in Cupid's Revenge — Beaumont, Francis; Fletcher, John
Metadata
Play
Cupid's Revenge
Author
Beaumont, Francis; Fletcher, John
Year (catalogued)
1615
First performance
1608
Decade
1610s
Genre
Tragedy
Play type
Boys Professional
Company
Children of the Queen's Revels
Speech prefix(es)
Priest.
Words
379
Characters
2034
Typicality
0.54 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A06177
BritDrama no.
1533
Cluster
Cluster 24 — Gods, cupids & celestial agents
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
Come my children, let your feet, In and even Measure meet: And your cheerful voices rise, For to present this Sacrifice Lo great Cupid, in whose name, I his Priest begin the same. Young men take your Loves and kiss, Thus our Cupid honoured is. Kiss again, and in your kissing, Let no promises be missing: Nor let any May den here, Dare to turn away her ear, Unto the whisper of her Love, But give Bracelet, Ring, or Glove, As a token to her sweating, Of and after secret meeting: Now boy sing, to st cke our hearts Fuller of great Cupid's darts. Song. Lovers rejoice, your pains shall be rewarded, The God of love himself grieves at your crying; No more shall frozen honour be rewarded, Nor the coy faces of a maid denying. No more shall Virgins sighs, and say we dare not, For men are false, and what they do they care not. All shall be well again, then do not grieve, Men shall be true, and women shall believe. Lovers rejoice, what you shall say henceforth, When you have caught your Sweethearts in your arms, It shall be accounted Oracle, and worth: No more fainthearted Girls shall dream of harms, And cry they are too young: the God hath said, Fifteen shall make a Mother of a Maid: Then wise men, pull your Roses yet unblown, Love hates the too ripe fruit that falls alone. Lovers rejoice, your pains shall be rewarded, The God of love himself grieves at your crying; No more shall frozen honour be rewarded, Nor the coy faces of a maid denying. No more shall Virgins sighs, and say we dare not, For men are false, and what they do they care not. All shall be well again, then do not grieve, Men shall be true, and women shall believe. Lovers rejoice, what you shall say henceforth, When you have caught your Sweethearts in your arms, It shall be accounted Oracle, and worth: No more fainthearted Girls shall dream of harms, And cry they are too young: the God hath said, Fifteen shall make a Mother of a Maid: Then wise men, pull your Roses yet unblown, Love hates the too ripe fruit that falls alone. Oh Sacrilege unheard of!
Plot summary
Plot — Cupid's Revenge
Leontius, King of Lycia, promises his daughter Hydaspes anything she asks for on her birthday. She wants him to ban the cult of Cupid in Lycia: the god’s naked statues are to be taken down and burnt, and Cupid-worship to be made a capital offence. Leontius agrees, persuaded that the religion is the cause of national immorality. His nephew Ismenus demurs: he will promulgate the Duke’s orders, but will himself take no hand in obeying them. As his temples are dismantled, Cupid declares vengeance on the kingdom. The Lycian royal family begins to behave with inappropriate amorousness. Hydaspes fixates on Zoilus, a deformed dwarf, and asks to be allowed to marry him; her father’s response is to have him beheaded, and she pines to death. Prince Leucippus falls for Bacha, a strumpet only interested in his wealth and power, but, questioned by his father, denies sexual misbehaviour and praises her virtue and chastity. Leontius is so impressed that he sends Leucippus away ===== PAGE 378 ===== and woos Bacha for himself, affecting youthful clothing and behaviour. Bacha becomes Queen of Lycia. When Leucippus returns to court, Bacha tries to seduce him again. He refuses to cuckold his father, and, annoyed at his refusal, she plots his death; this will leave her daughter Urania as the only heir to the throne. She makes Leontius jealous of his son’s popularity with the people and courtiers, and persuades him that Leucippus is plotting his assassination. The court parasite Timantus tells Leucippus that the King is to discuss his arrest at a council, and arranges to place him where he can eavesdrop and be forewarned of the charges. It is a ruse: Leucippus is arrested and sentenced to death, and Urania is proclaimed heir to the throne. At the execution, the citizens rise in rebellion and rescue the Prince from the scaffold. As Leontius sickens, Bacha schemes to marry Urania to a foreign prince; but she is in love with Leucippus, locates him through the good offices of Ismenus, and follows him posing as a page. Bacha engages Timantus to murder Leucippus. He finds the Prince by intercepting a letter from Ismenus; but his attack fails when Urania interposes her own body and is mortally wounded. Timantus is killed, but reveals her true identity before he dies. Ismenus brings Leucippus news that Leontius is dead. He declares that he will leave Bacha to heaven’s justice, but she stabs him. He dies, bequeathing the throne to Ismenus and enjoining him to reinstate the cult and…