Dekker, Thomas
Name: Thomas Dekker
Achievements: Elizabethan plays/Pamphlets
Born: c. 1572; London, England
Died: c. 1632; London, England (Aged about 60)
Field & Discipline: Art; Journalism; Theater; Writer; Dramatist
Language: English
Father: Unknown
Mother: Unknown
Siblings: Unknown
Spouse: Elizabeth (possibly)
Children: Unknown
Education: Unknown
Major Work:
Plays:
"The Shoemakers Holiday"
"The Honest Whore: Part II"
Pamphlets:
“The Wonderfull Yeare"
"The Belman of London"
"The Guls Horne-Booke"
Life & Times:
Since Dekker's surname is unquestionably Dutch and he showed a knowledge of the language, it is likely that his near ancestors were Dutch. He claimed to have been born and raised in the City of London and in his writings it is clear he knew almost nothing about country life or nature. He was literate with a good knowledge of Latin, indicating that he attended a London grammar school, but did not go to university.
Evidence suggests he spent about five years at sea, possibly visiting Holland and Germany: his writings show a knowledge of nautical matters and of Dutch and German town and tavern life that only could have come from personal experience. (Such knowledge is evident in the stories "Friar Rush" and "Fortunatus.”)
The first documented information about Dekker is the record of payments made to him for 15 plays in 1598 by theatrical impresario Philip Henslowe, a businessman who funded companies of actors in the Elizabethan theater. Henslowe also paid to get Dekker out of debtors' prison.
Life in the Elizabethan theater was neither tranquil nor dependable. Theaters were summarily closed by government censors and by outbreaks of plague. At the end of the 16th century, the revival of "boy" companies threatened the livelihood of "adult" companies.
Two leading boy companies, Children of the Chapel Royal (or Blackfriars Boys) and Children of St Paul's Chapel, presented plays in the evening in a fairly small auditorium and charged about three times as much as did the public theaters. These performances drew a more discerning audience, mostly students from the Inns of Court and courtiers, and the public theaters suffered in consequence. To keep the crowds coming in, the boy companies employed a number of writers to supply them with sophisticated, light-hearted satires. One of these was playwright [had row with] Jonson*, whose impish humor began what was to become the "War of the Theaters."
In 1600, one of Dekker's best known plays, "The Shoemaker's Holiday,” gave a lively picture of London life and was written in the colloquial language of the time. In 1601, Jonson's play "Poetaster" depicted Dekker as a stupid man who would slander anybody for money.
Infuriated, Dekker attacked Jonson in "Satiromastix,” performed that year by the Children of St Paul's and by [play performed by] Shakespeare*'s Globe Theater. The rivalry lasted about two years, but it was Jonson who eventually cried "enough" and the "War of the Theaters" ended.
The death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603 and a plague kept the theaters shut for the rest of the year. By the autumn Dekker had turned to prose, writing a series of pamphlets on the plague, published as "The Wonderfull Yeare.” A devout Protestant, Dekker took a moralistic stance, claiming that the plague was a punishment for sin. He wrote another pamphlet in the same vein, called "News from Gravesend.”
Dekker was asked to compose some of the speeches for ceremonies celebrating the ascension to the throne of James I.
When the theaters re-opened, Dekker's play, "The Honest Whore, Part I," written with Thomas Middleton, was a resounding success, published and republished over the next 10 years. "The Honest Whore, Part II,” written by Dekker alone, was also a success. He collaborated again with Middleton on "The Roaring Girl,” and with [collaborated with] Webster* on "Sir Thomas Wyatt" and two other plays.
After the 1605 discovery of the anti-Parliament Gunpowder Plot involving Guy Fawkes and other conspirators, Dekker wrote a tract called "The Double PP" in which he criticized the Pope, Jesuits and Catholics in general. He then wrote a fervently patriotic play, "The Whore of Babylon,” and was furious when the theater company made cuts and alterations.
In a pamphlet in 1606, Dekker made caustic references to actors and it was clear he had quarreled with many theatrical people. Dekker's outbursts were clearly damaging his career. It was bad enough that two theatrical companies had just failed, and work was hard to come by, but the theatrical demand now was for satire combined with realism, which did not suit Dekker's style. When he and Webster tried to write satirical comedy again, the result was more farcical than satiric, and was ridiculed.
His pamphlets sold reasonably well, but he did not make a name as a pamphleteer. He attempted to write satirical moralizing prose, but it was regarded as a mix of facetiousness and sermonizing.
Dekker's best known works are "The Belman of London" (1608) about the criminal world, and "The Guls Horne-Booke" (1609), a disillusioned view of London theaters. In 1610, he was probably writing plays again, but evidence is scarce. The sale of his plays over the years was not enough to keep him solvent.
In 1613, he was put in debtors' prison, where he remained for seven years. While in jail, he wrote on prison life: mostly short essays and character sketches which were published in 1616 in "Villainies Discovered by Lantern and Candlelight" and also in an edition of "Characters" by Sir Thomas Overbury. A poem, "The Artillery Garden,” was also published in 1616.
He dedicated one of his poems to an old friend, Ned Alleyn, a retired actor, and even wrote Alleyn to announce the dedication, but Alleyn, though well off, was not appreciative enough to help Dekker out.
One play ,"Dekker's Dream,” published after his release from prison, showed how the Bible sustained him in prison. When he emerged from prison at the age of about 48 his hair had turned completely white. He returned to playwriting, collaborating with other writers, and struggled for the rest of his life to make ends meet.
Extra Connections: Was involved with [had row with] Chapman* in the “Poet’s War.”
Assessment: His plays and pamphlets provided a vivid picture of life in Elizabethan London and showed sympathy with the common people.
Oneliner: Thomas Dekker, Elizabethan playwright
Bibliography:
- Price, George R., Thomas Dekker, Twayne Publishers, Inc., New York, 1969.