Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

POTTER'S WIFE

in Edward the First — Peele, George

Metadata

PlayEdward the First
AuthorPeele, George
Year (catalogued)1593
First performance1591
Decade1590s
GenreHistory
Play typeAdult Professional
CompanyUnknown
Speech prefix(es)Potterswife. | Pot •… wife. | Po •… terswife. | Po •… swife.
Words222
Characters1051
Typicality0.28 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA09224
BritDrama no.881
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

John come away, you go as though you slept, a great knave and be afraid of a little thundering and lightning. They are stufte with a fool, are they not, will it please you to carry the lantern a little handsome mere, and not to carry it with your hands in your slop . Orapr nobis John, I pr e ll to your pray ers for my life it is the Queen that chases thus, who S cke this Dam e on Charing gre ne, a owe up on Potters Hive, and there over true e isle g to her. Your Grace need not to fear you are on fi e gr und, it is the Potters Hive, and therfoere cheer your Majesty for I will see you safe conducted to the Court, if case your highness be therewithal pleased. And Like your Grace it is the Watermen that calls for passengers to go Westward now. Do you know the reason.' I pray thee Johnh tell me and let me hear this reason. Would it ple see you to walk and leave of your , but st , whats that riseth out of the ground, Jesus bless us John, look how it riseth hic er and higher. Hold thy tongue to ou foolish kn we, it is the spirit of some woman

Plot summary

Plot — Edward the First
Edwardilongshanks returns from the crusades to find that in his absence both his father and his son have 1591 died, and that he is now King of England. He makes provision to house his wounded veterans, and all the nobility contribute handsomely. His @W@8n asks him to defer the coronation to give her time to send to Spain for the latest fashions. MEW was planning to take advantage of Edward’s absence to secure his power in Wales. A Welshliprophet encourages him with the assertion that he will mount higher than all his kin. Now he intends reprisals against Edward for the detention of his betrothed wife, DA@VMEI@HGr, daughter of an English rebel. His brother DaWid, a spy in the English court, proposes getting himself captured by the Welsh in order to create a pretext for an exchange of prisoners. The plan goes awry when the Welsh soldiers agree to make peace with the English, on condition that Edward does not impose direct rule from England. Llewelyn and his entourage pose as Robin Hood, and waylay passers-by in the forest. M@riimiér, who loves Lady Eleanor, goes to Wales and joins in the masquerade by assuming the identity of the potter from the Robin Hood story; but this means he gets a thrashing. To comply with the Welsh demand for a Welsh-born prince, Edward summons the pregnant Queen to Wales, where she gives birth to a son: Edward, Prince of Wales. The loyal Welsh present the child with a frieze mantle, but the Queen takes offence at the homespun fabric. Edward promises her a boon, and she demands that the English men should cut their long hair and beards, and that the English women’s breasts should be likewise amputated; Edward is forced to consent, but the Queen is displeased that he insists on being the first to go under the barber, and withdraws her request when he proposes that she should likewise undergo the first mastectomy. Prince Edward is christened and the Queen’s daughter, J6am, married to the BarllshiGlowcester. The nine lords of Scotland are unable to agree which of them should be king, so they approach Edward to adjudicate. He crowns JOHHMBalliG], who endows an Oxford college in gratitude, but later asserts Scotland’s independence from England. In Wales, Edward is set upon by Llewelyn and his crew of outlaws, who demand half his money. Instead he proposes single combat, winner take all. Llewelyn is beaten, but Edward spares his life in order to save Mortimer. He then goes to deal with the Scottish insurrection, leaving Mortimer to mop up…