Eastward Hoe: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Eastward Hoe!.jpg|thumb|Title page ''Eastward Hoe'']] |
[[File:Eastward Hoe!.jpg|thumb|Title page ''Eastward Hoe'']] |
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'''''Eastward Hoe''''' or ''Eastward Ho!'' is an early [[Literature in English#Jacobean literature|Jacobean]]-era stage play written by [[George Chapman]], [[Ben Jonson]], and [[John Marston (poet)|John Marston]] in [[1605 in literature|1605]]. Written in response |
'''''Eastward Hoe''''' or ''Eastward Ho!'' is an early [[Literature in English#Jacobean literature|Jacobean]]-era stage play written by [[George Chapman]], [[Ben Jonson]], and [[John Marston (poet)|John Marston]] in [[1605 in literature|1605]]. Written in response ''[[Westward Ho (play)|Westward Ho!]]'' by [[Thomas Dekker (poet)|Thomas Dekker]] and [[John Webster]]. ''Eastward Ho!'' is a citizen or [[city comedy]] which satirizes social manners, morals, and customs. The play was premiered at the [[Blackfriars Theatre]] by a company of boy actors known as the Children of the Queen's Revels. Later in 1605, Dekker and Webster responded with ''[[Northward Ho|Northward Ho!]].''<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ben Jonson|last=Bevington|first=David|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2012|isbn=9780521782463|location=Cambridge|pages=531-534}}</ref> Like other plays of boys' companies, ''Eastward Ho!'' alludes to popular plays of adults' companies such as ''[[The Spanish Tragedy]]'', ''[[Tamburlaine (play)|Tamburlaine]]'', and ''[[Hamlet]]''.<ref>Logan and Smith, p. 146.</ref> |
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Shortly after the play's production, Jonson and Chapman were imprisoned for the play's anti-Scottish satire which offended [[James I of England|King James I]], resulting in a famous scandal. |
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''Eastward Ho!'' caused a scandal when the anti-Scottish satire in the play offended the new [[James I of England|King James I]] of England and resulted the authors' imprisonment in the old [[Marshalsea]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Methuen Drama Dictionary of Theatre|last=Law|first=Jonathan|publisher=Methuen Drama|year=2011|isbn=9781408131473|location=London|pages=166}}</ref> Their arrest was known as one of the famous dramatic scandals of its era. |
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== Characters == |
== Characters<ref name=":1" /> == |
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=== Act 1 === |
=== Act 1 === |
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William Touchstone, a London [[goldsmith]], chastises his apprentice Francis “Frank” Quicksilver for his |
William Touchstone, a London [[goldsmith]], chastises his apprentice Francis “Frank” Quicksilver for his laziness and prodigality. Repeatedly, he tells Quicksilver to consider his actions with the catchphrase, "Work upon that now!" (1.1.10-1).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Eastward Ho!|last=Chapman|first=George|last2=Jonson|first2=Ben|last3=Marston|first3=John|work=The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ben Jonson, 1601-1606|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2012|isbn=9780521782463|editor-last=Bevington|editor-first=David|edition=|volume=2|location=Cambridge|pages=}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> Concerned with his household’s reputation, Touchstone warns Quicksilver against dishonest business and bad company, but Quicksilver remains dismissive and defensive about his way of life. Contrastingly, Touchstone’s second apprentice, Golding, is industrious and temperate. Touchstone expresses his great admiration for Golding’s uprightness and hopes that Golding will marry Mildred, his mild and modest daughter. |
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Touchstone's second daughter, Gertrude, is engaged to the fraudulent Sir Petronel Flash, a knight who possesses a title, but no money. Unlike her sister, Gertrude is a vain and lascivious, preoccupied with opulent fashion and advancing her social status by marrying Petronel. After reluctantly granting Gertude’s inheritance, Touchstone heartily gives Golding permission to marry Mildred. Anticipating a successful match, Touchstone praises the engaged couple for their modesty, thriftiness, and virtue. |
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=== Act 2 === |
=== Act 2 === |
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The morning after Gertude and Petronel’s costly wedding, Touchstone |
The morning after Gertude and Petronel’s costly wedding, Touchstone breaks Quicksilver's apprenticeship and throws him out of the house for his shameful gluttony and drunkenness. Unperturbed, Quicksilver mocks Touchstone and asserts that he will spend his new freedom going “eastward ho!” (2.1.100-2).<ref name=":0" /> Touchstone promotes his new son-in-law, Golding, to a member of the guild. |
