George Chapman's Bussy D'Ambois - As Rhetoricke, yet workes not perswasion

George Chapman’s Bussy D’Ambois (c. 1604, pub. 1607) is another play performed by one of London’s boys’ companies. It is a bloody, crazy tragedy disguised as a history, a strange blend of the static Senecan and dynamic Elizabethan play. Chapman’s verse is allusive and compact – I sure needed my edition’s notes – and in places magnificent. It was written for an audience that wanted this kind of verse, this density of reference, and that had a sophisticated understanding of theatrical convention. Sophisticated, jaded, I don’t know. Anyway, they paid more than Shakespeare’s audience, and not just to sit in a theater with a roof. No groundlings at Bussy D’Ambois. Incidentally, reading in this period (1598-1608) the importance of the adult vs boys’ company distinction. The ambitious, highbrow, satirical, meta-textual plays were at the boys’ theater. Jonson, Marston, Chapman, they wanted the intellectual prestige of the boys’ companies. Meanwhile, over at the crass commercial adult company,…

Commenting on Bubbles has been removed. Why? If you want to talk about this post, write to the author, use the comments on their blog if it has them, or reply with a "RE:" post on your own blog. Suggestions? feedback@bubbles.town