SOURCE: Rollins, John B. “Judeo-Christian Apocalyptic Literature and John Crowne's The Destruction of Jerusalem.” Comparative Drama 35, no. 2 (summer 2001): 209-24.

In the following essay, Rollins analyzes the “strong element of apocalyptic literature” in The Destruction of Jerusalem, by which Crowne fashions the play into “a warning about the consequences of political unrest.”

John Crowne followed his first comedy, The Countrey Wit (1676), with the two parts of The Destruction of Jerusalem, arguably two of his finest works. The first part premiered on 12 January 1677 and the second part one week later.¹ Neither play has received much critical attention, and those critics who have offered commentary have either condemned it out of hand simply for being a rhymed heroic drama or have been content with discussing Crowne's sources. Capwell, who first noted this tendency to criticize the genre rather than the work,² chose to respond by limiting his discussion to Crowne's departures...