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