All Topics  
John Fletcher (playwright)

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

John Fletcher (playwright)
 
 
  Topics John Fletcher (playwright) Topic Home

John Fletcher (1579 – 1625) was a Jacobean
Jacobean era

The Jacobean era refers to the period in England and Scotland history that coincides with the reign of King James I of England of England, who was also James VI of Scotland....
 playwright
Playwright

A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or drama. These works may be written specifically to be performed by actors or they may be closet dramas or literary works written using dramatic forms but not meant for performance....
. Following William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English people poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist....
 as house playwright for the King's Men
King's Men (playing company)

The King's Men was the company of actors to which William Shakespeare belonged through most of his career. Formerly known as The Lord Chamberlain's Men during the reign of Elizabeth I of England, it became The King's Men in 1603 when James I of England ascended the throne and became the company's patron....
, he was among the most prolific and influential dramatists of his day; both during his lifetime and in the early Restoration, his fame rivaled Shakespeare's. Though his reputation has been eclipsed since, Fletcher remains an important transitional figure between the Elizabethan popular tradition and the popular drama of the Restoration.

cher was born in December 1579 (baptised December 20) in Rye
Rye, East Sussex

The small town of Rye, in East Sussex, England, stands at the confluence of two rivers, although in medieval times, as an important member of the Cinque Ports, it was at the head of an embayment of the English Channel, almost entirely surrounded by the sea....
, Sussex
Sussex

Sussex , from the Old English Su?seaxe , is a Historic counties of England in South East England England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex....
, and died of the plague in August 1625 (buried August 29 in St. Saviour's
Southwark Cathedral

Southwark Cathedral or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge....
, Southwark
Southwark

Southwark, or the Borough, is an area of south-east London in the London Borough of Southwark, situated 1.5 miles east of Charing Cross....
).






Discussion
Ask a question about 'John Fletcher (playwright)'
Start a new discussion about 'John Fletcher (playwright)'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


John Fletcher (1579 – 1625) was a Jacobean
Jacobean era

The Jacobean era refers to the period in England and Scotland history that coincides with the reign of King James I of England of England, who was also James VI of Scotland....
 playwright
Playwright

A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or drama. These works may be written specifically to be performed by actors or they may be closet dramas or literary works written using dramatic forms but not meant for performance....
. Following William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English people poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist....
 as house playwright for the King's Men
King's Men (playing company)

The King's Men was the company of actors to which William Shakespeare belonged through most of his career. Formerly known as The Lord Chamberlain's Men during the reign of Elizabeth I of England, it became The King's Men in 1603 when James I of England ascended the throne and became the company's patron....
, he was among the most prolific and influential dramatists of his day; both during his lifetime and in the early Restoration, his fame rivaled Shakespeare's. Though his reputation has been eclipsed since, Fletcher remains an important transitional figure between the Elizabethan popular tradition and the popular drama of the Restoration.

Biography

Fletcher was born in December 1579 (baptised December 20) in Rye
Rye, East Sussex

The small town of Rye, in East Sussex, England, stands at the confluence of two rivers, although in medieval times, as an important member of the Cinque Ports, it was at the head of an embayment of the English Channel, almost entirely surrounded by the sea....
, Sussex
Sussex

Sussex , from the Old English Su?seaxe , is a Historic counties of England in South East England England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex....
, and died of the plague in August 1625 (buried August 29 in St. Saviour's
Southwark Cathedral

Southwark Cathedral or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge....
, Southwark
Southwark

Southwark, or the Borough, is an area of south-east London in the London Borough of Southwark, situated 1.5 miles east of Charing Cross....
). His father Richard Fletcher
Richard Fletcher (bishop)

Richard Fletcher was a Church of England priest and bishop. He was successively bishop of Worcester in 1593-1594 and bishop of London in 1595-1596....
 was an ambitious and successful cleric who was in turn Dean of Peterborough, Bishop of Bristol
Bishop of Bristol

The Bishop of Bristol heads the Church of England Diocese of Bristol in the Province of Canterbury, in England.The present diocese covers parts of the counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire together with a small area of Wiltshire....
, Bishop of Worcester
Bishop of Worcester

The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England.The diocese covers the county of Worcestershire, the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, and parts of the City of Wolverhampton....
, and Bishop of London
Bishop of London

The Bishop of London is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km? of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey....
 (shortly before his death) as well as chaplain
Chaplain

