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'The Gentle Craft' - Thomas Deloney

Thomas Deloney develops concepts of class structure through his play, "The Gentle Craft", which follows stories of guildsmen/the working class. Much of Deloney's literary sources, as well as the dates these sources were acquired, are unknown, however a book-chest that was said to have belonged to Deloney contained a range of narrative based stories such as the Bible, the Apochrypha, William of Malmesbury, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Malory, Fabyan, Grafton, The Life and Pranks of Long Meg on Westminster, the Murder of Mr. Page of Plymouth, the Prose Tail of Sir Guy of Warwick, Lyly's Euphues, Sidney's Arcadia, and Lazarillo (Lange, The Gentle Craft: Introduction). Although none of these books seemed to have directly impacted Deloney's work as he likely was unable to access such readings until later in his life, instead, it is understood that Deloney's influences came from folklore told by soldiers, clergymen, and travelled journeymen; also many of Deloney's stories reveal a familiarity with English trade routes showing that his style was somewhat journalistic in the sense that it used locations, events, and characters based on what he observed rather than what he read (Lange, The Gentle Craft: Introduction).

https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=SulmC0YkZ1AC&rdid=book-SulmC0YkZ1AC&rdot=1

"The Gentle Craft (1597) comprises three distinct tales related to the shoemakers' trade. The story of St. Hugh and St. Winifred is based on legend; the narrative of Crispine and Crispianus blends legend and pastoral romance; and the account of Simon Eyre is a quasi-historical biography of a wealthy fifteenth-century upholsterer and draper. Thomas Dekker borrowed freely from The Gentle Craft for his own depiction of Simon Eyre in The Shoemaker's Holiday (1599). Deloney's The Gentle Craft, The second Part (1598–99?) also consists of three stories: that of Richard Casteler, a generous benefactor to the citizens of London; Lusty Peachey, a Tudor courtier and soldier; and the popularly named Green King of St. Martin's, a prosperous shoemaker. This novel is noted for such robust and entertaining characters as Long Meg of Westminster, Gillian of the George, Tom Drum, and Anthony Now-now."

https://www.enotes.com/topics/thomas-deloney/critical-essays