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For other people by the same name, see John Webster (disambiguation). John Webster may refer to John Webster (c 1578&ndashc 1634 English dramatist and contemporary of William Shakespeare John White Webster

John Webster (c. 1580 – c. 1634)[1] was an English Jacobean dramatist, and a late contemporary of William Shakespeare. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The term English literature refers to Literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by Writers not necessarily from A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or Drama. William Shakespeare ( baptised His tragedies The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi are often regarded as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. The White Devil (1612 is a revenge tragedy by the English Playwright John Webster (1580-1625 The Duchess of Malfi is a Macabre, tragic play, written by the English dramatist John Webster and first performed in

Contents

Life and career

Webster's life is obscure, and the dates of his birth and death are not known. His father, a coach maker also named John Webster, married a blacksmith's daughter named Elizabeth Coates on 4 November, 1577, and it is likely that Webster was born not long after in or near London. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. On 1 August, 1598, "John Webster, lately of the New Inn" was admitted to the Middle Temple, one of the Inns of Court; in view of the legal interests evident in his dramatic work; this is possibly the playwright. The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as Barristers [2] Webster married a 17-year-old girl named Sara Peniall on 18 March, 1606, and their first child, John, was baptized at the parish of St Dunstan-in-the-West on 8 May, 1606. In Christianity, baptism ( Greek, "immersing" "performing Ablutions " is the ritual act with the use of water by which one is admitted The church of St Dunstan-in-the-West is in Fleet Street in London. Bequests in the will of a neighbour who died in 1617 indicate that other children were born to him.

Most of what is otherwise known of him relates to his theatrical activities. Webster was still writing plays as late as the mid-1620s, but Thomas Heywood's Hierarchie of the Blessed Angels (licensed 7 November, 1634) speaks of him in the past tense, implying he was then dead. Thomas Heywood (early 1570s&mdash 16 August[[ 641]] was a prominent English playwright actor and miscellaneous author whose peak period of activity falls between

Early collaborations

By 1602, Webster was working with teams of playwrights on history plays, most of which were never printed. These included a tragedy Caesar's Fall (written with Michael Drayton, Thomas Dekker, Thomas Middleton and Anthony Munday), and a collaboration with Thomas Dekker Christmas Comes but Once a Year (1602). Michael Drayton (1563 &ndash December 23, 1631) was an English Poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era. Thomas Dekker is the name of Thomas Dekker (writer (1572&ndash1632 Elizabethan poet and dramatist Thomas Dekker (actor (born 1987 Thomas Middleton (1580 &ndash 1627 was an English Jacobean playwright and Poet. Anthony Munday (or Monday) (1560? &ndash August 10, 1633) was an English Dramatist and miscellaneous writer Thomas Dekker is the name of Thomas Dekker (writer (1572&ndash1632 Elizabethan poet and dramatist Thomas Dekker (actor (born 1987 [3] With Dekker he also wrote Sir Thomas Wyatt, which was printed in 1607. [3] He worked with Thomas Dekker again on two city comedies, Westward Ho in 1604 and Northward Ho in 1605. City comedy, also called Citizen Comedy is a common genre of Elizabethan drama. Westward Ho (or Ho!, or Hoe) is an early Jacobean era stage play a Satire and City comedy by Northward Ho (or Ho!, or Hoe) is an early Jacobean era stage play a Satire and City comedy written [3] Also in 1604, he adapted John Marston's The Malcontent for staging by the King's Men. John Marston (baptised October 7, 1576 – June 25, 1634) was an English poet playwright and satirist during the late Elizabethan The Malcontent is an early Jacobean stage play written by the dramatist and satirist John Marston ca The King's Men was the company of actors to which William Shakespeare (1564&ndash1616 belonged through most of his career

The major tragedies

Despite his ability to write comedy, Webster is best known for his two brooding English tragedies based on Italian sources. The White Devil, a retelling of the intrigues involving Vittoria Accoramboni, an Italian woman assassinated at the age of 28, was a failure when staged at the Red Bull Theatre in 1612 (published the same year),[3] being too unusual and intellectual for its audience. The White Devil (1612 is a revenge tragedy by the English Playwright John Webster (1580-1625 Vittoria Accoramboni ( 15 February 1557 - 22 December 1585) was an Italian lady famous for her great beauty and accomplishments and The Red Bull was a Playhouse in London during the 17th century The Duchess of Malfi, first performed by the King's Men about 1614[3] and published nine years later, was more successful. The Duchess of Malfi is a Macabre, tragic play, written by the English dramatist John Webster and first performed in The King's Men was the company of actors to which William Shakespeare (1564&ndash1616 belonged through most of his career He also wrote a play called Guise, based on French history, of which little else is known as no text has survived.

The White Devil was performed in the Red Bull Theatre, an open air theatre that is believed to have specialised in providing simple, escapist drama for a largely working class audience, a factor that might explain why Webster's highly intellectual and complex play was unpopular with its audience. The Red Bull was a Playhouse in London during the 17th century In contrast, The Duchess of Malfi was probably performed by the King's Men in the smaller, indoor Blackfriars Theatre, where it would have played to a more highly educated audience that might have appreciated it better. Blackfriars Theatre was the name of a Theatre in the Blackfriars district of the City of London during the Renaissance. The two plays would thus have been very different in their original performances. The White Devil would have been performed, probably in one continuous action, by adult actors, with elaborate stage effects a possibility. The Duchess of Malfi was performed in a controlled environment, with artificial lighting, and musical interludes between acts, which allowed time, perhaps, for the audience to accept the otherwise strange rapidity with which the Duchess is able to have babies.

