Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

SOL

in The Woman in the Moon — Lyly, John

Metadata

PlayThe Woman in the Moon
AuthorLyly, John
Year (catalogued)1597
First performance1593
Decade1590s
GenreComedy
Play typeBoys Professional
CompanyChildren of Paul's (first)
Theaterbefore the Court;
Speech prefix(es)Sol.
Words174
Characters998
Typicality0.41 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA06629
BritDrama no.819
ClusterCluster 2 — Allegory, Nature & pageant voices

Important excerpts

No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).

Full speech

Mine eyes? then govern thou my daylight car. In looking down upon this baser world, I long have seen and rude Pandora's harms, But as my self by nature am inclined, So shall she now become, gentle and kind, Abandoning all rancour, pride, and rage, And changing from a Lion to a Lamb, She shall be loving liberal and chaste, Discreet and patient, merciful and mild, Inspired with poetry and prophesy, And virtues aPPERTAINING womanhood. Bright Cyprian Queen entreat Pandora fair. For though at first Phœbus envied her looks, Yet now does he admire her glorious hew. And swears that neither Daphne in the spring, Nor glistering Thetis in her orient robe, Nor shamefast morning gert in silver clouds. Are half so lovely as this earthly Saint. Make Chastity Pandora's waiting maid, For modest thoughts beseems a woman best. But what is more then this is worse then nought, I dare not stay least she infect me too. Exit. Take her again, and love her Stesias. With me, and I'll forget fair Daphne's love.

Plot summary

Plot — The Woman in the Moon
When. the SHépheérds of Utopia protest that, unlike all other creatures, they have no mates, Nature produces one she made earlier: a female statue, which Goneord animates by joining spirit with flesh, and to which DiS€6rd gives a tongue; Nature names her Pandora. The seven planets are jealous of Pandora, and take it in turns to cross her. First Saturn makes her melancholy, and she rejects all her wooers. Then jupiter makes her ambitious, and woos her himself; her acceptance angers JMO!) She sets the shepherds a-love test, to kill a savage boar; she will love the one who brings her its head. Ma#§ supplants Jupiter and makes Pandora aggressive: when the shepherds fight over who killed the boar, she joins in and wounds Stésias} Next Sl is in the ascendant, inducing Pandora to love, chastity, and other feminine virtues: she remorsefully accepts Stesias as her husband, and speaks ambiguous Latin prophecies about their future happiness. Wenus rises and makes Pandora amorous, so she wantons with the other shepherds. Stesias tries to catch her in the act, but G@iH@philis double-crosses him and he is persuaded of her chastity. Mereuty takes over and makes Pandora cunning and dishonest, qualities which save her when the three shepherds tell Stesias that she has indeed been unchaste: she is able to convince him that this is merely the jealousy of disappointed rivals, then pays back her accusers by making further assignations, which Stesias keeps, dressed as a woman, and beats them; they then swear to abjure women and live a single life. Meanwhile she steals Stesias’ jewels and elopes with Gunophilus, but on the way the ascent of Bia drives her mad. Stesias is again persuaded that Pandora is unchaste and, despairing, plans to kill her, but the planets intervene to protect her. Nature proposes to set her in one of the planets’ spheres, and she chooses that of Luna, since she has proven to be fundamentally changeable. Stesias is forced to accompany her, and he becomes the man in the moon.