A chaplain is typically a priest, pastor, ordained deacon, rabbi, imam or other member of the clergy serving a group of people who are not organized as a mission or church , or who are unable to attend church for various reasons; such as health, confinement, or military or civil duties; Laity chaplains are also found in other settings such...
 to Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I was List of English monarchs and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the House of Tudor....
. As dean of Peterborough, Richard Fletcher, at the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary I of Scotland

Mary I was Queen of Scots from 14 December 1542 to 24 July 1567.She was the only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scotland. She was only six days old when her father died and left her Queen of Scots....
 at Fotheringay
Fotheringhay

Fotheringhay is a village in Northamptonshire, England six kilometres north east of Oundle and around sixteen kilometres west of Peterborough....
 "knelt down on the scaffold steps and started to pray out loud and at length, in a prolonged and rhetorical style as though determined to force his way into the pages of history" and who cried out at her death, "So perish all the Queen's enemies!" Richard Fletcher died shortly after falling out of favor with the queen, over a marriage the queen had advised against. He appears to have been partly rehabilitated before his death in 1596; however, Fletcher died substantially in debt. The upbringing of John Fletcher and his seven siblings was entrusted to his paternal uncle Giles Fletcher
Giles Fletcher, the Elder

Giles Fletcher, the Elder was an English poet and diplomat, member of the English Parliament.Giles Fletcher was the son of Richard Fletcher, vicar of Bishop's Stortford....
, a poet and minor official. His uncle's connections ceased to be a benefit, and may even have become a liability, after the rebellion of the Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex , a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I of England, is the best-known of the many holders of the title "Earl of Essex." He was a military hero and royal favourite, but following a poor campaign against Irish rebels during the Nine Years War in 1599, he defied the Queen and was executed for treason....
, who had patronized him.

Fletcher appears to have entered Corpus Christi College
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge

Corpus Christi College is a College of the University of Cambridge. It is notable for being the only college to have been founded by Cambridge townspeople, having been founded in 1352 by the Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary....
, Cambridge University
University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge , located in Cambridge, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation university in the Anglosphere....
 in 1591, at the age of eleven. It is not certain that he took a degree, but evidence suggests that he was preparing for a career in the church. Little is known about his time at college, but he evidently followed the same path previously trod by the University wit
University wit

The University Witts were members of a group of notable England playwrights of the late 16th century. Notable institutions associated with the University wits are the universities of Oxford University and University of Cambridge....
s before him, from Cambridge to the burgeoning commercial theater of London. In 1606, he began to appear as an author for the Children of the Queen's Revels
Children of the Chapel

The Children of the Chapel was a troupe of boy player in Elizabethan era and Jacobean era England.Sometime in the 12th century, the Chapel Royal was created as a distinct institution of the English Royal Court....
, then performing at the Blackfriars Theatre
Blackfriars Theatre

Blackfriars Theatre was the name of a theatre in the Blackfriars, London district of the City of London during the English Renaissance theatre. The theatre began as a venue for boy player associated with the Elizabeth I of England chapel choirs; in this function, the theatre hosted some of the most innovative drama of Elizabeth and James I o...
. Commendatory verses by Richard Brome
Richard Brome

Richard Brome was an English dramatist of the Literature in English#Caroline and Cromwellian literature era....
 in the Beaumont and Fletcher 1647
1647 in literature

The year 1647 in literature involved some significant events....
 folio
Book size

The size of a specific book is measured from the head to tail of the spine, and from edge to edge across the covers.However, in bookbinding, printing, and publishing, a series of terms are used to indicate the approximate size of a book....
 place Fletcher in the company 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....
; a comment of Jonson's to Drummond corroborates this claim, although it is not known when this friendship began. At the beginning of his career, his most important association was with Francis Beaumont
Francis Beaumont

Francis Beaumont was a dramatist in the English Renaissance theatre, most famous for his collaborations with John Fletcher .Beaumont was the son of Sir Francis Beaumont of Grace-Dieu, Leicestershire, a justice of the Court of Common Pleas ....
. The two wrote together for close to a decade, first for the children and then for the King's Men. According to a legend transmitted or invented by John Aubrey
John Aubrey

John Aubrey was an England antiquary and writer, best known as the author of the collection of short biographical pieces usually referred to as Brief Lives and as the discoverer of the Aubrey holes in Stonehenge....
, they also lived together (in Bankside
Bankside

Bankside is an area in Southwark, London, on the southern bank of the River Thames, situated between Blackfriars Bridge to the west and London Bridge to the east....
), sharing clothes and having "one wench in the house between them." This domestic arrangement, if it existed, was ended by Beaumont's marriage in 1613, and their dramatic partnership ended after Beaumont fell ill, probably of a stroke, the same year.

