Our Scene is London, 'cause we would make known, No country's mirth is better than our own. No clime breeds better matter, for your whore, Bawd, squire, imposter, many persons more
Emerging from Ben Jonson's late-Elizabethancomedies of humours (1598–1599), the conventions of city comedy developed rapidly in the first decade of the Jacobean era, as one playwright's innovations were soon adopted by others, such that by about 1605 the new genre was fully established.[1] Its principal playwrights were Jonson himself, Thomas Middleton, and John Marston, though many others also contributed to its development, including Thomas Heywood, Thomas Dekker, John Day, and John Webster.[2] Once the companies of boy players—the Children of Paul's and the Children of the Chapel—had resumed public performances from 1600 onwards, most of their plays were city comedies.[3] The closest that William Shakespeare's plays come to the genre is the slightly earlier The Merry Wives of Windsor (c. 1597), which is his only play set entirely in England; it avoids the caustic satire of city comedy, however, in preference for a more bourgeois mode (with its dual romantic plots governed by socio-economics not love or sex), while its setting, Windsor, is a town rather than a city.[4]
In contrast to the adventurous chronicles of Elizabethan comedy, such as Thomas Dekker's The Shoemaker's Holiday (1599) or George Peele's The Old Wives' Tale (c. 1590), or the intricately plotted romantic comedies of Shakespeare and John Lyly, city comedy was more realistic (excluding magical or marvellous elements) and sharp and satirical in tone.[5] It portrayed a broad range of characters from different ranks (often focused on citizens), employing "deeds and language such as men do use", as Jonson put it, and was usually set in London.[6]
During the Tudor period the Reformation had produced a gradual shift to Protestantism and much of London passed from church to private ownership.[7] The Royal Exchange was founded in this period.[8]Mercantilism grew, and monopoly trading companies such as the East India Company were established, with trade expanding to the New World. London became the principal North Sea port, with migrants arriving from England and abroad. The population rose from an estimated 50,000 in 1530 to about 225,000 in 1605.[7] City comedies depict London as a hotbed of vice and folly; in particular, Jonson's Epicoene, Middleton's A Trick to Catch the Old One and A Chaste Maid in Cheapside, and Marston's The Dutch Courtesan.
Verna Foster has argued that John Ford's 'Tis Pity She's a Whore (c. 1629–1633) re-works many of the features of city comedy within a tragic drama.[9]
^Gibbon (1980, 1–2). Gibbon's book, the first full-length study of the genre, was first published in 1968 and was substantially revised, to address a broader audience and to update its conclusions in relation to subsequent scholarship, in a second edition that was published in 1980; see Gibbons (1980, Preface). The genre had been described and defined in earlier, broader surveys; see, for example, M. C. Bradbrook's The Growth and Structure of Elizabethan Comedy (1955), chapter nine (1955, 138–164).
Banham, Martin, ed. 1998. The Cambridge Guide to Theatre. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN0-521-43437-8.
Barroll, J. Leeds, Alexander Leggatt, Richard Hosley, and Alvin Kernan, eds. 1975. The Revels History of Drama in English. Vol. 3 (1576–1613). London: Methuen. ISBN0-416-81380-1
Bradbrook, M. C. 1955. The Growth and Structure of Elizabethan Comedy. London: Chatto & Windus.
Brockett, Oscar G. and Franklin J. Hildy. 2003. History of the Theatre. Ninth edition, International edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. ISBN0-205-41050-2.
Burgon, John William and E. Wilson. 1839. The Life and Times of Sir Thomas Gresham, Founder of the Royal Exchange. Vol. 2. London: Robert Jennings. Available online at the Internet Archive.
Foster, Verna. 1988. "'Tis Pity She's a Whore as City Tragedy." In John Ford: Critical Revisions. Ed. Michael Neill. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 181–200. ISBN0521331420.
Gibbons, Brian. 1980. Jacobean City Comedy: A Study of the Satiric Plays by Jonson, Marston and Middleton. 2nd rev. ed. London: Methuen. ISBN0-416-73460-X.
Gurr, Andrew. 1992. The Shakespearean Stage 1574–1642. Third ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN0-521-42240-X.
Hampton-Reeves, Stuart. 2007. The Shakespeare Handbooks: Measure for Measure. The Shakespeare Handbooks ser. New York: Macmillan. ISBN1-4039-4417-2.
Howard, Jean E. 2001. "Shakespeare and the London City Comedy." Shakespeare Studies 39: 1–21.
