10 Development of Comedy

Dr. Gargi Talapatra

General Introduction

In this chapter, we shall look into the gradual development of Comedy, as a genre, in the history of English Literature, through the medieval ages, till the mid sixteenth century. The focus of the chapter shall be on the ability to trace the pattern of evolution of comedy from the miracles and moralities, to the sixteenth century interludes, and the final development of the first English comedy on stage.

Comedy in English drama originated gradually with the secularization of drama and the introduction of the vernacular, in order to represent the familiar components of the contemporary society. Through the medieval ages, the comic elements on the stage came to be shaped and nurtured in the forms like miracles, moralities and interludes. Ralph Roister Doister, which is acclaimed to be the first English comedy, was staged in 1553-54.

Drama, as a form of literature, has always responded to the social needs and the changing social structure of the particular nation to which it belongs. The development of comedy in English drama can be traced back to the medieval English society. Seen thus, comedy becomes a form which actually enabled the scope for originality in English drama, even while operating within the restricted framework of miracles and moralities. As it came under the classical and Italian influences with the passage of time, it evolved as a complete form in itself, thereby, preparing the English stage for the Elizabethan era.

Social background and development of comedy in English drama

As drama moved out of the control of the church, and was taken up as a form of entertainment carried out by the emerging trade guilds, it began to open up to innovations in the form of slight humorous touches from the writers of the miracle plays. Though the Middle English society comprised people with firm belief in the concept of sin and repentance, and the Christian values of life, it was, at the same, time, a society of entrepreneurs seeking trivial opportunities of liberation from the strict theological rigidities.

A mirror image of this diversity manifested in the English society in the medieval ages is, perhaps, best illustrated in A Prologue to the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. Written in the form of tales narrated by a group of pilgrims coming from multiple social contexts, who are travelling together to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket, through the prologue Chaucer subtly draws the outline of the multiple motives which draw these people to undertake a pilgrimage together – motives, which are anything, but religious.

The tendency to deviate from the theological boundaries is, in a similar manner, manifested in the miracle plays through certain characters who exhibit traits or follies discernible in the common people. It is finally, in the second Shepherd’s Play of the Wakefield cycle that this comic element acquires a distinct form in the character of Mak, and his wife Gyll, representing the native pastoral.

As English drama moved from the miracles to the morality plays, the comic gradually came to be manifested in the ludicrous behavior of the vices. Based upon the allegorical representation of the journey of man through life, and the consequent tussle between the good and evil sources to acquire control over the soul of man, the morality plays, at a later stage, exhibited signs of the comic in the form of the characters representing the vices, who gradually transformed from the manifestation of only evil to the incorporation of characters such as Mischief, representing comic traits.

However, the comic elements in English drama became more prominent with the evolution of the interludes. Addressing directly the social and political contexts of medieval England, the interludes provided a scope to contextualize the comic elements with respect to the contemporary society much more than its precedent, which portrayed an abstraction of the journey of a human individual through life, and focused upon the final redemption of the human soul through the Christian doctrines of confession and repentance.

A perfect example of this can be seen in The Play called the foure PP by John Heywood, which proceeds in the form of a dialogue between a Palmer, a Pardoner, a Potycary and a Pedlar who indulge in telling of lies, related to their respective trades. It would be interesting to note that all the characters in this play relate to the contemporary society, and the content of the play now came to concentrate upon the element of humour involved in the art of everyday life.

The actual development of comedy as a form, as influenced by the classical writers like Plautus and Terence, began to be reflected in English drama, in the hands of the Renaissance humanists, around the mid sixteenth century. As learning in the English society now emphasized upon the knowledge of Latin and the classics, the society gradually came to be nurtured by the concepts of classical learning. Latin was considered the basis of erudition, and even for those unfamiliar with the language, translations abounded.

The first independent English comedy, thus, evolved in the University houses such as Cambridge, and then reached the common people on stage. An example of this can be seen in the plays like Ralph Roister Doister and Gammer Gurton’s Needle. Under the influence of Latin, both the plot and the characters were now conceptualized to meet the demands of comedy as a genre. This was further enhanced by the impact of the Italian forms of comedy such as commedia erudite and commedia dell’arte. The English comedy, thus, evolved further as translations of the famous works of Italian writers such as Ariosto, in plays like Supposes by Gascoigne.