By this time, Fletcher had moved into a closer association with the King's Men. He is commonly assumed to have collaborated with Shakespeare on Henry VIII
Henry VIII (play)

The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eighth is a history play by William Shakespeare, based on the life of Henry VIII of England....
, The Two Noble Kinsmen
The Two Noble Kinsmen

The Two Noble Kinsmen is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature comedy, first published in 1634 and attributed to John Fletcher and William Shakespeare, based on "The Knight's Tale" from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales....
, and the lost
Lost work

A lost work is a document or literature work produced some time in the past of which no surviving copies are known to exist. Works may be lost to history either through the destruction of the original manuscript, or through the non-survival of any copies of the work....
 Cardenio
Cardenio

The History of Cardenio is a lost work, known to have been performed by King's Men , a London theatre company, in 1613. It was attributed to William Shakespeare and John Fletcher in 1653 in a Stationers' Registry entry by the bookseller Humphrey Moseley, who was known to have falsely used Shakespeare's name in other such entries and, ind...
; a play he wrote singly around this time. The Woman's Prize
The Woman's Prize

The Woman's Prize, or the Tamer Tamed is a Literature_in_English#Jacobean_literature comedy written by John Fletcher . Its initial publication occurred in the Beaumont and Fletcher folios of 1647 in literature, though it was obviously written much earlier ....
 or the Tamer Tamed, is a sequel to The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew

The Taming of the Shrew is an early Shakespearean comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written between 1590 and 1594. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a drunken tinker named Sly is tricked into thinking he is a nobleman by a mischievous Lord....
. After Shakespeare's death, Fletcher appears to have entered into an exclusive arrangement with the King's Men similar to that with which Shakespeare had worked; Fletcher wrote only for that company between the death of Shakespeare and his own death nine years later. He never lost his habit of collaboration, working with Nathan Field and later with Philip Massinger, who succeeded him as house playwright for the King's Men. His popularity continued unabated throughout his life; during the winter of 1621, three of his plays were performed at court. He died in 1625, apparently of the plague. He seems to have been buried in what is now Southwark Cathedral
Southwark Cathedral

Southwark Cathedral or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge....
, although the precise location is not known; there is a reference by Aston Cockayne
Aston Cockayne

Sir Aston Cockayne , also Cokain, was, in his day, a well-known Cavalier and a minor literary figure, now best remembered as a friend of Philip Massinger, John Fletcher , Michael Drayton, Richard Brome, Thomas Randolph , and other writers of his generation....
 to a single grave for Fletcher and Massinger (also buried in Southwark).

His mastery is most notable in two dramatic types, tragicomedy
Tragicomedy

Tragicomedy is fictional work that blends aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. In English literature, from Shakespeare's time to the nineteenth century, tragicomedy referred to a serious Play with a happy ending....
 and 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....
, both of which exerted a pervasive influence on dramatists in the reign of Charles I
Charles I of England

Charles I was List of English monarchs, List of monarchs of Scotland and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his capital punishment on 30 January 1649....
 and during the Restoration
English Restoration

The English Restoration, or simply The Restoration began in 1660 when the English monarchy, Scottish monarchy and Irish monarchy were restored under Charles II of England after the Interregnum that followed the English Civil War....
.

Stage History

Fletcher's early career was marked by one significant failure, of The Faithful Shepherdess, his adaptation of Giovanni Battista Guarini
Giovanni Battista Guarini

Giovanni Battista Guarini was an Italy poet, dramatist, and diplomat....
's Il Pastor Fido
Il pastor fido

Il pastor fido is an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel. It was set to a libretto by Giacomo Rossi based on the famed and widely familiar pastoral poem of the same name by Giovanni Battista Guarini....
, which was performed by the Blackfriars Children
Children of the Chapel

The Children of the Chapel was a troupe of boy player in Elizabethan era and Jacobean era England.Sometime in the 12th century, the Chapel Royal was created as a distinct institution of the English Royal Court....
 in 1608
1608 in literature