Late plays

Webster wrote one more play on his own: The Devil's Law Case (c. The Devil's Law Case is a Jacobean era stage play a Tragicomedy written by John Webster, and first published in 1623. 1617–1619?),[3] a tragicomedy. Tragicomedy is Fictional work that blend aspects of the Genres of Tragedy and Comedy. His later plays were collaborative city comedies: Anything for a Quiet Life (c. City comedy, also called Citizen Comedy is a common genre of Elizabethan drama. Anything for a Quiet Life is a Jacobean stage play a City comedy written by Thomas Middleton and John Webster. 1621),[3] co-written with Thomas Middleton, and A Cure for a Cuckold (c. Thomas Middleton (1580 &ndash 1627 was an English Jacobean playwright and Poet. A Cure for a Cuckold is a late Jacobean era stage play a Comedy written by John Webster and William Rowley. 1624), co-written with William Rowley. William Rowley was an English Jacobean Dramatist, best known for works written in collaboration with more successful writers In 1624, he also co-wrote a topical play about a recent scandal, Keep the Widow Waking (with John Ford, Rowley and Dekker). Keep the Widow Waking is a lost Jacobean play significant chiefly for the light it throws on the complexities of collaborative authorship in English Renaissance drama John Ford ( baptised April 17, 1586 &ndash c 1640? was an English Jacobean and Caroline playwright and poet born in Ilsington [3] The play itself is lost, although its plot is known from a court case. He is believed to have contributed to the tragicomedy The Fair Maid of the Inn with John Fletcher, Ford, and Phillip Massinger. The Fair Maid of the Inn is an early 17th-century stage play a Comedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators John Fletcher (1579 &ndash 1625 was a Jacobean Playwright. Following William Shakespeare as house playwright for the King's Men, he was Philip Massinger (1583 &ndash March 17, 1640) was an English Dramatist. His Appius and Virginia, probably written with Thomas Heywood, is of uncertain date. Appius and Virginia is an early seventeenth-century stage play a tragedy by John Webster (and perhaps Thomas Heywood) Thomas Heywood (early 1570s&mdash 16 August[[ 641]] was a prominent English playwright actor and miscellaneous author whose peak period of activity falls between

Reputation

Webster's major plays, The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi, are macabre, disturbing works that seem to prefigure the Gothic literature of the seventeenth century. The White Devil (1612 is a revenge tragedy by the English Playwright John Webster (1580-1625 The Duchess of Malfi is a Macabre, tragic play, written by the English dramatist John Webster and first performed in Gothic fiction (sometimes referred to as Gothic horror) is a genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar Intricate, complex, subtle and learned, they are difficult but rewarding, and are still frequently staged today.

Webster has received a reputation for being the Elizabethan and Jacobean dramatist with the most unsparingly dark vision of human nature. Even more than John Ford, whose 'Tis Pity She's a Whore is also very bleak, Webster's tragedies present a horrific vision of mankind. John Ford ( baptised April 17, 1586 &ndash c 1640? was an English Jacobean and Caroline playwright and poet born in Ilsington 'Tis Pity She's a Whore is a Tragedy written by John Ford. It was likely first performed between 1629 and 1633 by Queen Henrietta's Men In his poem "Whispers of Immortality," T. S. Eliot memorably says that Webster always saw "the skull beneath the skin". Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM (September 26 1888 – January 4 1965 was a poet Dramatist, and Literary critic. In the 1998 film romance, Shakespeare in Love, the young Webster is shown as a small boy who plays with wild mice and feeds them to alley cats. Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 Romantic comedy / Drama Film. The film was directed by John Madden and co-written by playwright Speaking admiringly of the macabre aspects of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, he says to Shakespeare, "I like it when they cut heads off. Titus Andronicus may be Shakespeare's earliest Tragedy; it is believed to have been written sometime between 1584 and the early 1590s And the daughter mutilated with knives".

While Webster's drama was generally dismissed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many twentieth century critics and theatregoers find The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi to be brilliant plays of great poetic quality and dark themes. One explanation for this change is that only after the horrors of war in the early twentieth century could their desperate protagonists be portrayed on stage again, and understood. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on W. A. Edwards wrote of Webster's plays in Scrutiny II (1933–4): "Events are not within control, nor are our human desires; let's snatch what comes and clutch it, fight our way out of tight corners, and meet the end without squealing. " The violence and pessimism of Webster's tragedies have seemed to some analysts close to modern sensibilities. [4]

Webster in other works

References

  1. ^ Forker, Charles ([1995-06-15]]). Skull Beneath the Skin. Carbondale, Illinois, United States: Southern Illinois University Press. Carbondale is the name of some places in the United States of America Carbondale Colorado Carbondale Illinois Carbondale The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Southern Illinois University Press, founded in 1956 is a university press located in Carbondale, Illinois. ISBN 978-0809312795.  
  2. ^ Grosvenor Myer, Valerie; Serafin, Steven (2003-06-12). Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1381 - Peasants' Revolt: in England, rebels arrive at Blackheath. The Continuum Encyclopedia of British Literature. Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd, 1032. ISBN 978-0826414564.  
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Gunby, David; Carnegie, David; MacDonald P Jackson (2007-01-25). Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 41 - After a night of negotiation Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate The Works of John Webster 3 Volume Set: The Works of John Webster: An Old-spelling. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. The city of Cambridge (ˈkeɪmbrɪdʒ is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England Cambridge University Press (known colloquially as CUP is a Publisher given a Royal Charter by Henry VIII in 1534 ISBN 978-0521260619.  
  4. ^ Fernie, Ewan; Wray, Ramona; Thornton Burnett, Mark; McManus, Clare (2005-03-31). Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 307 - After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, the daughter of the retired Roman Emperor Reconceiving the Renaissance: A Critical Reader. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 163. Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, ISBN 0199265577.  

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