Manifestation of comedy in the Miracle Plays

The very first instances of comic interventions in English drama can be traced back to the miracle plays. Enacted on the medieval stage, known as “pageant”, the miracle plays evolved much later than the tropes, which marked the beginning of Middle English drama. Having moved out of the church, the miracle plays provided the actors and the guilds with an opportunity to incorporate more elements from the contemporary society in the form of language and action, into the main plot of the play, which were, generally derived from the episodes in the Bible.

Amongst the four cycles of miracle plays – Chester, York, Wakefield and Coventry, two such significant innovations may be seen in the play called The Deluge in the Chester cycle and that entitled Secunda Pastorum in the Wakefield cycle. While in the former, the content is completely Biblical, and the comic element is introduced only in the form of a character, the latter distinctly displays an innovation in content, as well.

In The Deluge, the comic intervention in the biblical story of Noah is brought through the character of Noah’s wife, who appears as an ill-tempered and aggressive woman. She refuses to enter the ship without the gossips of her town, and finally, when forced, slaps her husband. It is the probable folly of human nature and behavioural pattern which is used here to induce comedy. A look at the following excerpt will clarify the point further.

Strikingly dissimilar in its attempt to induce comic laughter on stage is Secunda Pastorum, dedicated to the anonymous Wakefield Master. The story of the play portrays the contemporary society through a dialogue between two shepherds, while the time represented is a journey from the sorrow of winter to joyful birth. As is evident from the outline of the story, comedy is induced here through an innovative plot. The play progresses to show a third shepherd, Mak, and his wife, Gyll, who carry out the entire episode of stealing a lamb.

It is this deed and the final discovery of the same which functions as the comic element in this early play. When the two other shepherds go to Mak’s house in search of the lost lamb, he and his wife try to pass off the stolen lamb as their child and put it in the cradle. They draw resemblances with this supposed child and this arouses comic laughter. As he is finally caught, Mak is not punished, but tossed in a blanket. This enables the play to conclude on a humorous note, retaining the spirit of Christmas.

Since the miracle plays were largely an adaptation of episodes from the Bible, the scope for humor and comic deviation was limited. Another such episode is found in the play entitled Crucifixion through the dialogues of the four torturers. Allardyce Nicoll observes that in these scenes “a crude kind of native comedy may be seen struggling to birth” (Nicoll 37). An elaboration in the scope for comic development on stage was, undoubtedly, offered by the opening up of the scope for abstractification and allegorization through the coming of the morality plays.

Manifestation of comedy in the Morality Plays

Based on the theme of Psychomachia by Prudentius, the morality plays reflect drama for a more sophisticated audience, as the content of the plays now shifts away from the stories of the Bible towards the allegorical journey of the human soul through the realms of life. Human emotions, as well as, tendencies are personified in these plays and appear on stage as characters. Mostly focusing upon the struggle of the good and evil forces upon the possession of human soul, these plays conclude with the protagonist, who is the archetypal figure of humankind, seeking divine mercy and achieving redemption through repentance.

The scope of humour in these plays is seen to strengthen gradually. Amidst the moral based on Christian doctrines of sin, repentance and redemption, the comic element is introduced mainly through the behavior and characteristics of the negative forces acting upon the human soul. Such scenes greatly influenced the interludes, and gradually led towards a completely comic representation of the vices. Towards the later end, the vices are seen to become stock figures of comic laughter, inducing comic laughter through their gestures, jokes and activities on stage.

One example of this may be seen in the famous morality play entitled Mankind. The play depicts a struggle of the central character Mankind, between good judgment and temptation to sin. The protagonist is misled by Titivillus to fall for worldly temptations. Comic elements are introduced in the plot through the characters of Nought, New Guise, Mischief and Nowadays. Apart from comic effect generated through actions, there are scenes which reflect the changing taste of the English audience towards comedy on stage.

One such scene is just before the entry of Titivillus, the devil. In this scene, New Guise and Nowadays decide that this is the perfect moment to collect money from the audience, and turning towards them, they hold out a collecting-bag. New Guise declares that they shall now gather money from the audience, for, without money no one shall be able to see Titivillus. This scene is significant in depicting the connection between the stage and the audience and the gradual involvement of the people into the elements of the play which, now, portrayed their own lives on the stage.

