in The Seven Champions of Christendom — Kirke, John
Metadata
Play
The Seven Champions of Christendom
Author
Kirke, John
Year (catalogued)
1638
First performance
1635
Decade
1630s
Genre
Romance
Play type
Adult Professional
Company
Red Bull Company (second)
Theater
Red Bull;Phoenix/Cockpit;Indoor Professional;Outdoor Professional
Speech prefix(es)
Leon.
Words
355
Characters
1929
Typicality
0.33 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A04874
BritDrama no.
2432
Cluster
Cluster 22 — Ghosts, curses & horror voices
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
True great Argalio, Yet here I live as a reprieved prisoner, In hope of life, sure of imprisonment, Losing the benefit of life's repast. In the grand lose of the all-pleasing light, Without the which life is a misery too hard to be inflicted. Why are these terrors mixed with our delights? As they oppose my sins: See, see where those poor souls, Their murdering hands pulled from the mortal Motion of their flesh, come back to give The Ferryman his hire, I am behind hand in that Fatal debt: but now in spite of his black churlish Oar, We'll waft ourselves unto the hoped shore. It clears, it clears: What does thy Art avail thee, Thou that hast said for to obscure the Sun, Where are they fled? hide thy self now Argalio, And hide my errors with thee, they are vain, As my beliefs are, that thou hast a knowledge Above my mischiefs: horse us on the Clouds, For nought else can prevent our imminent ruin. I cannot have a faith in these delusions: Let me despair and die; here is a sword Can quickly ease my torments, and set free A burthend Conscience: how freely will my spirit Greet the air of hells black kingdom: There the Thracian sits, hard by the sullen Waters of black Styx, fingering his Lute; To hear whose pleasing strains, hells Ministers Forget their offices, the wearied souls their torments, The whole Vault resounds his echos; Thither will I High, and lay my troubled head Upon his lap, and he shall charm me Into endless slumbers. Thou hast given me a new life, I feel a new unwonted joy assail me, And all my sorrows vanish Like those clouds, That even but now environed us with darkness. O my happy friend. Up to the promontary top of my fair Castle, There take thy pleasure of the morning's air, Breathed from Aurora's care the Sun does wake, From thence to banquet upon Lyons hearts, I'll feast the hie and strong, my Ganymed: Come let us mount, pleasure's to us a toy, My happiness consists in thee my boy.
Plot summary
Plot — The Seven Champions of Christendom
Years ago, the witch Calib stole a child, George, intending to bathe in his blood; but she fell in love with the baby and brought him up with her own son, Suckabus. She has always refused to let him know the identity of his real parents, but after much importunity she relents and tells George that he was a bastard whom she saved from infanticide. She asks her diabolic lover Tarpax how long she has to live; the demon prophesies that she will die only when love causes her to lose control of her magical powers. She shows George six Christian champions whom she keeps in her cave, and grants him their ransom. When George feels pity for them but pretends severity, she gives him her magic wand. The ghosts of his parents visit him, and he learns that Calib poisoned them, and that he is really of noble birth. He uses the magic wand to kill Calib, but agrees to take on Suckabus as a servant; Tarpax encourages Suckabus to spread his seed widely around the earth by taking every opportunity for procreation. George joins the six champions, bringing them up to the number prophesied by a Sibyl, seven. They go their separate ways into pagan lands. Trebizond is troubled by monsters: a dragon and a lion terrorize the land and kill knights who attempt to dispose of them. The Emperor proclaims a reward for anyone who will deal with the menace. The champions Andrew and Anthony arrive in Trebizond, and the Princess and Carintha fall in love with them; but their welcome evaporates when the Emperor discovers their religion. An oracle has decreed that any Christians who set foot in Trebizond must convert to paganism or be executed. The Emperor allows them to choose their own executioners; they choose the ladies, who refuse to comply; so they offer to relieve the ladies of the responsibility and execute one another. The Emperor allows them to be rearmed so that they can do so, and this enables them to fight their way to freedom. The champion David accidentally causes the death of Prince Arbasto in a joust. David has helped the King of Tartary, Arbasto’s father, in his war with the Persians, and cannot honourably be executed, so the King offers him a pardon, half the kingdom, and the succession if he will bring back the head of his enemy, Ormandine. The expectation is that Ormandine will kill him. Ormandine was once a duke, but was deposed by the Kings of Tartary and Arabia, and took up magic to avenge himself. A prophecy assures him of his security until the arrival of a British…