in Adrasta, or The Woman's Spleen and Love's Conquest — Jones, John
Metadata
Play
Adrasta, or The Woman's Spleen and Love's Conquest
Author
Jones, John
Year (catalogued)
1635
First performance
1635
Decade
1630s
Genre
Tragicomedy
Play type
Closet/Unacted
Speech prefix(es)
Gent.
Words
306
Characters
1642
Typicality
0.29 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A04604
BritDrama no.
2488
Cluster
Cluster 7 — Pedants, satyrs & Latin wit
Important excerpts
Passages from this character's speech that contain the most distinguishing words for Cluster 7 (sicut, istis, quasi, crites, animal, quatuor…). Matches are highlighted.
a Scene merry and harmless, as free from Sour invectives, as fulsome bawdry: as for those whose dull palates can relish nothing, unless it be sauced with the verjuice of a tart pen, be hostile enemies to their pishes and meawings, and scorn to beg or buy a reconciling; their defects make them des perate, and their envy cannot
Full speech
HOw now Prologue! is your mind so much on your partly, that you must run over men as you go? Why for Juvenal's sake? what has thy new tunned Poetry vented? will you rail? will you be satirical, and bite? and rub the City with salt? Do yoe hear Prologue! your Author is a fool: is he desirous to buy Fame at such a rate, that he will smart for't? will not examples move him? can he not live private, but he must be meddling with Tigillinus? Did he never hear of the Proverb, that it's better railing at Hercules then at a Clown to his face? I prithee tell him of it, and let him know, 'tis bet ter live still private and unknown, then have our smarts to every ear be blown. I prithee do, and tell him withal, that so choice and Audience desires not to glut their ears with others infamy, nor ever wished their mirth should feed upon the rank distemperature of other men's vices; but come to behold a Scene merry and harmless, as free from Sour invectives, as fulsome bawdry: as for those whose dull palates can relish nothing, unless it be sauced with the verjuice of a tart pen, be hostile enemies to their pishes and meawings, and scorn to beg or buy a reconciling; their defects make them des perate, and their envy cannot blast and unbeholding wit: to the candor of the rest, any mirth will be more pleasing than rail king: some harmless and innocent humour, that may pass with allowance of the times, will be welcomer to them, and safer to you. I will presently, and dissuade his intention, and yet I doubt not but to give sufficient contentation to his Auditors, whose patience I fear I have wronged by interrupting their Prologue. exit.
Plot summary
Plot — Adrasta, or The Woman's Spleen and Love's Conquest
Adrasta, Duchess of Florence, objects to the amours between her son Lucilio and Althea, a woman of lower rank. She forges a letter from Lucilio to Althea which describes a plan to murder the Duke; Althea’s reply provides evidence to have her arrested for treason. Lucilio visits her in prison, convinces her that the original letter was a fake, and arranges her escape. Dressed in women’s clothes, he takes her place in the cell, stands trial as her, and is sentenced to death. The substitution is discovered only just before the execution; Lucilio attempts to kill himself anyway, but is prevented by his friend Antonio. He leaves Florence, fearful of his parents’ reprisals, and asks Antonio to assume his name and go to Greece, hoping that his father’s agents will follow this false trail and so leave him in peace. Worried that he may yet take his own life, Antonio passes on the responsibility to the villainous servant Alastor, and shadowys Lucilio in disguise. Consulted by Adrasta, the witch Micale conjures up spirits, who locate Althea living as a shepherdess in the mountains and supply poison to dispose of her. Micale is magically transported there and tries to share food with her, but Althea is melancholy and only her friend Camilla will drink the poisoned wine. Micale’s second strategy entails getting her to despair and kill herself, so she claims that both Lucilio and Althea’s mother Julia have been executed. Camilla dies, and Althea covers her face with a scarf she was given by Lucilio. Shepherds find and bury her body, and show the scarf to Antonio, who infers that the dead girl is Althea and duly notifies Julia. Julia blames Lucilio for her daughter’s death and hires Assassino to murder him. Assassino tracks Lucilio to the port where he is about to take ship for Greece, not knowing it is really Alastor whom he is following; he kills the supposed Prince and disposes of the body in the sea, but is arrested and sent back to Florence for trial. The corpse is later recovered, but is so decomposed that only the clothes are identifiable. Assassino confesses, and implicates Julia in the hope of being spared himself. Antonio offers Julia his help to lie low, but plans to attend Assassino’s execution with her in disguise. Althea goes to the place of execution, intending to throw herself off the rock and be reunited with Lucilio in death; but on the edge she sees the living Lucilio coming with the same intention. They are found together when Assassino is brought…