Thomas Nashe

 

Who was Thomas Nashe? (The Big Picture)

Thomas Nashe (1567- c. 1601) was an Elizabethan playwright, poet, satirist, and a key figure in the development of English prose. He is best known as a leading member of the "University Wits" and a fierce participant in the Martin Marprelate controversy. His writing is characterized by an extravagant, innovative, and colloquial style known as the "Grotesque" style or "Menippean Satire."

Key Takeaway: Think of Nashe as a rebellious, energetic prose stylist who moved English writing away from the ornate, balanced style of John Lyly (Euphuism) towards a more vigorous, colloquial, and satirical mode.

Key Works and Their Significance

You need to be familiar with these texts for potential objective questions and descriptive answers.

1. The Unfortunate Traveller; or, The Life of Jack Wilton (1594)

  • What it is: Often considered the first picaresque novel in English.
  • Plot (in brief): It follows the adventures of its rogue-hero, Jack Wilton, a page in the court of Henry VIII, across Europe. The narrative is episodic, filled with violence, satire, and historical figures.
  • Significance:

Pioneer of the Novel: It's a crucial precursor to the English novel, blending history, fiction, and social commentary.

Anti-Romance: It parodies the chivalric romances of the time, presenting a gritty, realistic (and often exaggerated) view of life.

Historical Fiction: Uses a historical setting as a backdrop for fictional events.

2. Pierce Penniless His Supplication to the Devil (1592)

  • What it is: A prose satire.
  • Plot/Theme: The protagonist, Pierce Penniless, a struggling writer, writes a petition to the devil complaining about the seven deadly sins rampant in London and his own poverty.
  • Significance:

Social Satire: A sharp critique of Elizabethan society, especially the greed of landlords, the hypocrisy of patrons, and the state of literature.

Key Role in Controversy: This work entangled Nashe in the Harvey-Nashe controversy (see below).

3. Lenten Stuffe (1599)

  • What it is: A mock-encomium (a parody of a praise-filled speech).
  • Theme: It extravagantly praises the town of Yarmouth and its main product: the red herring.
  • Significance:

Menippean Satire: A prime example of this form, which mixes prose and verse, serious and comic elements to critique attitudes.

Virtuosity of Style: Shows Nashe's linguistic creativity and ability to build a long work around a seemingly trivial subject.

4. The Isle of Dogs (1597) (Play, co-written with Ben Jonson)

  • What it is: A satirical play that is now lost.
  • Significance:

Not important for its content (since it's lost), but for its consequence. The play was deemed seditious and led to the arrest of Jonson and the closing of the theaters for a time. Nashe had to flee London. This highlights the political dangers of satire in the Elizabethan era.

5. Summer's Last Will and Testament (1592) (Play)

What it is: A masque-like play.

Significance: It contains one of the most famous lyrics of the period, "Adieu, farewell earth’s bliss," which includes the well-known line, "Brightness falls from the air." You might get an objective question identifying this line.

Major Literary Controversies

Nashe was at the center of two major literary wars. Understanding these is key.

1. The Martin Marprelate Controversy (1588-1589)

  • What it was: A pamphlet war where an anonymous Puritan writer (or writers), calling himself "Martin Marprelate," attacked the Anglican bishops in a witty, popular, and satirical style.
  • Nashe's Role: The Anglican establishment hired writers, including Nashe (and likely John Lyly), to respond to Martin in his own popular, colloquial style. This is where Nashe honed his satirical voice.
  • Significance: Nashe's involvement marks the moment when learned controversy descended into the public arena using lively, accessible prose.

2. The Harvey-Nashe Controversy (1590s)

  • What it was: A bitter personal and literary feud between Thomas Nashe and Gabriel Harvey, a Cambridge scholar and friend of Edmund Spenser.
  • How it started: Nashe mocked Harvey's brother, Richard, in the preface to Menaphon (by Robert Greene). Gabriel Harvey responded, attacking Nashe and his deceased friend, Greene. Nashe retaliated fiercely with pamphlets like Strange News and Have With You to Saffron-Walden.
  • Significance:

It represents a clash of styles: Harvey (the pedantic, learned scholar) vs. Nashe (the new, vernacular, "journalistic" writer).

The Archbishop of Canterbury eventually ordered the burning of all pamphlets by Nashe and Harvey, forbidding further publication—a key example of Renaissance censorship.

Nashe's Prose Style: Key Characteristics

When describing Nashe's style, use these terms:

  • Extravagant and Energetic: Full of vitality, inventiveness, and excess.
  • Colloquial and Vigorous: Used the language of the streets, making his writing accessible.
  • Grotesque: Interested in the bodily, the coarse, and the exaggerated for satirical effect.
  • Menippean Satire: A form that attacks mental attitudes rather than specific individuals, using a mixture of formats.
  • Rich in Imagery: Used vivid, often shocking, metaphors and similes.
  • Anti-Euphuism: A reaction against the overly balanced, artificial, and polished style of John Lyly's Euphues.

 

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