Knights, L. C. 1937. Drama and Society in the Age of Jonson. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Laroque, François. 2015. "Magic, Manipulation and Misrule in Doctor Faustus and Measure for Measure." In The Circulation of Knowledge in Early Modern English Literature. Ed. Sophie Chiari. London: Routledge. 123–132. ISBN978-1315614724.
Leggatt, Alexander. 1973. Citizen Comedy in the Age of Shakespeare. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Leinwand, Theodore B. 1986. The City Staged: Jacobean Comedy, 1603–1613. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
McLuskie, Kathleen E. 1994. Dekker & Heywood: Professional Dramatists. English Dramatists ser. London: Macmillan. ISBN0-333-46237-8.
Orlin, Lena Cowen. 2008. "Shakespearean Comedy and Material Life." A Companion to Shakespeare's Works. Vol. 3: The Comedies. Ed. Richard Dutton and Jean E. Howard. Blackwell Companions to Literature and Culture ser. Oxford: Blackwell. 159–181. ISBN9780470997291.
Pevsner, Nikolaus. 1962. London I: The Cities of London and Westminster. 2nd rev. ed. The Buildings of England ser. Harmondsworth: Penguin. ISBN0140710116.
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city, comedy, also, known, citizen, comedy, genre, comedy, english, early, modern, theatre, contents, definition, list, city, comedies, also, notes, sources, external, linksdefinition, editour, scene, london, cause, would, make, known, country, mirth, better, . City comedy also known as citizen comedy is a genre of comedy in the English early modern theatre Contents 1 Definition 2 List of city comedies 3 See also 4 Notes 5 Sources 6 External linksDefinition EditOur Scene is London cause we would make known No country s mirth is better than our own No clime breeds better matter for your whore Bawd squire imposter many persons more Ben Jonson The Alchemist 1610 Emerging from Ben Jonson s late Elizabethan comedies of humours 1598 1599 the conventions of city comedy developed rapidly in the first decade of the Jacobean era as one playwright s innovations were soon adopted by others such that by about 1605 the new genre was fully established 1 Its principal playwrights were Jonson himself Thomas Middleton and John Marston though many others also contributed to its development including Thomas Heywood Thomas Dekker John Day and John Webster 2 Once the companies of boy players the Children of Paul s and the Children of the Chapel had resumed public performances from 1600 onwards most of their plays were city comedies 3 The closest that William Shakespeare s plays come to the genre is the slightly earlier The Merry Wives of Windsor c 1597 which is his only play set entirely in England it avoids the caustic satire of city comedy however in preference for a more bourgeois mode with its dual romantic plots governed by socio economics not love or sex while its setting Windsor is a town rather than a city 4 In contrast to the adventurous chronicles of Elizabethan comedy such as Thomas Dekker s The Shoemaker s Holiday 1599 or George Peele s The Old Wives Tale c 1590 or the intricately plotted romantic comedies of Shakespeare and John Lyly city comedy was more realistic excluding magical or marvellous elements and sharp and satirical in tone 5 It portrayed a broad range of characters from different ranks often focused on citizens employing deeds and language such as men do use as Jonson put it and was usually set in London 6 During the Tudor period the Reformation had produced a gradual shift to Protestantism and much of London passed from church to private ownership 7 The Royal Exchange was founded in this period 8 Mercantilism grew and monopoly trading companies such as the East India Company were established with trade expanding to the New World London became the principal North Sea port with migrants arriving from England and abroad The population rose from an estimated 50 000 in 1530 to about 225 000 in 1605 7 City comedies depict London as a hotbed of vice and folly in particular Jonson s Epicoene Middleton s A Trick to Catch the Old One and A Chaste Maid in Cheapside and Marston s The Dutch Courtesan Verna Foster has argued that John Ford s Tis Pity She s a Whore c 1629 1633 re works many of the features of city comedy within a tragic drama 9 List of city comedies EditEvery Man in his Humour 1598 by Ben Jonson The Family of Love c 1602 by Thomas Middleton The Wise Woman of Hoxton c 1604 by Thomas