John Lyly (–1606)

This completes my reading of John Lyly's plays and with it's pared down style, which does not sacrifice the wit of the playwright it was for me the most enjoyable to read. It is a difficult play to date as there are no records of a performance during Lyly's most productive years in writing for the theatre (1584 - 1592). His concerns were to write amusing and provocative drama for a sophisticated court audience. His use of allegory is open to interpretation and he seems to have been careful never to let it get in the way of providing an entertainment.

The play is set in Arcadia. Three foresters are in love with three completely unkind nymphs of the God Ceres, who embody three unpleasant traits: indifference, inconstancy, and pride. The foresters pray that Cupid will punish the nymphs by metamorphosing them to the natural objects that they most resemble; a rock, a bird, and a rose. However the foresters cannot live without the Nymphs and beg Cupid to change them back, however the three nymphs are even more determined not to have the foresters as husbands. It is only with the intervention of Ceres herself they reluctantly accept the men who are by now under no allusions about the difficulties of marriage. At the same time Erisicthon, a wealthy farmer, cuts down a tree sacred to Ceres which houses the nymph Fidelia who is killed, Ceres in revenge sends famine to gnaw at his vitals and Erisicthon is forced to sell his daughter Protea to pay for more food. Protea seeks the help of the sea God Neptune in saving her lover Petulius from the grip of a siren, she is successful and they appear before Ceres and beg her to call off famine from torturing Erisicthon.

It is all neatly worked through by Lyly in his delightful prose style, happy endings but not happy ever after endings, with only Lyly's description of famine to mar the lightness of the mood:

"Shee lyeth gasping, and swalloweth nothing but air, her face pale, and so leane, as easily thou maiest through the very skin as in a glass thy shadow; her hair long, black and shaggie, her eyes sunk so far in her head that she lloketh out the nape of her neck, her lips white and rough, her teeth hollow and red with rustiness; her skin so thin, that thou maiest as lively make an anatomie of her body as she were cut up with chiurgions (surgeons), her maw like a drie bladder; her heart swollen big with wind; and all her bowels like snakes working in her bodie."

The three nymphs enjoy flouting love, they stir up the amorous foresters, but they want to remain chaste, for their part the foresters question their need for love and are content to admit that they cannot fight against the desires of their blood. Lyly is intent on providing a commentary on the parallels of spotless virginity, chastity and constancy in love. Cupid seems to have the most power amongst the gods with his idea that love conquers all, even though he is derided because of his blindness and his nakedness. There is so much to read into Lyly's prose that the play can be read on a number of levels; the simple working out of a complicated plot, the parallels between the two strands of storytelling and an admiration as to how Lyly brings them together, an interesting rhetoric on the need for love, and an allegorical overlay that does not intrude but gives plenty of food for thought. I would like to think that this short play was the last that Lyly wrote because for me it encapsulates all that made his plays so vital and so different from the plays that were performed before the general public in the grand open air theatres. As a piece of drama it lacks dramatic appeal, but the delightful conversations that always point to a much deeper level of ideas do bear out a careful reading. If you want to get a flavour of the master of providing entertainment to Elizabeth's courtiers then this delightful fluff will do the job.
4 stars.… (altro)

Probably written around 1590 this play was at "sundrie times" acted by the Children of Pauls. It is quite different from the other plays that Lyly wrote as entertainment for Queen Elizabeths court, in that its characters are not the aristocracy or nobles attending the court of a foreign king: they are English townspeople although Lyly could not dispense with giving them latin names.
It comes across today as a light frothy entertainment stuffed full of Lyly's wit and word play.

The subject matter is marriage and although arranged marriages were not quite as proscribed as those of the court: townsfolk would have still wanted to marry their children as well as possible. In this case the two wealthiest parents both have idiots (in their view) for children and would be quite content to marry them off to each other, however the young adults show no desire to carry out their fathers wishes. Two other fathers less well off want their children to marry one of the rich mens idiots, however these two young adults are in love with each other with Livia being forthright in her views about her father:

"The care is taken. I'le ask him blessing as a father, but never take counsel for an husband; there is as much odds between my golden thoughts, and his leaden advice, as between his silver hairs and my amber locks; I know he will cough for anger that I yeald not, but he shall not cough me a fool for his labour."

