John Heywood lived in an era of political, religious, and social unrest. As a poet, musician, and dramatist he served four monarchs--Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I (Mary Tudor), and Elizabeth I. Heywoo...
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In the following essay, McCain argues that even though many of Heywood's writings display his formal training in rhetoric and logic, the dramatist was adept at transcending rhetorical arguments...
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In the following essay, Ting demonstrates that several of Heywood's plays and some of the proverbs in his Dialogue of Proverbs were based on folktales and other medieval oral traditions.
To ...
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In the following essay, Finkelstein argues that The Four PP owes much to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, although Heywood's play subtly modifies many of Chaucer's anti-feminist themes...
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In the following essay, Boocker argues that The Pardoner and the Friar is not merely a humorous farce but a pointed attack on the Pope and the Church's practice of granting indulgences.
In h...
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In the following excerpts from the introduction to their edition of Heywood's plays, Axton and Happé discuss details from the author's life and survey the plots, themes, and stagi...
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In the following essay, Reeves argues that the moralistic ending of Heywood's bawdy play The Four PP is not out of place, but rather works to underscore the drama's theme that virtue can...
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In the following essay, Cartwright argues that The Four PP is the first English play in which ambiguous characterization leads to unpredictability and complexity, and thus serves as a bridge from medi...
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In the following essay, Axton discusses Heywood's use of startling dramatic effects to convey meaning in several of his plays.
Heywood's only spectacular stage direction comes in A Pl...
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In the following essay, Forest-Hill argues that in The Play of the Weather Heywood borrows a satire of ancient philosophers by the classical writer Lucian to make contentious political statements.
...
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In the following essay, Happé connects The Play of the Weather with the political events of the period in which it was written, particularly linking the play's depiction of Jupiter with ...
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In the following essay, Craik demonstrates that Johan Johan is a translation of a French farce and concludes that Heywood was not always the innovative author many claim him to be.
Professor Gustav...
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In the following essay, Hauser argues that The Spider and the Fly becomes more comprehensible when read as social commentary rather than a historical allegory.
Heywood's magnum opus has been...
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In the following essay, Craik discusses The Play of the Weather, The Four PP, and The Pardoner and the Friar as examples of the Heywood's innovative dramatic technique.
John Heywood may be c...
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In the following essay, Bevington concentrates on the role played by Merry Report in Play of the Weather, concluding that the character is an “allowed fool,” “wisely exposing the ...
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In the following essay, Hussey and Agarwala describe important details from Heywood's life and argue that his plays served as a bridge between medieval and Elizabethan drama with their employme...
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In the following essay, Bryant analyzes The Pardoner and the Friar, which, he argues, is not really a bitter attack on the Roman Catholic Church but rather a general satire of religious corruption.
...
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In the following essay, Blamires calls The Four PP Heywood's best drama, arguing that the play should not be dismissed by critics as a frivolous work full of humor and short on literary achieve...
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In the following essay, Norland focuses on the ways in which Johan Johan varies from its French source, concluding that Heywood, if he is indeed the translator of this farce, produced an English versi...
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John Heywood
Critical Essay by John Walter McCain, Jr.
