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City comedy, also called Citizen Comedy, is a common genre of Elizabethan drama. It is a vague term that different scholars use to mean slightly different things. Some usual meanings of the term include:



The first city comedy is generally agreed to be Englishmen for My Money
Englishmen for My Money

Englishmen for My Money, or A Woman Will Have Her Will is an Literature in English#Elizabethan literature era stage play, a comedy written by William Haughton that dates from the year 1598 in literature....
, written by William Haughton
William Haughton

William Haughton , was an England playwright in the age of English Renaissance theatre. During the years 1597 to 1602 he collaborated in many plays with Henry Chettle, Thomas Dekker , John Day , Richard Hathwaye and Wentworth Smith....
 and first performed in 1598 by the Admiral's Men
Admiral's Men

The Admiral's Men was a playing company or troupe of actors in the Elizabethan era and House of Stuart eras . It is generally considered the second most important acting troupe of English Renaissance theatre ....
. The genre soon became very popular; the intricately-plotted romantic comedies of Shakespeare and John Lyly
John Lyly

John Lyly was an England writer, best known for his books Euphues, The Anatomy of Wit and Euphues and His England. Lyly's linguistic style, originating in his first books, is known as Euphuism....
 that had been in vogue on the public and private stages until this point were largely supeseded by plays which were set in a recognisable contemporary London, and which dealt with, in Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson

Benjamin Jonson was an England English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satire plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist , and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his Lyric poetry poems....
's words, "deeds and language such as men do use" (Prologue to Every Man in his Humour
Every Man in His Humour

Every Man in His Humour is a 1598 play by the England playwright Ben Jonson. The play belongs to the subgenre of the "humours comedy," in which each major character is dominated by an overriding humour or obsession....
).

Other notable examples of the genre are Westward Ho
Westward Ho (play)

Westward Ho is an early Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a satire and city comedy by Thomas Dekker and John Webster that was first published in 1607 in literature....
, Eastward Ho
Eastward Hoe

Eastward Hoe or Eastward Ho, is an early Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a satire and city comedy written by George Chapman, Ben Jonson, and John Marston, printed in 1605 in literature....
, Northward Ho
Northward Ho

Northward Ho is an early Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a satire and city comedy written by Thomas Dekker and John Webster, and first published in 1607 in literature....
, and Greene's Tu Quoque
Greene's Tu Quoque

Greene's Tu Quoque, also known as The City Gallant, is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a comedy written by John Cooke....
.

The city comedy can be considered a forerunner of the comedy of manners
Comedy of manners

The comedy of manners satirizes the manners and affectations of a social class, often represented by stock characters, such as the miles gloriosus in ancient times, the fop and the rake during the Restoration comedy, or an old person pretending to be young....
.

It is worth noting that although Shakespeare continued to write plays during this period, the London city comedy was a genre he conspicously avoided.








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City comedy, also called Citizen Comedy, is a common genre of Elizabethan drama. It is a vague term that different scholars use to mean slightly different things. Some usual meanings of the term include:

  • Any Elizabethan comedy set in London
    London

    London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
     and depicting ordinary London life. These include works which celebrate the lives of ordinary citizens, such as Thomas Dekker's The Shoemaker's Holiday
    The Shoemaker's Holiday

    The Shoemakers' Holiday, or the Gentle Craft is an Elizabethan Play written by Thomas Dekker . It was first performed in 1599 in literature by the Admiral's Men....
    .
  • London comedies that are specifically satirical in nature, depicting London as a hotbed of sin; in particular, some of the comedies of Ben Jonson
    Ben Jonson

    Benjamin Jonson was an England English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satire plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist , and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his Lyric poetry poems....
     (The Devil is an Ass
    The Devil is an Ass

    The Devil is an Ass is a Literature_in_English#Jacobean_literature comedy by Ben Jonson, first performed in 1616 in literature and first published in 1631 in literature....
    , Every Man in his Humour
    Every Man in His Humour

    Every Man in His Humour is a 1598 play by the England playwright Ben Jonson. The play belongs to the subgenre of the "humours comedy," in which each major character is dominated by an overriding humour or obsession....
    ), Thomas Middleton
    Thomas Middleton