The parents all entrust their servants to resolve the issues of their children and so a coterie of the four servants plan together to achieve their masters wishes in the hope of a reward. The servants hatch their plans in a local tavern; while their masters do likewise at another establishment. Lyly has fun with contrasting the witty conversations of the two groups.

Mother Bombie is the wise woman of Rochester, she describes herself as a cunning woman who sees herself doing good for the community and everyone goes to seek her advice, which she dispenses in poetic rhymes. She deals equally well with the coarse language of the servants as she does with the wealthy young adults who knock on her door. Everything is resolved to everyones satisfaction by the end of the play, there is no tension, no hurt feelings and no real action: the whole of the entertainment is in the witty dialogue of Lyly and the unravelling of the plot. He would have also used the whole of the small stage by contrasting the two groups of characters on opposite sides of the stage area. This is light frothy entertainment which I found a delight to read. This may have been the last play that Lyly wrote and it's more relaxed feel and tighter plot may have made this a success. It is my favourite of his and so 3.5 stars.… (altro)

John Lyly - [Endymion]
[Gallathea]
Two plays by John LyLy probably performed a couple of years or so before they were printed in 1591. John Lyly was one of the so-called University wits which included Robert Greene, George Peele, Thomas Lodge, Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Nashe. Shakespeare and Thomas Kyd probably did not go to University, but by 1590 they were all part of the London theatrical scene. John Lyly was different from the rest for a number of reasons and this is reflected in the plays that he wrote. He was different because:
He had a toehold in society and sponsorship by Earl of Oxford
He did not have to offer his plays to the adult acting companies
He had partial control of a troupe of acting boys of the Royal Chapel
He had interest in the Blackfriars theatre which was an indoor venue
He wrote plays for Queen Elizabeth and her court
He was already a published author
Other differences to play-writers of the time were that his plays were mostly written in prose. They were printed reasonably quickly after they were written and he was at the time the best selling Elizabethan playwright. His plays had a unique style and he probably did not collaborate with other playwrights, Writing for the court of Queen Elizabeth and writing for a smaller indoor space and a boy troupe of actors resulted in plays that are now easily recognisable as belonging to Lily. He was therefore a little out of the mainstream, but still exerted influence on other playwrights because he was successful.

Lily's first play was printed in 1584 and he had a head start on his contemporaries, however his plays are rarely performed today and he has come to be seen as somewhat irrelevant to early modern theatre. A sort of blind alley. His plays are conservative, usually based on classical sources and stayed very much in the groove of his first successes. Today of course readers can only imagine what they might have looked like performed on stage indoors under candle light, especially as there are very few opportunities to see a modern production. After reading Endymion and Gallathea after plays by Christopher Marlowe and early Shakespeare they already appear a little old fashioned.

In the prologue to Endymion Lily says:

"We present neither comedie, nor tragedie, nor storie nor anything, but that whoever may say it is. Why here is a tale of the man in the moon"

Actually it is a tale of a woman in the moon; Cynthia. Endymion is in love with Cynthia, but he is also courting Tellus and tries to hide from her his love for Cynthia. There is a concurrent story with the boastful Sir Tophas and the servants of Endymion's household. Tellus discovers Endymion's love for Cynthia and tells him not to reach for the moon, but she wants revenge and persuades the old woman Dipsas to cast a spell on Endymion, The spell puts him to sleep on a moon bank for forty years. Cynthia learns of Endymions plight and sends her servants out in the world to find a cure. She banishes Tellus. A cure is found Cynthia wakes Endymion with a kiss and gives him back his youth, and other love stories are resolved.

If this all sounds like lighthearted froth then that is just what it is. It all depends on the strength of Lily's prose which is of a good standard; in his unique style throughout.

Gallathea is a typical story that probably had a basis in Ovid, but Lyly has adapted it for his own purposes. Neptune the sea god demands a human sacrifice from the shepherds of Lincolnshire every five years. It must be the prettiest maiden in the area. The fathers of the prettiest maidens disguise them and send them into the woods. Meanwhile Cupid is amazed at the chaste Nymphs who hunt with the Goddess Diana and resolves to have some target practice with his arrows of love. Gallathea and Phillida are the two disguised maidens and they meet in the woods and fall in love. Diana catches Cupid and clips his wings. Venus the mother of Cupid appeals to Neptune for help and a deal is done with Diana. There is also another story about servants looking for a new master, they try an Alchemist and an Astrologer. Lyly gets to make plenty of jokes and gives some advice on the perils of love, even same sex love, which Venus allows. He also turns his lighthearted comedy on the perils of alchemy and astrology. In this story the Gods are in control.

