John Fletcher (1579–1625) was a Jacobean playwright. Following

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

as house playwright for the King's Men, he was among the most prolific and influential dramatists of his day; during his lifetime and in the early

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

, his fame rivalled Shakespeare's. He collaborated on writing plays with Francis Beaumont, and also with Shakespeare on three plays. Though his reputation has declined since, Fletcher remains an important transitional figure between the Elizabethan popular tradition and the popular drama of the

Biography

Early life

Fletcher was born in December 1579 (baptised 20 December) in Rye, Sussex, and died of the plague in August 1625 (buried 29 August in St. Saviour's,

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

). His father Richard Fletcher was an ambitious and successful cleric who was in turn

Dean of Peterborough The Dean of Peterborough is the head of the chapter at Peterborough Cathedral. On the Dissolution of Peterborough Abbey in 1539 and the abbey-church's refoundation as a cathedral for the new bishop and diocese of Peterborough, care for the abbey ...

Bishop of Bristol A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Bishop of Worcester A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

and

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

(shortly before his death), as well as chaplain to Queen Elizabeth. As Dean of Peterborough, Richard Fletcher, at the execution of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

, at

Fotheringay Castle Fotheringhay Castle, also known as ''Fotheringay Castle'', was a High Middle Age Norman Motte-and-bailey castle in the village of Fotheringhay to the north of the market town of Oundle, Northamptonshire, England (). It was probably founded a ...

, "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". He cried out at her death, "So perish all the Queen's enemies!" Richard Fletcher died shortly after falling out of favour with the Queen, over a marriage she had advised against. He appears to have been partly rehabilitated before his death in 1596 but he died substantially in debt. The upbringing of John Fletcher and his seven siblings was entrusted to his paternal uncle

Giles Fletcher Giles Fletcher (also known as Giles Fletcher, The Younger) (1586? – Alderton, Suffolk, 1623) was an English cleric and poet chiefly known for his long allegorical poem ''Christ's Victory and Triumph'' (1610). Life Fletcher was the young ...

, 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 Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex, who had been his patron. Fletcher appears to have entered Corpus Christi College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, 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 path previously trodden by the

University wit The University Wits is a phrase used to name a group of late 16th-century English playwrights and pamphleteers who were educated at the universities (Oxford or Cambridge) and who became popular secular writers. Prominent members of this group were ...

s before him, from Cambridge to the burgeoning commercial theatre of London.

Collaborations with Beaumont

In 1606, he began to appear as a playwright for the

Children of the Queen's Revels The Children of the Chapel are the boys with unbroken voices, choristers, who form part of the Chapel Royal, the body of singers and priests serving the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they were called upon to do so. They were overseen ...

, then performing at the

Blackfriars Theatre Blackfriars Theatre was the name given to two separate theatres located in the former Blackfriars Dominican priory in the City of London during the Renaissance. The first theatre began as a venue for the Children of the Chapel Royal, child acto ...

Commendatory verse The epideictic oratory, also called ceremonial oratory, or praise-and-blame rhetoric, is one of the three branches, or "species" (eidē), of rhetoric as outlined in Aristotle's ''Rhetoric'', to be used to praise or blame during ceremonies. Origin ...

s by

Richard Brome Richard Brome ; (c. 1590? – 24 September 1652) was an English dramatist of the Caroline era. Life Virtually nothing is known about Brome's private life. Repeated allusions in contemporary works, like Ben Jonson's ''Bartholomew Fair'', ind ...

in the Beaumont and Fletcher 1647

folio The term "folio" (), has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for a book ma ...

place Fletcher in the company of

Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...

; 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. The two wrote together for close on a decade, first for the children and then for the King's Men. According to an anecdote transmitted or invented by

John Aubrey John Aubrey (12 March 1626 – 7 June 1697) was an English antiquary, natural philosopher and writer. He is perhaps best known as the author of the ''Brief Lives'', his collection of short biographical pieces. He was a pioneer archaeologist, ...

, they also lived together (in

Bankside Bankside is an area of London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. Bankside is located on the southern bank of the River Thames, east of Charing Cross, running from a little west of Blackfriars Bridge to just a short distance befor ...

), 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.

Successor to Shakespeare

By this time, Fletcher had moved into a closer association with the King's Men. He collaborated with Shakespeare on ''

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

'', ''

The Two Noble Kinsmen ''The Two Noble Kinsmen'' is a Jacobean tragicomedy, first published in 1634 and attributed jointly to John Fletcher and William Shakespeare. Its plot derives from "The Knight's Tale" in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbury Tales'', which had ...

