Thomas Dekker’s poetry is intricately woven into his plays, often making it challenging to attribute specific poetic passages directly to him due to frequent collaborations. Despite this, Dekker's poetic prowess shines through vividly in works such as Old Fortunatus, The Honest Whore, and The Shoemaker’s Holiday. His mastery over sound, imagery, and dramatic verse elevates these plays, offering an insight into his unique style and thematic preoccupations.

Poetry in Dekker's Plays

Dekker’s most notable verse is often enmeshed within his dramatic works, where songs and verses form a significant part of the dialogue. Although his plays were frequently collaborative efforts, he is generally credited with a substantial portion of the poetry in Old Fortunatus and The Honest Whore series. In plays like The Shoemaker's Holiday, where he worked largely unassisted, his poetic voice emerges most clearly.

The lyrical quality of Dekker’s verse is consistently praised, with descriptors such as “sweet,” “lovely,” and “compassionate” frequently applied to his popular passages. These adjectives are apt for works like Old Fortunatus and The Shoemaker's Holiday, where sound and theme harmoniously blend to enhance their narrative impact.

Old Fortunatus

The play Old Fortunatus intertwines a morality pageant with a chronicle play, creating a narrative where the goddess Fortune presents an old man with a fateful choice. Instead of virtues like health or wisdom, Fortunatus selects riches, leading to a tale of wealth, deceit, and ultimately, demise. Fortune’s influence passes to his sons, Ampedo and Andelocia, who replicate his journey with their own tragic ends. The allegorical nature of the play requires elaborate verse and costuming, with recurring motifs of melting, love, and gold that reinforce the play's moral themes.

The soundscape of Old Fortunatus is particularly notable for its rhythmic complexity and varied use of poetic forms. Songs, chants, and dialogues intermingle, creating an auditory tapestry that complements its rich imagery. The interplay of sound and imagery not only enhances the theatrical experience but also deepens the thematic exploration of virtue and vice.

The Shoemaker’s Holiday

In The Shoemaker’s Holiday, Dekker demonstrates a sophisticated use of poetry, adapting his verse to suit characters' social standings and emotional contexts. The play weaves together three plots, involving romantic subterfuge, martial duty, and social mobility, each enriched by distinct poetic voices.

Characters such as Firke and Lincoln reveal Dekker’s ability to craft individual poetic identities. Firke’s playful and rhythmic speech contrasts sharply with Lincoln’s more prosaic verse, highlighting Dekker's skill in character differentiation through language. For the central characters, Rafe and Jane, Dekker invents a language of love rooted in their shared craft, elevating shoemaking to a metaphorical act of communal love.

Dekker’s use of poetic form in The Shoemaker’s Holiday extends beyond character voice to thematic unity, with Rafe’s parting gift of shoes symbolizing both personal affection and communal craftsmanship. The play’s poetic mastery lies in its ability to imbue ordinary life with lyrical depth, making it a standout work in Dekker’s oeuvre.

Poetry in Other Plays and Pamphlets

Dekker’s poetic talents are further evident in his pamphlets and other plays, where he blends prose and verse to create rich narrative tapestries. The Honest Whore series, in particular, features notable poetic passages that reflect Dekker’s command over metrical and figural language. Hippolito's diatribe and Bellafront’s argument in the plays offer insights into his thematic concerns, presented with rhetorical finesse.

Dekker’s pamphlets, such as The Wonderful Year and Lanthorn and Candlelight , reveal his inclination towards dramatic poetry. They often contain poetic sections that mirror the dramatic structures of his plays, showcasing his versatility in blending narrative forms. The use of...