The year 1608 in literature involved some significant events....
. In the preface to the printed edition of his play, Fletcher explained the failure as due to his audience's faulty expectations. They expected a pastoral tragicomedy to feature dances, comedy, and murder, with the shepherds presented in conventional stereotypes — as Fletcher put it, wearing "gray cloaks, with curtailed dogs in strings." Fletcher's preface in defense of his play is best known for its pithy definition of tragicomedy: "A tragicomedy is not so called in respect of mirth and killing, but in respect it wants [i.e., lacks] deaths, which is enough to make it no tragedy; yet brings some near it, which is enough to make it no comedy." A comedy, he went on to say, must be "a representation of familiar people," and the preface is critical of drama which would feature characters whose action violates nature. In that case, Fletcher appears to have been developing a new style faster than audiences could comprehend. By 1609
1609 in literature

The year 1609 in literature involved some significant events....
, however, he had found his stride. With Beaumont, he wrote Philaster, which became a hit for the King's Men and began a profitable connection between Fletcher and that company. Philaster appears also to have initiated a vogue for tragicomedy; Fletcher's influence has been credited with inspiring some features of Shakespeare's late romances
Shakespeare's late romances

The late romances, often simply called the romances, are a grouping of what many scholars believe to be William Shakespeare's later plays, including Pericles, Prince of Tyre; Cymbeline; The Winter's Tale; and The Tempest ....
 (Kirsch, 288-90), and his influence on the tragicomic work of other playwrights is even more marked. By the middle of the 1610s, Fletcher's plays had achieved a popularity that rivalled Shakespeare's and which cemented the preeminence of the King's Men in Jacobean London. After Beaumont's retirement and early death in 1616
1616 in literature

The year 1616 in literature involved some significant events....
, Fletcher continued working, both singly and in collaboration, until his death in 1625
1625 in literature

The year 1625 in literature involved some significant events....
. By that time, he had produced, or had been credited with, close to fifty plays. This body of work remained a major part of the King's Men's repertory until the closing of the theaters in 1642.

During the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of England

The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first Kingdom of England and Wales, and then Kingdom of Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland from 1649 to 1660....
, many of the playwright's best-known scenes were kept alive as drolls, the brief performances devised to satisfy the taste for plays while the theaters were suppressed. At the re-opening of the theaters in 1660, the plays in the Fletcher canon, in original form or revised, were by far the most common fare on the English stage. The most frequently revived plays suggest the developing taste for comedies of manners. Among the tragedies, The Maid's Tragedy
The Maid's Tragedy

The Maid's Tragedy is a play by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher . It was first published in 1619 in literature.The play was one of the earliest works in the canon of Fletcher and his collaborators that was acted by the King's Men ; Fletcher would spend most of his career as that company's regular playwright....
 and, especially, Rollo Duke of Normandy
Rollo Duke of Normandy

Rollo Duke of Normandy, also known as The Bloody Brother, is a play written in collaboration by John Fletcher , Philip Massinger, Ben Jonson, and George Chapman....
 held the stage. Four tragicomedies (A King and No King, The Humorous Lieutenant
The Humorous Lieutenant

The Humorous Lieutenant, also known as The Noble Enemies or Demetrius and Enanthe, is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a tragicomedy written by John Fletcher ....
, Philaster, and The Island Princess
The Island Princess

The Island Princess is a late Literature_in_English#Jacobean_literature tragicomedy by John Fletcher , initially published in the Beaumont and Fletcher folios of 1647 in literature....
) were popular, perhaps in part for their similarity to and foreshadowing of heroic drama
Heroic drama

Heroic drama is a type of Play popular during the English Restoration era in England, distinguished by both its verse structure and its subject matter....
. Four comedies (Rule a Wife And Have a Wife, The Chances, Beggars' Bush
Beggars' Bush

For the old military barracks in Dublin, Ireland, see Beggars Bush Beggars' Bush is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a comedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators that is a focus of dispute among scholars and critics....
, and especially The Scornful Lady) were also popular.

Yet the popularity of these plays relative to those of Shakespeare and to new productions steadily eroded. By around 1710, Shakespeare's plays were more frequently performed, and the rest of the century saw a steady erosion in performance of Fletcher's plays. By 1784, Thomas Davies
Thomas Davies (bookseller)

Thomas Davies was a Scotland bookseller and author. He studied at the University of Edinburgh and was for several years on the Stage ; but having been ridiculed by Charles Churchill in The Rosciad he gave up acting and opened a bookshop in Covent Garden....
 asserted that only Rule a Wife and The Chances were still current on stage; a generation later, Alexander Dyce
Alexander Dyce

Alexander Dyce was a Scotland dramatic editor and literary historian.He was born in Edinburgh and received his early education at the high school there, before becoming a student at Exeter College, Oxford, where he graduated B.A....
 mentioned only The Chances.

