Difference between Jacobean Drama and Elizabethan Drama

Difference between Jacobean Drama and Elizabethan Drama

Elizabethan era refers to the era of Queen Elizabeth which was from 1562-1642. The dramas and the dramatic works that were created and performed during this era are known as Elizabethan drama. The Elizabethan era compares several renowned and well known dramatic works by renowned dramatists. The major and significant playwrights of the period were Christopher Marlow (1564-1593), Shakespeare (1564-1616), Peele (1558-1597), Lyly (1554-1606) and Greene (1560-1592). It is entirely unquestionable issue to regard Shakespeare as the greatest dramatist of not just the Elizabethan era but of all the times throughout. But before going to Shakespeare several others features and aspects of the age are to be taken into consideration along with many other significant and contemporary playwrights of the period.

Beginning and the features: In the beginning of the Elizabeth age the drama was in struggling into its maturity unlike the early period in which the drama was scholarly and aristocratic in authority. The dramas of the Elizabethan era were largely dependent upon the remarkable imagination of the dramatists and their great skill of great writing. Thus the dramas of the Elizabethan era had emphasis entirely not just upon the dramas that were appreciated by the public but also were socially acceptable through their language and content. As such the language of the dramatists was very refined and standard backed up by sensation.

        Dramatic Progress:  With the shift of drama from religious to a secular function in society playwrights and poets were among the leading artists of the age. Towards the end of the seventeenth century the popularity and progress of drama kept on increasing throughout the time. Thus the dramatic works of various renowned playwrights viz. William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlow, Robert Greene, John Lyly and Thomas Lodge etc gained very profound fame.

        Comedy of Manner: One of the prominent features of the Elizabeth feature of the Elizabethan drama was ‘Comedy of Manner’. In this the social manners of the contemporary society were highlighted by the playwrights. The characters of the dramas were portrayed as the true representatives of the entire age. The playwrights in this age were concerned with highlighting the follies and vices of the sophisticated society in a very amusing manner; although their description acquired a bit of exaggeration but yet they were successful in conveying their idea thus attracting huge number of crowd audience to the theatre. Ex William Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It, Merchant of Venice etc.

        Dramatic Works: Amongst the renowned dramatic works was Christopher Marlow’s ‘Turbulaine the Great’ (1857), Jew of Malta (1589), and Dr Fantus, Thomas Keate’s ‘The Spanish Tragedy, proving a roaring success became ‘exemplar of the Elizabethan Revenge’ tradition. The incomparable works of Shakespeare including Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello etc, along with George Peele’s ‘The Chronicles of Edward I (1590), Marlow’s ‘Edward II’, ‘The Massacre of Paris’ etc.

     JACOBEAN ERA had its beginning marked by the Elizabethan dramas falling into neglect in around 16^th century. The famous dramatists of the Elizabethan era were taken over by that of Jacobean era. The famous and renowned dramatists of the era were Ben Johnson, John Marsh (1575-1634), Thomas Middleton (1570-162- ), George Champman (1539-1634), Francis Beaumont (1584-1616) and John Fletcher (1579-1625).

        Features: The Jacobean dramatists undertook to more realistic way of writing. They enormously enhanced the sensational level of writing within their dramatic work. Consequently the dramatic works of the Jacobean age gained the description and sequences of murder, blood, loot and many such criminal sequences became a casual part of the Jacobean dramatic writings. The Shakespeare contemporaries like Beaumont and Fletcher were amongst the prominent ones to do this in their plays. The standard and the classicism of dramas established in the Elizabethan era started getting a downfall as the primary focus of the dramatists shifted towards producing evil and licentious scheme for their own sake making the character and situation immortal to the extent that the stage became frivolous, bad and improper representation of the dramatic actions, thus making drama of cheap nature and quality.

        Divisions: Unlike the Elizabethan age, the Jacobean era had dramas divided into two classes; one were those dramatists who were of the Elizabethan era and the others were the dramatists of the Jacobean era. They were divided as:

1.    The dramatists of the Old School, comprising of Decker Heywood, Webster, Fletcher, Beaumont, Fletcher.

2.   The Satiric group consisting of Chapman, Johnson, Marston, Middleton and Tourneur.

These groups of satiric play especially Ben Johnson were fond of mocking the old school dramatists. He had lack of sympathy in portrayal of both life and character.

        Comedy of Humor: Unlike the Elizabethan age the Jacobean age having an entirely identical satirical group had also the comedy of humour. The comedy of humour mainly deals with the oddities of the characters i.e. the odd features and characteristics of the character. It represented and threw a whimsical and shadow over the life of the character. Also the aim of the playwrights is to have in the character, a dominance of humor in their personality. Some prominent examples of Comedy of Humor are Ben Johnson’s ‘Every Man In His Humor’ (1598), ‘The Alchemist’, ‘Every Man Out of His Humor’ (1599).

     Dramatic Works: The great dramatic works of the Jacobean era were Thomas Dekker’s ‘The Shoemaker’s Holiday, Thomas Heywood’s ‘A Woman Killed with Kindness’, John Webster is famous for his two renowned plays ‘The White Devil’ and ‘The Duchess of the Malfi’. Among the other plays the Philaster and the ‘Maid’s Tragedy’ were amongst the prominent ones.

Thus it can be fairly concluded that the Elizabethan and Jacobean dramas hold a considerate differences and distinctions amongst themselves.