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Quicksilver meets with Security, an old usurer and pander who is married to a young woman named Winifred, and Quicksilver’s lover, Sindefy. Quicksilver |
Quicksilver meets with Security, an old usurer and pander who is married to a young woman named Winifred, and Quicksilver’s lover, Sindefy. Quicksilver devises how he will climb the social ladder and get wealthy without inconvenience or labor. Petronel arrives and expresses his desire to leave London, especially since he cannot tolerate Gertrude or her expensive tastes. He confesses that “all the castles I have are built with air” (2.3.7).<ref name=":0" /> Quicksilver persuades Petronel to use Gertrude's dowry to fund their voyage to [[Virginia]]. |
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=== '''Act 3''' === |
=== '''Act 3''' === |
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| ⚫ | Touchstone arrives with Golding and Mildred who are now married. Gertrude pretentiously flaunts her higher rank and looks down on her family with prejudiced disgust. Once Gertrude unsuspectingly signs away her dowry, Petronel makes hasty preparations to sail to Virginia. Before their departure, Quicksilver and Petronel tell old Security to distract the lawyer Mr. Bramble so they can secretly take Bramble’s wife on the voyage. Instead, Quicksilver disguises Winifred and brings her on the ship, fooling Security. Accompanied by Captain Seagull, Petronel and his fellow adventurers set sail for Virginia. They revel in the promise of abundant gold in Virginia and spend the night drinking while Petronel and Quicksilver conceal Winifred’s identity from Bramble and Security. Their drunken dancing ends, however, when storm hits their ship. |
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A messenger delivers the mortgage bond, a written document which will fund the voyage through Gertrude’s inheritance. Touchstone arrives with Golding and Mildred who are now married. Gertrude, now obsessed with her ladyship title, pretentiously flaunts on her rank and looks down on her family’s comparative poverty with prejudiced condescension. |
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| ⚫ | Once Gertrude unsuspectingly signs |
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=== '''Act 4''' === |
=== '''Act 4''' === |
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In the confusion of the storm, Security |
In the confusion of the storm, Security sees Winifred escape with Petronel in a lifeboat, suspecting that she has cheated on him. Separated from Quicksilver and Petronel, Security washes ashore on Cuckold’s Haven where he stays in a nearby tavern. Winifred, who in reality did not leave the ship with Petronel, also arrives at the tavern along with Drawer, one of the voyagers. |
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Shipwrecked and disoriented, Quicksilver and Petronel lament their unfortunate |
Shipwrecked and disoriented, Quicksilver and Petronel lament their unfortunate condition. Two passing gentlemen tell them they have arrived on the [[Isle of Dogs]], a northern peninsula in the [[River Thames|Thames]]. Quicksilver tells Petronel and Captain Seagull that he will use his goldsmithing skills to create counterfeit money. Back in the tavern, Security and Winifred reunite and Security repents for suspecting Winifred’s unfaithfulness to him. |
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Nearby in London, the provident and careful Golding has been promoted to Master Deputy Alderman. He reports the |
Nearby in London, the provident and careful Golding has been promoted to Master Deputy Alderman. He reports the shipwrecked voyagers have been arrested at Billingsgate for their crimes. Meanwhile, as a result of Petronel’s deception, Gertrude sells her opulent clothes and and pities her misfortune. Sympathetic towards Gertrude’s situation, Mistress Touchstone advises her daughter to seek Mildred’s help. |
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=== '''Act 5''' === |
=== '''Act 5''' === |
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Brought before Golding and Touchstone, Petronel and Quicksilver admit their guilt in the charges brought against them, including Petronel’s dishonest marriage, the inheritance scam, and Quicksilver’s thievery. Touchstone is appalled and refuses mercy on the |
Brought before Golding and Touchstone, Petronel and Quicksilver admit their guilt in the charges brought against them, including Petronel’s dishonest marriage, the inheritance scam, and Quicksilver’s thievery. Touchstone is appalled and refuses to have mercy on the voyagers. Quicksilver sings a song about his repentance of his schemes and dishonesty, whose change in character and denouncement of vice moves Touchstone to amazement. Golding releases the criminals, including Security who still thinks he is cuckolded. Touchstone reinstates Quicksilver as his apprentice and Petronel as his son-in-law, covering the loss of their possessions and wealth. Gertrude reconciles with Petronel and the play ends happily. |
