We will follow the decade’s prose as it ranges broadly from proto-novelistic romances to satirical pamphleteering, from underworld documentary to exotic travel narratives.

We will read and discuss examples from popular contemporary poetic genres such as the sonnet sequence, the epyllion, the funeral elegy, and the pastoral. Jonson: Selected poetry and masques, Volpone, The Alchemist, Epicoene, Sejanus, Bartholomew Fair, The Sad ShepherdĮvaluation: 2 papers scene presentations final (take-home) exam participationĮNGL 401 Studies in the 17th Century The 1590sĭescription: In this course we will survey the 1590s, one of the most remarkable decades in English literary history, one which saw the initial publication of major works by Spenser, Sidney, Shakespeare, Marlowe, Lodge, Greene, Nashe, Deloney, Drayton, Daniel, and Bacon, among others. Marlowe: Hero and Leander, Tamburlaine (Parts 1 & 2), Dr Faustus, Edward II, The Jew of Malta We will trace how their works are central to the development of English poetry and drama, and how the conflicts between these two versions of the modern author, as well as the tensions within them each as individuals, are reflective of a turbulent and transformative period.

Eliot first noted, “Jonson is the legitimate heir of Marlowe.” Equally contentious, egotistical, ambitious but self-destructive, both men were at odds with Elizabethan society while trying to fashion a place for themselves as authors within an increasingly mobile social order.

In many ways the two seem opposite: Marlowe, an anti-authoritarian rebel who celebrates outsiders and overreachers, and Jonson, a court poet who satirizes eccentricity. Prerequisite: None, though some knowledge of Renaissance literature or culture is highly usefulĭescription:This course approaches an exciting and pivotal period in the development of English poetry and drama through the writings of Shakespeare’s two great rivals, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson.

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