The main role of the morality plays in the development of comedy on English stage lies in their ability to implant the seeds of genuine comic relief into original plots. It would be interesting to note that the impact of this lasted not only on the interludes which would follow, but also the glorious tradition of Elizabethan theatre, where the same practice of jesting and fun would be discernible in the everlasting characters such as Feste and Touchstone.

Manifestation of comedy in the Interludes

A major change in the socio-political picture of England with the coming of the sixteenth century was brought about by Reformation and the advent of Protestantism. Following the excommunication of the king and keeping in mind, the charges of corruption against the church and the priests, which is also partially referred to in Everyman written towards the end of the fifteenth century, it is natural that drama, as representation of life and society on stage, would now assume a different proportion in both, form and content.

This is evident in the interludes, written during the sixteenth century. More, didactic in tone, the interludes directly address and satirize the political and social scenario of the country. The abstractions of the morality plays were now contextualized in the contemporary society, and, consequentially, the comic and realistic elements in the play became more pronounced. That the seeds of comedy in the interludes were those of the morality plays can be seen in instances like Wyt and Science by Redford, where Ignorancy makes Idleness pronounce his name in syllables – akin to the mischief endowed upon the vices in the later morality plays.

A major contributor the evolution of comedy through interludes is John Heywood. His much acclaimed The Play called the foure PP (1530) is written in the form of a dialogue between a Palmer, a Pardoner, a Potycary and a Pedlar who indulge in telling of lies. It is the Palmer who eventually responds to a tale told by the Pardoner and says how he has never seen once a woman out of patience, who emerges triumphant. It is interesting to note that here the characters included are from various walks of life familiar to the contemporary society, and humour is attained through satire upon the follies of human nature.

Another important play by Heywood is The Play of the wether (1533) which portrays a farce in the form of the summoning of different individuals by Jupiter who might have some complaints to make about the weather. Mention must also be made of The pardoner and the frère (1533), which depicts the real scenario of the English society in the sixteenth century. According to Allardyce Nicoll, “this is as realistic as any comedy of Ben Jonson’s, and only wants the liberation of more action to become an excellent comedy-farce” (Nicoll 50).

Comic effect achieved through characterization is also marked distinctly in A mery Playe Betwene Johan Johan the husbande, Tyb his wife & Sir Ihan the preest (1533) by the same author. A story of a husband, wife and a priest, comic effect here is achieved through the character of the husband, who finally sits burning his fingers over the fire, as his wife and the priest consume the pie. Closer to farce in their impact in these interludes, English comedy was yet to acquire a mature self-expression, which would come with a touch of classical learning, just before the beginning of the Elizabethan age.

The beginnings of the sixteenth century English comedy

What might be called the first actual beginning of the English comedy, took place in the sixteenth century under the influence and discretion of the humanists. According to the spirit of the Renaissance, the humanists rediscovered the texts and authors of the ancient civilizations and started translating the same, which gradually permeated the native culture and language. The perception of the world began to broaden in the minds of the people, and new examples came to be set for what should be liked and followed.

The scholars in the universities studied the Latin masters and even those who were not familiar with the language, had translations of these classics available at hand. It is here that English drama came to be influenced by the art of Plautus and Terence. This influence took place in two directions – firstly, they provided an idea regarding the mechanism of working out a complete plot, and secondly, they redefined the art of characterization.

These circumstances led to the coming of what is regarded to be the first English comedy – Ralph Roister Doister (1553-54). Written by Nicholas Udall, it was the first complete English comedy designed for public performance in London. It exhibits the merging of two traditions – that of the comic interludes, and the newly acquired classical learning, in being influenced by Plautus. These characteristics are evident in the dialogues of the play which have a freshness compared to the earlier interludes, and a natural liveliness in the play, unlike the classical texts.

Having moved away from the allegorical representation of life on stage or the play as a socio-political commentary, in Ralph Roister Doister, the central character is Roister Doister, a version of the swaggering soldier of Miles Gloriosus by Plautus, remodeled to suit the native expectations. The figure of the comic vice of the English morality tradition is transformed to acquire the character of Matthew Merygreeks, who is no longer an attendant to the devil, but a boastful protagonist.

