The Literature Book

75

See also: First Folio 82–89 ■ The Fairie Queene 103

T

he drama produced in

England during the reigns

of Elizabeth I (1558–1603)

and James I (1603–1625)—the

Elizabethan and Jacobean eras,

respectively—often depicted a

murky world of murder, politics, and

revenge, coupled with humor and

pastiche. The term “Jacobethan”

is used to denote the continuity

of English literature between these

two periods. The Elizabethan era

saw the rise of comedies and

tragedies, then took on elements

of psychology and the supernatural

under James, whose court was a

place of loose sexual morals.

A pact with the devil

Born in 1564, in the Elizabethan

age, Christopher “Kit” Marlowe

lived wildly and died at 29,

reportedly stabbed in a brawl. His

work is a harbinger of Jacobean

drama’s interest in darker themes.

Based on a German story of a

legendary alchemist, Marlowe’s

Doctor Faustus (originally titled

The Tragicall History of Dr. Faustus)

recounts the tale of an academic,

highly respected as an intellect but

nevertheless weary of the limits

of conventional science. His thirst

for knowledge is so great that he

turns to magic and summons the

devil Mephistopheles, who makes

Faustus false promises about

omnipotence and pleasure.

The two make a deadly pact:

Faustus agrees to give up his soul

to the devil in exchange for the

devil’s service for 24 years. A good

man driven by pride and corrupted

by power, Faustus realizes too

late that he has brought great evil

upon himself. ■

RENAISSANCE TO ENLIGHTENMENT

HE THAT LOVES

PLEASURE MUST

FOR PLEASURE FALL

DOCTOR FAUSTUS (1604),

CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE

IN CONTEXT

FOCUS

Jacobethan theater

BEFORE

1592 Elements of Thomas

Kyd’s Elizabethan-period

The Spanish Tragedy—such

as its theme of revenge and

the play-within-a-play—are

continued in subsequent

Jacobean dramas.

1598–1600 William

Shakespeare’s Henry IV

Parts 1 and 2 reflect ongoing

Jacobethan interests in

rauc ou s c ome dy, h i s t or y,

violence, and honor.

AFTER

1610 The first performance of

The Alchemist by Ben Jonson,

indulges the Jacobean thirst

for harsh satire.

1614 John Webster’s five-act

revenge tragedy The Duchess

of Malfi is truly Jacobethan in

its consideration of incest,

torture, and madness.

The reward of sin is death?

That’s hard.

Doctor Faustus

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