A Tale of a Tub | Isle of Dogs by Ben Jonson

Ben Jonson who began as a dramatist in the Elizabethan era, gained fame and success during the Jacobean era and continued his good works in the Caroline era of English Literature.
The Tale of A Tub
The first work that we will discuss is A Tale of a Tub. Jonson wrote it in 1596 but it was revised and was first performed as a masque in 1633 and it came out in print in 1640. The significant thing about this play was that Jonson used it to ridicule and to show his displeasure against Inigo Jones, the architect who used to design the set and stage for the performances of masques in the royal court. Jonson believed that Inigo Jones often received more credit for the masques that he wrote and produced merely because he designed pleasant sets. Jonson ridicules the architect through the character ‘In-and-In Medley.’ It was a satirical play for which Inigo Jones himself designed the set. It was performed for King Charles I and his consort Henrietta Maria but they didn’t approve the play much.
Another noticeable character of this play is Diogenes Scriben, a bad poet who pretends to be a descendant of classical Greek Philosopher and poet Diogenes. He is a poetaster pretending to be a good poet. Jonson developed this theme of distinguishing between good poetry and bad poetry further in his play Every Man in His Humor which we will discuss a little later.
The Tale of A Tub is a romantic comedy set on Saint Valentine’s Day. Audrey Turfe is a young daughter of Constable Turfe of Middlesex who is of the age of marriage. Many inept suitors try to win her hand. She has been engaged to John Clay, a tile-maker but Squire Tub wants to break this engagement so that he may get married to Audrey. Squire Tub conspires against John Clay and falsely accuses him of theft. Constable Turfe then pursues John Clay to catch him. Meanwhile, Squire Tub gets a chance to woo Audrey Turfe. Audrey on the other hand hesitates in accepting marriage with Squire Tub because of the social differences as he belongs to royalty while she is a common girl. Also, Squire Tub’s mother is a dominant woman and Audrey doesn’t want to be with her. At the same time, another suitor of Audrey Justice Preamble creates a similar ruse against Squire Tub as he did against John Clay. The fourth suitor is Pol-Marten who is also the usher of Audrey Turfe. While the three suitors continue to out-compete each other, Audrey marries Pol-Marten without the knowledge of others. In the end, the wedding of Pol-Marten and Audrey is celebrated and another masque is played within the play which is also titled A Tale of A Tub, and retells the same story. In-and-In Medley and Diogenes Scriben are minor characters to add elements of satirical fun. Ben Jonson was very much influenced by classical dramatists and he took many elements from the works of Aristophanes and Plautus in this play.
Also, in 1704, Jonathan Swift published his satire by the same title A Tale of A Tub. However, Swift’s satire and Jonson’s play have nothing else similar except the title.
The Isle of Dogs
Ben Jonson collaborated with Thomas Nashe, a University wit to write and produce this satirical comedy The Isle of Dogs in 1597. However, it offended the privy council of Queen Elizabeth I and it was suppressed. A total ban on its performance was issued and all the copies of this play were destroyed. Arrest warrants were issued against Ben Jonson and Thomas Nashe. While Jonson was arrested, Nashe escaped and avoided a jail term. The play was performed in the Swan Theatre by Pembroke’s Men. Some people from the audience complained to the authorities after its first performance as a ‘lewd plaie’ full of seditious and ‘slanderous matter.’ It appears that Jonson and Nashe satirized Queen Elizabeth I in this play. The Isle of Dogs is a real place in London where the royal palace of Placentia is situated. The Privy Council of queen Elizabeth used to meet at the Palace of Placentia and Queen Elizabeth I also used to kennel her dogs at the Isle and hence the place got the name Isle of Dogs. Both Nashe and Jonson mentioned the Isle of Dogs in their later plays too. Jonson mentioned it in his city comedy The Eastward Hoe and he was again jailed for that play though for some other reason. Nashe also mentioned the location of Isle of Dogs in his later play ‘Summer’s Last Will and Testament.’
This is it for today. We will discuss the most successful and popular comedy by Ben Jonson titled Every Man in His Humor in the next video of this series. Stay connected with the Discourse as we go through the complete course pertaining to UGC NET English, GATE English, PG TRB English, SAT English, TGT PGT English, and other competitive exams. Thanks, and regards!