Thomas Kyd: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 18:40, 4 July 2022

1558-1594. British Dramatist.

Life

Thomas Kyd was born in London in November 1558 as the son of Francis Kyd, a scrivener. After attending the Merchant Taylor’s School in London, he is believed to have initially worked as a scrivener following his education. Kyd eventually wrote plays for the company of the Queen Elizabeth's Men from 1583 to 1587, before eventually joining the Queen's Company of Players as a private secretary between 1587 and 1593, working for the service of a lord. Between 1582 and 1592 Kyd also focused on writing his prominent play The Spanish Tragedy, published in 1592. The Spanish Tragedy proved important in the development of a new genre in English theatre, the revenge tragedy. Only one year later, on 13 May 1593, Thomas Kyd, suspected of treason and atheistic activities denying Jesus Christ, was arrested and later tortured in Bridewell after incriminating evidence had been found in his room. It was only after Kyd had in a confession accused Christopher Marlowe, with whom he had worked and had shared accommodation in 1591, that Kyd was finally released. However, Kyd did not manage to recover from the hardships of imprisonment, so that he finally died in poverty at the age of 35 years in August 1594. Kyd was buried in St. Mary Colechurch in London on 15 August 1594, which was destroyed during the great fire in 1666.

Works

Kyd’s most important play, The Spanish Tragedy, was published and performed onstage sixteen times that same year, becoming one of the most popular plays of the time. Thus, his characterization of Hieronimo in The Spanish Tragedy turned into an inspiration for Shakespeare in creating the character of Hamlet. Although many of Kyd’s works have been lost, he is still credited for writing an “Ur-Hamlet” as yet another source of inspiration to Shakespeare. The romantic tragedy Soliman and Perseda (1588) is also attributed to Kyd. The Elizabethan play Arden of Feversham, published anonymously in 1592, is likewise often attributed to him. In 1594, Kyd published Cornelia, a translation of French author Robert Gamier’s Cornelie, which was, however, never performed.

Sources

Kyd, Thomas. Soliman and Perseda. Ed. Lukas Erne. The Malone Society. Nov 2014. https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9780719095856/.

“List of Works of Thomas Kyd, Thomas Kyd Books.” Elizabethan Era. History of Roman times to Restoration Era. http://elizabethanenglandlife.com/thomas-kyd-biography/list-of-works-books.html#:~:text=Thomas%20Kyd%20was%20best%20known%20for%20his%20tragic,works%20include%20numerous%20plays%252C%20books%252C%20poems%252C%20and%20translations. Accessed 2 July 2022.

“The Spanish Tragedy. Thomas Kyd. 1592.” Encyclopedia.com. https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/spanish-tragedy. Accessed 1 July 2022.

“Thomas Kyd.” Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Kyd. Accessed 2 July 2022.