Heywood A Trick to Catch the Old One c 1604 by Thomas Middleton The Dutch Courtesan c 1604 by John Marston Westward Ho 1604 by Thomas Dekker and John Webster Eastward Ho 1605 by George Chapman Ben Jonson and John Marston Northward Ho 1605 by Thomas Dekker and John Webster Michaelmas Term c 1605 by Thomas Middleton A Mad World My Masters c 1605 by Thomas Middleton Cupid s Whirligig 1607 by Edward Sharpham Your Five Gallants c 1607 by Thomas Middleton Ram Alley or Merry Tricks 1608 by Lording Barry Epicœne or The Silent Woman 1609 by Ben Jonson The Alchemist 1610 by Ben Jonson The Roaring Girl c 1611 by Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker A Chaste Maid in Cheapside c 1611 by Thomas Middleton Bartholomew Fair 1614 by Ben Jonson Anything for a Quiet Life c 1621 by Thomas Middleton and possibly John Webster A New Way to Pay Old Debts c 1621 by Philip Massinger The City Madam c 1632 by Philip MassingerSee also EditEnglish drama Comedy of humours Comedy of intrigueNotes Edit Gibbon 1980 1 2 Gibbon s book the first full length study of the genre was first published in 1968 and was substantially revised to address a broader audience and to update its conclusions in relation to subsequent scholarship in a second edition that was published in 1980 see Gibbons 1980 Preface The genre had been described and defined in earlier broader surveys see for example M C Bradbrook s The Growth and Structure of Elizabethan Comedy 1955 chapter nine 1955 138 164 Gibbon 1980 2 et passim Gibbon 1980 1 Orlin 2008 160 see also Howard 2001 Gibbons 1980 1 Ben Jonson Preface to Every Man in his Humour 1598 a b Pevsner 1962 48 Burgon and Wilson 1839 Foster 1988 Sources EditBanham Martin ed 1998 The Cambridge Guide to Theatre Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 43437 8 Barroll J Leeds Alexander Leggatt Richard Hosley and Alvin Kernan eds 1975 The Revels History of Drama in English Vol 3 1576 1613 London Methuen ISBN 0 416 81380 1 Bradbrook M C 1955 The Growth and Structure of Elizabethan Comedy London Chatto amp Windus Brockett Oscar G and Franklin J Hildy 2003 History of the Theatre Ninth edition International edition Boston Allyn and Bacon ISBN 0 205 41050 2 Burgon John William and E Wilson 1839 The Life and Times of Sir Thomas Gresham Founder of the Royal Exchange Vol 2 London Robert Jennings Available online at the Internet Archive Donaldson Ian 1997 Jonson s Magic Houses Essays in Interpretation Oxford Clarendon ISBN 0198183941 Foster Verna 1988 Tis Pity She s a Whore as City Tragedy In John Ford Critical Revisions Ed Michael Neill Cambridge Cambridge University Press 181 200 ISBN 0521331420 Gibbons Brian 1980 Jacobean City Comedy A Study of the Satiric Plays by Jonson Marston and Middleton 2nd rev ed London Methuen ISBN 0 416 73460 X Gurr Andrew 1992 The Shakespearean Stage 1574 1642 Third ed Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 42240 X Hampton Reeves Stuart 2007 The Shakespeare Handbooks Measure for Measure The Shakespeare Handbooks ser New York Macmillan ISBN 1 4039 4417 2 Howard Jean E 2001 Shakespeare and the London City Comedy Shakespeare Studies 39 1 21 Knights L C 1937 Drama and Society in the Age of Jonson Harmondsworth Penguin Laroque Francois 2015 Magic Manipulation and Misrule in Doctor Faustus and Measure for Measure In The Circulation of Knowledge in Early Modern English Literature Ed Sophie Chiari London Routledge 123 132 ISBN 978 1315614724 Leggatt Alexander 1973 Citizen Comedy in the Age of Shakespeare Toronto University of Toronto Press Leinwand Theodore B 1986 The City Staged Jacobean Comedy 1603 1613 Madison University of Wisconsin Press McLuskie Kathleen E 1994 Dekker amp Heywood Professional Dramatists English Dramatists ser London Macmillan ISBN 0 333 46237 8 Orlin Lena Cowen 2008 Shakespearean Comedy and Material Life A Companion to Shakespeare s Works Vol 3 The Comedies Ed Richard Dutton and Jean E Howard Blackwell Companions to Literature and Culture ser Oxford Blackwell 159 181 ISBN 9780470997291 Pevsner Nikolaus 1962 London I The Cities of London and Westminster 2nd rev ed The Buildings of England ser Harmondsworth Penguin ISBN 0140710116 External links Edit nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article Author Thomas Dekker Works by Thomas Dekker at Project Gutenberg Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title City comedy amp oldid 1176622996, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
