The Poetaster
Encyclopedia
The Poetaster is a late Elizabethan stage play, a satire
written by Ben Jonson
, and first performed in 1601
. The play formed one element in the back-and-forth exchange between Jonson and his rivals John Marston
and Thomas Dekker in the so-called Poetomachia or War of the Theatres
of 1599–1601.
The Poetaster was entered into the Stationers' Register
on 21 December 1601, and was first published in quarto
in 1602
by the bookseller Matthew Lownes. The title page of the first edition states that the play was performed by the Children of the Chapel
, one of the companies of boy actors
popular at the time. The play was next published in the first folio collection of Jonson's works (1616
). A prefatory note to the folio text identifies the main actors in the 1601 production as Nathan Field, John Underwood
, Salomon Pavy, William Ostler
, Thomas Day, and Thomas Marton. The quarto and folio texts both supply subtitles, with slight variants: in the quarto, the title is Poetaster or The Arraignment, and in the folio, Poetaster, Or His Arraignment.
The principal character in the play is Ovid
.
It is widely accepted among scholars and critics that the character of Horace
in The Poetaster represents Jonson himself, while Crispinus, who vomits up a pretentious and bombastic vocabulary, is Marston, and Demetrius Fannius is Dekker. Individual commentators have attempted to identify other characters in the play with historical and literary figures of the era, including George Chapman
and Shakespeare
— though these arguments have not been accepted by the scholarly consensus.
It is generally argued that the play is more than a mere venting of personal spleen against two rivals; rather, Jonson attempted in The Poetaster to express his views on "the poet's moral duties in society." The play has been considered "an attempt to combine undramatic, philosophical material on good poets with satire on bad poets." Scholars have also traced out a broad range of particular connections between The Poetaster, other Jonson works, and plays by other authors in the first years of the 17th century.
The term poetaster
, meaning an inferior poet with pretentions to artistic value, had been coined by Erasmus in 1521. It was used by Jonson in 1600, then popularized with this play in 1601.
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
written by Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
, and first performed in 1601
1601 in literature
The year 1601 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*February 7 - The Lord Chamberlain's Men stage a performance of Shakespeare's Richard II at the Globe Theatre. The performance is specially commissioned by the plotters in the Earl of Essex's rebellion of the following day...
. The play formed one element in the back-and-forth exchange between Jonson and his rivals John Marston
John Marston
John Marston was an English poet, playwright and satirist during the late Elizabethan and Jacobean periods...
and Thomas Dekker in the so-called Poetomachia or War of the Theatres
War of the Theatres
The War of the Theatres is the name commonly applied to a controversy from the later Elizabethan theatre; Thomas Dekker termed it the Poetomachia....
of 1599–1601.
The Poetaster was entered into the Stationers' Register
Stationers' Register
The Stationers' Register was a record book maintained by the Stationers' Company of London. The company is a trade guild given a royal charter in 1557 to regulate the various professions associated with the publishing industry, including printers, bookbinders, booksellers, and publishers in England...
on 21 December 1601, and was first published in quarto
Book size
The size of a book is generally measured by the height against the width of a leaf, or sometimes the height and width of its cover. A series of terms is commonly used by libraries and publishers for the general sizes of modern books, ranging from "folio" , to "quarto" and "octavo"...
in 1602
1602 in literature
The year 1602 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*February 2 - The King's Men perform Twelfth Night at the Middle Temple.*May 4 - Richard Hakluyt is installed as prebendary of Westminster....
by the bookseller Matthew Lownes. The title page of the first edition states that the play was performed by the Children of the Chapel
Children of the Chapel
The Children of the Chapel were the boys with unbroken voices, choristers, who formed part of the Chapel Royal, the body of singers and priests serving the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they were called upon to do so....
, one of the companies of boy actors
Boy player
Boy player is a common term for the adolescent males employed by Medieval and English Renaissance playing companies. Some boy players worked for the mainstream companies and performed the female roles, as women did not perform on the English stage in this period...
popular at the time. The play was next published in the first folio collection of Jonson's works (1616
1616 in literature
The year 1616 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*Nicolaus Copernicus' De revolutionibus is placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by the Roman Catholic Church....
). A prefatory note to the folio text identifies the main actors in the 1601 production as Nathan Field, John Underwood
John Underwood (actor)
John Underwood was an early 17th century actor, a member of the King's Men, the company of William Shakespeare.-Career:Underwood began as a boy player with the Children of the Chapel, and was cast in that company's productions of Ben Jonson's Cynthia's Revels and The Poetaster...
, Salomon Pavy, William Ostler
William Ostler
William Ostler was an actor in English Renaissance theatre, a member of the King's Men, the company of William Shakespeare....
, Thomas Day, and Thomas Marton. The quarto and folio texts both supply subtitles, with slight variants: in the quarto, the title is Poetaster or The Arraignment, and in the folio, Poetaster, Or His Arraignment.
The principal character in the play is Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
.
It is widely accepted among scholars and critics that the character of Horace
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
in The Poetaster represents Jonson himself, while Crispinus, who vomits up a pretentious and bombastic vocabulary, is Marston, and Demetrius Fannius is Dekker. Individual commentators have attempted to identify other characters in the play with historical and literary figures of the era, including George Chapman
George Chapman
George Chapman was an English dramatist, translator, and poet. He was a classical scholar, and his work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been identified as the Rival Poet of Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Minto, and as an anticipator of the Metaphysical Poets...
and Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
— though these arguments have not been accepted by the scholarly consensus.
It is generally argued that the play is more than a mere venting of personal spleen against two rivals; rather, Jonson attempted in The Poetaster to express his views on "the poet's moral duties in society." The play has been considered "an attempt to combine undramatic, philosophical material on good poets with satire on bad poets." Scholars have also traced out a broad range of particular connections between The Poetaster, other Jonson works, and plays by other authors in the first years of the 17th century.
The term poetaster
Poetaster
Poetaster, like rhymester or versifier, is a contemptuous name often applied to bad or inferior poets. Specifically, poetaster has implications of unwarranted pretentions to artistic value. The word was coined in Latin by Erasmus in 1521...
, meaning an inferior poet with pretentions to artistic value, had been coined by Erasmus in 1521. It was used by Jonson in 1600, then popularized with this play in 1601.