Thomas Lodge (1) (–1625)

Thomas Lodge - [A Margarite of America].
Published in 1596 this Elizabethan novel must have been hanging around in Lodge's work folder for some time. In a forward to Ladie Russell he says it was written during his second long sea voyage that took him through the straits of Magellan in 1593. This would account for the title of the book; A Margarite of America, because there is no hint of anything of America in the text, (however there is a Mosco). The Margerite is betrothed to the hero of the show more story Arsadachus and anyone coming into close contact with him suffers a violent and untimely death. In a second forward To the Gentlemen Readers Lodge says that:

"The time I wrote in, was when I had rather to get my dinner than to win my fame."

We therefore can hardly expect a literary masterpiece and we won't be disappointed to find a book that was written with the reading market in mind. The reading market that Lodge was aiming for was "Ladies delight and Ladies honour" and it is somewhat surprising then to find a story that contains so much violence, but Lodge must have been aware of what was selling at the time.

It is a story of an Emperor's son who goes on a diplomatic mission to another kingdom. He falls in love with Margerite who is already betrothed, but Arsadachus solves this problem by murdering his rivals. He returns home in a bid to escape his coming marriage and sets about maiming and murdering his father to claim the throne. He then falls in love with Diana, but on the eve of his crowning ceremony in a mad bout of passion he kills both Margerite and Diana before taking his own life. The novel is typical of much that was printed for the popular market at the time; the prose story is interspersed with poems, sonnets and songs, many of them supposedly coming from the hand of Arsadachus: it all feels like a cut and paste job.

Lodge is now mostly known for his prose tale Rosalynde, (1590) which famously furnished the story of Shakespeare's [As you like it. Margarite of America may have been a pared down attempt to repeat that formula. There are some interesting passages; particularly a debate on whether love is best known though seeing, feeling or hearing, but there is not much for the modern reader to appreciate and so 2 stars. show less

[Elizabethan Sonnet-Cycles II]: Thomas Lodge - Phillis: Honored with Pastoral Sonnets, Elegies and Amorous Delights]. Part of a cycle edited by Martha Foote Crow (Free at Project Gutenberg)

In the mid 1590's there seemed to be a rush to get poetry collections into print, perhaps caused by the publishing of Sir Philip Sydneys Astrophil and Stella in 1591. Many of these collections have been filed away under the genre of The Elizabethan Love Sonnet. They took as a template Petrarch's Canzoniere show more in which the poet by means of sonnets, odes, elegies and songs proclaimed his undying love for Laura. Petrarch took over 44 years to put his collection together only brought to its completion by his death in 1374. Over two hundred years later and still feeling the legacy of the idea of courtly love the Elizabethans who followed Sidney were seeming to make their collections little more than poetical exercises. In many cases there seems to be no actual unrequited love affair involved; it is more an exercise for the poet to describe his degrees of suffering for an unobtainable love match. The poetry has become academic and abstract as the search for: or in many cases the refinement of existing imagery is the reason for the appearance of the collections at the publishing houses.

When approaching one of the love sonnet collections I ask myself what's new. Is there anything here to distinguish it from those that have gone before. In the case of Thomas Lodge's Phillis the answer to the first question is no and the answer to the second question is 'not much' and if the reader was interested in "Amorous Delights" promised in the subtitle then he would be disappointed. Thomas lodge was the son of the Lord Mayor of London and tried his hand at various types of written work: plays, pamphlets, social and morale tracts, historical prose, romantic stories and of course poetry. His most successful work was the romantic love story Rosalynde, which does contain some poetry. He undertook at least three sea voyages and on one of them he wrote Phillis, sonnet II:

You sacred sea-nymphs pleasantly disporting
Amidst this wat'ry world, where now I sail;
If ever love, or lovers sad reporting,
Had power sweet tears from your fair eyes to hail;
And you, more gentle-hearted than the rest,
Under the northern noon-stead sweetly streaming,
Lend those moist riches of your crystal crest,
To quench the flames from my heart's Ætna streaming;
And thou, kind Triton, in thy trumpet relish
The ruthful accents of my discontent,
That midst this travel desolate and hellish,
Some gentle wind that listens my lament
May prattle in the north in Phillis' ears:
"Where Phillis wants, Damon consumes in tears."

