George Peele (1556–1596)
Comprehensive overview for NET, SET, GATE, PGT, and competitive English exams.
Life and Career
Birth and Family
- Born c. July 25, 1556, in London (baptized at St James Garlickhythe)
- Father James Peele was clerk of Christ's Hospital and wrote textbooks on bookkeeping (first to introduce Italian double-entry system to England)
- Family believed to be of Devonshire origin
Education
- "Free scholar" at Christ's Hospital (1565–1570)
- Entered Broadgates Hall (now Pembroke College), Oxford in 1571
- Moved to Christ Church in 1574; earned B.A. (1577) and M.A. (1579)
- Known as a noted poet at university; translated one of Euripides' Iphigenia plays
London Career
- Moved to London around 1580–1581
- Married 16-year-old heiress Ann Cooke in 1580, but squandered her inheritance through lawsuits and dissipation
- Associated with the "University Wits" (Robert Greene, Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Nashe, Thomas Lodge)
- Worked as playwright, poet, actor, and pageant writer
- Died c. November 9, 1596, aged 40, in poverty and poor health (possibly syphilis)
Reputation
- Called "the Atlas of poetry" and "primus verborum artifex" (first craftsman of words) by Thomas Nashe
- Posthumously portrayed as a dissolute jester in The Merry Conceited Jests of George Peele (1607)
Complete Works (Chronological Order)
Plays
- c. 1581–1584 – The Arraignment of Paris
- c. 1588–1589 – The Battle of Alcazar
- c. 1590–1593 – King Edward I (also called Edward I)
- c. 1591–1595 – The Old Wives' Tale
- c. 1594–1596 – David and Bethsabe (also called The Love of King David and Fair Bethsabe)
Lost/Fragmentary Works
- The Hunting of Cupid (lost play, fragments survive in anthologies)
- Possible collaboration on Titus Andronicus with Shakespeare
Pageants and Non-Dramatic Works
- 1585 – Device of the Pageant (for Lord Mayor Woolston Dixie)
- 1591 – Descensus Astraeae (for Lord Mayor Sir William Webbe)
- 1590 – Polyhymnia (poem)
- 1593 – The Honour of the Garter (poem, includes tribute to Marlowe)
- 1589 – The Tale of Troy (revised 1604)
Important Details About the Plays
The Arraignment of Paris (c. 1581–1584)
- First performed: Early 1580s, at court before Queen Elizabeth by the Children of the Chapel
- Genre: Pastoral/mythological extravaganza
- Plot: Paris judges which goddess (Juno, Pallas, or Venus) is most beautiful; awards golden apple to Venus
- Significance: Established Peele's reputation; flattering to Queen Elizabeth who appears as "Astraea"
- Style: Features songs with "verbal felicity that is almost Tennysonian"
The Battle of Alcazar (c. 1588–1589)
- Genre: Historical tragedy/melodrama
- Subject: Battle of Alcácer Quibir (1578) in Morocco; features three Moorish kings
- Characteristics: Spectacle, fireworks, "bombastic and extravagant" style
- Famous for: Stage direction "Enter three kings dead"
- Weakness: Weak construction but strong visual elements
King Edward I (c. 1590–1593)
- Genre: Chronicle history play
- Subject: Reign of Edward I with focus on Queen Elinor
- Significance: Considered a model for Shakespeare's history plays
- Features: Mix of historical fact and legend (including the "Elinor" confusion)
The Old Wives' Tale (c. 1591–1595)
- Genre: Fantastical comic romance/folk play
- Peele's most enduring work and most popular today
- Plot: A "play within a play" – old wife tells a tale of kidnapped sisters, magic wells, and knight-errantry
- Significance: Influenced Milton's Comus; early example of metafictional technique
- Style: "Deft and impalpable presentation of magic and spells"
- Famous song: "His golden locks Time hath to silver turn'd" (A Farewell to Arms)
David and Bethsabe (c. 1594–1596)
- Genre: Biblical tragedy/pastoral
- Subject: King David's adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah
- Sources: Books of Samuel and Song of Solomon
- Characteristics: "Hebrew pastoral" with sensuous, lyrical verse
- Weakness: Attempts at heroic grandeur in Marlovian manner are less successful
- Themes: Male power, sexual violence, moral questions
Literary Significance
- Master of multiple forms: Pastoral, history, tragedy, comedy, pageant, and melodrama
- Pioneer of civic pageantry: Established the Lord Mayor's Pageant tradition later continued by Dekker, Jonson, and Middleton
- Lyrical gifts: Songs praised as among the best of the era; "A Farewell to Arms" widely anthologized
- Influence on Shakespeare: Possible collaboration on Titus Andronicus; Edward I as model for history plays
- Influence on Milton: The Old Wives' Tale influenced Comus (1634)
- Blank verse pioneer: Wrote in "melodious and flowing blank verse" with "abundance of fancy and brilliant imagery"
Simple Summary Table
| Work | Year | Type | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Arraignment of Paris | c. 1581–84 | Pastoral/Mythology | Judgment of Paris, court performance |
| The Battle of Alcazar | c. 1588–89 | Historical Tragedy | Spectacle, three dead kings |
| King Edward I | c. 1590–93 | Chronicle History | Model for Shakespeare's histories |
| The Old Wives' Tale | c. 1591–95 | Comic Romance | His best play, magical, funny |
| David and Bethsabe | c. 1594–96 | Biblical Tragedy | Sensuous verse, moral questions |
Peele represents the versatile, experimental spirit of the pre-Shakespearean University Wits, excelling particularly in lyrical beauty and theatrical spectacle despite weak plot construction.
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