Delphi Complete Works of Beaumont and Fletcher (Illustrated)

The Complete Works of

BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER

(1584-1616 & 1579–1625)

Contents

Beaumont’s Solo Plays

THE KNIGHT OF THE BURNING PESTLE

THE MASQUE OF THE INNER TEMPLE AND GRAY’S INN

Fletcher’s Solo Plays

THE FAITHFUL SHEPHERDESS

VALENTINIAN

MONSIEUR THOMAS

THE WOMAN’S PRIZE; OR THE TAMER TAMED

BONDUCA

THE CHANCES

WIT WITHOUT MONEY

THE MAD LOVER

THE LOYAL SUBJECT

THE HUMOROUS LIEUTENANT

WOMEN PLEASED

THE ISLAND PRINCESS,

THE WILD GOOSE CHASE

THE PILGRIM

A WIFE FOR A MONTH

RULE A WIFE AND HAVE A WIFE

Beaumont and Fletcher’s Plays

THE WOMAN HATER

CUPID’S REVENGE

PHILASTER; OR LOVE LIES A-BLEEDING

THE MAID’S TRAGEDY

A KING AND NO KING

THE CAPTAIN

THE SCORNFUL LADY

LOVE’S PILGRIMAGE

THE NOBLE GENTLEMAN

Beaumont and Fletcher’s Plays Revised by Massinger

THIERRY AND THEODORET

THE COXCOMB

BEGGARS’ BUSH

LOVE’S CURE

Fletcher and Massinger’s Plays

SIR JOHN VAN OLDEN BARNAVELT

THE LITTLE FRENCH LAWYER

A VERY WOMAN; OR, THE PRINCE OF TARENT.

THE CUSTOM OF THE COUNTRY

THE DOUBLE MARRIAGE

THE FALSE ONE

THE PROPHETESS

THE SEA VOYAGE

THE SPANISH CURATE

THE LOVERS’ PROGRESS OR THE WANDERING LOVERS

THE ELDER BROTHER

Fletcher, Massinger and Field’s Plays

THE HONEST MAN’S FORTUNE

THE QUEEN OF CORINTH

THE KNIGHT OF MALTA

Fletcher and Shakespeare’s Plays

HENRY VIII

THE TWO NOBLE KINSMEN

CARDENIO (LOST)

Fletcher, Middleton and Rowley’s Collaboration

WIT AT SEVERAL WEAPONS

Fletcher and Rowley’s Play

THE MAID IN THE MILL

Fletcher and Field’s Play

FOUR PLAYS; OR MORAL REPRESENTATIONS, IN ONE, MORALITY

Fletcher, Massinger, Jonson and Chapman’s Play

ROLLO DUKE OF NORMANDY; OR THE BLOODY BROTHER

Fletcher and Shirley’s Play

THE NIGHT WALKER; OR THE LITTLE THIEF

Contested Fletcher Plays

THE NICE VALOUR; OR THE PASSIONATE MADMAN

THE LAWS OF CANDY

THE FAIR MAID OF THE INN

THE FAITHFUL FRIENDS

THE CORONATION

The Poetry

BEAUMONT’S POETRY

FLETCHER’S POETRY

FIRST FOLIO COMMENDATORY VERSES

LIST OF POEMS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

The Criticism

NOTES ON BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

THE THREE MASTERPIECES by Walter W. Greg

THE LATER ELIZABETHANS by Ashley H. Thorndike

The Biographies

FRANCIS BEAUMONT: DRAMATIST by Charles Mills Gayley

BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER by Algernon Charles Swinburne and Margaret Bryant

© Delphi Classics 2015

Version 1

The Complete Works of

FRANCIS BEAUMONT

AND JOHN FLETCHER

By Delphi Classics, 2015

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Beaumont’s Solo Plays

Grace Dieu Priory, an independent Augustinian priory near Thringstone, Leicestershire — Francis Beaumont was born in Grace Dieu in 1584.

THE KNIGHT OF THE BURNING PESTLE

The Knight of the Burning Pestle was first performed in 1607 before it was published in quarto form in 1613. The play is credited to Francis Beaumont, before he began his highly successful partnership with John Fletcher. Originally written to be staged in a small private theatre, it is possible that Beaumont intended the work to be performed at Blackfriars Theatre by child actors. It was a complete commercial failure in 1607 and did nothing to enhance Beaumont’s reputation as a playwright at the time. However, there were a handful of performances during the seventeenth century; before the Civil War and during the Restoration period. The 20th century productions of the play included: a 1904 version starring Nigel Playfair; the 1920 production with a young Noel Coward playing the part of Rafe; in 1932 Ralph Richardson tackled the role of the apprentice, while in 1981 The Royal Shakespeare Company staged the work with Timothy Spall starring as Rafe. The most recent production took place in 2014 as part of the opening season at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in London.