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-'''Life'''
+-1594. British Dramatist.
-Thomas Kyd was born in London in November 1558 as the son of Francis Kyd, a scrivener. After attending the Merchant Taylor’s School in London, he is believed to have initially worked as a scrivener following his education. Kyd eventually wrote theatre plays for the theatre company Queen Elizabeth men from 1583 – 1587, before eventually joining the Queens Company of Players as a private secretary between 1587 – 1593, working for the service of a lord. Between 1582 and 1592 Kyd also focused on writing his prominent play The Spanish Tragedy, published in 1592. ''The Spanish Tragedy'' proved important in the development of a new genre in English theatre, the revenge tragedy.  Only one year later, on 13 May 1593, Thomas Kyd, suspected of treason and atheistical activities denying Jesus Christ, was arrested and later tortured in Bridewell after incriminating evidence had been found in his room. It was only after Kyd had in a confession accused Christopher Marlowe, with whom he had worked and had shared acommodation in 1591, that Kyd was finally released. However, Kyd did not manage to recover from the hardships of imprisonment, so that he finally died in poverty at the age of 35 years in  August 1594.  Kyd was buried in St. Mary Colechurch in London on 15 August 1594, which was destroyed during the great fire in 1666.
-'''Works'''
+==Life==
-Kyd’s most important play – a tragedy – ''The Spanish Tragedy'' was published and performed onstage sixteen times that same year., becoming one of the most popular plays of the time. Thus, his characterization of Hieronimo in ''The Spanish Tragedy'' turned into an inspiration for Shakespeare in creating the character of Hamlet. Although many of Kyd’s works have been lost, he is still credited for writing an ''“Ur-Hamlet”'' as yet another source of inspiration to Shakespeare. The romantic tragedy ''Soliman and Perseda'' (1588) is also attributed to Thomas Kyd. The Elizabethan play ''Arden of Feversham'', published anonymously in 1592, is likewise often attributed to him. In 1594, Kyd published ''Cornelia'', a translation of French author Robert Gamier’s ''Cornelie'', which was, however, never performed.
+Thomas Kyd was born in London in November 1558 as the son of Francis Kyd, a scrivener. After attending the Merchant Taylor’s School in London, he is believed to have initially worked as a scrivener following his education. Kyd eventually wrote plays for the company of the Queen Elizabeth's Men from 1583 to 1587, before eventually joining the Queen's Company of Players as a private secretary between 1587 and 1593, working for the service of a lord. Between 1582 and 1592 Kyd also focused on writing his prominent play ''The Spanish Tragedy'', published in 1592. ''The Spanish Tragedy'' proved important in the development of a new genre in English theatre, the revenge tragedy.  Only one year later, on 13 May 1593, Thomas Kyd, suspected of treason and atheistic activities denying Jesus Christ, was arrested and later tortured in Bridewell after incriminating evidence had been found in his room. It was only after Kyd had in a confession accused [[Christopher Marlowe]], with whom he had worked and had shared accommodation in 1591, that Kyd was finally released. However, Kyd did not manage to recover from the hardships of imprisonment, so that he finally died in poverty at the age of 35 years in  August 1594.  Kyd was buried in St. Mary Colechurch in London on 15 August 1594, which was destroyed during the great fire in 1666.
-'''Sources'''
+==Works==
-Kyd, Thomas. S''oliman and Perseda''. Ed. Lukas Erne. The Malone Society. Nov 2014. https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9780719095856/.
+Kyd’s most important play, ''The Spanish Tragedy'', was published and performed onstage sixteen times that same year, becoming one of the most popular plays of the time. Thus, his characterization of Hieronimo in ''The Spanish Tragedy'' turned into an inspiration for Shakespeare in creating the character of Hamlet. Although many of Kyd’s works have been lost, he is still credited for writing an ''“Ur-Hamlet”'' as yet another source of inspiration to Shakespeare. The romantic tragedy ''Soliman and Perseda'' (1588) is also attributed to Kyd. The Elizabethan play ''Arden of Feversham'', published anonymously in 1592, is likewise often attributed to him. In 1594, Kyd published ''Cornelia'', a translation of French author Robert Gamier’s ''Cornelie'', which was, however, never performed.
-“List of Works of Thomas Kyd, Thomas Kyd Books.” ''Elizabethan Era. History of Roman times to Restoration era''. http://elizabethanenglandlife.com/thomas-kyd-biography/list-of-works-books.html#:~:text=Thomas%20Kyd%20was%20best%20known%20for%20his%20tragic,works%20include%20numerous%20plays%252C%20books%252C%20poems%252C%20and%20translations. Accessed 02 July 2022.
-“The Spanish Tragedy. Thomas Kyd. 1592.” ''Encyclopedia.com''. https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/spanish-tragedy. Accessed 1 July 2022.
+===Sources===
+Kyd, Thomas. ''Soliman and Perseda''. Ed. Lukas Erne. The Malone Society. Nov 2014. https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9780719095856/.
+“List of Works of Thomas Kyd, Thomas Kyd Books.” ''Elizabethan Era. History of Roman times to Restoration Era''. http://elizabethanenglandlife.com/thomas-kyd-biography/list-of-works-books.html#:~:text=Thomas%20Kyd%20was%20best%20known%20for%20his%20tragic,works%20include%20numerous%20plays%252C%20books%252C%20poems%252C%20and%20translations. Accessed 2 July 2022.
+“''The Spanish Tragedy''. Thomas Kyd. 1592.” ''Encyclopedia.com''. https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/spanish-tragedy. Accessed 1 July 2022.
 “Thomas Kyd.” ''Encyclopedia Britannica''. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Kyd. Accessed 2 July 2022.