Skip to content

Stephen Crane

I stood upon a high place,

And saw, below, many devils

Running, leaping,

And carousing in sin.

Read full poem →

noun

A person whose profession is acting on the stage, in films, or on television.

The lead actor delivered a powerful performance that moved the entire audience to tears.

Know more →

X RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE STAGE.

40 lines
Ben Jonson·1572–1637
and Maister Edward Ferrys, for such doings as X“ have seen of theirs, do deserve the highest price j\ “ the Earl of Oxford, and Maister Edwards of hermajesty’s chapel, for comedy arid interlude.” — Andin another place he says — “ But the principal man“ in this profession (of poetry) at the same time (viz.“ Edward VI.) was Maister Edward Ferrvs, a man** of no less mirth and felicity than John Heywood,“ but of much more skill and magnificence in his** metre, and therefore wrote for the most part to the* f stage in. tragedy, and sometimes in comedy or in-“ terlude; wherein he gave the king so much good“ recreation, as he had thereby many good rewards.”Of this Edward Ferrys, so considerable a writer, I canfind no remains, nor even the titles of any thing hewrote. After these followed John Lillie, famous inhi3 time for wit, and having greatly improved theEng-lish language, in a romance which he wrote, intitled,Euphues and his England , or The Anatomy of Wit ;of which it is said by the publisher of his plays, “ Our** nation are in his debt for a new English which heft taught them : Euphues and his England began first*' that language. All our ladies were then his scholars,** and that beauty in court who could not parle Euphu -** ism , was as little regarded, as she which now there** speaks not French.” This extraordinary romance, sofamous for its wit, so fashionable in the court of QueenJilizabeth, and which is said to have introduced soremarkable a change in our language, we have teen andread. It is an unnatural affected jargon, in whiefythe perpetual use of metaphors, allusions, allegories,and analogies, is to pass for wit; and stiff bombastfor language. And with this nonsense the court ofQueen Elizabeth (whose times afforded better modelsfor style and composition than almost any since) be-came miserably infected, which greatly promoted thevile pedantry of language in the following reign*How much mischief the most ridiculous instrumentmay do, by deviating from nature, to improve uponfcer simplicity!