Since then Fletcher has increasingly become a subject only for occasional revivals and for specialists. Fletcher and his collaborators have been the subject of important bibliographic and critical studies, but the plays have been revived only infrequently.

Plays

Fletcher's canon presents unusual difficulties of attribution. He collaborated regularly and widely, most often with Beaumont and Massinger but also with Nathan Field, Shakespeare and others. Some of his early collaborations with Beaumont were later revised by Massinger, adding another layer of complexity to unravel. Fortunately for scholars and students of English literature, Fletcher also had highly distinctive mannerisms in his creative efforts; his texts reveal a range of peculiarities that effectively identify his presence. He frequently uses ye instead of you, at rates sometimes approaching 50%; he frequently employs em for them, along with a set of other particular preferences in contractions; he adds a sixth stressed syllable to a standard pentameter verse line—most often sir but also too or still or next; he has various other specific habits and preferences. The detection of this pattern, this personal Fletcherian textual profile, has allowed researchers to penetrate the confusions of the Fletcher canon with good success—and has in turn encouraged the use of similar techniques more broadly in the study of literature. [See: stylometry
Stylometry

Stylometry is the application of Stylistics , usually to written language. In the last few years it has successfully been applied also to and to fine-art ....
.]

Careful bibliography has established the authors of each play with some degree of certainty. Determination of the exact shares of each writer (for instance by Cyrus Hoy
Cyrus Hoy

Cyrus Hoy is a contemporary literary scholar who has taught at the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University, and is currently the John B....
) in particular plays is ongoing, based on patterns of textual and linguistic preferences, stylistic grounds, and idiosyncrasies of spelling.

The list that follows gives a consensus verdict (at least a tentative one) on the authorship of the plays in Fletcher's canon, with likeliest dates of authorship, dates of first publication, and dates of licensing by the Master of the Revels
Master of the Revels

The Master of the Revels was a position within the United Kingdom Noble court heading the "Revels Office" or "Office of the Revels" that originally had responsibilities for overseeing royal festivities, known as revels, and later also became responsible for theater censorship, until this function was transferred to the Lord Chamberlain in...
, where available.

Solo Plays

  • The Faithful Shepherdess
    The Faithful Shepherdess

    The Faithful Shepherdess is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, the work that inaugurated the playwriting career of John Fletcher ....
    , pastoral (written 1608–9; printed 1609?)
  • Valentinian
    Valentinian (play)

    Valentinian is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a revenge tragedy written by John Fletcher was that originally published in the Beaumont and Fletcher folios of 1647 in literature....
    , tragedy (1610–14; 1647)
  • Monsieur Thomas
    Monsieur Thomas

    Monsieur Thomas is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher that was first published in 1639 in literature....
    , comedy (c. 1610–16; 1639)
  • The Woman's Prize
    The Woman's Prize

    The Woman's Prize, or the Tamer Tamed is a Literature_in_English#Jacobean_literature comedy written by John Fletcher . Its initial publication occurred in the Beaumont and Fletcher folios of 1647 in literature, though it was obviously written much earlier ....
    , or The Tamer Tamed, comedy (c. 1611?; 1647)
  • Bonduca
    Bonduca

    Bonduca is a Literature_in_English#Jacobean_literature tragedy in the Beaumont and Fletcher canon, generally judged by scholars to be the work of John Fletcher alone....
    , tragedy (1611–14; 1647)
  • The Chances
    The Chances

    The Chances is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher . It was one of Fletcher's great popular successes, "frequently performed and reprinted in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries."...
    , comedy (c. 1613–25; 1647)
  • Wit Without Money
    Wit Without Money

    Wit Without Money is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher , and first published in 1639 in literature....
    , comedy (c. 1614; 1639)
  • The Mad Lover
    The Mad Lover

    The Mad Lover is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a tragicomedy by John Fletcher that was initially published in the Beaumont and Fletcher folios of 1647 in literature....
    , tragicomedy (acted January 5, 1617; 1647)
  • The Loyal Subject
    The Loyal Subject

    The Loyal Subject is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a tragicomedy by John Fletcher that was originally published in the Beaumont and Fletcher folios of 1647 in literature....
    , tragicomedy (licensed November 16, 1618; revised 1633?; 1647)
  • The Humorous Lieutenant
    The Humorous Lieutenant

    The Humorous Lieutenant, also known as The Noble Enemies or Demetrius and Enanthe, is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a tragicomedy written by John Fletcher ....
    , tragicomedy (c. 1619; 1647)
  • Women Pleased
    Women Pleased

