Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

ALUNIO

in The Fleer — Sharpham, Edward

Metadata

PlayThe Fleer
AuthorSharpham, Edward
Year (catalogued)1607
First performance1606
Decade1600s
GenreComedy
Play typeBoys Professional
CompanyChildren of the Queen's Revels
TheaterBlackfriars;Indoor Professional
Speech prefix(es)Al. | Alu: | Alu, | Alu.
Words276
Characters1418
Typicality0.28 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA12078
BritDrama no.1495
ClusterCluster 16 — Errand servants & brief parts

Important excerpts

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

Full speech

Whats this? Oh this is Arringus; this makes the old man able, and the young man lusty, strengtheneth the nerves & does concoct the blood, and her name is written on the box, because my wife should know it in my ab sense: this is Civet, this comes from the Cats tail, I would my were such a Cat: this perfumes your Ladies, and not without cause, for some, I mean whose sweet breath is dead, and teeth mourn in black for the lose on't this makes your young Gallants smell them nine days before they see them, Like young poops: this drug is precious & deer; whats this? Oh this is the sptrit of roses, nineteen bushels and a half of Roses make but and ounce, & a dram on't, 'tis made of the Quinressence of the water after the fifteenth distillation: none may kiss a Lady after she hath anointed her lips with this, under the degree of a Lord at least, 'tis worth nine pounds and ounce, yet I could never still it so. Y`are welcome sir, what do you lack? What country man art thou? Well Giacomo, if I find thee honest thou shalt find me liberal. Continue so, I prithee, and so farewell Jaques, but isle inform my wife before I go to respect thee according to thy merit. Thou art my Country man, and therefore welcome and in happy time, for I am bound for Italy, and want a man to take charge of my Shop, only this is all: I shall re choir of you, be careful of your cares, and obedient to your Mistress. What is thy name?

Plot summary

Plot — The Fleer
Before the start of the action, Piso deposed Antifront, whose daughters thereupon fled from Florence. Antifront now travels in search of his missing children. He arrives in London under the alias Fleer, and meets some gentlemen. One of them, Spark, gets him a job with two of his countrywomen, a pair of Florentine courtesans working in London. Antifront is dismayed to discover that they are his missing daughters. Two sisters, Susan and Nan, are interested in Spark and his friend Ruffle, who are among the courtesans’ many clients. They dress up as boys and try to get the gentlemen to employ them as pages; Spark and Ruffle refuse, and the ‘pages’ end up working for two other clients, Sir John Havelittle and Piso junior, the son of the Florentine usurper. ‘Fleer’ wants to engineer a marriage for his daughters, selecting Havelittle and Piso as the eligible bachelors. The daughters prefer Spark and Ruffle, but are refused; taking offence, they ask Piso and Havelittle to kill the gentlemen, and suggest poison as the safest method. The plot is overheard by ‘Fleer’ and the ‘pages’. ‘Fleer’ gets himself another job looking after an apothecary’s shop, and sells Piso and Havelittle a poison which is really a sleeping potion. Spark and Ruffle dine with Piso and Havelittle and apparently die. The hosts are at once arrested on suspicion of poisoning and are committed for trial. Fleer is sent on an errand to the senior judge, who is unable to attend through illness, and sends word back for the other two judges to proceed without him. Given a ring to authenticate the message, Fleer instead uses it to get himself deputized as the third judge. He produces a letter which establishes that the guilt extends to the daughters as well as the poisoners, and all four are sentenced to death. News arrives that Piso’s father has died, making him the new Duke of Florence; but-he tells the Florentines to recall the deposed Antifront instead, and offers to make amends for his father’s treason by marrying Antifront’s elder daughter. Antifront reveals his identity and says Piso can do just 1606 that; his younger daughter will marry Havelittle. He produces the murder victims, still alive, and bestows them on Nan and Susan.