John Heywood facts for kids
John Heywood (born around 1497 – died around 1580) was an English writer. He was famous for his plays, poems, and a collection of proverbs (wise sayings). Even though he is best known as a playwright, he was also a musician and composer. Sadly, none of his musical works have survived.
Heywood was a strong Catholic. Yet, he worked for several English kings and queens. He served King Henry VIII, King Edward VI, Queen Mary I, and Queen Elizabeth I. These rulers had different religious ideas, but Heywood remained loyal.
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John Heywood's Life Story
John Heywood was born in 1497, probably in Coventry, England. He moved to London when he was a teenager. He studied at Broadgates Hall (now Pembroke College) in Oxford. However, he did not finish his degree there.
Heywood was good with languages. He adapted one of his plays, Johan Johan, from a French play. His name first appeared in King Henry VIII's records in 1519. He was listed as a 'singer' and received regular payments. In 1521, he started getting money from lands in Essex. These lands made him wealthy. In 1523, King Henry VIII helped him get a special honor called the freedom of the City of London. This allowed him to work and live freely in London.
By 1525, he was paid as a 'player of virginals'. This was a type of keyboard instrument. Around this time, he married Jane Rastell. Jane was the niece of Sir Thomas More, a very important person.
A Family of Performers
Through his marriage, Heywood joined a very dramatic family. Jane's father, John Rastell, wrote short plays called interludes. He was also the first person to publish plays in England. When Rastell built his house, he included a stage just for plays. His wife even made costumes for the shows. It seems the whole family, including Thomas More, took part in these productions.
In this private theater, Heywood found an audience for his early works. His father-in-law also greatly influenced his art. In the 1520s and 1530s, Heywood wrote and produced interludes for the royal court. He received support from King Edward VI and Queen Mary I. He wrote plays to perform for them. Some of his plays needed music, but no songs or words from them have survived.
Heywood's Royal Service
Heywood worked for four different royal courts: Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. He kept his job even though his family had unpopular political views. Heywood was a strong Catholic. King Henry VIII seemed to like him, even though Henry broke away from the Catholic Church.
In 1533, the king gave Heywood a fancy gilt cup. England was going through big changes in religion at this time. Heywood was not afraid to share his political views. He even wrote a poem to support Princess Mary when she was removed from the line to become queen. In plays like The Four PP, Heywood showed a character who pretended to forgive sins for money. But at the end, another character criticized those who spoke badly about religious pardons.
Heywood's plays were popular. But they also had a hidden message about Catholic beliefs. For example, a character in one play ends with a blessing for everyone to stay in "the faith of his universal church." This showed Heywood's hope that the king would avoid a big split in the church. Heywood was more willing to make peace than his famous uncle-in-law, Thomas More. Thomas More was executed for his religious beliefs because he disagreed with King Henry VIII's changes.
Challenges and Later Life
In 1543, Heywood was arrested for being part of the Prebendaries' Plot. This was a plan to accuse a church leader of wrongdoings. A writer at the time said that Heywood "escaped hanging with his mirth." This means he was so funny that he avoided being punished.
Heywood was most successful in Queen Mary's court. He rewrote his poem The Spider and the Fly to praise the queen. Even though Heywood performed for Queen Elizabeth's court, he had to leave England in 1564. This was because of the Act of Uniformity, a law that made everyone follow the same religion. He fled to Brabant (part of modern-day Belgium). He died in Mechelen, Belgium.
Heywood's son, Jasper Heywood, became a poet and translator. His daughter was Elizabeth Heywood. His grandson was the famous poet and preacher John Donne.
What Heywood's Plays Were Like
Arthur F. Kinney, a scholar, says that Heywood survived his difficult life by using "good learning." This means he used ideas from other writers like More and Chaucer. He also used his wit and playful nature to comment on religious and social issues.
Some people thought Heywood's plays were simple. But the long speeches in his plays would have needed very talented actors. Many experts believe Heywood probably acted in his own plays. This is because royal records often mention him as a performer.
His plays might seem simple because they don't have a complex plot like modern plays. But Heywood explored ideas in a deep way through his characters. This might seem strange to us today. One expert, Greg Walker, thinks the lack of plot in some plays was linked to Heywood's political views. Since these plays were likely performed for the king, Heywood might have been trying to suggest peaceful solutions to the religious conflicts of his time.
How His Plays Were Performed
Richard Axton and Peter Happé say that Heywood's longer plays would have taken at least an hour and a half to perform. This included songs and acrobatic acts. His plays didn't need many props or fancy sets. They might only need a table and a chair. This meant they could be performed almost anywhere, like in a dining hall.
Most of his works needed four actors or fewer. Adult performers would have acted in them. Axton and Happé believe that professional actors were not used because actors didn't play more than one character. The main exception was his play The Play of the Weather. This play needed ten boy actors and more detailed staging.
John Heywood's Works
Plays
- Witty and Witless or, A Dialogue on Wit and Folly
- Gentleness and Nobility (with John Rastell)
- The Mery Play betwene Johan Johan, the Husbande, Tyb, his Wyf, and Syr Johan, the Preest
- The Mery Play between the Pardoner and the Frere, the Curate and Neybour Pratte (before 1533)
- The Play called the foure PP; a newe and a very mery interlude of a palmer, a pardoner, a potycary, a pedler' (around 1530)
- The Play of the Wether, a new and mery interlude of all maner of Wethers (1533)
- The Play of Love (1533)
Poems
- The Spider and the Flie (1556)
- A Dialogue Conteinyng the Nomber in Effect of All the Prouerbes in the Englishe Tongue, Compacte in a Matter Concernyng Two Maner of Mariages (1546; enlarged edition 1550)
- A Balade Specifyienge Partly the Maner, Partly the Matter, in the Mariage betwene Our Soueraigne Lord, and Our Soueraigne Lady (1554)
- A Breefe Balet Touchyng the Traytorous Takynge of Scarborow Castell (1557)
- A Ballad against Slander and Detraction (1562)
Collections
- Proverbs (around 1538)
- The Proverbs of John Heywood (1546), originally called A dialogue conteinyng the nomber ... of all the prouerbes in the englishe tongue.
Famous Sayings (Epigrams)
Many common English sayings come from John Heywood's writings:
- What you have, hold.
- Haste maketh waste. (1546)
- Out of sight out of mind. (1542)
- When the sun shineth, make hay. (1546)
- Look ere ye leap. (1546)
- Two heads are better than one. (1546)
- Love me, love my dog. (1546)
- Beggars should be no choosers. (1546)
- All is well that ends well. (1546)
- The fat is in the fire. (1546)
- I know on which side my bread is buttered. (1546)
- One good turn asketh another. (1546)
- A penny for your thought. (1546)
- Rome was not built in one day. (1546)
- Better late than never. (1546)
- An ill wind that bloweth no man to good. (1546)
- The more the merrier. (1546)
- You cannot see the wood for the trees. (1546)
- This hitteth the nail on the head. (1546)
- No man ought to look a given horse in the mouth. (1546)
- Tread a woorme on the tayle and it must turne agayne. (1546)
- Wolde ye bothe eate your cake and haue your cake? (1562)
- When he should get aught, each finger is a thumb. (1546)