'' and the

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

Cardenio ''The History of Cardenio'', often referred to as simply ''Cardenio'', is a lost play, known to have been performed by the King's Men, a London theatre company, in 1613. The play is attributed to William Shakespeare and John Fletcher in a Stati ...

'', which is probably (according to some modern scholars) the basis for

Lewis Theobald Lewis Theobald (baptised 2 April 1688 – 18 September 1744), English textual editor and author, was a landmark figure both in the history of Shakespearean editing and in literary satire. He was vital for the establishment of fair texts for Sha ...

's play ''

Double Falsehood ''Double Falsehood'' (archaic spelling: ''Double Falshood'') or ''The Distrest Lovers'' is a 1727 play by the English writer and playwright Lewis Theobald, although the authorship has been contested ever since the play was first published, with ...

''. A play he wrote singly around this time, ''

The Woman's Prize ''The Woman's Prize, or the Tamer Tamed'' is a Jacobean comedy written by John Fletcher. It was first published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647, though it was written several decades earlier (Fletcher died in 1625). There is ...

or the Tamer Tamed'', is a sequel to ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...

''. In 1616, after Shakespeare's death, Fletcher appears to have entered into an exclusive arrangement with the King's Men similar to Shakespeare's. Fletcher wrote only for that company between the death of Shakespeare and his death nine years later. He never lost his habit of collaboration, working with

Nathan Field Nathan Field (also spelled Feild occasionally; 17 October 1587 – 1620) was an English dramatist and actor. Life His father was the Puritan preacher John Field, and his brother Theophilus Field became the Bishop of Llandaff. One of his brothe ...

and later with

Philip Massinger Philip Massinger (1583 – 17 March 1640) was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including ''A New Way to Pay Old Debts'', ''The City Madam'', and '' The Roman Actor'', are noted for their satire and realism, and their politi ...

, who succeeded him as house playwright for the King's Men. His popularity continued 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 ( ) 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. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark. ...

, although the precise location is not known; there is a reference by Aston Cockayne to a common grave for Fletcher and Massinger (also buried in Southwark). What is more certain is that two simple adjacent stones in the floor of the Choir of Southwark Cathedral, one marked ' Edmond Shakespeare 1607' the other 'John Fletcher 1625' refer to Shakespeare's younger brother and the playwright. His mastery is most notable in two dramatic types,

tragicomedy Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragedy, tragic and comedy, comic forms. Most often seen in drama, dramatic literature, the term can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the ov ...

and

comedy of manners In English literature, the term comedy of manners (also anti-sentimental comedy) describes a genre of realistic, satirical comedy of the Restoration period (1660–1710) that questions and comments upon the manners and social conventions of a gre ...

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 (10 December 1538 – 7 October 1612) was an Italian poet, dramatist, and diplomat. Life Guarini was born in Ferrara. On the termination of his studies at the universities of Pisa, Padua and Ferrara, he was appointed pr ...

's ''

Il Pastor Fido ''Il pastor fido'' (''The Faithfull Shepherd'' in Richard Fanshawe's 1647 English translation) is a pastoral tragicomedy set in Arcadia by Giovanni Battista Guarini, first published in 1590 in Venice. Plot summary To redress an ancient wron ...

'', which was performed by the Blackfriars Children in 1608. 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 defence 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 .e., lacksdeaths, 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 that features characters whose action violates nature. Fletcher appears to have been developing a new style faster than audiences could comprehend. By 1609, however, he had found his voice. 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 The late romances, often simply called the romances, are a grouping of William Shakespeare's last plays, comprising ''Pericles, Prince of Tyre''; ''Cymbeline''; ''The Winter's Tale''; and '' The Tempest''. ''The Two Noble Kinsmen'', of which Shakes ...

(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 cemented the pre-eminence of the King's Men in Jacobean London. After Beaumont's retirement and early death in 1616, Fletcher continued working, singly and in collaboration, until his death in 1625. By that time, he had produced or had been credited with, close to fifty plays. This body of work remained a big part of the King's Men's repertory until the closing of the theatres in 1642. During the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

, many of the playwright's best-known scenes were kept alive as

droll A droll is a short comical sketch of a type that originated during the Puritan Interregnum in England. With the closure of the theatres, actors were left without any way of plying their art. Borrowing scenes from well-known plays of the Elizabe ...

s, the brief performances devised to satisfy the taste for plays while the theatres were suppressed. At the re-opening of the theatres 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'' is a play by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. It was first published in 1619. The play has provoked divided responses from critics. Date The play's date of origin is not known with certainty. In 1611, Sir George Buck ...