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Touchstone thus ends Act 5 in an address to the audience:<blockquote>''Now, London, look about,''</blockquote><blockquote>''And in this moral see thy glass run out:''</blockquote><blockquote>''Behold the careful father, thrifty son,''</blockquote><blockquote>''The solemn deeds, which each of us have done;''</blockquote><blockquote>''The usurer punish'd, and from fall so steep''</blockquote><blockquote>''The prodigal child reclaim'd, and the lost sheep.'' (5.5.181-6)<ref name=":0" /></blockquote> |
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== Authorship and Publication == |
== Authorship and Publication == |
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In early September 1605, [[William Aspley]] and [[Thomas Thorpe|Thomas Thorp]] entered ''Eastward Ho!'' into the [[Stationers' Register]]. The title page features all three authors (Chapman, Jonson, and Martson), the [[playing company]] who premiered the work, the [[Children of the Chapel|Children of the Queen's Revels]], and the playhouse, [[Blackfriars Theatre]], where the play was first staged. Scholars have attempted to determine the respective contributions of the three authors but have not reached a full consensus.<ref>Logan, Terence P., and Denzell S. Smith, eds. ''The New Intellectuals: A Survey and Bibliography of Recent Studies in English Renaissance Drama''. Lincoln, NE, University of Nebraska Press, 1977; pp. 91, 152–3, 223.</ref> Marston is normally assigned Act 1; Chapman is attributed to Acts 2 and 3; Jonson is usually associated with Act 5. Despite differing theories on authorship divisions, scholars generally do agree that Chapman wrote Act 3, Scene 3 with the Scottish joke, even though Chapman blamed Marston for writing the offensive lines. E.K. Chambers reasons that "if Chapman spoke the truth, Marston must have interpolated the obnoxious clauses."<ref>Chambers, Vol. 3, p. 256.</ref> |
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Later in December 1605 and March 1606, [[George Eld]], another stationer, printed more [[Quarto|quartos]] issued by Aspley<ref>[[Edmund Kerchever Chambers|Chambers, E. K.]] ''The Elizabethan Stage''. 4 Volumes, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1923; Vol. 3, p. 254.</ref> to meet the high demands for the play.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://universitypublishingonline.org/cambridge/benjonson/k/essays/Eastward_Ho_textual_essay/|title=Eastward Ho!: Textual Essay|last=Gossett|first=Suzanne|date=2014|website=The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ben Jonson Online|publisher=Cambridge University Press|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref> In total, three more print editions of ''Eastward Ho!'' were issued within three months of its first publication.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=http://universitypublishingonline.org/cambridge/benjonson/k/essays/stage_history_EastwardHo/|title=Eastward Ho!: Stage History|last=Kay|first=W. David|date=2014|website=The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ben Jonson Online|publisher=Cambridge University Press|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref> The popularity of the play and the looming possibility of censorship probably quickened the publication process.<ref name=":2" /> The surviving editions show evidence of deleted lines, missing passages, and altered passages. The censorship may have been issued by the [[Master of the Revels|Master of Revels]], or his deputy, [[George Buck|George Buc]], who was also involved in play |
Later in December 1605 and March 1606, [[George Eld]], another stationer, printed more [[Quarto|quartos]] issued by Aspley<ref>[[Edmund Kerchever Chambers|Chambers, E. K.]] ''The Elizabethan Stage''. 4 Volumes, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1923; Vol. 3, p. 254.</ref> to meet the high demands for the play.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://universitypublishingonline.org/cambridge/benjonson/k/essays/Eastward_Ho_textual_essay/|title=Eastward Ho!: Textual Essay|last=Gossett|first=Suzanne|date=2014|website=The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ben Jonson Online|publisher=Cambridge University Press|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref> In total, three more print editions of ''Eastward Ho!'' were issued within three months of its first publication.