The 17th century is widely known as the Jacobean era, which is well known for its collection of dramas, especially tragedies. The tragedies of this period contain the theme of perversion, sensuality, corruption and violence. It was basically the private tragedies which dealt with domestic scenarios and different personal aspects of human weakness. On another side, there were also a few comedies available which were more localized. It deals with the social life of London and its irresistible desire for money and sex. These comedies are known as city comedies which are the foundation of the Restoration Comedy of Manners. In this article, we'll focus on the entire collection of drama presented by a few of the great names of 17th century English Literature. So, let’s look into the detail of the dramatists with their works –
George Chapman
Chapman is best known for his translations of Homer’s works. After John Keats wrote a famous sonnet named On Looking into Chapman's Homer about him, he became famous as a dramatist. He produced several tragedies influenced by the Roman Stoic philosophy. His best-known work is known as the Bussy d'Amboise (1604). It is a tragedy of a soldier whose story is just like Othello. He also wrote a sequel of it which is known as The Revenge of Bussy d'Amboise. His other important works include The Conspiracy, Tragedy of Charles and Pompey. His famous comedy, All Fools, is based on the comedy of humour by Ben Jonson.
John Marston
Marston is a well-known name of the 17th century for his violent satires. His finest play, The Malcontent, is dedicated to Ben Jonson. It is about a dethroned Duke who came back in disguise to assist his supplanter. His other important work, Eastward Hoe, is jointly written by Jonson, Dekker and Marston. It is typically a morality play where they talk about two apprentices of a goldsmith, one is virtuous, and another is vicious. In the end, the virtuous are rewarded for their good deeds, and the vicious one is jailed but ultimately saved due to their honest repentance.
John Webster
He is best known for his tragedies which dealt with the theme of blood and cruelty. His masterpiece The White Devil (1612) revolves around the love affair between Vittoria and the duke of Bracciano. This play is significantly known for its characterization of good and evil, where Flamenco, the evil character dies a dignified death, and Vittoria dies after a verbal duel with him.
This is how the 17th-century dramatists have contributed to and enriched the era before the moral fall of the Restoration era.