'' and especially, ''

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. The title character is the historical Viking duke of Normandy, Rollo (lived ...

'' held the stage. Four tragicomedies (''A King and No King'', ''

The Humorous Lieutenant ''The Humorous Lieutenant'', also known as ''The Noble Enemies'', ''Demetrius and Enanthe'', or ''Alexander's Successors'', is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by John Fletcher. Highly praised by critics, it has been called "Fl ...

'', ''Philaster'' and ''

The Island Princess ''The Island Princess'' is a late Jacobean tragicomedy by John Fletcher, initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647. The play The authorship and the stage premier of the play are generally thought to have occurred ...

'') were popular, perhaps in part for their similarity to and foreshadowing of heroic drama. Four comedies (''Rule a Wife And Have a Wife'', ''The Chances'', ''

Beggars' Bush ''Beggars' Bush'' is a Jacobean era stage play, a comedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators that is a focus of dispute among scholars and critics. Authorship The authorship and the date of the play have long been debated by ...

'' and especially ''The Scornful Lady'') were also popular. Fletcher's plays, relative to those of Shakespeare and to new productions, declined. 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 asserted that only ''Rule a Wife'' and ''The Chances'' were still on stage. A generation later,

Alexander Dyce Alexander Dyce (30 June 1798 – 15 May 1869) was a Scottish 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 ...

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

Because Fletcher collaborated regularly and widely, attempts to separate Fletcher's work from this collaborative fabric have experienced difficulties in attribution. Fletcher collaborated most often with Beaumont and Massinger but also with

, Shakespeare and others. Some of his early collaborations with Beaumont were later revised by Massinger, adding another layer of complexity to the collaborative texture of the works. According to scholars such as Hoy, Fletcher used distinctive mannerisms that Hoy argued identify his presence. According to Hoy's figures, he frequently uses ''ye'' instead of ''you'' at rates sometimes approaching 50 per cent. He employs em'' for ''them'', along with a set of other 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''. Various other habits and preferences may reveal his hand. The detection of this pattern, a Fletcherian textual profile, has persuaded some researchers that they have penetrated the Fletcher canon with what they consider success—and has in turn encouraged the use of similar techniques in the study of literature. ee:_stylometry..html" ;"title="stylometry.html" ;"title="ee: stylometry">ee: stylometry.">stylometry.html" ;"title="ee: stylometry">ee: stylometry. Scholars such as Jeffrey Masten and Gordon McMullan, have pointed out limitations of logic and method in Hoy's and others' attempts to distinguish playwrights on the basis of style and linguistic preferences. Bibliography has attempted to establish the writers of each play. Attempts to determine the exact "shares" of each writer (for instance by Cyrus Hoy) in particular plays continues, based on patterns of textual and linguistic preferences, style and idiosyncrasies of spelling. The list that follows gives a tentative verdict on the writing of the plays in Fletcher's canon, with likeliest composition dates, dates of first publication and dates of licensing by the

Master of the Revels The Master of the Revels was the holder of a position within the English, and later the British, royal household, heading the "Revels Office" or "Office of the Revels". The Master of the Revels was an executive officer under the Lord Chamberlain. ...

, where available.

Solo plays

* ''

The Faithful Shepherdess ''The Faithful Shepherdess'' is a Jacobean era stage play, the work that inaugurated the playwriting career of John Fletcher. Though the initial production was a failure with its audience, the printed text that followed proved significant, in t ...

,'' pastoral (written 1608–09; printed 1609?) * '' Valentinian,'' tragedy (1610–14; 1647) * ''

Monsieur Thomas ''Monsieur Thomas'' is a Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher that was first published in 1639. Date and Source Scholars date the play to the 1610–16 period. Fletcher's source for the play's plot was the second part of ...

,'' comedy (c. 1610–16; 1639) * ''

, or The Tamer Tamed,'' comedy (c. 1611; 1647) * ''

Bonduca ''Bonduca'' is a Jacobean tragi-comedy in the Beaumont and Fletcher canon, generally judged by scholars to be the work of John Fletcher alone. It was acted by the King's Men c. 1613, and published in 1647 in the first Beaumont and Fletcher ...