    Thomas Middleton was an England English Renaissance theatre and poet. Middleton stands with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson as among the most successful and prolific of playwrights who wrote their best plays during the Jacobean period....
     (Michaelmas Term
    Michaelmas Term (play)

    Michaelmas Term is a Literature_in_English#Jacobean_literature comedy by Thomas Middleton. It was first performed in 1604 in literature by the Children of Paul's, and was entered into the Stationers' Register on May 15, 1607 in literature, and published in book size later that year by Arthur Johnson....
    , A Chaste Maid in Cheapside
    A Chaste Maid in Cheapside

    A Chaste Maid in Cheapside is a city comedy written c. 1613 by England English Renaissance playwright Thomas Middleton. Unpublished until 1630 in literature and long-neglected afterwards, it is now considered among the best and most characteristic Jacobean comedies....
    ) and John Marston
    John Marston

    John Marston was an English people poet, playwright and satirist during the late Elizabethan and Literature in English#Jacobean literature periods....
     (Jack Drum's Entertainment
    Jack Drum's Entertainment

    Jack Drum's Entertainment is a late Literature in English#Elizabethan literature play written by the dramatist and satirist John Marston c. 1599–1600....
    ).


The first city comedy is generally agreed to be Englishmen for My Money
Englishmen for My Money

Englishmen for My Money, or A Woman Will Have Her Will is an Literature in English#Elizabethan literature era stage play, a comedy written by William Haughton that dates from the year 1598 in literature....
, written by William Haughton
William Haughton

William Haughton , was an England playwright in the age of English Renaissance theatre. During the years 1597 to 1602 he collaborated in many plays with Henry Chettle, Thomas Dekker , John Day , Richard Hathwaye and Wentworth Smith....
 and first performed in 1598 by the Admiral's Men
Admiral's Men

The Admiral's Men was a playing company or troupe of actors in the Elizabethan era and House of Stuart eras . It is generally considered the second most important acting troupe of English Renaissance theatre ....
. The genre soon became very popular; the intricately-plotted romantic comedies of Shakespeare and John Lyly
John Lyly

John Lyly was an England writer, best known for his books Euphues, The Anatomy of Wit and Euphues and His England. Lyly's linguistic style, originating in his first books, is known as Euphuism....
 that had been in vogue on the public and private stages until this point were largely supeseded by plays which were set in a recognisable contemporary London, and which dealt with, in Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson

Benjamin Jonson was an England English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satire plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist , and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his Lyric poetry poems....
's words, "deeds and language such as men do use" (Prologue to Every Man in his Humour
Every Man in His Humour

Every Man in His Humour is a 1598 play by the England playwright Ben Jonson. The play belongs to the subgenre of the "humours comedy," in which each major character is dominated by an overriding humour or obsession....
).

Other notable examples of the genre are Westward Ho
Westward Ho (play)

Westward Ho is an early Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a satire and city comedy by Thomas Dekker and John Webster that was first published in 1607 in literature....
, Eastward Ho
Eastward Hoe

Eastward Hoe or Eastward Ho, is an early Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a satire and city comedy written by George Chapman, Ben Jonson, and John Marston, printed in 1605 in literature....
, Northward Ho
Northward Ho

Northward Ho is an early Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a satire and city comedy written by Thomas Dekker and John Webster, and first published in 1607 in literature....
, and Greene's Tu Quoque
Greene's Tu Quoque

Greene's Tu Quoque, also known as The City Gallant, is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a comedy written by John Cooke....
.

The city comedy can be considered a forerunner of the comedy of manners
Comedy of manners

The comedy of manners satirizes the manners and affectations of a social class, often represented by stock characters, such as the miles gloriosus in ancient times, the fop and the rake during the Restoration comedy, or an old person pretending to be young....
.

It is worth noting that although Shakespeare continued to write plays during this period, the London city comedy was a genre he conspicously avoided.

See also

  • English drama
    English drama

    Drama was introduced to England from Europe by the Roman Empire, and auditoriums were constructed across the country for this purpose. By the medieval period, the Mummers Play had developed, a form of early street theatre associated with the Morris dance, concentrating on themes such as Saint George and the European dragon and Robin Hood....


External links