Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

SIMPLICIUS

in What You Will

Metadata

PlayWhat You Will
Year (catalogued)1607
First performance1607
Decade1600s
GenreComedy
Play typeProfessional;Boys Professional
CompanyChildren of Paul's (second) (?)
Speech prefix(es)Sim. | Sym. | Simp. | Si.
Words1035
Characters5294
Typicality0.31 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA07081
BritDrama no.1283
ClusterCluster 9 — Boon companions & bluff banter

Important excerpts

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

Full speech

Mounsieur Lauerdure, do you see that Gentleman, he goes but in black Satin as you see, but by Hellicon he hath a cloth of Tissue wit, he breaks a jest, would, heel rail against the Courttil the gallants— Oh God he is very Nectar, if you but sip of his love, you were immortal, I must needs make you known to him: I'll induce your love with deer regard. Sini or Lampatho heers is a French Gentleman Mounsieur Laver dure a Traveller, a beloved of heaven, courts your acquaintance. Mark that Quadratus. Good, good, good, Oh Jesu admirable. Oh Jesu, admirably well spoken, Angelical tongue. No edge-tool, o! Tones of heaven it self. What is your name. Who gave you that name. Nay let me alone for spo sing of a scholar. Truly gallants I am enamoured on thee boy wilt thou serve me. Nay come good Sinior, I stay all the gentlemen here, I wood feign give my pretty page a pudding pie. Dellicat good Lampatho come away. I assure you isle give but two pence more. Uds so peace. Oh God Sir, you lie as open to my understanding as a Courtesan, I know you as well— Why look you Sir, I would paid for my knowing of men and women too in my days, I know you are Francisco Soranza the Perfumer, I maugre Sinior Satin I. I know you dwell in Saint Marks lane, at the sign of the Muscat as well— I know where you were dressed, where you were— God ye God morrow heartily mistress, and how do you since last I saw you. I but when you were gone the rogue Beatrice me. Truly the best wits have the badst fortune at dice still. Not I, in truth I have still exceeding bade fortune at dice. I must needs rise, much good do it you. I must needs be gone, and yowl come to my Chamber to morrow morning, I'll send you a hundred crowns. I'll keep a horse and four boys with grace of for tune now. And I do not? I'll thwack a Jerkin till he groan again with Gold lace: let me see, what should I desire of God, marry a Cloak linde with rich Taffeta, white Satin suit, and my gilded Rapier from pawn, nay she shall give me a Chain of Pearl that shall pay for all, good boy, good Sinior, good boy, good Sinior. And a fresh Pearl-colour silk stocking oh IIII, I'll go to the half crown ordinary every meal, I'll have my Ivory box of Tobacco, I'll converse with none but Counts and Cour tiers—now good boy, good Sinior, a pair of massy silver Spurs, to a hatch short sword, and then your imbroderd hanger, and good Sinior. One that has eat fat Capon, sucked the boiled Chicken, & let out his wit with the fool of bounty, one Fabius, isle scorn him, he goes upon Fridays in black satin. He is a fine man law, and has a good wit for when he list he can go in black Satin, I and in a cloak lined with unshorn Velvet. Would, would, would, God boy good Sinior, what a fool it's, would, would, what and Ass it's, save you young Gentlemen, is she coming, will she meet me, shall's encounter would? Not I by this garter, I am a fool, a very Ninny I, how call you her? how call you her? She has a good skin? I'll keep two men and they shall be Tailors, they shall make suits continually, and those shall be cloth of silver. Giu`t by this light, I'll giu`t, Wertenberg, gain, I care not for her Chain of Pearl, only her love; gain? the first thing her bou ̄ ty shall fetch is my blush colour Satin suit from ̄ pawn: gain? I shall so ravish her with my courtship, I have such vam riety of discourse, such copy of phrase to begin, as this; sweet Lady Ulysses Dog after his Masters ten years travel, I shall so ticle her, or thus, Pure beauty there is a stone. Called, it's no matter what; I would the eloquence, I am not to seek I warrant you. The Cornet is winded, Enter Pippo Bydet, Pippo attired Like a Merchant's wife, and Bydet Like a Fool. Sweet Lady Ulysses dog, there's a stone called—, Oh Lord what shall I say. The glorious radiant of your glimmering eyes, your glit tering beauty's blind my wit, and dazzled my— Do not cry man, do not cry man, thou shalt would them I and they were— He has all my money, I have to keep my self, and— I come Quadratus, Gentlemen as yet I can but thank you, but I must be trusted for my ordinary soon at night, or stay I'll—the fool has unfurnished me, but it'll come again, good boy. Good boy, good boys, I come, I come, good boys, good boys. Gods me, look yonder, who gave you these things? Mistress Perpetuanos fool, would, would, there lies a jest, Sinior the fool promised me he would not leave me. Uds so I am cosoned. Give me my purse again. I may go starve till Midsummer quarter. Oh Lord Quadratus. Good truth I love you, and with the grace of Heaven, I'll be very civil and — I'll be some thing, I have a concealed humore in me and it broachd twold spurty faith. A very pretty Child, hold up thy head, there, buy thee some plums. Pippo's my page, how Like you him, would has he not a good face, would. Carry my rapier hold up so, good child, stay gallants umph a sweet face. What so Lampatho, good truth I will not pay your Or dinary if you come not. And I tell not my father, if I make you not lose your office of gutter Mastership; and you be Skavenger next year well: Come Holifernes come good Holifernes, come servant. Exit Sim. Holife. Pray you pardon my incivility, I was somewhat bold with you, but believe me I'll never be so saucy to ask you how you do again, as long as I live la.

Plot summary

Plot — What You Will
Only three months after her husband Albano was reported dead in a sea battle, Celia has many suitors. Tomorrow she intends to marry Laverdure, a French knight; but Alban.o 's brothers, Randolfo and Adrian, disapprove. After fruitlessly petitioning the noctumal. party-loving Duke to stop the wedding, thcr decide to make it illegitimate by introducing an impostor, a perfumer named Francisco, to pose as Albano, claiming that he did not die after all; but Laverdure's page Bidet witnesses their scheming and warns his master. In fact, Albano survived. On his return to Venice he is unimpressed to hear that his supposedly faithful and loving wife is getting married again so soon; but when he accosts Laverdure, he is taken for Francisco. Even his own brothers take him for the disguised perfumer, so he begins to believe that he has indeed become Francisco by metempsychosis. He interrupts the performance of a play at court to protest at the way he has been treated, and the Duke assures everyone that he really is Albano. He decides to forgive everyone, including Laverdure and Celia. In the sub-plot, Simplicius saves the schoolboy Holofernes Pippo from a thrashing and takes him on as his page. A group of pages trick Simplicius into arranging an assignation with a merchant's wife, who turns out to be Holofemes in disguise.