The play was one of the earliest examples of a complete work as a parody and satire of a genre to have been written in English. It was actually first performed five years before the seminal work of the satire genre Don Quixote was published in English.  The Night of the Burning Pestle opens with the prologue of a play called ‘The London Merchant’ being interrupted by two audience members (The Citizen and The Wife) who demand that they see something that depicts a grocer - the profession of The Citizen - doing admirable deeds. The Wife suggests that this new character the ‘Grocer Errant’ kills a lion with a pestle and when they are informed that all the actors already have roles, they force their apprentice, Rafe, to assume the heroic part. ‘The London Merchant’, which is a hackneyed romantic play involving deception, attempted elopements, disapproving parents and feigned deaths, is repeatedly disrupted by The Citizen and The Wife, who insist that the ‘Knight Errand’ should be frequently inserted into the play to perform a heroic and noble deed. Beaumont amusingly mocks and satirises the chivalric romantic genre, the rising middle class and the citizenry of London. The Knight of the Burning Pestle is a play which parodies both dramatic works during the period and the theatre going audience.

The title page of a 1635 edition

CONTENTS

The Prologue.

The Actors’ Names.

Actus Primus. Scæna Prima.

Actus Secundus. Scæna Prima.

Actus Tertius. Scæna Prima.

Actus Quartus. Scæna Prima.

Actus Quintus. Scæna Prima.

A seventeenth century mezzotint of Francis Beaumont

TO THE READERS OF THIS COMEDY.

Gentlemen, the World is so nice in these our times, that for Apparel, there is no fashion, For Musick, which is a rare Art, (though now slighted) No Instrument; For Diet, none but the French Kickshoes that are delicate; and for Plaies, no invention but that which now runneth an invective way, touching some particular persons, or else it is contemned before it is throughly understood. This is all that I have to say, That the Author had no intent to wrong any one in this Comedy, but as a merry passage, here and there interlaced it with delight, which he hopes will please all, and be hurtful to none.

The Prologue.

Where the Bee can suck no Honey, she leaves her sting behind; and where the Bear cannot find Origanum to heal his grief, he blasteth all other leaves with his breath. We fear it is like to fare so with us; that seeing you cannot draw from our labours sweet content, you leave behind you a sower mis-like, and with open reproach blame our good meaning, because you cannot reap the wonted mirth. Our intent was at this time to move inward delight, not outward lightness; and to breed (if it might be) soft smiling, not loud laughing: knowing it (to the wise) to be a great pleasure, to hear Counsel mixed with Wit, as to the foolish to have sport mingled with rudeness. They were banished the Theater of Athens, and from Rome hissed, that brought Parasites on t[h]e Stage with apish actions, or Fools with uncivil habits, or Courtezans with immodest words. We have endeavoured to be as far from unseemly speeches, to make your ears glow, as we hope you will be free from unkind reports, or mistaking the Authors intention (who never aimed at any one particular in this Play,) to make our cheeks blush. And thus I leave it, and thee to thine own censure, to like, or dislike. Vale.

The Actors’ Names.

  The Prologue.

  Then a Citizen.

  The Citizens wife, and Ralph her man, sitting below amidst

  the Spectators.

  A rich Merchant.

Jasper his Apprentice.

  Master Humphrey, a friend to the Merchant.

Luce, the Merchants Daughter.

  Mistress Merry-thought, Jaspers Mother.

Michael, a second Son of Mistriss Merry-thought.

  Old M. Merry-thought.

  A Squire.

  A Dwarfe.

  A Tapster.

  A Boy that Danceth and Singeth.

  An Host.

  A Barber.

  Two Knights.

  A Captain.

  A Sergeant.

  Soldiers.

    Enter Prologue.

From all that’s near the Court, from all that’s great

Within the compass of the City-walls

We now have brought our Scene.

    Enter Citizen.

Cit. Hold your peace good-man boy.

Pro. What do you mean Sir?

Cit. That you have no good meaning: These seven years there

hath been Plays at this House, I have observed it, you have

still girds at Citizens; and now you call your Play The

London Merchant. Down with your Title, Boy, down with your

Title.

