Jack Drum's Entertainment

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Jack Drum's Entertainment is a play written by the dramatist and satirist John Marston in around 1599-1600. It was first performed by the boy players of the St. Paul's theatre company in London.

The play is a burlesque romantic comedy, which tells the story of the love between Pasquil and Katherine and the trials and triblations that they face on the way to happiness. The subplot is the story of a collection of fools who attempt to outwit each other while fighting over women. The play satirises both human folly in general and the madness of being in love, although its harshest criticism is reserved for those who cannot feel love, like the wicked usurer Mamon, or who believe themselves superior, failing to recognise that all men may be foolish at times, like the self-satisfied critic Brabant Senior.

It has been suggested that Marston wrote Jack Drum's Entertainment in collaboration with the playwright Thomas Dekker, but the evidence for this is inconclusive.

Brabant Senior may be intended as a portrait of Ben Jonson, Marston's literary contemporary and rival.

[edit] References

Philip J. Finkelpearl, John Marston of the Middle Temple. Anthony Caputi, John Marston, Satirist.