    Women Pleased is a late Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a tragicomedy by John Fletcher that was originally published in the Beaumont and Fletcher folios of 1647 in literature....
    , tragicomedy (c. 1619–23; 1647)
  • The Island Princess
    The Island Princess

    The Island Princess is a late Literature_in_English#Jacobean_literature tragicomedy by John Fletcher , initially published in the Beaumont and Fletcher folios of 1647 in literature....
    , tragicomedy (c. 1620; 1647)
  • The Wild Goose Chase
    The Wild Goose Chase

    The Wild Goose Chase is a late Literature in English#Jacobean literature stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher , first published in 1652 in literature....
    , comedy (c. 1621; 1652)
  • The Pilgrim
    The Pilgrim (play)

    The Pilgrim is a late Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a comedy by John Fletcher that was originally published in the Beaumont and Fletcher folios of 1647 in literature....
    , comedy (c. 1621; 1647)
  • A Wife for a Month
    A Wife for a Month

    A Wife for a Month is a late Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a tragicomedy written by John Fletcher and originally published in the Beaumont and Fletcher folios of 1647....
    , tragicomedy (licensed May 27, 1624; 1647)
  • Rule a Wife and Have a Wife
    Rule a Wife and Have a Wife

    Rule a Wife and Have a Wife is a late Literature in English#Jacobean literature stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher . It was first performed in 1624 and first published in 1640....
    , comedy (licensed October 19, 1624; 1640)


Collaborations

With Francis Beaumont:
  • The Woman Hater
    The Woman Hater

    The Woman Hater is an early Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a comedy by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher . One of the earliest of their collaborations, it was the first of their plays to appear in print, in 1607 in literature....
    , comedy (1606; 1607)
  • Cupid's Revenge
    Cupid's Revenge

    Cupid's Revenge is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature tragedy written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher . It was a popular success that influenced subsequent works by other authors....
    , tragedy (c. 1607–12; 1615)
  • Philaster, or Love Lies a-Bleeding
    Philaster (play)

    Philaster, or Love Lies a-Bleeding is an early Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher ....
    , tragicomedy
    Tragicomedy

    Tragicomedy is fictional work that blends aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. In English literature, from Shakespeare's time to the nineteenth century, tragicomedy referred to a serious Play with a happy ending....
     (c. 1609; 1620)
  • The Maid's Tragedy
    The Maid's Tragedy

    The Maid's Tragedy is a play by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher . It was first published in 1619 in literature.The play was one of the earliest works in the canon of Fletcher and his collaborators that was acted by the King's Men ; Fletcher would spend most of his career as that company's regular playwright....
    , Tragedy (c. 1609; 1619)
  • A King and No King
    A King and No King

    A King and No King is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher and first published in 1619 in literature....
    , tragicomedy (1611; 1619)
  • The Captain
    The Captain (play)

    The Captain is the title of a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a comedy written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher ....
    , comedy (c. 1609–12; 1647)
  • The Scornful Lady
    The Scornful Lady

    The Scornful Lady is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a comedy written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher , and first published in 1616 in literature, the year of Beaumont's death....
    , comedy (c. 1613; 1616)
  • Love's Pilgrimage
    Love's Pilgrimage (play)

    Love's Pilgrimage is a Literature in English#Jacobean liteature era stage play, a tragicomedy by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher . The play is unusual in their canon, in that its opening scene contains material from Ben Jonson's 1629 in literature comedy The New Inn....
    , tragicomedy (c. 1615–16; 1647)
  • The Noble Gentleman
    The Noble Gentleman

    The Noble Gentleman is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a comedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators that was first published in the Beaumont and Fletcher folios of 1647 in literature....
    , comedy (c. 1613?; licensed February 3, 1626; 1647)


With Beaumont and Massinger:
  • Thierry and Theodoret
    Thierry and Theodoret

    Thierry and Theodoret is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a tragedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators that was first published in 1621 in literature....
    , tragedy (c. 1607?; 1621)
  • The Coxcomb
    The Coxcomb

    The Coxcomb is an early Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a comedy written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher . It was initially published in the Beaumont and Fletcher folios of 1647 in literature....
    , comedy (c. 1608–10; 1647)
  • Beggars' Bush
    Beggars' Bush

    For the old military barracks in Dublin, Ireland, see Beggars Bush Beggars' Bush is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a comedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators that is a focus of dispute among scholars and critics....
    , comedy (c. 1612–13? revised 1622?; 1647)
  • Love's Cure
    Love's Cure