This play is somewhat shorter than Endymion with even less of a plot. I enjoyed reading through them both, but would not wish to see a live performance 3 stars.… (altro)

John Lyly - [Endymion]
[Gallathea]
Two plays by John LyLy probably performed a couple of years or so before they were printed in 1591. John Lyly was one of the so-called University wits which included Robert Greene, George Peele, Thomas Lodge, Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Nashe. Shakespeare and Thomas Kyd probably did not go to University, but by 1590 they were all part of the London theatrical scene. John Lyly was different from the rest for a number of reasons and this is reflected in the plays that he wrote. He was different because:
He had a toehold in society and sponsorship by Earl of Oxford
He did not have to offer his plays to the adult acting companies
He had partial control of a troupe of acting boys of the Royal Chapel
He had interest in the Blackfriars theatre which was an indoor venue
He wrote plays for Queen Elizabeth and her court
He was already a published author
Other differences to play-writers of the time were that his plays were mostly written in prose. They were printed reasonably quickly after they were written and he was at the time the best selling Elizabethan playwright. His plays had a unique style and he probably did not collaborate with other playwrights, Writing for the court of Queen Elizabeth and writing for a smaller indoor space and a boy troupe of actors resulted in plays that are now easily recognisable as belonging to Lily. He was therefore a little out of the mainstream, but still exerted influence on other playwrights because he was successful.

Lily's first play was printed in 1584 and he had a head start on his contemporaries, however his plays are rarely performed today and he has come to be seen as somewhat irrelevant to early modern theatre. A sort of blind alley. His plays are conservative, usually based on classical sources and stayed very much in the groove of his first successes. Today of course readers can only imagine what they might have looked like performed on stage indoors under candle light, especially as there are very few opportunities to see a modern production. After reading Endymion and Gallathea after plays by Christopher Marlowe and early Shakespeare they already appear a little old fashioned.

In the prologue to Endymion Lily says:

"We present neither comedie, nor tragedie, nor storie nor anything, but that whoever may say it is. Why here is a tale of the man in the moon"

Actually it is a tale of a woman in the moon; Cynthia. Endymion is in love with Cynthia, but he is also courting Tellus and tries to hide from her his love for Cynthia. There is a concurrent story with the boastful Sir Tophas and the servants of Endymion's household. Tellus discovers Endymion's love for Cynthia and tells him not to reach for the moon, but she wants revenge and persuades the old woman Dipsas to cast a spell on Endymion, The spell puts him to sleep on a moon bank for forty years. Cynthia learns of Endymions plight and sends her servants out in the world to find a cure. She banishes Tellus. A cure is found Cynthia wakes Endymion with a kiss and gives him back his youth, and other love stories are resolved.

If this all sounds like lighthearted froth then that is just what it is. It all depends on the strength of Lily's prose which is of a good standard; in his unique style throughout.

Gallathea is a typical story that probably had a basis in Ovid, but Lyly has adapted it for his own purposes. Neptune the sea god demands a human sacrifice from the shepherds of Lincolnshire every five years. It must be the prettiest maiden in the area. The fathers of the prettiest maidens disguise them and send them into the woods. Meanwhile Cupid is amazed at the chaste Nymphs who hunt with the Goddess Diana and resolves to have some target practice with his arrows of love. Gallathea and Phillida are the two disguised maidens and they meet in the woods and fall in love. Diana catches Cupid and clips his wings. Venus the mother of Cupid appeals to Neptune for help and a deal is done with Diana. There is also another story about servants looking for a new master, they try an Alchemist and an Astrologer. Lyly gets to make plenty of jokes and gives some advice on the perils of love, even same sex love, which Venus allows. He also turns his lighthearted comedy on the perils of alchemy and astrology. In this story the Gods are in control.

This play is somewhat shorter than Endymion with even less of a plot. I enjoyed reading through them both, but would not wish to see a live performance 3 stars.… (altro)