,'' tragedy (1611–14; 1647) * ''

The Chances ''The Chances'' is a Jacobean 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." The play's Prologue assigns the ...

,'' comedy (c. 1613–25; 1647) * ''

Wit Without Money ''Wit Without Money'' is a Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher, and first published in 1639. Date and authorship Scholars have dated the play to c. 1614, based on allusions to contemporary events – notably to the drago ...

,'' comedy (c. 1614; 1639) * ''

The Mad Lover ''The Mad Lover'' is a Jacobean stage play, a tragicomedy by John Fletcher. It was initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647. Fletcher's sole authorship was specified during the 17th century by his friend Sir Aston ...

,'' tragicomedy (acted 5 January 1617; 1647) * ''

The Loyal Subject ''The Loyal Subject'' is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy by John Fletcher that was originally published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647. Performance The play was acted by the King's Men; the cast list added to the ...

,'' tragicomedy (licensed 16 November 1618; revised 1633?; 1647) * ''

,'' tragicomedy (c. 1619; 1647) * ''

Women Pleased ''Women Pleased'' is a late Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy by John Fletcher that was originally published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647. Date and performance The play's date is uncertain; it is usually assigned to t ...

,'' tragicomedy (c. 1619–23; 1647) * ''

,'' tragicomedy (c. 1620; 1647) * ''

The Wild Goose Chase ''The Wild Goose Chase'' is a late Jacobean stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher, first performed in 1621. It is often classed among Fletcher's most effective and best-constructed plays; Edmund Gosse called it "one of the brightest a ...

,'' comedy (c. 1621; 1652) * '' The Pilgrim,'' comedy (c. 1621; 1647) * '' A Wife for a Month,'' tragicomedy (licensed 27 May 1624; 1647) * ''

Rule a Wife and Have a Wife ''Rule a Wife and Have a Wife'' is a late Jacobean stage comedy written by John Fletcher. It was first performed in 1624 and first published in 1640. It is a comedy with intrigue that tells the story of two couples that get married with false p ...

,'' comedy (licensed 19 October 1624; 1640)

Collaborations

With Francis Beaumont: * '' The Woman Hater,'' comedy (1606; 1607) * ''

Cupid's Revenge ''Cupid's Revenge'' is a Jacobean tragedy written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. It was a popular success that influenced subsequent works by other authors. Date and performance The play's date of authorship is uncertain; some scholar ...

,'' tragedy (c. 1607–12; 1615) * '' Philaster, or Love Lies a-Bleeding,''

(c. 1609; 1620) * ''

,'' Tragedy (c. 1609; 1619) * ''

A King and No King ''A King and No King'' is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher and first published in 1619. It has traditionally been among the most highly praised and popular works in the canon of Fletcher ...

,'' tragicomedy (1611; 1619) * '' The Captain,'' comedy (c. 1609–12; 1647) * ''

The Scornful Lady ''The Scornful Lady'' is a Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, and first published in 1616, the year of Beaumont's death. It was one of the pair's most popular, often revived, and frequently reprint ...

,'' comedy (c. 1613; 1616) * '' Love's Pilgrimage,'' tragicomedy (c. 1615–16; 1647) * ''

The Noble Gentleman ''The Noble Gentleman'' is a Jacobean era stage play, a comedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators that was first published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647. It is one of the plays in Fletcher's canon (see ''L ...

,'' comedy (c. 1613?; licensed 3 February 1626; 1647) With Beaumont and Massinger: * ''

Thierry and Theodoret ''Thierry and Theodoret'' is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators that was first published in 1621. It is one of the problematic plays of Fletcher's oeuvre; as with ''Love's Cure,'' there are ...

,'' tragedy (c. 1607; 1621) * ''

The Coxcomb ''The Coxcomb'' is an early Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. It was initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647. Date and performance Scholars date the play to c. 1608 ...

,'' comedy (c. 1608–10; 1647) * ''

,'' comedy (c. 1612–13; revised 1622?; 1647) * ''

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 folio of 1647, it is the subject of broad dispute and un ...

,'' comedy (c. 1612–13; revised 1625?; 1647) With Massinger: * ''

Sir John van Olden Barnavelt ''The Tragedy of Sir John van Olden Barnavelt'' is a Jacobean play written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger in 1619, and produced in the same year by the King's Men at the Globe Theatre. Based on controversial contemporaneous political ...

,'' tragedy (August 1619; MS) * ''

The Little French Lawyer ''The Little French Lawyer'' is a Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger. It was initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647. Date Definite information on the play's date of au ...

