Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

JANUS

in Microcosmus

Metadata

PlayMicrocosmus
Year (catalogued)1637
First performance1637
Decade1630s
GenreMorality;Masque
Play typeOccasional;Adult Professional;Professional
CompanyQueen Henrietta Maria's Men
TheaterSalisbury Court;Indoor Professional
Speech prefix(es)Ianus. | Ian.
Words185
Characters1082
Typicality0.56 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA07975
BritDrama no.2543
ClusterCluster 24 — Gods, cupids & celestial agents

Important excerpts

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

Full speech

Am I Janus, (The figure of eternal providence) And shall this disobedience escape the stroke Of my severest correction? Fire I shall lash you, And make your nimble pyramids skip upward. I'll chain earth to her centre. Air had best Confine himself to his three regions, Or else I'll disinherit him. If water Exceed her bounds. Ye disobedient children of that love That joined us to produce ye. Stubborn boys, I'll yoke ye In such a bondage. Come forth thou son of earth, and view the day That glories in the presence of thy beauty. Look up thou masterpiece Of Nature's workmanship, thou little world: Thou that excel'st in form, that comprehends All the perfections which her curious hand Designed and finished: That when other cr atures Behold the earth, and with dejected eyes Look downwards on't, hast and erected figure To see the stars, and contemplate their beings, Celestial causes, and their influence, Whence great effects ensue: Thou that hast speech To be thy thoughts interpreter, expect A farther act of Love to crown thy life By joining thee to and immortal wife. Exit.

Plot summary

Plot — Microcosmus
The four elements, children of Nature and Janus, fight with one another. Janus' attempts to discipline them prove ineffectual, so Nature tries to persuade them to procreate. She invokes the help of Love, who creates concord between the elements through the music of the spheres. Earth gives birth to Physander, the perfect being. The four humours become his servants, and Love brings him Bellanima to be his wife. But Bellanima brings with her a good and bad genius, who can each influence Physander's moral actions. He succumbs to temptation, dismisses the good genius, and seeks out the whore Sensuality. The four humours suggest ways of wooing her: Choler proposes violence, Blood, dance, Phlegm, language, and Melancholy, pathos. The five senses, Sensuality's servants, conduct him to her, and she seduces him with the promise of luxury. Bellanima attempts to reclaim him, but he refuses her. After sleeping with Sensuality, Physander falls ill. The humours drunkenly attack him, and Sensuality disowns him. He feels ashamed at having left his wife for a whore. Bellanima summons Temperance to cure his wounds; she prescribes a simple life and frugal diet, and he is cured. The evil genius still maliciously seeks his destruction, and plans to drive him to suicide through remorse. He is tormented by Furies and accused before the court of Conscience; Despair prosecutes, andHope speaks for thedefence. Physander admits his marital crimes, but his penitence and commitment to future fidelity save him from punishment. With no further power over him, the evil genius can only torment herself; Sensuality, reduced to beggary, joins her on the road to Hell. Love accepts Physander and Bellanima into Elysium, and they are crowned with stars.