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=http://universitypublishingonline.org/cambridge/benjonson/k/essays/stage_history_EastwardHo/|title=Eastward Ho!: Stage History|last=Kay|first=W. David|date=2014|website=The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ben Jonson Online|publisher=Cambridge University Press|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref> The popularity of the play and the looming possibility of censorship probably quickened the publication process.<ref name=":2" /> The surviving editions show evidence of deleted lines, missing passages, and altered passages. The censorship may have been issued by the [[Master of the Revels|Master of Revels]], or his deputy, [[George Buck|George Buc]], who was also involved in play licensing until 1610.<ref name=":2" /> The printed text of 1605 does not represent the full and offensive stage production of that year, though critics have disagreed as to whether the hostile official reaction was provoked more by the stage version or by the text.<ref>Logan and Smith, pp. 146, 218.</ref> |
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== |
== Scandal == |
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=== The Offenses === |
=== The Offenses === |
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== Stage History == |
== Stage History == |
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The play was never entirely banned or suppressed. It was revived by the [[Lady Elizabeth's Men]] in [[1613 in literature|1613]] who performed the play on 25 January [[1614 in literature|1614]] at court. In 1685, [[Nahum Tate]] revised Eastward Ho! to fit the fashions of [[Restoration comedy|Restoration theatre]]. |
The play was never entirely banned or suppressed. It was revived by the [[Lady Elizabeth's Men]] in [[1613 in literature|1613]] who performed the play on 25 January [[1614 in literature|1614]] at court. In 1685, [[Nahum Tate]] revised Eastward Ho! to fit the fashions of [[Restoration comedy|Restoration theatre]]. After David Garrick's 1751 production in London and [[Charlotte Lennox]]'s adaption, ''Old City Manners'' (1775), the play had a relatively low production frequency in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.<ref name=":3" /> |
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In the twentieth century, the play was produced on radio adaptions and university stages, but remained neglected on professional stages. Only three professional productions between 1951 and 1983 were performed by Bernard Miles’ original [[Mermaid Theatre]].<ref name=":3" /> |
In the twentieth century, the play was produced on radio adaptions and university stages, but remained neglected on professional stages. Only three professional productions between 1951 and 1983 were performed by Bernard Miles’ original [[Mermaid Theatre]].<ref name=":3" /> |
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Revision as of 22:33, 27 October 2017
Eastward Hoe or Eastward Ho! is an early Jacobean-era stage play written by George Chapman, Ben Jonson, and John Marston in 1605. Written in response Westward Ho! by Thomas Dekker and John Webster. Eastward Ho! is a citizen or city comedy which satirizes social manners, morals, and customs. The play was premiered at the Blackfriars Theatre by a company of boy actors known as the Children of the Queen's Revels. Later in 1605, Dekker and Webster responded with Northward Ho!.[1] Like other plays of boys' companies, Eastward Ho! alludes to popular plays of adults' companies such as The Spanish Tragedy, Tamburlaine, and Hamlet.[2]
Shortly after the play's production, Jonson and Chapman were imprisoned for the play's anti-Scottish satire which offended King James I, resulting in a famous scandal.
Characters[1]
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Synopsis
Act 1
William Touchstone, a London goldsmith, chastises his apprentice Francis “Frank” Quicksilver for his laziness and prodigality. Repeatedly, he tells Quicksilver to consider his actions with the catchphrase, "Work upon that now!" (1.1.10-1).[3][1] Concerned with his household’s reputation, Touchstone warns Quicksilver against dishonest business and bad company, but Quicksilver remains dismissive and defensive about his way of life. Contrastingly, Touchstone’s second apprentice, Golding, is industrious and temperate. Touchstone expresses his great admiration for Golding’s uprightness and hopes that Golding will marry Mildred, his mild and modest daughter.
Touchstone's second daughter, Gertrude, is engaged to the fraudulent Sir Petronel Flash, a knight who possesses a title, but no money. Unlike her sister, Gertrude is a vain and lascivious, preoccupied with opulent fashion and advancing her social status by marrying Petronel. After reluctantly granting Gertude’s inheritance, Touchstone heartily gives Golding permission to marry Mildred. Anticipating a successful match, Touchstone praises the engaged couple for their modesty, thriftiness, and virtue.
