''The Wonderfull Yeare'' is Thomas Dekker's first pamphlet, written and printed in 1603, the year of Queen Elizabeth's death, James I's accession, and an outbreak of the

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of Plague (disease), plague caused by the Bacteria, bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Context

Prior to writing ''The Wonderfull Yeare'', Dekker was a playwright in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, but upon the closing of London's theatres in 1603 due to the plague, Dekker turned to pamphleteering to generate an income. Dekker was just one of thousands of Londoners affected by the outbreak of plague, though he did not actually become sick.Bayman, Anna. Thomas Dekker and the Culture of Pamphleteering in Early Modern London. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2014, page 68. Dekker's work focuses on the "wonderful" events that took place in the London area in 1603, where "wonderful" refers to something surprising or astonishing. The year 1603 was generally characterised by extreme instability, both politically and economically.

Summary

Dekker first eulogises the death of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

, who had been queen since 1558. He laments the Elizabethan golden age and recalls how England's joy was suddenly eclipsed by Elizabeth's death. Dekker personifies

Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

and blames him for taking the queen's life. Dekker recalls how the announcement of Elizabeth's death "tooke away hearts from millions" and plunged her subjects into grief. He recalls the widespread lamentation at her death and includes in his work some of the epigrams written for her funeral at

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

. Dekker was not the only one to view the outbreak of plague as a divine consequence of Elizabeth's death. Dekker then turns to the accession of James I: he says that the "holesome receipt of a proclaymed King" temporarily cured the grief caused by Elizabeth I's death. He recalls the sudden change in monarch and the particular effect that this has on the kingdom: "Upon Thursday it was treason to cry God save king James of England, and upon Friday treason not to cry so". He says that the feeling of the golden age returned in the first months of James I's rule, but when the plague struck in the summer of 1603, people were once again struck with lamentation. The remainder of ''The Wonderfull Yeare'' recounts the horrors of the plague epidemic in 1603, both in London and the surrounding countryside. Dekker also gives the plague a persona in order to personally blame it for the thousands of deaths that it causes, and describes how the plague cannot be avoided: it affects everyone to some extent and takes its victims without warning. Dekker comments on how the number of plague victims could double from morning to night. Overall, Dekker concludes that Death has the last say, and the widespread fear of and the struggle to avoid death during 1603 made "fooles" of everyone.Dekker, Thomas. The Non-Dramatic Works of. Thomas Dekker: In Five Volumes, Volume 1. 1598-1603. Accessed from Google Books, 14

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wonderfull Yeare Works by Thomas Dekker (writer) 1603 in England 1603 books Pamphlets