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Category Archives: The Shoemaker’s Holiday
The Shoemaker’s Holiday: Ralph’s Realistic Journey
The Shoemaker’s Holiday comedic tone was a breath of fresh air to the audience after almost a decade of tragic events such as outbreaks of a plague, bad harvest and inflation (483). The audience would have definitely been entertained with the comedic jokes and the subliminal sexual comparisons that Dekker writes for most of the characters in the play. In my opinion, I think the character of Ralph is one character the audience member would definitely be able to relate and empathize with the most, as England at the time had been at war with Spain for almost twelve years. One could image that many of the soldiers were returning with battle wounds similar to Ralph.
Ralph is released from war and returns back to the Eyre’s shop in Scene 10 with missing limbs. Although Ralph returned with these wounds, he is encouraged by Hodge to continue to be a shoemaker as he still had his hands and was still capable of making a living for himself. Furthermore, because Ralph continued as a shoemaker he was able to find his wife Jane and finally reunite with her. Ralph’s situation is one that is common when a country is at war. Many find themselves separated from their loved ones and often returned with permanent damages; however the character of Ralph is a representation that war heroes are valuable to society and reminding many that they can continue to live the life they desire to have.
The Shoemaker’s Hoilday: A Happily Ever After
In this play, there were shoemakers who try to achieve their goals, two of whom had to overcome hindrances to reunite with their loved ones, while the other was helped to work his way on top with one of the shoemakers. Lacy wants to marry Rose, who was beneath his social class, but their fathers do not like the union because of social class. As a result, Lacy become Hans the shoemaker. Although a hypocrite at first (in my opinion), Lacy somehow redeemed himself by helping Simon Eyre to be promoted, even though he did not become a honest man who fought for his country. Being a shoemaker was not easy and by the end of the play, Lacy’s hard work paid off when he helped Rose with her pair of shoes and the lovers were able to marry each other with the help of the King and mayor Eyre.
Ralph was more of a tragic figure than Hans and suffered more as a result. Unlike Lacy or his alter ego Hans, Ralph was honest to a fault, not wanting to go to the army as a newlywed, even though he seemed to have no choice. After the war, Ralph became lame and searched for his beloved wife, Jane, who was to be married to another man. Fortunately with the help of his wife’s shoes, Ralph managed to stop the union with Jane and Hammon, earning his happily ever after….or not because he cannot give birth to children because of his impotence.
Simon Eyre was once a shoemaker who became mayor with the help of Lacy. His charming personality attracted others around him. He was a character I believe returned the favor to Lacy by helping him to marry Jane, despite the fathers’ protests. Shoes are important in The Shoemaker’s Hoilday and a shoe could affect the fates of various characters in the play.
Posted in The Shoemaker's Holiday, Uncategorized
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Social Status in The Shoemaker’s Holiday
The Shoemaker’s Holiday, written by Thomas Dekker, is one of the first plays we have read in class that closely examines social status. I say closely because I think the other plays we have read thus far do incorporate social status as a plot device in one way or another, but none do so as thoroughly as The Shoemaker’s Holiday. The plot’s main character is the boisterous yet charming Simon Eyre, a shoemaker dedicated to his craft and to those who work with him. Eyre’s trademark phrase is “Prince am I none, yet am I princely born”. He says this over and over again, and it might provide an explanation as to how and why Eyre is able to ascend the social ladder as a shoe maker to a Lord Sheriff, to finally a Lord Mayor. The fact that Eyre has the opportunity to climb the social ladder is intriguing, and offers and interesting parallel to the side plot of Lacy and Rose, whose guardians are opposed to their marriage due to differences in social status.
While Lacy’s Uncle is opposed to his marriage to Rose because she is middle class (albeit her father is what one might recognize as New Money). On the other hand, Rose’s father opposes the marriage due to Lacy’s previous lifestyle as a reckless spender, and in turn a threat to Roses’s assets if they do get married. However, Lacy finds his way around this roadblock to his happiness with Rose, and chooses to disguise himself as a shoemaker, thus entwining his plot with that of Simon Eyre. Things aren’t completely settled between the already married Lacy and Rose, as their guardians still oppose the union. Leave it to the King to make an appearance in the last scene, and set everything right. He talks in length about how the problem of social status shouldn’t be an obstruction to the couple’s happiness, as Rose is ” worthy bride for any gentleman” (21.109) and Lacy “To gain her love became a shoemaker” (21.113). This part of the King’s speech is moving as he stands up for the couple’s love for each other coming before social status. However, he promptly appoints Lacy a higher status as a Knight, much to the delight of Oately and Lincoln. In conclusion, I don’t think that this play is campaigning that social status doesn’t really matter; instead it provides a well thought out portrayal of matters of the working class in a manner that showcases the cunning and vivacity of these particular characters.