,'' comedy (c. 1619–23; 1647) * ''

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. It was first published in 1655, fifteen and thirty years after the deaths of its authors. Date ...

,'' tragicomedy (c. 1619–22; licensed 6 June 1634; 1655) * ''

The Custom of the Country ''The Custom of the Country'' is a 1913 tragicomedy of manners novel by the American author Edith Wharton. It tells the story of Undine Spragg, a Midwestern girl who attempts to ascend in New York City society. Plot summary The Spraggs, a famil ...

,'' comedy (c. 1619–23; 1647) * ''

The Double Marriage ''The Double Marriage'' is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger, and initially printed in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647. Date and performance Though firm evidence on the play's date ...

,'' tragedy (c. 1619–23; 1647) * ''

The False One ''The False One'' is a late Jacobean stage play by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger, though formerly placed in the Beaumont and Fletcher canon. It was first published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647. This classical history ...

,'' history (c. 1619–23; 1647) * '' The Prophetess,'' tragicomedy (licensed 14 May 1622; 1647) * ''

The Sea Voyage ''The Sea Voyage'' is a late Jacobean comedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger. The play is notable for its imitation of Shakespeare's '' The Tempest.'' Performance and publication ''The Sea Voyage'' was licensed for performance ...

,'' comedy (licensed 22 June 1622; 1647) * ''

The Spanish Curate ''The Spanish Curate'' is a late Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger. It premiered on the stage in 1622, and was first published in 1647. Date and source The play was licensed for production by Sir ...

,'' comedy (licensed 24 October 1622; 1647) * ''

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. As its multiple titles indic ...

'' or ''The Wandering Lovers,'' tragicomedy (licensed 6 December 1623; revised 1634; 1647) * '' The Elder Brother,'' comedy (c. 1625; 1637) With Massinger and Field: * ''

The Honest Man's Fortune ''The Honest Man's Fortune'' is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Nathan Field, John Fletcher, and Philip Massinger. It was apparently the earliest of the works produced by this trio of writers, the others being ''The Queen of ...

,'' tragicomedy (1613; 1647) * ''

The Queen of Corinth ''The Queen of Corinth'' is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators. It was initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647. Date Scholars have dated the play to the 1 ...

,'' tragicomedy (c. 1616–18; 1647) * ''

The Knight of Malta ''The Knight of Malta'' is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators. It was initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647. Date and source No firm information is avai ...

,'' tragicomedy (c. 1619; 1647) With Shakespeare: * ''

,'' history (c. 1613; 1623) * ''

,'' tragicomedy (c. 1613; 1634) * ''

,'' tragicomedy? (c. 1613) With Middleton and Rowley: * ''

Wit at Several Weapons ''Wit at Several Weapons'' is a seventeenth-century comedy of uncertain date and authorship. Authorship and Date In its own century, the play appeared in print only in the two Beaumont and Fletcher folios of 1647 and 1679; yet modern scholarshi ...

,'' comedy (c. 1610–20; 1647) With Rowley: * ''

The Maid in the Mill ''The Maid in the Mill'' is a late Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher and William Rowley. It was initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647. Performance The play was licensed for performance ...

'' (licensed 29 August 1623; 1647). With Field: * '' Four Plays, or Moral Representations, in One,'' morality (c. 1608–13; 1647) With Massinger, Jonson, and Chapman: * ''

, or The Bloody Brother,'' tragedy (c. 1617; revised 1627–30?; 1639) With Shirley: * ''

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. It was first published in 1640. Authorship The play enters th ...

, or The Little Thief,'' comedy (c. 1611; 1640) Uncertain: * ''

The Nice Valour ''The Nice Valour, or The Passionate Madman'' is a Jacobean stage play of problematic date and authorship. Based on its inclusion in the two Beaumont and Fletcher folios of 1647 and 1679 and two citations in 17th-century sources, the play has ...

, or The Passionate Madman,'' comedy (c. 1615–25; 1647) * '' The Laws of Candy,'' tragicomedy (c. 1619–23; 1647) * ''

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 first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647. Uncertainties of the play's date, auth ...

,'' comedy (licensed 22 January 1626; 1647) * ''

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. Never printed in its own century, the play is one of the most disputed works in English Renai ...