    Love's Cure, or The Martial Maid is an early seventeenth-century stage play, a comedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators. First published in the Beaumont and Fletcher folios of 1647 in literature, it is the subject of broad dispute and uncertainty among scholars....
    , comedy (c. 1612–13?; revised 1625?; 1647)


With Massinger:
  • Sir John van Olden Barnavelt
    Sir John van Olden Barnavelt

    The Tragedy of Sir John van Olden Barnavelt was a Literature_in_English#Jacobean_literature play written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger in 1619 in literature, and produced in the same year by the King's Men at the Globe Theatre....
    , tragedy (August 1619; MS)
  • The Little French Lawyer
    The Little French Lawyer

    The Little French Lawyer is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger....
    , comedy (c. 1619–23; 1647)
  • A Very Woman
    A Very Woman

    A Very Woman, or The Prince of Tarent is an early seventeenth-century stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger and John Fletcher ....
    , tragicomedy (c. 1619–22; licensed June 6, 1634; 1655)
  • The Custom of the Country
    The Custom of the Country (1647 play)

    The Custom of the Country is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature stage play, a tragicomedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger, originally published in 1647 in literature in the Beaumont and Fletcher folios....
    , comedy (c. 1619–23; 1647)
  • The Double Marriage
    The Double Marriage

    The Double Marriage is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a tragedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger, and initially printed in the Beaumont and Fletcher folios of 1647 in literature....
    , tragedy (c. 1619–23; 1647)
  • The False One
    The False One

    The False One is a late Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger. Generally categorized as a "classical history," the play tells part of the story of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra VII....
    , history (c. 1619-23; 1647)
  • The Prophetess
    The Prophetess (play)

    The Prophetess is a late Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a tragicomedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger....
    , tragicomedy (licensed May 14, 1622; 1647)
  • The Sea Voyage
    The Sea Voyage

    The Sea Voyage is a late Literature_in_English#Jacobean_literature comedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger. The play is notable for its imitation of William Shakespeare The Tempest....
    , comedy (licensed June 22, 1622; 1647)
  • The Spanish Curate
    The Spanish Curate

    The Spanish Curate is a late Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger....
    , comedy (licensed October 24, 1622; 1647)
  • The Lovers' Progress
    The Lovers' Progress

    The Lovers' Progress, also known as The Wandering Lovers, or Cleander, or Lisander and Calista, is an early seventeenth-century stage play, a tragicomedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger....
     or The Wandering Lovers, tragicomedy (licensed December 6, 1623; revised 1634; 1647)
  • The Elder Brother
    The Elder Brother

    The Elder Brother is an early seventeenth-century stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger. Apparently dating from 1625 in literature, it may have been the last play Fletcher worked on before his August 1625 death....
    , comedy (c. 1625; 1637)


With Massinger and Field:
  • The Honest Man's Fortune
    The Honest Man's Fortune

    The Honest Man's Fortune is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Nathan Field, John Fletcher , and Philip Massinger....
    , tragicomedy (1613; 1647)
  • The Queen of Corinth
    The Queen of Corinth

    The Queen of Corinth is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a tragicomedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators....
    , tragicomedy (c. 1616–18; 1647)
  • The Knight of Malta
    The Knight of Malta

    The Knight of Malta is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a tragicomedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators....
    , tragicomedy (c. 1619; 1647)


With Shakespeare:
  • Henry VIII
    Henry VIII (play)

    The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eighth is a history play by William Shakespeare, based on the life of Henry VIII of England....
    , history (c. 1613; 1623)
  • The Two Noble Kinsmen
    The Two Noble Kinsmen

    The Two Noble Kinsmen is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature comedy, first published in 1634 and attributed to John Fletcher and William Shakespeare, based on "The Knight's Tale" from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales....
    , tragicomedy (c. 1613; 1634)
  • Cardenio
    Cardenio

    The History of Cardenio is a lost work, known to have been performed by King's Men , a London theatre company, in 1613. It was attributed to William Shakespeare and John Fletcher in 1653 in a Stationers' Registry entry by the bookseller Humphrey Moseley, who was known to have falsely used Shakespeare's name in other such entries and, ind...
    , tragicomedy? (c. 1613)


With Middleton and Rowley:
  • Wit at Several Weapons
    Wit at Several Weapons

    Wit at Several Weapons is a seventeenth-century comedy of problematic date and authorship....
    , comedy (c. 1610–20; 1647)


With Rowley:
  • The Maid in the Mill
    The Maid in the Mill

    The Maid in the Mill is a late Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher and William Rowley....
     (licensed August 29, 1623; 1647).


