

-I recently watched the Netflix show The Crown and now seem to be extra curious about the British monarchy past and present. I don't know if it is the accent or what, but I could just watch it all day. 

- My goal this year is to do one post a week. I’ll try my best to stay on top of my writing. Please feel free to yell at me if I start to slack.

Happy New Year!

Xoxo

Leigh

Up Next: Shakespeare’s Sonnets

Pictures:

Book Cover: https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328043960l/42058.jpg

Movie Still: http://queenanneboleyn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/SirLarry_2336388b.jpg

Painting: https://www.mcgoodwin.net/pages/images/hogarthrichard3.jpg