,'' tragicomedy (registered 29 June 1660; MS.) ''The Nice Valour'' may be a play by Fletcher revised by

Thomas Middleton Thomas Middleton (baptised 18 April 1580 – July 1627; also spelt ''Midleton'') was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. He, with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson, was among the most successful and prolific of playwrights at work in the Jac ...

; ''The Fair Maid of the Inn'' is perhaps a play by Massinger,

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

and

John Webster John Webster (c. 1580 – c. 1632) was an English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies '' The White Devil'' and ''The Duchess of Malfi'', which are often seen as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. His life and car ...

, 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. Some of the attributions given above are disputed by scholars, as noted in connection with ''Four Plays in One''. ''Rollo Duke of Normandy'', an especially difficult case and source of much disagreement among scholars, may have been written around 1617 and later revised by Massinger.Logan and Smith, pp. 70–72. The first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647 collected 35 plays, most not published before. 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'', also known as, ''The Masque of the Olympic Knights'', is an English masque created in the Jacobean period. It was written by Francis Beaumont and is known to have been performed on 20 February ...

'' (1613) and the second ''The Knight of the Burning Pestle'' (1607) are widely considered to be solo works, although the latter was in early editions attributed to both writers. ''Sir John Van Olden Barnavelt'', existed in manuscript and was not published till 1883. In 1640 James Shirley's '' The Coronation'' was misattributed to Fletcher upon its initial publication and was included in the second Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1679.

Notes

References

* * Academy, Students' ''Famous English Renaissance Dramatist-Five-John Fletcher''. 2011. 1–115. Print. * "Biographical Sketches: Sir Walter Raleigh. Benjamin Jonson. Lord Francis Bacon. Beaumont and Fletcher. John Selden." ''The Eclectic Magazine of Foreign Literature (1844–1898)'', 46.2 (1859): 287. * Birch, Dinah. "The Oxford Companion to English Literature (7 Ed.)."''Oxford Reference''. Oxford University Press, 2009. * Finkelpearl, Daniel. ''Court and Country Politics in the Plays of Beaumont and Fletcher''. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990. * Fletcher, Ian. ''Beaumont and Fletcher.'' London, Longmans, Green, 1967. * "Front Cover." ''John Fletcher''. Charles L. Squier. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1986. Twayne's English Authors Series 433. ''Gale Virtual Reference Library''. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. * Gurr, Andrew, and Farah Karim-Cooper. ''Moving Shakespeare Indoors: Performance and Repertoire in the Jacobean Playhouse''. 2014. * Hoy, Cyrus H. "The Shares of Fletcher and His Collaborators in the Beaumont and Fletcher Canon." ''Studies in Bibliography.'' Seven parts: vols. 8–9, 11–15 (1956–1962). * Ide, Arata. "John Fletcher of Corpus Christi College: New Records of His Early Years." ''Early Theatre'', 14.1 (2011): 63–77. * "John Fletcher". ''Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.'' Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2016. Web. 16 Mar. 2016 http://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Fletcher.
"John Fletcher"
YourDictionary, 16 March 2016. * Kirsch, Arthur. "Cymbeline and Coterie Dramaturgy." ''ELH'' 34 (1967), 288–306. * Leech, Clifford. ''The John Fletcher Plays''. London: Chatto and Windus, 1962. * Logan, Terence P., and Denzell S. Smith.''The Later Jacobean and Caroline Dramatists: A Survey and Bibliography of Recent Studies in English Renaissance Drama.'' Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press, 1978. * Masten, Jeffrey A. "Beaumont and/or Fletcher: Collaboration and the Interpretation of Renaissance Drama." ''English Literary History'' 59 (1992): 337–356. * McMullan, Gordon. ‘Fletcher, John (1579–1625)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press'', 2004 * Oliphant, E.H.C. ''Beaumont and Fletcher: An Attempt to Determine Their Respective Shares and the Shares of Others''. London: Humphrey Milford, 1927. * Sprague, A.C. ''Beaumont and Fletcher on the Restoration Stage''. London: Benjamin Bloom, 1926. * * Waith, Eugene. ''The Pattern of Tragicomedy in Beaumont and Fletcher''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1952.

External links

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John Fletcher (1579–1625), Dramatist Sitter associated with 13 portraits
National Portrait Gallery * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, John 1579 births 1625 deaths English Renaissance dramatists Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge People from Rye, East Sussex Burials at Southwark Cathedral 17th-century male writers 17th-century English dramatists and playwrights 17th-century deaths from plague (disease) English male dramatists and playwrights English male poets People associated with Shakespeare