With Field:
  • Four Plays, or Moral Representations, in One
    Four Plays in One

    Four Plays, or Moral Representations, in One is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era stage play, one of the dramatic works in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators....
    , morality (c. 1608–13; 1647)


With Massinger, Jonson, and Chapman:
  • Rollo Duke of Normandy
    Rollo Duke of Normandy

    Rollo Duke of Normandy, also known as The Bloody Brother, is a play written in collaboration by John Fletcher , Philip Massinger, Ben Jonson, and George Chapman....
    , or The Bloody Brother, tragedy (c. 1617; revised 1627–30?; 1639)


With Shirley:
  • The Night Walker
    The Night Walker

    The Night Walker, or The Little Thief is an early seventeenth-century stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher and later revised by his younger contemporary James Shirley....
    , or The Little Thief, comedy (c. 1611; 1640)


Uncertain:
  • The Nice Valour
    The Nice Valour

    The Nice Valour, or The Passionate Madman is a Literature_in_English#Jacobean_literature stage play of problematic date and authorship. Based on its inclusion in the two Beaumont and Fletcher folios of 1647 in literature and 1679 in literature and two citations in 17th-century sources, the play has long held a place in the canon of John...
    , or The Passionate Madman, comedy (c. 1615–25; 1647)
  • The Laws of Candy
    The Laws of Candy

    The Laws of Candy is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature stage play, a tragicomedy that is significant principally because of the question of its authorship....
    , tragicomedy (c. 1619–23; 1647)
  • The Fair Maid of the Inn
    The Fair Maid of the Inn

    The Fair Maid of the Inn is an early 17th-century stage play, a comedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators. It was originally published in the Beaumont and Fletcher folios of 1647 in literature....
    , comedy (licensed January 22, 1626; 1647)
  • The Faithful Friends
    The Faithful Friends

    The Faithful Friends is an early seventeenth-century stage play, a tragicomedy associated with the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators....
    , tragicomedy (registered June 29, 1660; MS.)


The Nice Valour may be a play by Fletcher revised by 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....
; The Fair Maid of the Inn is perhaps a play by Massinger, John Ford
John Ford (dramatist)

John Ford was an English Literature in English#Jacobean literature and Literature in English#Caroline and Cromwellian literature playwright and poet born in Ilsington, Devon in Devon in 1586....
, and John Webster
John Webster

John Webster was an England Literature in English#Jacobean literature dramatist best known for his tragedies The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi, often regarded as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage....
, either with or without Fletcher's involvement. The Laws of Candy has been variously attributed to Fletcher and to John Ford. The Night-Walker was a Fletcher original, with additions by Shirley for a 1639 production. And some of the attributions given above are disputed by some scholars, as noted in connection with Four Plays in One. Rollo Duke of Normandy, an especially difficult case and a focus of much disagreement among scholars, may have been written around 1617, and later revised by Massinger.

The first Beaumont and Fletcher folio
Beaumont and Fletcher folios

The Beaumont and Fletcher folios were two large book size collections of the stage plays of John Fletcher and his collaborators. The first was issued in 1647 in literature, and the second in 1679 in literature....
 of 1647 collected 35 plays, most of which that had not been previously published. The second folio of 1679 added 18 more, for a total of 53. The first folio included The Masque of the Inner Temple and Gray's Inn
The Masque of the Inner Temple and Gray's Inn

The Masque of the Inner Temple and Gray's Inn was a Literature in English#Jacobean literature era masque, written by Francis Beaumont. It was performed on February 20, 1613 in literature in the Banqueting House at Whitehall Palace, as part of the elaborate wedding festivities surrounding the marriage of Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia, the...
 (1613), and the second The Knight of the Burning Pestle (1607), widely considered to be Beaumont's solo works.

One play in the canon, Sir John Van Olden Barnavelt, existed in manuscript and was not published till 1883. In 1640 James Shirley's The Coronation
The Coronation

The Coronation is the title of*a 1630s play, The Coronation *a 2000 novel, The Coronation See also*Coronation...
 was misattributed to Fletcher upon its initial publication, and was included in the second Beaumont and Fletcher folio
Beaumont and Fletcher folios

The Beaumont and Fletcher folios were two large book size collections of the stage plays of John Fletcher and his collaborators. The first was issued in 1647 in literature, and the second in 1679 in literature....
 of 1679.

External links

  • National Portrait Gallery