Playwright as Rock Star Art

¶ … playwright as Rock Star

Art needs to be truthful, uncompromising and oftentimes, bold in order for its value to pass the test of time. Art has helped shape and even change society. Even though there are numerous perspectives and theories on the meaning and purpose of art, one can safely argue that art is deeply influenced by the life of the artist who creates it. In other words, there is a strong link between art and the artist. Especially in the case of literature, one cannot strive to fully comprehend the meaning of a certain writing without attempting to understand the life of its creator. In many cases, similarly to the divine process of creation as presented in the Bible, art is created using the mold of the artist. Of course, this does not mean that any piece of writing is a true reflection of the personality and lifestyle of the writer. However, in the case of artists who have truly challenged the norms, this rule seems to apply.

Not denying one's identity and straying true to oneself is an art form in itself because social norms and prejudice tend to shape who we are especially in modern society. Some artists have dared to challenge this system, and to create uncompromising works which have succeeded in altering mentalities. This, however, is a lengthy process which takes a lot of time. Often misunderstood and judged by their contemporaries, these artists led their lives according to their own moral code, and did not allow anyone else to dictate who they should be. Nonetheless, the price they had to pay was high. These artists' legacy is immortal, and these are not merely big words. Thesis: This paper explores the lives of three major playwrights i.e. Christopher Marlowe, Oscar Wilde and Joe Orton. Each of these playwrights represents a certain age, but they have one very important aspect in common: they all lived their lives according to their own beliefs and desires, and died young leaving behind an incredibly valuable legacy represented by their writings. Ultimately, this paper strives to illustrate that in order to create such work, one must stay true to one's identity, and not give in to social pressure irrespective of the age the artist lives in, and the consequences of this act of resistance.

Christopher Marlowe was born in Canterbury, England, on February 26, 1564. Ironically, he was baptized in St. George's Church, in the shadow of one of the finest Gothic cathedrals in the world. The irony resides in the fact that Marlowe would grow up to be an atheist who would offend and defy his companions by what the latter considered as blasphemies. He was born to a working class family, and not much is known about Marlowe's life until the age of 15 because most of the information that is now known regarding his life comes from official documents. He was raised in the city, but his writings do not reveal any of his influences. At age 17, he was selected by the Archbishop of Canterbury to pursue his studies in the University of Cambridge where he would prepare for his ministry. Despite the fact that during his university years, his enthusiasm decreased considerably and that he was accused of being a spy, Marlowe denied everything and graduated in 1587 at age 23.

That same year he traveled to London where his first play would be performed. Tamburlaine, a powerfully original drama played by one of the best actors of the day, Edward Alleyn, won Marlowe a great success that led him to persevere as a dramatist; before the end of 1587 the second part of Tamburlaine was performed (Poirier: 20). In the course of the following years his plays followed one another on the stage, and their success aroused the jealousy of a less gifted playwright, Robert Greene, who vented his spleen against his rival in several of his works (Ibid). He shared an apartment in London with the other major pre-Shakespeare playwright, Kyd but the nature of their relationship is not known. Meanwhile his reputation as an atheist was established as early as 1588, when Greene published Perimedes the Blacksmith, "which contains the first piece of evidence on Marlowe's heterodox opinions." (Poirier: 26).

Marlowe's dual personality was referred to by some of his contemporaries and close ones, such as Kyd; moreover, it is reflected by some aspects of Marlowe's life. This duality was also reflected in his writings in the sense that the violence of his dramas - reflecting his own irascibility - is opposed to the kindness and gentleness of some of his poems. Marlowe was not a "great respecter or the law" (Poirier: 40), and his sexual orientation was a serious issue in 17th century England. Despite it was widely practiced, homosexuality was still publicly unaccepted. There is no trace of heterosexuality in Marlowe's plays because writing was his way of rebelling against Victorian England; that is why, perhaps, homosexuality comes out time and time again in his work. His biography has shown the cultured poet and the secret agent side by side, a man associating with noblemen and riffraff alike. These two aspects are not so irreconcilable as to prevent us from blending them. They are the double manifestation of a personality which may not be always consistent, yet displays a certain unity (Poirier: 36).

