Plays and Playwrights Literature & Language Essay Paper

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Plays and Playwrights
The English renaissance that lasted from the 15th to the 17th century was marked by the emergence of various art forms. The most common ones were music, visual arts and literature. A number of people contributed in developing literature during this time but the most notable ones are Christopher Marlowe and Ben Johnson. The influence of their works is still felt even in modern plays. As was typical of this period, most of the plays by both Marlowe and Johnson revolved around comedy, drama and tragedy. History play was a common feature at this time whereby English kings were discussed majorly based on how they ruled. Marlowe's work in the play Edward the second is an example of this. In writing plays during the English renaissance playwrights often used the form of poems and in most cases these poems had rhyming verses. However with time, writers such as Marlowe adopted the use of blank verse instead. It is also worth noting that most of the plays by Marlowe and Johnson were meant for royalty. In order to understand the English renaissance better, it only makes sense to look at it from the perspective of the two playwrights based on their notable works. 
Christopher Marlowe is regarded as one of the most influential playwrights as evidenced by later writers who incorporated some of his ideas and style in their works. His works were particularly distinguished by the use of blank verse which he used in addressing different controversial themes. His notable plays include Dido Queen of Carthage, which was believed to be his first play. Then came Tamburlaine the Great around 1587 and which was written in two parts. Apart from the two plays all the other works were published long after his death. These include The Jew of Malta, Edward the second, The massacre at Paris and Doctor Faustus. Generally Marlowe's unique style made most of his works a success. Apart from Marlowe, Ben Johnson is another English playwright whose works impacted in that era and beyond. Just like Marlowe, Johnson wrote both poems and plays and his works like the former, covered various controversial themes. Johnson's satirical plays and his "comedy of humours" made him be considered one of the bes...