Thursday, January 10, 2019

The Isle of Dogs

A crudely printed, full-length picture of a standing man. He is in Elizabethan-style clothing and chains are around his ankles
Ben Jonson                                  Thomas Nashe

The Isle of Dogs is a play that was written by Thomas Nashe and Ben Jonson in 1597. In July of 1597, it was performed in the Swan Theater. It was a satire that had political roots. It's unknown what the play consisted of, but the performance caused an uproar. It was immediately suppressed it for sedition and many of the people involved were jailed. All scripts for the play were seized and presumably destroyed.

It's possible that the play may have been about or part of it was about the Palace of Placentia where it was believed Queen Elizabeth had her dogs kenneled. It was also a meeting place for the Queens Privy Council to meet. It was criticized for its rowdy reception and that it embarrassed both the Queen and her Council.

Ben had been jailed multiple times due to his controversial work. After his death, most of his work was burned.

SOURCES:
https://lostmediawiki.com/The_Isle_of_Dogs_(lost_satirical_play;_1597)
http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/isleofdogs.htm
https://lostplays.folger.edu/Isle_of_Dogs,_The

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