The positives from the collection are the freshness of Lodge's poetry; he does not draw so much on classical antiquity and obscure imagery and his poetry can sing with a more natural voice than some. Although the collection does not seem to go anywhere; there is no story line, it has been shaped as a pastoral and so there are a couple of eglogs (ecologues) and a debate between Damon and Damades while they tend their flocks of sheep. Perhaps a man like Lodge who was adept at satirical works and many other kinds of writing felt constrained by the love sonnet format. The frustration of the speaker comes through in the final five eight line stanzas ending with:

"Prime youth lusts not age still follow,
And make white these tresses yellow;
Wrinkled face for looks delightful
Shall acquaint the dame despightful;
And when time shall eat thy glory,
Then too late thou wilt be sorry.
Siren pleasant, foe to reason,
Cupid plague thee for thy treason!"

The final sonnet is ambiguous and seems to take the poet back to wondering if his poetry will survive. A collection of poems not without interest, but they might seem dull to some readers and so 3 stars.
Here is one of his more successful sonnets from the collection even if that final line does not quite fit.

Burst, burst, poor heart! Thou hast no longer hope;
Captive mine eyes unto eternal sleep;
Let all my senses have no further scope;
Let death be lord of me and all my sheep!
For Phillis hath betrothèd fierce disdain,
That makes his mortal mansion in her heart;
And though my tongue have long time taken pain
To sue divorce and wed her to desert,
She will not yield, my words can have no power;
She scorns my faith, she laughs at my sad lays,
She fills my soul with never ceasing sour,
Who filled the world with volumes of her praise.
In such extremes what wretch can cease to crave
His peace from death, who can no mercy have!

[Elizabethan Sonnet-Cycles II] Licia or Poems of love in honour of the admirable and singular virtues of his lady, to the imitation of the best Latin poets and others by Giles Fletcher. This is the second sonnet collection in the book edited by Martha Foote Crow >31

Giles Fletcher came from a well to do family, educated at Eton and Trinity college. He was known for his public services, not as a poet or courtier. He claimed that Lucia was written at a time of idleness and he did it only to try his humour. He claimed that love was a goddess and the subject was not for a vulgar head, a base mind, an ordinary conceit, or a common person. He was claiming that his collection of poems were an exercise in writing poetry and it is clear that there never was a Licia; she was an invention that would be the object of his poems.

When the title of the collection refers to them as being "the imitation of the best Latin poets" it is no surprise to find them unoriginal in form and subject. There are 52 sonnets, an ode, a dialogue, a poetical maze and finally an elegy. On the plus side is that they are well composed and read easily. They are written without some of the poetical flourishes of his contemporaries with his imagery being less fantastic than some, mainly sticking to the well worn template. He does occasionally rise above the commonplace take sonnet 6 as an example:


My love amazed did blush herself to see,
Pictured by art, all naked as she was.
"How could the painter know so much by me,
Or art effect what he hath brought to pass?
It is not like he naked me hath seen,
Or stood so nigh for to observe so much."
No, sweet; his eyes so near have never been,
Nor could his hands by art have cunning such;
I showed my heart, wherein you printed were,
You, naked you, as here you painted are;
In that my love your picture I must wear,
And show't to all, unless you have more care.
Then take my heart, and place it with your own;
So shall you naked never more be known.

He proved to be more unselfish than some:

First did I fear, when first my love began;
Possessed in fits by watchful jealousy,
I sought to keep what I by favour won,
And brooked no partner in my love to be.
But tyrant sickness fed upon my love,
And spread his ensigns, dyed with colour white;
Then was suspicion glad for to remove,
And loving much did fear to lose her quite.
Erect, fair sweet, the colors thou didst wear;
Dislodge thy griefs; the short'ners of content;
For now of life, not love, is all my fear,
Lest life and love be both together spent.
Live but, fair love, and banish thy disease,
And love, kind heart, both where and whom thou please.

