in Herod and Antipater — Markham, Gervase; Sampson, William
Metadata
Play
Herod and Antipater
Author
Markham, Gervase; Sampson, William
Year (catalogued)
1622
First performance
1622
Decade
1620s
Genre
Tragedy
Play type
Adult Professional
Company
Red Bull (Revels) Company (first)
Theater
Red Bull;Outdoor Professional
Speech prefix(es)
Try. | T •… y.
Words
475
Characters
2563
Typicality
0.28 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A06982
BritDrama no.
1901
Cluster
Cluster 1 — Wives, widows & intimate counsel
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
Oh blessed Comb; thou spotless Ivory, With which my Mistress Salumith once dained To comb the curious felters of her hair, And lay each thread in comely equipage; Sleep here in peace for ever; let no hand (But mine henceforth) be ever so adacious, Or daring as to touch thee. Sizers, sweet Sizers; sharp, but gentle ones; That once did cut the Locks of Salumith; Making them in humility hang down On either side her cheeks, as 'twere to guard The Roses, that there flourish: Oh, go rest, Rest in this peaceful Case; and let no hand Of mortal raze profane you. Toothpick, deer Toothpick; Eare-pick, both of you Have been her sweet Companions; with the one I've seen her pick her white Teeth; with the other Wriggle so finely wormlike in her Ear; That I have wished, with envy, (pardon me) I had been made of your condition: But 'tis too great a blessing. Salumith, Oh Salumith; When first I saw thy golden Locks to shine, I brake my glass; needing no Face, but thine: When at those coral Lips, I was a gazer; Greedy of one sweet touch, I broke my Razor: When to thy Cheeks, thou didst my poor Eyes call; Away flew Sizers, Basin, Balls and all: On y the Crisping-Irons I kept most deer; To do thee service here and every where. Bright Go-o-o-desse. Not love you Lady? Oh strange blasphemy! What would I do? what not? Oh any thing. I'll number all those Hairs my Sizers cut, And dedicate those Numbers to her Shrine; A Breath more loathsome then the Stench of Nile, I'll rectify, and, for her sake, make pleasant; A Face more black then any Aethiope, I'll scour as white as Silver; to attain But one touch of her finger, I'de beget Things beyond wonder; stab, poison, kill, Break mine own neck, my friends, or any men. What, but this? But shall I have a k sse from that white hand, Which gripes my heart within it? Oh my Lord, My gracious Lord, hear me; I must disclose A treason foul and odious: these your Sons, Your Princely Sons, chiefly Prince Alexander, By fearful threats, and golden promises, Have laboured me, that when I should be called, To trim your Highness beard, or cut your hair; I then should lay my Razor to your throat, And send you hence to Heaven. Briefly Sir, Prince Alexander, and Aristobulus Offered me heaps of gold to cut your throat, When I should trim or shave you. Then by this kiss I'll do it; h ney kiss There's resol cion in thee, and I'm fixed To donc it swiftly, quickly; from my lip Thy sweet taste shall not partly, till I have spoke All that your wishes look for: boast of this; Y'aue bought two Princes lives with one poor kiss.
Plot summary
Plot — Herod and Antipater
Queen Alexandra attempts to flee to Egypt with her son, the High Priest Aristobulus, after King Herod commands a bloody purge of their family. Herod’s troops arrive in time only to seize their luggage, but they are found hiding inside. Herod makes a public gesture of sparing them, but has his bastard son Antipater arrange an ‘accidental’ drowning for Aristobulus during a swimming contest. Herod backed the wrong side in the recent Roman civil war between Mark Antony and Augustus. He goes to Rome to make his peace with Augustus, the new master of the Empire, leaving Antipater with instructions to kill Mariam, the Queen, in the event of his failure. When Herod presents himself, Augustus offers two slaves the chance to murder him: the Briton conscientiously refuses, whereas the Roman eagerly accepts the job. But Augustus was only toying with Herod: he rewards the British slave, has the Roman thrown into the sea, and confirms Herod in his kingdom as an ally of Rome. Mariam learns that Herod has ordered her death, which compounds his crime in killing Aristobulus. Antipater, who seeks the crown, draws inspiration from Hell, and is shown a vision of the murder of Agamemnon. He procures false witnesses to accuse Mariam of attempting to poison her husband in order to facilitate an incestuous liaison with his brother. Herod sentences them both to death; he later changes his mind and tries to reprieve Mariam, but is too late. His two sons, Alexander and the younger Aristobulus, raise rebellion against him to avenge their mother. War is averted when Augustus intervenes: Herod’s authority is reinforced, the rebel princes are forgiven, and they are given nominally equal status with Antipater, though Herod gives precedence to the bastard. Antipater receives further hellish inspiration in a vision of Jugurth’s murder of his half-brothers. More false evidence is arranged, implicating Alexander and Aristobulus in plots to assassinate Herod and sow sedition in the army: a mason working on the rebuilding of the Temple is induced to say that he was bribed to drop a stone on Herod as he came to inspect the works, and Herod’s barber is asked to cut his throat. The barber shows the letter to Herod, who kills him to be on the safe side, and then has Alexander and Aristobulus strangled. Antipater is now the only surviving son. Wishing to retire, Herod sends Antipater to Rome, asking Augustus to make him King of Judah. Before he leaves, Antipater suborns Pheroas, Herod’s cupbearer,…