Pro. Are you a member of the noble City?

Cit. I am.

Pro. And a Free-man?

Cit. Yea, and a Grocer.

Pro. So Grocer, then by your swe[e]t favour, we intend no

abuse to the City.

Cit. No sir,

Yes sir,

If you were not resolv’d to play the Jacks,

What need you study for new subjects,

Purposely to abuse your betters?

Why could not you be contented,

As well as others,

With the Legend of Whittington,

Or the life and death of Sir Thomas Gresham?

With the building of the Royal Exchange?

Or the storie of Queen Elenor,

With the rearing of London bridge upon Woollsacks?

Pro. You seem to be an understanding man:

What would you have us do sir?

Cit. Why?

Present something notably

In honor of the Commons of the City.

Pro. Why,

What do you say, to the life and death of fat Drake,

Or the repairing of Fleet Privies?

Cit. I do not like that,

But I will have a Citizen,

And he shall be of my own Trade.

Pro. Oh,

You should have told us your mind

A month since,

Our Play is ready to begin now.

Cit. ’Tis all one for that,

I will have a Grocer,

And he shall do admirable things.

Pro. What will you have him do?

Cit. Marry I will have him —

Wife. Husband, Husband.

Wife below, Ralph below.

Ralph. Peace, Mistriss.

Wife. Hold thy peace Ralph,

I know what I do,

I warrant ye.

Husband, Husband.

Cit. What say’st thou Conie?

Wife. Let him kill a Lion with a Pestle Husband,

Let him kill a Lion with a Pestle.

Cit. So he shall,

I’ll have him kill a Lion with a pestle.

Wife. Husband,

Shall I come up Husband?

Cit. I Cony.

Ralph, help your Mistriss this way:

Pray Gentlemen make her a little room,

I pray you sir

Lend me your hand to help up my Wife:

I thank you sir.

So.

Wife. By your leave Gentlemen all,

I’m something troublesome,

I’m a stranger here,

I was ne’r at one of these Plays, [a]s they say, before;

But I should have seen Jane Shore once,

And my Husband

Hath promised me any time this Twelvemonth,

To carrie me to the Bold Beauchams,

But in truth he did not;

I pray you bear with me.

Cit. Boy,

Let my Wife and I have a couple of stools,

And then begin,

And let the Grocer do rare things.

Pro. But sir,

We have never a Boy to play him,

Every one hath a part already.

Wife. Husband, Husband,

For gods sake let Ralph play him,

Beshrew me if I do not think

He will go beyond them all.

Cit. Well remembred wife,

Come up Ralph,

I’ll tell you Gentlemen,

Let them but lend him a suit of reparrel,

and necessaries,

And by gad,

If any of them all blow wind in the tail on him,

I’ll be hang’d.

Wife. I pray you youth,

Let him have a suit of reparrel,

I’ll be sworn Gentlemen,

My Husband tells you true,

He will act you sometimes at our house,

That all the neighbors cry out on him:

He will fetch you up a couraging part so in the Garret,

That we are all as fear’d I warrant you,

That we quake again:

We’ll fear our children with him,

If they be never so unruly,

Do but cry,

Ralph comes, Ralph comes to them,

And they’ll be as quiet as Lambs.

Hold up thy head Ralph,

Shew the Gentlemen what thou canst do,

Speak a huffing part,

I warrant you the Gentlemen will accept of it.

Cit. Do Ralph, do.

Ralph. By heaven

(Methinks) it were an easie leap

To pluck bright honor from the pale-fac’d Moon,

Or dive into the bottom of the Sea,

Where never fathome line toucht any ground,

And pluck up drowned honor

From the lake of Hell.

Cit. How say you Gentlemen,

Is it not as I told you?

Wife. Nay Gentlemen,

He hath plaid before, my husband says, Musidorus

Before the Wardens of our company.

Cit. I, and he should have plaid Jeronimo

With a shoo-maker for a wager.

Pro. He shall have a suit of apparel,

If he will go in.

Cit. In Ralph, in Ralph,

And set out the Grocer[y] in their kind,

If thou lov’st me.

Wife. I warrant our Ralph will look finely,

When he’s drest.

Pro. But what will you have it call’d?

Cit. The Grocers Honor.

Pro. Methinks The Knight of the b[u]rning Pestle were better.

Wife. I’ll be sworn Husband.