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)
1. Whore. | 2. Whore.
Words
187
Characters
982
Typicality
0.46 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A03248
BritDrama no.
1504
Cluster
Cluster 0 — Clowns, beggars & street sellers
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
Trust you? come up, can' to thou pay the hackney for the hire of a horse, and thinkest thou to breath me upon trust? Yes the gallows as soon. Here's Gallants would have us breathed, and for sooth they have no money. And shall I have this? No matter, thou shalt have a clean shirt, and but pay for the washing, and thy clothes shall in the mean time be cast into and Oven. If we come by any mischance, thou hast money to pay for the cure: come, shall's withdraw into the next chamber? I know not what you call a railing companion: but such another discourse would make me go near to turn honest. A Gentleman, and have no money? marry you make a most knightly offer. How can they offer that have none? Ey but sir, I'll deal with no such chapmen. They think belike, diet, lodging, ruffs, clothes, and holland-smocks can l be had without money, and a disease, if we should catch it, Heaven bless us, can be cured without money. And I this? Itchy? O thou shalt have Brimstone and Butter.
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…