Posted in Love relationships, The Shoemaker's Holiday
Tagged social status, the shoemaker's holiday
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The Shoemaker’s Holiday: The Wheel of Fortune
When finishing The Shoemaker’s Holiday, by Thomas Dekker, I was surprised to find it a very light play in comparison to the past ones we’ve read. Every character ended up in a favorable position, even the so called antagonists, Oatley and Lincoln. First, Lacy who rebelled against Lincoln and the English in general, was not only allowed to keep his marriage but also knighted by the King; Lincoln and Oatley got over their obsession over social standing because of this event. Simon Eyre changed from a lowly shoemaker into the high position of a Mayor, taking the place of Oatley. The shoemakers gained a holiday despite any actions of their own and the King was so pleased with Eyre that he obliged to his request for Leadenhall. Ralph was able to reunite with Jane. It may seem that only Hammon didn’t come out favorably in this play; however that is not really an option for him since it didn’t seem he was very driven for Jane anyway. He wagered money over her and even before meeting her, he had his fickle mind set on Rose.
So what does this make for the purpose of this play? I wondered about this, seeing that many plays we’ve read already presented very serious messages, going as far as murder in order to get them across. Is this simply a grown-up fairy tale in that everyone has their happy endings with a multitude of crude humor mixed in? Well, it could very well be that this play was made for this reason, maybe because of tragedy-based plays being presented during the Renaissance Era or maybe it could be a voice for different social classes in the English audience; where characters like Firk and Ralph can shine as unexpected heroes and instigators despite the higher authority they might be facing, be it Oatley, Lincoln, or Hammon. Simon Eyre can also serve as an escape for older members of the audience who dream of changing their economic standing despite the odds. It’s funny to think that the kind of messages this play sends out was even performed in front of royalty, who would probably relate the least to the main characters in the play.
Posted in Comedy, Power struggles, The Shoemaker's Holiday
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The Shoemaker’s Holiday – Scene Study
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFX50ZlpYNM
In planning this scene study, our group came up with several ideas on how to go about presenting this scene. We decided to film in the library although we preferred to have a more classic background which was not available for us in the area. In order to depict where Scene 16 was taking place, we displayed a drawing of the Old Ford, Oatley’s estate, to provide a backdrop for us. Also, we ran into the problem of not having any people on hand to film for us, realizing that all four of us had to be on camera at a particular time. Thus, we decided to have a stationary camera as we filmed our scene.
As for the dialogue, it consisted for very dynamic expressions at certain points, especially Firk’s quips and remarks, and also changes in mood throughout the scene. So we added some background music to help in setting the mood as certain characters entered the scene. We were fortunate enough to have a quiet setting to film our scene and did not have a difficult time hearing our voices played back through the video. Overall, it was a smooth filming session and gave us more insight into the detailed work required for live theatre.
– Jillian Gritz, Jasmine Bajraktari, Peter Wang ,
Melissa Salamat
Shoemaker’s Holiday
Thomas Dekker’s play The Shoemaker’s Holiday is based around the buying and selling of goods. His play is a working class success story showing that true human value is measured in honest work instead of high class and social connections. During the time the play was written England was going through financial expansion and capitalism was on the rise. Throughout the play, the labor of shoemaking becomes a disguise in helping Lacy and Eyre to succeed.
Simon Eyre began the play as a middle-class shoemaker. After luck and with the help of Lacy, he ends up the Lord Mayor of London. However, it wasn’t the actual shoemaking which caused him financial gain but from pretending to be wealthy and sneakily buying a very profitable ship of goods. Lacy had helped him to do this buy getting the ship’s skipper drunk and giving him a down payment. He was then able to make his social climb.
