Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

PERK

in The Hollander (Love's Trial) — Glapthorne, Henry

Metadata

PlayThe Hollander (Love's Trial)
AuthorGlapthorne, Henry
Year (catalogued)1640
First performance1636
Decade1640s
GenreComedy
Play typeBoys Professional
CompanyQueen Henrietta Maria's Men
Theaterbefore the Court;Phoenix/Cockpit;Indoor Professional
Speech prefix(es)Pirk. | Pirke. | Pir. | Pi • k. | Perk. | Birke.
Words528
Characters2852
Typicality0.35 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA01773
BritDrama no.2536
ClusterCluster 6 — Battlefield messengers & soldiers

Important excerpts

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

Full speech

He reads his neck-verse, reads them in my presence: Death rob me of the privilege of my place and dignity Cap taine, confound you, I could show you Twibill for it. How, generally without me? Fire of Styx this is in sufferable. Renounce me sir, this order I'll not sign to, it savours of cowardice, fear to convey a sister through the watch, 'tis against Our noble institution I do disclaim that order, Captain Fortress. your wisdom should have well considered at wha charge they are, for coach or hand litter, specially those of the gentile garb, next their ushers must be maintained, paint paid for, clothes, pro vided and the matron satisfied, these things considered, could you be so cruel as to confine them to a price by valour sir, I am a shamed on't. It the safest course to leave a blank for me, or I had Blanked your whole decree! I had by magnanimity. I gave him that name from his transmigration into cast suits, who has put his petie toes to it, and finally the woman that sings ballads, has her name trunled at the tail of it. Oh 'tis forwant of basting sir. No matter sir Sconce, by the head of valour, my self shall dub thee. Yes, I Gog, Magog, I dub him Garantua. Choke you sir, learn manners, offer to drink before betters, 'tis and affront to seniority, destroy me if I can suffer this, no forsake me Captain I cannot. But can this music play the Twibill dance, none else will satisfy. Rot me sir, you would be made to fetch them. Confusion rot the bones of Urinal perdition shall slay him; Propitious, and auspicious be thy stars, man of re noun and merit: would thy arm in sling my Palmerin: Confusion Captain Fortress, he wears a wound about him. Not know a Dunkirk upper garment, a leag er Cloak; behold my I , this Cane, this staff of office; this we style the Military Caster. What without a summons, you can send Jack Shirke your Beadle; to congregate the meaner branches of the Brother hood, not a Pickpocket I warrant you, but had notice of it: and must I be forgotten? by my manhood 'tis base. Found you sir, you lie: I fathom in your guts, he has none on. Fume me Captain, 'tis not requisite he should put off his Breeches. Man of valour, respect this Cup to the health of our Leift, General. How perdition Captain? how durst you meet without me? or conceit that decree valuable, which the voice of Cap taine Pirke has not assented to. Refuse me sir, the brothers of the Blades shall me their bold confrontment: vengeance do you take me for a boy, or some Pigwiggin? consult with out me? May not his transitory money serve to excuse his breeches? A Twibill Knight ought to regard no money, but the gli string steel. Upon compulsion sir, I should refuse, marry on fair en treaty I do fly, good and high fates look on you. Soul of my valour, you're shipped sir, you must drink five together. Your sake prevails, or otherwise—

Plot summary

Plot — The Hollander (Love's Trial)
Dr Artless has grown rich by taking in resident lady patients, and is concerned that his house should keep its good name. One of his current guests has a jealous husband, Sir Martin Yellow, who believes the house is really a place of assignation, and sends his nephew Popinjay there in search of evidence. Popinjay meets Artless’s daughter, Dalinea, and falls in love. Meanwhile, the apothecary Mixum has sent Artless a young man, Sconce, as a potential son-in-law; Artless is unconcerned that he is a fool because he is also rich. Sconce’s main preoccupation is with Mixum’s weapon-salve which will cure any wound if applied to the weapon that made it. When Sir Martin wounds him in a jealous rage, he takes away Sir Martin’s sword but finds the salve ineffectual and concludes that there must be something wrong with his blood. Another visitor to Artless’s house is Freewit, a suitor to Mistress Know-worth, but she breaks up with him, having heard from Lovering, her servant, that he has slept with the servant-girl Martha and got her pregnant. When he proves reluctant to marry Martha, Mistress Know-worth gives him an alternative: she will consider his suit if he can persuade Martha to release him from his prior obligation. Artless’s servant Urinal offers to prove to Sir Martin that Lady Yellow is chaste: he is to visit his wife in her bedroom, incognito, while the rest of the household is out at Dalinea’s wedding. The problem is that Dalinea doesn’t want to marry Sconce, to her parents’ annoyance. Sconce is interested in the order of the Knights of the Twibill, which allows its members to marry but will not admit anyone who is already married; he is duly determined to be inducted before his marriage. The ceremony requires him to drink heavily and remove his clothes; but the arrival of a constable causes the Twibills to break it off before it is finished, and Sconce is left without his clothes. Dalinea appears to change her mind about Sconce and goes off to marry him alongside another couple. When they return, however, it emerges that there has been some confusion of identity: Dalinea has married Popinjay, dressed in Sconce’s clothes (acquired by Urinal from the Twibills), while the other couple turn out to be Lovering and the drunken Sconce, cross-dressed as a woman. Lovering, moreover, is really Martha (so the marriage to Sconce is valid after all), inveigled into Mistress Know-worth’s service to test her loyalty to Freewit by giving him the undeserved reputation of…