Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

OLD SHEPHERD

in The Faithful Shepherdess — Fletcher, John

Metadata

PlayThe Faithful Shepherdess
AuthorFletcher, John
Year (catalogued)1610
First performance1608
Decade1610s
GenrePastoral Tragicomedy
Play typeBoys Professional; Adult Professional
CompanyChildren of the Queen's Revels
Speech prefix(es)Old Shep. | Old. | Olde.
Words184
Characters998
Typicality0.51 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA00962
BritDrama no.1582
ClusterCluster 16 — Errand servants & brief parts

Important excerpts

No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).

Full speech

Now we have done this holy festival, In honour of our great God, and his rights Performed, prepare your selves for chased And uncorrupted fires: that as the priest, With powerful hand shall sprinkle on your brows His pure and holy water, you may be From all hight flames of lust, and lose thoughts free, Kneel shepherd's kneel, here comes the Priest of Pan. It is to little purpose, not a swain, This night hath known his lodging, here; or lain, Within these coats: the woods or some near town, that is a neighbour to the bordering down: Hath drawn them thither, bout some lusty sport; Or spiced wassal Boul, to which resort. All the young men and maids of many a coat, While the Trim, Minstrel strikes his merry note. This to the Meads. And that down to the woods, Here comes another straggler, sure I see, A shame in this young Shepherd Daphinis, Stay a little while: For if the morning's missed do not beguile, My sighed with shadows: sure I see a swain One of this jolly troops come back again.

Plot summary

Plot — The Faithful Shepherdess
Having buried her love, @I6Tifi swears to live a life of chastity ever after, abstaining from her fellow shepherdesses’ amorous sports; instead she will live by his grave and devote herself to herbal medicine. She attracts the attentions of a passing Saji, but he only wants to give her fruit; as her mother always told her, preserving her virginity has protected her from harm. Périgot makes a date with Almoret] and refuses the advances of Almiaryllis} who then plots with a sullen, malcontented shepherd to cross their love. Using herbs and a magic well, she transforms herself into Amoret’s shape, and makes unchaste advances to PeHgOu thinking the worst, Perigot then attacks the real Amoret. After he has gone, the sullen shepherd tries to finish the job by throwing her into the well, but the God of the River rescues her and heals her wounds. GhIGE) eager for sex, propositions a number of boys. [HEHE is only interested in Ql6rin, but(GHIGe manages Daphnis turns out to want a chaste lover, so Chloe sends him off on a fool’s errand looking for a hollow tree, and hopes for better luck with Alexis. She also takes the fancy of the sullen shepherd, who attacks and wounds Alexis; but the confrontation is interrupted by the chance arrival of the Satjr. The sullen shepherd is scared off, and the Satyr brings \ANGRIS to Clorin for medical treatment. Chloe decides that joining Daphiig inside his hollow tree will be better than nothing. Ammaryllis confesses her shape-shifting ruse to a suicidally remorseful Perigot, and offers to prove it by returning in the same disguise. However, the Amoret he next encounters is the real one. Mistaking her for another substitute, he wounds her a second time. The Satyi takes her to Clorin to be healed. Amaryllis thinks better of her lustful thoughts when the sullen shepherd attempts to rape her. Since THEHOElis attracted to Clorin for her chaste fidelity to her dead love, she breaks his infatuation by ===== PAGE 478 ===== pretending to offer herself to him. The Satyr finds Chloe in the hollow tree with Daphnis, so Clorin tests their chastity with a miraculous taper which will burn only the lustful; DapHfiis is proven chaste, but Chloe gets her fingers burnt. P&H6t goes to Clorin for help in getting Amoret’s blood off his hands; there he meets the recovered Amoret, and she forgives him. The Priest of Pan notices that the young people have been out all night, and he too ends up at @l@Hiti’s bower. The lovers are paired off, and the sullen…