in A Looking Glass for London and England — Lodge, Thomas; Greene, Robert
Metadata
Play
A Looking Glass for London and England
Author
Lodge, Thomas; Greene, Robert
Year (catalogued)
1594
First performance
1588
Decade
1590s
Genre
Biblical Moral
Play type
Adult Professional
Company
Derby's (Strange's) Men
Speech prefix(es)
1. Clowne.
Words
200
Characters
1008
Typicality
0.38 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A06185
BritDrama no.
829
Cluster
Cluster 0 — Clowns, beggars & street sellers
Important excerpts
Passages from this character's speech that contain the most distinguishing words for Cluster 0 (shillings, tom, guts, mutton, wares, dan…). Matches are highlighted.
water. Nay sir, we read in the Chronicles, that there was a God of our occupa cion. a Cuckold. he called your father cousin, paltry smith, thou hast defaced their worshipful how? stand to it, that a Smith in his kind is a and a Barber. For let a Horse take a cold, or the hots, and we straight give him a potion or physical manner that
Full speech
I prithee Smith is your occupation so excellent A paltry Smith, why isle stand to it, a Smith is Lord of the four elements, for our iron is made of the earth, our bellows blow out air, our flore holds fire, and our forge water. Nay sir, we read in the Chronicles, that there was a God of our occupa cion. a Cuckold. he called your father cousin, paltry smith, thou hast defaced their worshipful how? stand to it, that a Smith in his kind is a and a Barber. For let a Horse take a cold, or the hots, and we straight give him a potion or physical manner that he mends straight, if diseases, as the spuing, splent, ringbone, fashion, or sir a galled back, we let him blood & clap to him with a pestilence, that mends him with a , now if his mane grow out of order, and he have hairs, we straight to our shéeres and trim him cut it please us, pick his ears and make him neat, indeed sir, we are slouings for one thing, we never use musk-balls to wash him with, and the reason is sir, because woe without kissing.
Plot summary
Plot — A Looking Glass for London and England
Triumphant over the King of Jerusalem, the Assyrian king Rasni declares himself divine and marries his sister, Remilia; a viceroy who objects is banished and the flatterer Radagon given his place. Inordinately proud of her beauty, Remilia is struck by lightning. Rasni is unable to revive her, and buries her in state; but is encouraged by Radagon to think of the living rather than the dead, and to take Alvida, wife of the King of Paphlagonia. When her husband objects to the adulterous liaison, she poisons him. Alvida continues to be unfaithful: her ambition attracts her to Rasni, but her sexual appetite favours the Viceroy of Cilicia, so she takes both. Thrasybulus and Alcon are both cheated by a usurer to whom they are trying to repay money: he keeps them talking beyond the due hour and then secures possession of Thrasybulus’ farm and Alcon’s cow as a penalty for non-payment. They attempt to sue him, but he bribes both the judge and their lawyer, and they lose their cases. Alcon appeals to Radagon, his son, to help his starving family, but Radagon is too proud to acknowledge his parent, and Rasni has him ejected from the court. Radagon’s mother curses him, and: he is swallowed by subterranean fire. Thrasybulus ard ===== PAGE 473 ===== 1589 Alcon turn to begging and theft in their destitution, and try to pawn stolen clothes to the usurer. Adam, a smith’s man, goes off with some ruffians to get drunk. After a drunken quarrel over a woman, one of them is killed. Rasni finds Adam in a stupor by the body, but decides that murder is ordinary drunken behaviour, and takes no judicial action. Adam and his mistress are having an illicit affair. The smith catches them canoodling, but when he attempts to take reprisals, Adam argues that he is the one who should be beaten for the sin of jealousy. An angel orders Jonah to preach against Nineveh’s wickedness. He is reluctant, and takes a ship to Tarshish instead. The ship encounters a storm, which Jonah identifies as a sign of divine displeasure at his disobedience. He has himself thrown overboard, and the storm abates. A whale swallows him, then belks him up on shore. He goes to Nineveh as ordered. These events are watched and commented on by the prophet Hosea, brought from Jerusalem by an angel. The angel removes him before the Ninevites’ corruption receives its due reward in the city’s destruction, and he returns to preach to the Jews of Nineveh’s wickedness. ‘The city is troubled by apparitions and portents, but…