proved to be the medium of transition to the modern drama. But the depicting of Virtue vanquishing Vice was not altogether to the public taste, especially when it took as many as nine hours to accomplish the task, and the Moralities, unable to withstand the introduction of the translated plays of Plautus and Terence, which were the pioneers of a higher state of culture, gradually lost their hold on the public. John Heywood's "Interludes," to which reference has already been made, proved another step in advance since instead of personifications, genuine characters appeared therein, not as individuals, but as types of certain classes such as a palmer, pedler, soldier, etc. But the molding of English drama into refined form was done through the agency of Greek and Latin plays and the elegant productions of Italy and Spain. With the higher tone came greater popularity, and the demand for a fixed home instead of a traveling one for plays and players. Before the licensed theater was introduced the courtyards of many of the London inns were occasionally converted into temporary theaters. Among these the yards of "La Belle Sauvage" at the foot of Ludgate Hill, of "The Red Bull" in Bishopsgate Street, and of "The Cross Keys" in Gracechurch Street, London, were the most popular. Five of them were converted into permanent playhouses between 1570 and 1630. During this period theaters were built, and the stage became a permanent institution. So great was the demand for theatrical entertainment during Elizabeth's reign that licenses were issued to no less than 200 playhouses in different parts of London. Then the players were under the patronage of the Queen or of some nobleman, or they would have been unable to pursue their calling in safety. The first licensed public theater was opened at Blackfriars, London, in 1576, and thenceforward the influence of the drama on the life and manners, as well as on the speech of the people was established. With the dawn of the Commonwealth (1649) came the closing of the theaters, for the God-fearing Puritans had no use for a stage that was steeped in shameless vices and one where unbridled licentiousness held sway. They were kept shut until the Restoration (1660) and reopened with a blaze of splendor, which had a dazzling effect on the people. Women now first impersonated the female characters. Stage settings were changed and beautifully painted scenery replaced the crude notice-boards of the formative period. Brilliant costumes displaced the tawdry attire of the players. The playhouses themselves were finely decorated. No effort was spared to draw the people out of the restraining influence under which the Puritan government had left them. Every night they swarmed to the play to be entertained with scenes in which Vice attired in the garb of Virtue flaunted itself upon the boards. The plays of Dryden and of Wycherley, those of Congreve, Vanbrugh, and Farquhar, were all morally bad. In fact, under the Restoration the tone of the drama was debased by works that were a disgrace to the nation; works which lowered the standard of public morality so effectually that almost half a century passed before the corrupt tastes were corrected. In the history of the English stage Thomas Sackville, later known as Lord Buckhurst, ranks as the first writer of genuine English tragedy. When a student in the Temple he collaborated with Thomas Norton in writing a play then named "Gorboduc," but which when revised was called "Ferrex and Porrex." By command of Queen Elizabeth, who on her accession to the throne had selected Sackville for "continual private attendance upon her own person, the play was performed by some of Sackville's fellow students in the Temple at Whitehall as a part of the Christmas festivities of 1561. Sackville was born in 1536 at Buckhurst in Sussex, England. His father, Sir Richard Sackville, was distantly related to Elizabeth through the Boleyn family. Among his friends he counted Roger Ascham, who may possibly have taken some part in educating the young dramatist-poet, who became a distinguished diplomat. A few years of tuition at home, entrance at Hart Hall, Oxford, where he remained only a few terms, and a continuation of his course of studies at Cambridge led to his taking the degree of master of arts at the latter institution. Before leaving the university he achieved some reputation as a poet, and subsequently wrote, in the form of an allegory, a preface to a series of poems descriptive of the tragic fates of famous men. This was "The Induction to the Mirrour of Magistrates. The first of the series was "The Complaint of Henry, Duke of Buckingham." The remainder, the work of writers of lesser rank, consists of poetic histories of the lives of the famous men who fell as martyrs during the gloomy years of Queen Mary's reign. The Induction describes Revenge, Dread, and Remorse," within the porch and jaws of hell" as well as other awful influences which prey unceasingly upon human weakness. Although this poem consists of only a few hundred lines, these show such power and command of language as to have earned for Sackville a high place among British poets. As a statesman and ambassador, Sackville carried out his instructions and all negotiations entrusted to him with fearless fidelity and honor to his country and to himself. It was he who, in 1586, was selected for the delicate task of announcing her doom to the ill-fated Mary, Queen of Scots. Again, in 1587, he was sent as ambassador to The Hague to "expostulate in favor of peace with a people who knew that their existence depended on war." That he discharged his duties with sagacity was shown by the historian of "The United Netherlands," yet on his return home he received no praise but incurred Elizabeth's displeasure on account of the independent course he chose to pursue in regard to the Queen's favorite, the Earl of Leicester, and in consequence was ordered to remain within the precincts of his own estate for almost a year. He returned to favor after the death of Leicester, and in 1588 was created knight of the Order of the Garter. When the Chancellorship of the University of Oxford became vacant Sackville was selected to fill it, and on the death of Lord Burleigh, in 1599, was appointed Lord High Treasurer of England, an office which he held till death came suddenly upon him while seated at a council table at Whitehall, April 19, 1608. The following lines are from "The Induction" and afford a vivid picture of the author's idea of a winter's day: The Induction The wrathful Winter, proaching on apace, The gladsome groves that now lay overthrown, The Soil, that erst so seemly was to seen, Was all despoiled of her beauty's hue; And soote fresh flowers, wherewith the Summer's Queen Had clad the earth, now Boreas' blasts down blew; And small fowls, flocking, in their song did rue The Winter's wrath, wherewith each thing defaced Hawthorn had lost his motley livery, The naked twigs were shivering all for cold, Each thing, methought, with weeping eye me told Myself within; for I was gotten out When lo the Night, with misty mantles spread, And pale Cynthèa, with her borrowed light, |