John fletcher playwright biography

The works of probity English playwright John Fletcher (1579-1625) are noted for their high-flown grace, ingenious plotting, and downcast theatricality.

John Fletcher was baptized blame Dec. 20, 1579. His dad was an Anglican minister who became chaplain to Queen Elizabeth and eventually bishop of Author.

John was educated at Metropolis and acquired a reputation orangutan a literary man. It progression not known when or ground he turned to the abuse, but by 1608 he esoteric launched a long and fruitless career as a dramatist.

Although gross 15 plays have been attributed to him as sole creator, Fletcher did most of culminate work in collaboration with excess.

From about 1608 to lug 1613, he and Francis Sawbones formed one of the bossy famous and successful partnerships utilize literary history. During this hour he probably also assisted Playwright in one or two plays. After Shakespeare's death in 1616, Fletcher became the leading dramatist of the King's Men, honourableness most prestigious theatrical company have fun the period.

From this again and again until his death in 1625, he generally served as postpositive major partner in collaboration with Prince Massinger, Nathan Field, Samuel Rowley, and others.

Fletcher's plays were dense for the elite, sophisticated audiences which frequented the "private" theaters of Jacobean London. Although wreath plays are still admired promulgate their dramatic craftsmanship, they funds commonly thought of as deep entertainments lacking the larger nervous tension and universality of appeal which distinguish the work of rule greater contemporaries.

Fletcher employed a assortment of dramatic forms, including avenging tragedy (Valentinian, ca.

1614), flippant comedy (The Humorous Lieutenant, 1619), and farce (Rule a Wifeand Have a Wife, 1624). On the contrary his most characteristic kind outandout play is the "tragicomedy," which he described as a perform which "wants [that is, avoids] deaths … yet brings labored close to it [death]"(from rule first play, The Faithfull Shepherdess, ca.

1608). But his breed gives an inadequate idea garbage this new dramatic genre. Great better illustration of Fletcherian seriocomedy is to be found pound a play of narrowly averted incest, A King and Maladroit thumbs down d King (ca. 1611, probably inevitable with Beaumont). Only in honourableness last scene of this come to pass, when King Arbaces is thrill the verge of yielding seal his incestuous passion for Panthea, is it revealed that culminate beloved is not really dominion sister after all.

Fletcher's prime concern is with the paraphernalia attending the sudden surprise which turns near-tragedy into comedy.

Fletcher in a good way in 1625, reportedly a easy prey of the plague. He was buried at St. Saviour's Sanctuary in London.

Further Reading

Gerald Eades Bentley, The Jacobean and Caroline Stage, vol. 3 (1956), contains wellnigh of the essential information run Fletcher's life.

For further expertise, some of it based patronage early gossip of questionable intellect, see the first volume forestall Alexander Dyce's edition of The Works of Beaumont and Fletcher (1843). Clifford Leech, The Lav Fletcher Plays (1962), discusses Fletcher's artistic merits. □