Act 2
The morning after Gertude and Petronel’s costly wedding, Touchstone breaks Quicksilver's apprenticeship and throws him out of the house for his shameful gluttony and drunkenness. Unperturbed, Quicksilver mocks Touchstone and asserts that he will spend his new freedom going “eastward ho!” (2.1.100-2).[3] Touchstone promotes his new son-in-law, Golding, to a member of the guild.
Quicksilver meets with Security, an old usurer and pander who is married to a young woman named Winifred, and Quicksilver’s lover, Sindefy. Quicksilver devises how he will climb the social ladder and get wealthy without inconvenience or labor. Petronel arrives and expresses his desire to leave London, especially since he cannot tolerate Gertrude or her expensive tastes. He confesses that “all the castles I have are built with air” (2.3.7).[3] Quicksilver persuades Petronel to use Gertrude's dowry to fund their voyage to Virginia.
Act 3
Touchstone arrives with Golding and Mildred who are now married. Gertrude pretentiously flaunts her higher rank and looks down on her family with prejudiced disgust. Once Gertrude unsuspectingly signs away her dowry, Petronel makes hasty preparations to sail to Virginia. Before their departure, Quicksilver and Petronel tell old Security to distract the lawyer Mr. Bramble so they can secretly take Bramble’s wife on the voyage. Instead, Quicksilver disguises Winifred and brings her on the ship, fooling Security. Accompanied by Captain Seagull, Petronel and his fellow adventurers set sail for Virginia. They revel in the promise of abundant gold in Virginia and spend the night drinking while Petronel and Quicksilver conceal Winifred’s identity from Bramble and Security. Their drunken dancing ends, however, when storm hits their ship.
Act 4
In the confusion of the storm, Security sees Winifred escape with Petronel in a lifeboat, suspecting that she has cheated on him. Separated from Quicksilver and Petronel, Security washes ashore on Cuckold’s Haven where he stays in a nearby tavern. Winifred, who in reality did not leave the ship with Petronel, also arrives at the tavern along with Drawer, one of the voyagers.
Shipwrecked and disoriented, Quicksilver and Petronel lament their unfortunate condition. Two passing gentlemen tell them they have arrived on the Isle of Dogs, a northern peninsula in the Thames. Quicksilver tells Petronel and Captain Seagull that he will use his goldsmithing skills to create counterfeit money. Back in the tavern, Security and Winifred reunite and Security repents for suspecting Winifred’s unfaithfulness to him.
Nearby in London, the provident and careful Golding has been promoted to Master Deputy Alderman. He reports the shipwrecked voyagers have been arrested at Billingsgate for their crimes. Meanwhile, as a result of Petronel’s deception, Gertrude sells her opulent clothes and and pities her misfortune. Sympathetic towards Gertrude’s situation, Mistress Touchstone advises her daughter to seek Mildred’s help.
Act 5
Brought before Golding and Touchstone, Petronel and Quicksilver admit their guilt in the charges brought against them, including Petronel’s dishonest marriage, the inheritance scam, and Quicksilver’s thievery. Touchstone is appalled and refuses to have mercy on the voyagers. Quicksilver sings a song about his repentance of his schemes and dishonesty, whose change in character and denouncement of vice moves Touchstone to amazement. Golding releases the criminals, including Security who still thinks he is cuckolded. Touchstone reinstates Quicksilver as his apprentice and Petronel as his son-in-law, covering the loss of their possessions and wealth. Gertrude reconciles with Petronel and the play ends happily.