The plot of the play moves around a rich widow Christian Custance, who is engaged to a merchant named Gawyn Goodluck. Roister Doister, being incited by a friend, tries to woo Christian Custance. However, he does not succeed. He, then, tries to break them apart by force, but ultimately is defeated, and elopes. The play ends on a happy note. When compared with the previous interludes of Heywood, what emerges clear is that this play marked an age of independent English drama, mature in form as the plot acquired a completeness, and rich in content, as it enabled a confluence of cultures through intertextuality in the form of the characters.

Another extremely important play written around the same time by someone called Mr. S. is Gammer Gurton’s Needle. Unlike Ralph Roister Doister, this play did not see a public performance, but was first performed in the University houses. The popular claim to be the first English comedy thus rests with the former. However, Gammer Gurton’s Needle has more realistic touches, and resembles the society it strives to portray with a marked clarity.

The story of the play moves around the loss of Gammer Gurton’s needle, and the consequent intrigues and jealousies. The needle is eventually discovered by Diccon the Bedlam, the central comic character in the play, in the breeches of Hodge, the servant of Gammer Gurton. Interestingly, Diccon embodies a blend of the comic portrayal of the medieval vice and the classical parasite. Nevertheless, through his mannerisms, his rustic background, country dialect and naturalistic dialogues, make him a thoroughly English character.

Apart from the classical writers, a major influence on the development of comedy in English drama was that of the two schools of drama produced in Italy during Renaissance – commedia erudita and commedia dell’arte. The former was, originally, not meant for the common people, but the nobility; while the latter, was the more simplified form of entertainment performed by professional actors for the masses. It continued to influence English comedy through the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Many of these plays were popularized in England during the mid sixteenth century through translations. An important example of this can be seen in Supposes (1566) by George Gascoigne. It is an adaptation of Ariosto’s I Suppositi (1519), an Italian comedy of intrigue. The play remains noteworthy not only for the content but also the medium. It established Gascoigne as an important author, noteworthy for his inventive powers in the history of English literature.

Until now, the medium of comedy in English drama had been largely, verse. From the mysteries, to the moralities, and then the interludes, plays were so far written in some or the other stanzaic form. The dialogues were all rimed. Later, there was a movement from rhyme towards blank verse to enable a more naturalistic exposition of the comic characters. However, it was with Supposes, in the hands of Gascoigne, that English comedy transcended the metrical medium altogether and attained its first comic play, written in prose.

The story of the play is based upon the central character Erostrato, who changes place with his servant, in order to win the love of Polynesta. It would be worthwhile to note that this theme of mistaken identity and disguise would govern much of the great English comedies thereafter, including the plays of Shakespeare. Another such attempt to popularize Italian comedy in England is discernible in Bugbears by an anonymous author, which is an adaptation of La Spiritata by A.F. Grazzini.

The sixteenth century saw many more such adaptations and translations of Italian comedies. The theme of the Prodigal Son, derived from Textor’s Latin dialogues, also shaped the development of English comedy through plays such as Misogonus (1560) by anon, which is considered to be the most elaborate and original comedy based on this theme.

Conclusion

An analytical study of the gradual development of comedy in English drama through the medieval ages up to the mid sixteenth century, offers a glimpse of the steady evolution of a nation and its people, through diverse multicultural influences and discourses – social, as well as, political. The story of how the English stage was developed through the ages to receive the glory manifested in the Elizabethan age forms a long narrative. From the simplicity of farcical portraitures to the intervention of the native elements and the vernacular, suggest the close proximity with which the drama of a nation reflects the growth of the society. It is through the blending of the native popular traditions and the classical influences from the other literatures, that English comedy gradually acquired the ability to cater to a more sophisticated audience and the mark of universality which would entertain the audience across various classes, alike, through the upcoming Elizabethan drama.

Reference

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11. Secunda Pastorum https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oCr7r-1I3I
12. Mankind – a film based on the morality play https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9dFRXb_ZF8
13. John Heywood http://www.theatrehistory.com/british/heywoodj001.html