The last sonnet of the collection hints that he has gained the object of his desire, but it is fairly pedestrian and no cause for celebration. The final three part elegy pus the reader out of his misery:

Down in a bed and on a bed of down,
Love, she, and I to sleep together lay;
She like a wanton kissed me with a frown,
Sleep, sleep, she said, but meant to steal away;
I could not choose but kiss, but wake, but smile,
To see how she thought us two to beguile.

It is not difficult to read Fletcher's collection, but most of his poetry slips by without making an impression and the long A Lover's Maze is best avoided. It is a further example of a sonnet collection which will be most appreciated by people that enjoy the Elizabethan sonnet form. I found some enjoyment but would rate it as 2.5 stars. show less

Thomas Lodge was a university man who made his living as an author in Elizabethan England. He never finished his law degree, but instead became a prolific writer in fiction, non fiction, drama and poetry. An Alarum against Usurers was an early work published in 1584 and in addition to the pamphlet style approach of the titled work it contained a pastoral romance and a long satyrical poem. If nothing else this volume proves that Lodge could write, but there is little here that is innovatory show more or that would hold the casual readers interest for long, apart from a satirical poem that finishes the book

The alarum is a morality pamphlet that starts by decrying the practice of money lending. Lodge seems to be speaking from personal experience as he relates in some detail how an unwary young gentleman is tricked into seeking the services of a money lender. The young man is lured into a relationship with a ‘woman about town’ and spends his inheritance on clothes and entertainment. He soon cannot pay his debts and asks his father for help, he agrees to clear the debts but gives the young man a lecture on living well in the sight of God. The young man soon gets into debt again and his only way out is to work with the money lender in luring other landed young gentlemen into similar traps. There is certainly a moral story here and Lodge finishes by speaking of the evils of hoarding wealth. Significantly there are no racial slurs in this story; it is a warning about morality rather than a hateful rant.

“The Delectable History of Forbonius and Prisceria” is a pastoral romance, nicely written and containing a sonnet and a series of eclogues set to music. A story of star crossed lovers who flee to a pastoral world of shepherds music and poetry. The volume ends with another poem, but this is something different; a satire entitled Truths Complaint Over England. The poem starts with a paean to a loved and now lost England and then turns into a complaint about Princes, the Court, and the Legal profession. There are some good lines and it is worth a read. 3 stars for the pastoral and the satire. show less

Thomas Lodge - [The Wounds of Civil War] (Sulla and Marius)
[A Looking Glass for London and England] Thomas Lodge and Robert Greene
Charles Sisson says of Thomas Lodge; "There was never a truer Elizabethan" in that he explored ways of earning a living or paying his debts, by endless zest and persistence, challenging circumstances by asserting his own wit, his own powers and his own desires. He trained as a lawyer, but there is no record of him practising, however he used his knowledge in a show more series of endless litigations many of which were against his brother. In Sisson's view he paid a heavy price for the privilege of writing a few charming lyrics, a poor play or two, some second rate satires, a few novels and a pamphlet in defence of the stage. These comments are a little unfair I think because 'The Wounds of Civil War' is somewhat better than a poor play. It is the only play where Lodge is listed as the sole author and it was probably written in 1587/88 about the same time as Christopher Marlowe's [Tamburlaine the great]. Like Marlowe's play the majority of The Wounds of Civil War was written in blank verse and although it does not reach the heights of Marlowe's writing it does have its moments and the use of iambic pentameters shows some skill.

It was an early example of a history play; it tells the story of the conflict between Sulla and Marius which wrought havoc in Rome between 88 and 78 BC and Lodge adapted the story from Appian's Roman History. Roman conquests are under attack from Mithradites and a general needs to be chosen to direct the Roman legions. The elder statesman/soldier Marius is chosen by the senate, but Sulla a younger commander disputes the choice and drives Marius and his supporters out of Rome. Sulla defeats Mithradites and returns to Rome in triumph only to find that Marius has returned and rallied support for himself. There is in effect a civil war between the two resulting in each leader ordering the slaughter of the others' supporters as well as any citizens who get in the way. Anthony a supporter of Sulla provides much of the moral commentary as he tries to stop the bloodshed:

Unhappy Rome and Romans thrice accurst
That oft with triumphs fill'd your city walls
With kings and conquering rulers of the world,
Now to eclipse in top of all thy pride
Through civil discords and domestic broils.
O Romans, weep the tears of sad lament
And rend your sacred robes at this exchange,
For Fortune makes our Rome a bandying ball
Toss'd from her hand to take the greater fall.

