in The Royal King and the Loyal Subject — Heywood, Thomas
Metadata
Play
The Royal King and the Loyal Subject
Author
Heywood, Thomas
Year (catalogued)
1637
First performance
1602
Decade
1630s
Genre
Romance
Play type
Adult Professional
Company
Unknown
Speech prefix(es)
Mary. | Lady Mary. | Lady Ma. | Laay Ma.
Words
459
Characters
2304
Typicality
0.42 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A03248
BritDrama no.
1504
Cluster
Cluster 4 — Constant hearts & virtuous ladies
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
Came you from him? We know thy meaning, here bear him this gold, And bid him suit him Like the man he was, Bid him to face the proudest he in Court; He shall not want while we have. He wrongs me to cast doubts: Tell him I am the am I ever was, And ever will continue as I am. But that he should disdain this courtesy Being in want, and coming too from me, Does somewhat trouble me. I do, with all the best affection A Virgin can bestow upon her friend. How, not a true man? That is not theft when men but steal their own, And I am his, witness this Diamond, Which bear him, and thus say, that no disaster Shall ever partly me from his company. What are we but our words? when they are passed, Faith should succeed, and that should ever last. My Father? Sir, such a thing there was. I herd no such exception. Unless he be a Gentleman, and Bonneville Is by his birth no less. Why, should your state fail you, Can it from you your honours take away? While your Allegiance holds, what needs you more, You ever shall be noble although poor. Indeed so worldlings say: But virtuous men prove they are only deer That all their riches can about them bear. And to be yours is to be what I wish; You were to me as welcome in your rags, As in these Silks. I never did examine The out side of a man, but I begin To censure first of that which grows within. Were you more worth, I could not love you more, Or less, affect you less; you have brought me home All that I love, your sell e, and you are welcome. I gave no faith to Money, but a Man, And that I cannot lose possessing you: It's not the robe or garment l affect, For who would marry with a suit of clothes? Diamonds, though tin Led, retain their worth, And leaden Knives may have a golden sheath. My love is to the Jewel, not the Case, And you my jewel are. Madam, you know I am my Father's heir, My possibilities may raise his Hope's To their first height: should I despise my hand In a torn glove, or taste a poisonous draught Because presented in a Cup of Gold? Virtue will last when wealth flies, and is gone: Let me drink Nectar though in earth or stone. My Father is my Father, but my Husband, He is my self: my resolution is To profess constancy, and keep mine honour; And rather than to Queen it where I hate, Beg where I love: I wish no better fate.
Plot summary
Plot — The Royal King and the Loyal Subject
The King of England returns home from a crusade, where his life was saved in battle by the Marshal. He rewards the Marshal with eminence, which makes the other lords jealous. At a hunt, the King’s horse loses a shoe; the Marshal gives him the shoes off his own horse. He also magnanimously allows the Prince to beat him in a tournament. The envious lords try to persuade the King that the Marshal’s humility is a cloak for pride and ambition, and that he wishes to be greater than the King himself in his magnanimity. The King resolves to test the Marshal, and treats him badly at a public feast: he is dismissed from office and his job is handed over to his greatest enemy, Chester; then he is told to leave the court altogether. He retires to the country, but the King orders him to send his favourite daughter to court for some sexual purpose. The Marshal sends his elder daughter, Isabella, subject to the condition that the King should return her if he dislikes her; and gives her instructions that she should conceal any pregnancy and constantly tell the King that her sister is better looking. The King makes Isabella his Queen, and, unbidden, the Marshal sends a generous dowry. She becomes pregnant, but does as her father instructs; she also tells her husband of her sister Katherine’s superior beauty. Affronted, the King sends her home along with the dowry and orders the Marshal to send Katherine. The Marshal claims that Katherine is ill and unable to travel, but promises to send her when she is better. He does more than that: he sends back both daughters with the dowry doubled, continuing to outdo the King in magnanimity. The Prince is allowed to marry Katherine. The Marshal asks leave to return to court with a rich gift for the King, which turns out to be his new-born son by Isabella. The King tries to trump even this by giving the Marshal a new wife, the Princess. At the wedding, however, the Marshal seems discontented: he is worried that his fortunes depend on the pleasure of his new wife. He refuses a dowry, saying that the ===== PAGE 305 ===== 1606 Princess is treasure enough in herself. The envious Chester encourages the King to take offence, and the Marshal is summoned from his bed, tried, and sentenced to death. He accepts his fate with dignity, but his and the King’s children all plead for his life. The King declares that the Marshal’s loyalty has been thoroughly tested and proven. He is restored to office, and Chester disgraced. In the sub-plot, Captain…