In the same way Lacy set Eyre up in gaining his fortune, Eyre also gave Lacy the opportunity to work for him. Lacy, disguised as a Dutch shoemaker, was able to reconnect with Rose and ended up fitting her for shoes. At that point they then planned out their marriage. Ralph was also another main male character caught in a romance plot. However, shoemaking did not take the same disguise as it did for Lacy; instead the aftermath of war did. Ralph went off to war and came back physically unrecognizable. Unable to find his wife, he went back to the craft of shoemaking. While working, a servingman comes acquiring a shoe to be made for Hammon and his bride. He also gave a shoe to fit for size and Ralph realizes it is his wife who is to be married. Realizing his wife is alive, he is able to find her and take her home where she belongs.
All three of these men were able to obtain what they wanted through honest labor but very different approaches. Eyre shows human value by being an honest shoemaker most of his career. Although his gain of the ship was sneaky, it was given freely. By him helping Lacy and hiring him, it brought him success. Lacy’s new job of being a shoemaker and working helped him to get the girl. Ralph was honest throughout the play and went off to war even when he was just married. Even after war he continued to labor making shoes and was connected with his wife again. Shoemaking in this play was used to symbolize honest work of the middle class and the triumphs gained from it.
Posted in Comedy, Power struggles, The Shoemaker's Holiday, Uncategorized
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The Shoemaker’s Holiday: Beyound the bawdy jokes
The Shoemaker’s Holiday is a comedy filled with sexual humor but there are much deeper meanings behind the bawdy jokes. Dekker’s play is a citizen’s comedy and it clearly and explicitly represents the voice of the upward rising class of the craftsmen.
Simon Eyre and also Roger Oatley are successful working class men who, by acquiring positions in city government got additional respect and also political power above their financial strength. What they also represent is a strong criticism toward the aristocrats. They are conscious representatives of their own class who have disdain toward courtiers. In Scene 1 Oatley doesn’t want Lacy for his son in law. To have one’s daughter marry with an aristocrat should be desirable, but for him to have a husband for his daughter from his own class is much more important. Eyre further reinforces this opinion in his advice to Rose in Scene 11 about who should she marry to. His advice to the fellow craftsman’s daughter furthermore has a universal, ever valid connotation: don’t judge a person by his external appearance. People can be well dressed but have nothing in the inside.
Juxtaposing Lacy’s and Ralph’s situation in Scene 1 is also a great example for this aforementioned additional meaning behind the explicit sexual humor. Both young men have to go to the war in France. Lacy as a courtier appointed by the king to be the chief colonel of the London’s company sent to the war. Ralph as a shoemaker was drafted as a soldier. Lacy deserts the army because he is in love with Rose and doesn’t want to leave her. In a romantic play this would represent the greatness of love, that can go beyond any boundaries. But Dekker’s play is not like that. There is Ralph’s figure in the other corner. He is a young husband deeply in love with his wife and not just a guy who having a secret affair with someone. Eyre and his men are trying to persuade the captains (who are – so brilliantly written – Lacy and his cousin) not to take him to France, but poor Ralph never says a word. He arrived with gun and gunpowder, ready for the battle. Deserting the army was never in the mind of the young craftsman.
There is so much more in this sort scene. Yes, it is filled with bawdy jokes that are the trademarks of Firk’s character and are there to make the comedy more enjoyable (or more offensive for others). But among these it is showing how virtuous is the working class and how prone to vice are the aristocrats. There is the master who is willing to suffer financial loss just to save his worker, there is the young craftsman who is ready to go to war, and on the other side there is Lacy, the aristocrat showing his true character. I believe that Lacy had the power to discharge Ralph, yet he does nothing. Even if he really couldn’t do anything, he is a true hypocrite. A man presented to him in a really similar situation as himself; nevertheless he cares nothing about him. He is already made his decision to desert the army for her love but he is telling Jane that his husband must go because his country needs him.
Posted in Comedy, Love relationships, The Shoemaker's Holiday
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The Shoemaker’s Holiday: Concealed Lover
Thomas Dekker’s The Shoemaker’s Holiday brings a change of pace to the usual blood, vengeance, and death I’ve grown accustomed to reading in the past few plays. Dekker’s play, being a comedy, encompasses the up spirited topic of love. Rightly so, this topic is usually what makes up most of our current day comedies. Yet, at the same time, love makes up much more than a comedy altogether; it provides conflicting emotions and the intriguing chase for a lovers’ embrace. Dekker elects Hammon to be Cupid’s target practice.
