in The World Tossed at Tennis — Middleton, Thomas; Rowley, William
Metadata
Play
The World Tossed at Tennis
Author
Middleton, Thomas; Rowley, William
Year (catalogued)
1620
First performance
1620
Decade
1620s
Genre
Masque
Play type
Occasional; Adult Professional
Company
Prince Charles's Men (first)
Speech prefix(es)
S t . Iames's. | S t Iea. | S t Iam.
Words
211
Characters
1193
Typicality
0.29 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A07525
BritDrama no.
1931
Cluster
Cluster 12 — Wooers, gallants & courtly love-talk
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
W High, Richmond, Richmond, why art so heavy? All this is but a lightheaded under standing now. I mean, why so melancholy, thou lookest, mustily, me thinks. Thou never sawest my new Gallery & my Tennis-court, Richmond. Why, from whence came it? Thou breedest Crikets, I think, & that will serve for the Anagram to a Critique, come, I know thy grief: Thou fearest that our late Rival, Denmark -House, Will take from our regard, and we shall want The Noble presence of our Princely Master, (In his so frequent visitation) Which we were wont so fully to enjoy. Rather a cause of Joy, that we enjoy So fair a fellowship, Denmark. Why, she's A stately Palace, and majestical, Ever of courtly breeding, but of late Built up unto a Royal height of state, Rounded with Noble prospects, by her side, The silver-footed Thamesis does slide, As (though more faintly) Richmond, do's by thee. Enter Denmark-house. Which I (denied to touch) can only see. 'Tis she her self i'faith, Comes with a courteous brow. Hark you now, Richmond, did not I tell thee TO was a Royal House? Thats Richmond's fear, thou'lt rob us both Thou hast such and enticing face of thine own. And to Saint James's i'faith at midnight.
Plot summary
Plot — The World Tossed at Tennis
The royal palaces of Richmond and St James now have a rival, Denmark House. Richmond is afraid that the newcomer will take all Prince Charles’s attention, leaving them neglected; but Denmark House assures them that each is suitable for a particular season (herself for winter, St James’s for spring, and Richmond for summer), and that the Prince will rotate among them equally. An unemployed scholar and an unemployed soldier consider their options. Their patroness Pallas descends, argues that the complete man combines both their professions, art and arms together, and invokes Jupiter's help. Jupiter presents the Muses and the Nine 1620 Worthies as an illustration of the virtue of former times. Time weeps at the encroaching vice of the present; he finds himself continually abused and hated. Deceit and pride have damaged the world in its latter days, and Jupiter summons the five coloured starches as illustrations of the absurdity of modern fashion. White Starch claims precedence over the others, but Yellow wins acclaim. Simplicity arrives to see what has become of the world (represented on stage by a globe), and is not reassured by his observations. Deceit wants to cozen him of the world, Simplicity to protect it from Deceit’s bad influence. Deceit successively gains the confidence of a series of men with worldly power: a king, a land- captain, a sea-captain, a flamen, and a lawyer. Each in turn is persuaded that the world should belong to him: the King takes it from Simplicity, and the Land- Captain from the King (through a display of superior military power); the Sea-Captain threatens the Land- Captain with naval cannon and they agree to share the world; but the Flamen takes it from them, urging them to look to their souls, and the Lawyer in turn takes it from the Flamen, insisting on his role in maintaining proper social discipline. On each occasion, Deceit asks for his share of the world, and is rebuffed at every turn (though the Lawyer gives him all the money in the world): none of the worldly powers is susceptible to corruption. A dance ensues in which the various powers pass the world between themselves; Deceit and the Devil repeatedly attempt to possess it, and fail. The world ends up in the hands of the King. With the world now at ease, Jupiter tells the Soldier and Scholar that they have only themselves to blame if they are unemployed, and encourages them to go and get jobs. The Soldier goes to war overseas; the Scholar stays in England under its…