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George Peele: Life and Works Overview

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

  1. c. 1581–1584 – The Arraignment of Paris
  2. c. 1588–1589 – The Battle of Alcazar
  3. c. 1590–1593 – King Edward I (also called Edward I)
  4. c. 1591–1595 – The Old Wives' Tale
  5. 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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