Authorship and Publication
In early September 1605, William Aspley and Thomas Thorp entered Eastward Ho! into the Stationers' Register. The title page features all three authors (Chapman, Jonson, and Martson), the playing company who premiered the work, the Children of the Queen's Revels, and the playhouse, Blackfriars Theatre, where the play was first staged. Scholars have attempted to determine the respective contributions of the three authors but have not reached a full consensus.[4] Marston is normally assigned Act 1; Chapman is attributed to Acts 2 and 3; Jonson is usually associated with Act 5. Despite differing theories on authorship divisions, scholars generally do agree that Chapman wrote Act 3, Scene 3 with the Scottish joke, even though Chapman blamed Marston for writing the offensive lines. E.K. Chambers reasons that "if Chapman spoke the truth, Marston must have interpolated the obnoxious clauses."[5]
Later in December 1605 and March 1606, George Eld, another stationer, printed more quartos issued by Aspley[6] to meet the high demands for the play.[7] In total, three more print editions of Eastward Ho! were issued within three months of its first publication.[8] The popularity of the play and the looming possibility of censorship probably quickened the publication process.[7] The surviving editions show evidence of deleted lines, missing passages, and altered passages. The censorship may have been issued by the Master of Revels, or his deputy, George Buc, who was also involved in play licensing until 1610.[7] The printed text of 1605 does not represent the full and offensive stage production of that year, though critics have disagreed as to whether the hostile official reaction was provoked more by the stage version or by the text.[9]
Scandal
The Offenses
The following lines in Eastward Ho! show some of the satire referencing Scottish-born King James I, his courts and knights with bought titles.
In Act 1, when Sir Petronel's knighthood is questioned, Mistress Touchstone says, "Yes, that he is a knight! I know where he had money to pay the gentlemen ushers and heralds their fees. Ay, that he is a knight!" (1.2.81-2).[3] Mistress Touchstone attributes the legitimacy of Sir Petronel's title to the fact that he paid people for his title. As David Bevington explains, "King James's lavish grants of knighthood, often as a way of raising money or rewarding court functionaries, were notorious."[1]While getting her dress tailored, Gertrude remarks, "Now, Lady's my comfort! what a profane ape's here! Tailor, Poldavy, prithee, fit it, fit it: is this a right Scot? Does it clip close, and bear up round?" (1.2.39-40).[3] This remark possibly references the Scottish invasion in the English Court. In its sexual innuendo, it also alludes to the supposed lechery and "miserliness" of the Scots.[1]
In Act 2, Quicksilver remarks, "[Gertrude] could have been made a lady by a Scotch knight, and never ha' married him" (2.3.68-9).[3] This line references a practice in Scotland where "notorious cohabitation" is accepted as "matrimonial engagement without formal ceremony."[1]
In Act 3, Captain Seagull describes Virginia, the new country that is their destination. While explaining the other inhabitants in the new country, Seagull hints that he wishes for all of the King's Scotsmen to leave England:[1]
"And you shall live freely there... with only a few industrious Scots, perhaps, who indeed are dispers'd over the face of the whole earth. But, as for them, there are no greater friends to Englishmen and England, when they are out on't, in the world, than they are. And, for my part, I would a hundred thousand of 'em were there, for we are all one countrymen now, ye know; and we should find ten times more comfort of them there than we do here." (3.3.29-35).[3]
These lines particularly angered Sir James Murray and, consequently, were omitted from the first quarto publication.
In Act 4, when Quicksilver inquires about his whereabouts, he meets the Scottish accented First Gentleman, an impersonation of King James.[1] Regarding Sir Petronel , the First Gentlemen tells the Second Gentlemen, "I ken the man well; he is one of my thirty-pound knights" (4.1.140).[3] Like the reference in Act 1, this line mocks King James' habits of selling knighthoods and granting titles to praise court members.