Oscar Wilde was one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era. Wildly successful during his lifetime, his fame grew considerably posthumously due to his free-spirited life, and untimely death. Witty and outspoken, Oscar Wilde's character was deeply influenced by his family, which from reports appears to have been an eccentric one (Woodcock: 9). However, this influence was manifested as a reaction against everything his father, a renowned and well-respected physician, had stood for. Even in his most depressed period of poverty and social ostracism, he was always neat and scrupulously clean. He despised alcoholism, an addiction that plagued his brother, as well as untidiness which had characterized his father (Woodcock: 20). Wilde's great-uncle, Charles Robert Maturin, was a major influence on Wilde. Maturin was a writer whom young Wilde devoured while adult Wilde looked up to him. Maturin was unhappy and lived a life of isolation; Wilde however, was fascinated by the adventurer in his great-uncle novel, Melmoth the Wanderer.

While studying at Oxford University, Oscar Wilde shocked his peers and teachers with his irreverent attitude towards religion and eccentric clothes. In fact, his unusual taste for clothes started in his early teens (Gillespie: 22). He collected blue china and peacock's feathers, and later his velvet knee-breeches drew much attention. In 1884, at age 30, Wilde met and married Constance Lloyd; his wife's allowance allowed them to live without any financial concerns. Although aware of his homosexuality since childhood, it was not until he was married that he fully realized his sexual orientation. As a child, Wilde felt close to his mother whom he greatly admired; also, he was terribly displeased and hurt by his father's behavior which created tension within the household. He inherited the fear of growing old from his mother, and reflected it in his most famous writing, the novel entitled the Picture of Dorian Gray. This particular fear of old age could also account for the fact that most of his lovers were much younger than him in the sense that he was always looking to be surrounded by youth in hopes of maintaining his own. Also, this was the reason behind his fascination with Lord Alfred Douglas, his most notable companion, whose father contributed to Wilde's demise. Lord Douglas was young and attractive, but lacked moral and intellectual qualities (Woodcock: 18).

Wilde was uncompromising. Although he was sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of sodomy - homosexuality was then illegal in Britain - he did not deny himself, but openly accepted his sexual orientation as he did not consider it "unnatural" (Woodcock: 86). He died of cerebral meningitis on November 30, 1900, penniless, in a cheap Paris hotel at the age of 46. Before his death, Wilde is said to have asked Andre Gide: "Do you want to know the great drama of my life? it's that I have put my genius into my life; all I've put into my works is my talent." (Gillespie: 31)

Joe Orton was an English playwright of the twentieth century. He was born John Kingsley Orton in 1933 to a working class family. His writing career spanned over 3 or 4 years because he died young, more precisely at age 34. Black comedy became his trademark. In fact, after his death in 1967, the term "ortonesque" was coined in England, to define the genre he belonged to, and his scandalous comedies. He spent his childhood in his hometown of Leicester with his parents and three siblings.

At age 16, Orton followed his thirst for fame, and his adventurous nature led him to join the Leicester Amateur Dramatic Society. His first performance represented a small role in the William Shakespeare play, Richard III. It was also during this time that he started keeping a diary. The entry for that day is very relevant as to our attempt to understand what drove Orton to join the theater in hopes of an acting career. During the time he spent with the amateur theater company, Orton decided that he wanted to pursue a career in acting, and that his first step towards achieving this goal was to go to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art: "Last night sitting in the empty theatre watching the electricians flashing lights on and off, the empty stage waiting for rehearsal to begin, I suddenly knew that my ambition is, and always has been, to act." (Diary entry, April 13th, 1949: Joe Orton Online)

He quit the amateur acting company after his first role because he was not offered any other substantial roles. Although he got accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1950, Orton was now facing two major setbacks. Firstly, he suffered from appendicitis, and was operated. Soon after his operation, while he was still recovering, he received call up papers for the National Service. However, 17-year-old Orton was not ready to abandon his dream of becoming an actor. He decided to fake several illnesses and disabilities so that he would be discharged, and succeeded in doing so. Orton was now free to enroll in the Academy. He left for London one year later and enrolled in the Royal Academy. Here, 18-year-old Orton met Kenneth Halliwell, 7 years his senior, a man who would become Orton's friend, mentor and lover. Older and more experienced than Orton, Halliwell was a young man in his mid-20s who had lived and been through a lot such as the deaths of both of his parents which he had witnessed during his childhood and early adulthood. Furthermore, Halliwell was well-educated and well-read which Orton was not. It was only a few months after Orton met Kenneth that the former accepted his sexual orientation by moving in with Halliwell. Despite the fact that both of them eventually graduated from the Royal Academy, they were disenchanted with the idea of becoming actors, and focused their energy on becoming successful writers instead.