The play concerns itself almost totally with the power struggle, showing how the two leaders intransigence leads to death and destruction in Rome. There are no subplots and no female characters to speak of and the moral that lust for power and prestige can lead to civil war that causes the deaths of many people is plain to see. The last of the five acts is an anti-climax; Sulla enjoys his triumph for only a few months deciding that he has had enough of public life and retires to his country estate. Lodge shoehorns in a comic interlude, but this fails to enliven the final speeches of the play. It would have been a clear example for all those involved in Elizabethan politics not to disrupt the stability of Elizabeth's reign.

A Looking Glass for London and England was the only other play bearing Thomas Lodge's name and this was written in conjunction with Robert Greene, although Lodge's name is in bigger letters on the frontispiece. This was written a few years after The Wounds of Civil War and although more ambitious in content is not much of an improvement on a simple moral play that could have been performed some twenty years earlier.

This time Lodge stages a story from the bible interspersed from scenes taken from contemporary London. The book of Jonah depicts the city of Nineveh as a wicked city worthy of destruction. God sent Jonah to preach to the city of its coming destruction. The message was heard and the Ninevehans repented their sins in time for God to spare the city. In the play we first meet King Rasni who has just defeated the king of Jerusalem, he has returned home in state and now plans to marry his sister because he now sees himself as a God who can command nature. One of his attendant Lords says

'O my Lord not sister to thy love
Tis incest and too foule a fact for kings
Nature allows no limits to such lust'

The attendant is promptly exiled and Rasni goes ahead with his plans while also coveting one of his fellow king's wives. Interspersed with this story are a series of comic episodes involving a clown, a blacksmith an apprentice and various drunken ruffians. The stories intertwine when Rasni stepping out of his Palace trips over the drunk clown and a man bleeding to death. Separate scenes also take place in contemporary London where a Gentleman, and a poor man are both running foul of a usurer, who is heartlessly calling in his debt and bribing a lawyer and a judge to obtain the right result in court. These scenes seem to be taken from Lodge's own personal experience of usury and corruption in the courts of law. The scenes in Nineveh are written in blank verse for the story of Rasni and in ordinary prose for the comic interlude. The scenes in London are largely in ordinary prose. At the end of each scene there is Ofeas as a sort of Greek chorus summing up the action in a pithy song/poem. A mixture of styles that works well enough although the blank verse sections are not as good as those in The Wounds of Civil War: The repentant usurer gets the best speech towards the end of the play and this seems to come from the heart of Thomas Lodge. The play was obviously written as a spectacle because there are violent storm scenes, a character is destroyed in a pillar of fire, Jonah is regurgitated from the body of the whale straight onto the stage and there is an apparition of an angel holding a sword over the frightened citizens of Nineveh. There is plenty of opportunity for comic acting and in the London scenes the poor man comes up with a series of fart jokes. This seems like a play that wanted to have something for everybody it was made to entertain and it was a success as a number of performances were recorded.

Characterisation is pretty much zero and the story line is aimed to present a moral that wicked behaviour will be punished if people do not repent in time. The repentance of the citizens of Nineveh is mirrored in the repentance of the usurer in London. In my opinion The Wounds of Civil War with its good passages of blank verse and its straightforward story telling is the more impressive of the two plays and in some ways the most modern. A looking Glass for London and England is a melange that looks backwards rather than forwards and would have little relevance for modern theatre goers. I can find no record of a modern production for either play. As examples of plays performed on the Elizabethan stage a few years prior to Shakespeare and not now considered to be relevant to the modern stage then they are worth a read. 3 stars for The Wounds of Civil War but only 2 for A Looking Glass. show less