Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

ANGEL

in The Triumphs of Truth

Metadata

PlayThe Triumphs of Truth
Year (catalogued)1613
First performance1613
Decade1610s
GenreCivic Pageant
Play typeOccasional;Nonprofessional
Company1613
Speech prefix(es)The Salutation of the Angell.
Words213
Characters1112
Typicality0.24 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA07518
BritDrama no.1727
ClusterCluster 20 — Conjurers, witches & physicians

Important excerpts

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

Full speech

I have within mine Eye my blessed Charge, Hail Friend of Truth, Safety and Jay attnds thee; I am Truths Angel, by my Mistress sent To guard and guide thee, when thou tookest thy Oath I stood on thy Right hand, though to thy eye In visible form I did not then appear, Ask but thy Soul will tell thee I stood near; And 'twas a Time to take care of Thee then At such a Marriage before Heaven and Men, (Thy Faith being wed to Honour) close behind thee Stood Errors Minister, that still sought to blind thee, And wrap his subtle mists about thy Oath, To hide it from the nakedness of Troth, Which is Truths purest glory, but my light Still as it shone, Expelled her blackest spite; His Mists fled by, yet all I could devise, Could hardly keep them from some Peoples eyes, But thine they flew from, thy Care's but begun Wake on, the Victory is not half yet won, Thou wilt be still assaulted, thou shalt meet With many dangers, that in voice seem sweet, And ways most pleasant to a worldlings eye, My Mistress ha but One, but that leads hie To yo'n triumphant City follow me, Keep thou to Truth, Eternity keeps to thee.

Plot summary

Plot — The Triumphs of Truth
Upon taking office, the new Lord Mayor is greeted by an old woman claL" 'lling to be his mother: she represents London. and is delighted with his new eminence; she u.rges him to govern well. After a.journey on the river, he meets Truth's angel, who warns him that Error intends to tempt him on his way _to the city. Error encourages hlln to abandon virtue and spend his year in office ruling according to his own will and appetite, taking bribes and pursuing private vendettas. Zeal beats back Error and Truth arrives to claim the Lord Mayor's allegiance. She has brought the King of the Moors to England: he was· once a sun-worshipper, but now truth has ousted .error and he has learned to worship the sun's creator instead. Truth uses her fan to dispel the mists hiding the glorious Mount Triumphant, revealing London and the virtues sitting on it. Error is furious and repeatedly restores the mist every time Truth dears it. Eventually, Time is about to cut the_performance short with his scythe, but Truth stops him: she has one last admonition for the Lord Mayor. vVith Truth's permission, fire streaks from Zeal's head and incinerates Error's chariot.