Imprisonment
After the play's first performances, Jonson and Chapman were imprisoned for offending the King with the satirical Scottish references in Act 3 and Act 4.[10] In August 1605 when the play first premiered, King James I was traveling to Oxford with courtiers including the Lord Chamberlin "whose permission should have been obtained before the comedy was performed."[11] Staging boldly satirical and risque plays without license had been done before by playing companies, however this offense went too far and caused a serious scandal.[11] Because of the scandal, a significant body of documentation exists regarding the play, including personal letters written by both Chapman and Jonson while they were in prison.[12] In 1619, William Drummond of Hawthornden recalled Ben Jonson explaining how he got into trouble "for writing something against the Scots in a play, Eastward Ho, and voluntary imprisoned himself with Chapman and Marston who had written it amongst them. The report was that they should have had their ears cut and noses".[13] However, because of his financial investment in the company, Marston fled and escaped arrest.[14]
Release from Prison
Between late August and early September, Jonson and Chapman wrote urgent letters to friends, petitioning for their intervention in the urgent and serious charges against them. Among the names addressed in their letters were Earl of Suffolk, the King's cousin Esmé Stuart, Earl of Pembroke, the Lord Chamberlain, William Herbert, Robert Cecil, the Earl of Salisbury, and even King James himself. and the Earl of Aubigny.[11] Chapman's commendatory poem in the first edition of Jonson's Sejanus (1605) and his personal correspondences from prison suggests that the Earl of Suffolk was influential in obtaining their release in November 1605. Additionally, Lord Aubigny may have also smoothed the matter through a large financial transaction from the Earl of Salisbury to Sir John Murray, a Scottish knight and favorite courtier of the King, who had been particularly offended at the play's Scottish satire. Delighted and relieved at their release, Ben Jonson threw a banquet for his friends to celebrate his delivery from prison.[11]
Stage History
The play was never entirely banned or suppressed. It was revived by the Lady Elizabeth's Men in 1613 who performed the play on 25 January 1614 at court. In 1685, Nahum Tate revised Eastward Ho! to fit the fashions of Restoration theatre. After David Garrick's 1751 production in London and Charlotte Lennox's adaption, Old City Manners (1775), the play had a relatively low production frequency in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.[8]
In the twentieth century, the play was produced on radio adaptions and university stages, but remained neglected on professional stages. Only three professional productions between 1951 and 1983 were performed by Bernard Miles’ original Mermaid Theatre.[8]
The Royal Shakespeare Company revived Eastward Ho! in a production series which featured four other Jacobean plays in 2002. Directed by Lucy Pitman-Wallace,[15] the play was performed at the Swan Theatre in 2002 with a positive critical reception.[10] The play was also produced in 2006 by the American Shakespeare Center in the Blackfriar's Playhouse in Stanton, Virginia[16]
See also
- The Isle of Dogs
- The Isle of Gulls
- The Conspiracy and Tragedy of Charles, Duke of Byron
- A Game at Chess
- The Court Beggar
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Bevington, David (2012). The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ben Jonson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 531–534. ISBN 9780521782463.
- ^ Logan and Smith, p. 146.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Chapman, George; Jonson, Ben; Marston, John (2012). Bevington, David (ed.). Eastward Ho!. Vol. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521782463.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ Logan, Terence P., and Denzell S. Smith, eds. The New Intellectuals: A Survey and Bibliography of Recent Studies in English Renaissance Drama. Lincoln, NE, University of Nebraska Press, 1977; pp. 91, 152–3, 223.
- ^ Chambers, Vol. 3, p. 256.
- ^ Chambers, E. K. The Elizabethan Stage. 4 Volumes, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1923; Vol. 3, p. 254.
- ^ a b c Gossett, Suzanne (2014). "Eastward Ho!: Textual Essay". The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ben Jonson Online. Cambridge University Press.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ a b c Kay, W. David (2014). "Eastward Ho!: Stage History". The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ben Jonson Online. Cambridge University Press.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ Logan and Smith, pp. 146, 218.
- ^ a b Nicol, David (September 2002). "Eastward Ho! by Chapman, Jonson and Marston, performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Swan Theatre, 2002". Early Modern Literary Studies. 8 (2).
- ^ a b c d Donaldson, Ian (2011). Ben Jonson: A Life. United States: Oxford University Press. pp. 28, 117, 125, 172, 173, 206–14, 233, 268, 329. ISBN 9780198129769.
- ^ Chambers, Vol. 3, p. 255.
- ^ Herford, C. H., and Percy Simpson, eds. Ben Jonson: The Complete Works. 11 Volumes, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1925–54; Vol. 1, p. 143.
- ^ Gurr, Andrew (2009). The Shakespearian Stage, 1574-1642. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 69. ISBN 9780521729666.
- ^ Billington, Michael (26 April 2002). "Eastward Ho!". The Guardian.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "Eastward Ho, Blackfriars Playhouse, Staunton, Virginia, 2006, American Shakespeare Center". The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ben Jonson Online. Cambridge University Press. 2014.
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