in The Knight of the Burning Pestle — Beaumont, Francis
Metadata
Play
The Knight of the Burning Pestle
Author
Beaumont, Francis
Year (catalogued)
1613
First performance
1607
Decade
1610s
Genre
Comedy
Play type
Boys Professional; Adult Professional
Company
Children of the Queen's Revels
Speech prefix(es)
Host.
Words
391
Characters
2131
Typicality
0.39 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A06252
BritDrama no.
1562
Cluster
Cluster 15 — Devils, vices & grotesques
Important excerpts
Passages from this character's speech that contain the most distinguishing words for Cluster 15 (ang, hunc, fleire, shillings, chil, sblood…). Matches are highlighted.
Thou valiant Knight of the burning Pestle, give ear to me, there is twelve shillings to pay, and as I am a true Knight, I will not bore a penny. Fair Knight I thank you for noble offer, Therefore gentle Knight, Twelve shillings you must pay, or
turned up, and him before he wears, A motley garment, to preserve his clothes From blood of those Knights which he massacres, And Ladies Gent: without his door does hang A copper balon, on a piickant spear: At which, no sooner gentle Knights can knock, But the shrill found, fierce Barbaroso hears, And rushing forth, beings in the
not stay, For his main force soopes all he sees away. Puissant Knight yonder his Mansion is, Lo where the spear and Copper Basin are, Behold that string on which hangs many a tooth, Drawn from the gentle jaw of wandering Knights, I dare not stay to found, he will appear.
Full speech
Thou valiant Knight of the burning Pestle, give ear to me, there is twelve shillings to pay, and as I am a true Knight, I will not bore a penny. Fair Knight I thank you for noble offer, Therefore gentle Knight, Twelve shillings you must pay, or I must cap you. Sirrah go to Neck the Barbor, and bid him prepare himself, as I told you before, quickly. Sir Knight, this wilderness affordeth none But the great venture, where full many a Knight Hath tried his prowess and come off with shame, And where I would not have you lose your life, Against no man, but furious fiend of hell. Not far from hence, near to a craggy cliff, At the North end of this distressed Town, There does stand a lowly house Ruggedly built, and in it a Cave, In which and ugly Giant now does wone, Yelped Barbaroso: in his hand He shakes a naked lance of purest steel, With sleeves turned up, and him before he wears, A motley garment, to preserve his clothes From blood of those Knights which he massacres, And Ladies Gent: without his door does hang A copper balon, on a piickant spear: At which, no sooner gentle Knights can knock, But the shrill found, fierce Barbaroso hears, And rushing forth, beings in the errant Knight, And sets him down in and enchanted chair. Then with and Engine which he hath prepared, With forty teeth, he claws his courtly crown, Next makes him wink, and underneath his chin, He plants a brazen piece of mighty board, And knocks his bullets round about his cheeks, While with his fingers, and and instrument With which he snaps his hair off, he does fill The wretches ears with a most hideous noise. Thus every Knight Adventurer he does trim, And now no creature dares encounter him. Brave sprighted Knight, thus far I will perform. This your request, I'll bring you with in sighed Of this most loathsome place, inhabited By a more loathsome man: but dare not stay, For his main force soopes all he sees away. Puissant Knight yonder his Mansion is, Lo where the spear and Copper Basin are, Behold that string on which hangs many a tooth, Drawn from the gentle jaw of wandering Knights, I dare not stay to found, he will appear.
Plot summary
Plot — The Knight of the Burning Pestle
At the theatre, a citizen and his wife object to the satirical subject matter of the play, The London Merchant: they insist on a more romantic offering starring their apprentice, Rafe, as a heroic grocer. The boy actors do their best to provide this within the play they have rehearsed. In the play, Luce prefers her father Venturewell’s apprentice Jasper to his chosen son-in-law, Humphrey; so Venturewell discharges Jasper, and he goes home to a family impoverished by the irresponsible merriment of his father, Old Merrythought. His mother, who 1607 favours his younger brother Michael, insists that he be paid his inheritance and sent out into the world. Several of the characters go to Waltham Forest. Luce elopes with Humphrey, intending to meet Jasper there. Rafe the grocer, a voluminous reader of chivalric romance, becomes the Knight of the Burning Pestle and leaves in search of heroic deeds. He scares Mistress Merrythought, who leaves behind her jewels. These are found and taken away by Jasper, who then meets the eloping couple, beats Humphrey, and takes Luce. In the audience, the citizen and his wife take Jasper to be the villain and Humphrey the hero; they demand that Rafe return to fight Jasper, but Jasper beats him. Notified by Humphrey, Venturewell confronts Jasper’s father, but is offended by his refusal to take the matter seriously. Jasper tests Luce’s love by threatening her with violence. She accepts her fate, but Humphrey and her father seize her before he can admit he was only pretending. Rafe stays at the Bell inn, but cannot understand that he must pay for its hospitality. (The citizen settles the bill for him.) The host sends him to fight the giant Barbaroso, better known as Nick the barber, who has imprisoned many knights and ladies — actually clients and venereal disease patients. Rafe defeats the ‘giant’ and releases the ‘knights’. The citizens then have a scene inserted in which he meets a foreign king’s daughter, but refuses her offer oflove. Later interpolated scenes show Rafe as the city’s May Lord, and mustering troops at Mile End. Venturewell incarcerates Luce in her room, but Jasper gains access by pretending to be dead: Venturewell accedes to a request that his body should be brought to Luce, and then has the coffin sent on to Old Merrythought, unaware that Luce has taken Jasper’s place inside. Left behind in Luce’s room, Jasper appears to Venturewell in ghostly guise and instructs him to repent, compensate Old Merrythought for his…