If Hammon were around today he would surly be the quirky main character of a romance/comedy who bides his time until the girl he loves finally notices his affection toward her. Given that we are studying English Renaissance Drama, the struggle for one girl’s affection is not enough. Hammon claims love for both Rose and Jane. Love is always a dangerous thing because it tricks you. Why does Hammon have this conflict between Rose and Jane? He seems like a completely suitable man yet the love he claims to have for them goes unwanted and unnoticed. Does he have this conflict because he doesn’t truly know what love is? Is he proclaiming love just for the slim chance that he might get noticed? I believe so.
Hammon’s going from one girl to the next announcing his love proves just how little he knows of it. His conversation with Jane in scene 12 shows that maybe Hammon is throwing love around in hopes that he may enjoy the more physical nature of love. Hammon being ‘muffled’ at the start of the scene can also suggest that his true motives are concealed and that his urge for physical attention drives him to fall in love quickly. There is something off with Hammon and I’m hoping that there is some perverse nature underlying his gentle, loving outward form in order to make things a bit more interesting.
Posted in Comedy, Love relationships, The Shoemaker's Holiday
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The Shoemaker’s Holiday, Love, Fate, and No Bloodshed
Up to the point of scene 13, we as a class have taken a harmonious holiday from the bloody affair that is love in Renaissance drama. Unlike The Spanish Tragedy, Dekker’s characters have proposed a dubious, yet non-lethal scheme to achieving inter-class love. Rose is attempting to reclaim her affair with Lacy but through his new identity of Hans. Rather than Rose killing off her father or herself for love’s sake, she has devised a romantic plan of deception and triumphant love. Surprisingly enough, Lacy seems to agree, and exits scene 13 with Sybil to go see Rose. Ironically, the two characters are not desperately searching for each other, but have shown that they desperately love each other. They fatefully cross paths at a celebration for Eyre. It seems to me that Dekker substitutes bloodshed for fate. If fate achieves love, then bloodshed may be avoided.
Also adding an ironic twist, Dekker gives us Hammon. He desperately seeks love but cannot obtain it from a woman. Whether from Rose or Jane, Hammon just wants somebody to love. He “will do any task at your command” he tells Jane (12.37). Hammon is a “gentleman” and from descriptions a handsome man, but he cannot woo a woman to love him. What seems like fate to him, Ralph’s name on the list of the dead, is actually a lie. After seeing Ralph’s name, Jane forces herself to agree that if she marries another man it would be Hammon.
It seems as though Dekker has removed the bloodshed to project his opinion on fate. In the case of Rose and Lacy/Hans, their love is true and not sought for class, wealth, or to fill loneliness. On the other hand is Hammon. He so desperately wants love, but everyone he seeks it with loves another person. His persistence forces Jane to believe her love is dead but gains no love for himself. I can only hope in the following scenes that fate brings Jane and Ralph back together to show that fate and true love prevail.
Shoemaker’s Holiday and Humor?
Humor. It differs from person to person in their ability to perceive it or react to it. This is either due to culture, religion, or other factors. In The Shoemaker’s Holiday the humor is very geographically and culturally based. Which makes sense since it is an Elizabethan play. But because of the way the humor is presented, it often causes confusion and bewilderment from readers that don’t come from London. This was the case when I was reading it. Half the time I couldn’t understand what they (the actors) were saying and the other half was spent in re-re-reading what I had just read because I couldn’t believe what I had just read.
That being said the play itself, once you get over the odd humor, is quite sexual. At every turn there seems to be some sexual joke or hint that seemingly comes out of nowhere each and every time. At the end of each one you would probably scratch your head in confusion and need to refer to the footnotes and definitions just to understand what the actors mean. Like in scene 7 where Firk, Hodge, and Eyre are mentioning the various ways they will “firk” or “take down” various women. Or how Firk mentions how he “For yerking and seaming let me alone, an I come to’t.” and that he will “deal with her.” At first glance their little conversation makes no sense but reading deeper into it you realize exactly what Firk wants to do with Sibyl.
The rest of the play goes along the same lines. There are references to sexual acts and actions that seem to mean one thing often turn into something more…carnal. The entire play seems to be one long sex comedy that’s been “hidden” by the citizen comedy it tries to portray itself as. Granted I’m not positive since the entire play still has me scratching my head!
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