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Beaumont & Fletcher (Francis & John)

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Playwright

The Resume

    Jacobean-era English dramatists
    Wrote during the reign of James I of England
    Francis Beaumont (1584-1616), wrote 'The Knight of the Burning Pestle' and 'The Masque of the Inner Temple'
    John Fletcher (1579-1625), collaborated with William Shakespeare on several plays, wrote 'The Pilgrim' and 'Valentinian'
    First folio contained 35 plays (1647); 53 plays in the second folio (1679)
    Collaborated on 'The Woman Hater,' 'Cupid's Revenge,' 'Philaster, or Love Lies a-Bleeding,' 'The Maid's Tragedy,' 'A King and No King,' 'The Captain,' 'The Scornful Lady,' 'Love's Pilgrimage,' and 'The Noble Gentleman'

Why they might be annoying:

    Between the two, Fletcher was by far the more prolific writer.
    Over thirty of the works they collaborated on have not survived.
    Google searches turn up content related to a popular line of upholstered furniture.
    They tend to turn up on shortlists of playwrights who potentially 'ghost wrote' several of Shakespeare's plays.
    John Aubrey implied in 'Brief Lives' that their relationship was as personal as it was professional.
    According to Aubrey, 'they lived together on the Banke side, not far from the Playhouse, both bachelors; lay together, had one Wench int he house between them, which they did admire, the same clothes ... and cloak between them.'
    Their alleged 'domestic arrangement' ended as soon as Francis Beaumont got married, in 1613, at which point Fletcher (presumably) would have moved out.
    Scholars hotly argue over which of the Fletcher plays could be safely determined as a 'collaboration' with Beaumont.
    Further confusing historians was that a colleague of Fletcher's claimed many plays in their first folio 'contained nothing of Beaumont's work.' Rather, the featured writing was that of Philip Massinger, who had been known for revising Beaumont's plays in the past.

Why they might not be annoying:

    They started out writing comedic plays for children.
    The first major 'tragicomedy' they worked on together, 'Philaster,' became a hit with the King's Men and started a working relation between the duo and the company.
    Fletcher was credited as the gifted humorist/comedian of the duo, while Beaumont was credited with the more intense, tragic elements of their plays.
    Their work was credited with cementing the preeminence of the King's Men in Jacobean London, in essence putting them 'on the map.'
    The popularity of their plays were credited with inspiring several of Shakespeare's late 'romance' plays (in addition to many less memorable 'imitators') They also remained popular into the late 1700s.
    They were an unusual pairing in that they both came from the upper-class during a time that 'playwright' was considered an undesirable profession.
    Beaumont was Oxford-educated and the son of a chief justice, Fletcher Cambridge-educated and the son of a clergyman.
    Their dramatic teaming ended after Beaumont suffered a stroke, within a year of his marriage (Fletcher died of the plague some ten years later).
    They belonged to the Mermaid Tavern group and were friends of Ben Jonson and Shakespeare.
    They are referenced in the classic Bette Davis movie, 'All About Eve' ('You'd better stick to Beaumont & Fletcher! They've been dead for three hundred years!')

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 15 Votes: 26.67% Annoying