in The Bird in a Cage (The Beauties) — Shirley, James
Metadata
Play
The Bird in a Cage (The Beauties)
Author
Shirley, James
Year (catalogued)
1633
First performance
1633
Decade
1630s
Genre
Comedy
Play type
Adult Professional
Company
Queen Henrietta Maria's Men
Theater
Phoenix/Cockpit;Indoor Professional
Speech prefix(es)
1. | 1
Words
306
Characters
1584
Typicality
0.40 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A12128
BritDrama no.
2396
Cluster
Cluster 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
We have not seen him my Lord. A poor Halbert man Sir. Oh yes Sir. I will be what you please Sir. He loves money. D'yee make question of that Sir? he bought his Office, & therefore may fell his Conscience, he has sold 200. on's twice over, he was brought up at Court, and knows what belongs to his place, I warrant you. Am I not a Knave now Sir? To your cost:—I hope you won't tell him what I say: but if you do, and he chance to turn me out of my office, your gold is restorative. What came into thy mind, thou daring madman, fool is a word of favour to thee. To undertake such and impossible task. Come Gentlemen, we must watch still, that none run a way with the Princess. Save you sweet Lady, your affairs this way? From whom? Indeed Madam Thorn, if his Grace have sent you to such a purpose, you must show something for our discharge. Say you so? It's very well—but Madam, we are many, and we would be loath to venture—deal ingeniously sweet Lady, have you no more gold in your breeches? Pass—but d'ee hear—and you should not be secret now. Not a doyt, as I am virtuous and sinful, stand with him for a toy, and know y'ave no warrant from the Duke, it's in our power. Humour him, and you're passed danger. I'll persuade him. This is a man. How? and Hermaphrodite? What would you do among the Ladies then. Stay let's be advised, if he be such a Monster, our best way is to carry him to the Duke. Signior Morello, it's not possible. Your pardon, you shall tell him how careful you found us we'll relate to him how cunningly you carried the business. What may be your Ladyships name?
Plot summary
Plot — The Bird in a Cage (The Beauties)
After rumours of Philenzo’s interest in Eugenia, her father the Duke banishes him and shuts her up in a newly-built palace, attended only by ladies, until he can find her a husband of suitable rank. Orpiano is sent to Florence with her picture to negotiate a marriage treaty; her fiancé will be the Great Duke’s son. Rolliardo, an unemployed wit, comes to court looking for work. The Duke gives him the task of gaining access to Eugenia in her new quarters within a month, with the proviso that he will be executed if he fails; he agrees, subject to the condition that the Duke gives him enough money to do the job—meaning, in effect, unlimited access to the exchequer. Pursued by creditors, the artist Bonamico sets up business disguised as a mountebank, Altomaro, offering to teach people the secret of invisibility. Rolliardo sceptically rejects this as a method of penetrating Eugenia’s palace, preferring to trust in the corruptibility of the captain of the guard—who refuses to help, but keeps the bribe anyway. ‘Altomaro’ tries to encourage prospective clients by dressing up as a series of customers entering his shop; they are not seen leaving because, he says, they have become invisible. Dondolo and Grutti decide this would be a good way to get to see their girlfriends, two of Eugenia’s attendants, and pay ‘Altomaro’ for a demonstration: he will be invisible, save only for his hand. And so he is—the ‘hand’ being a handwritten letter from him. The courtiers realize they have been cheated; Bonamico’s assistant Carlo tells them his true identity and helps them find and imprison him pending the repayment of their demonstration fee. Morello attempts to get into the palace prison posing as a woman, but one of the guards wants a sexual fee and discovers his true gender. He is taken to the Duke and sentenced to wear his women’s clothes for a month. An ambassador arrives from Florence to finalize the marriage contract; Fulvio tells him about Philenzo’s love for Eugenia. Rolliardo uses his access to the exchequer to buy all debtors out of prison; one of the beneficiaries is Bonamico, who again offers his help. He brings the Duke a large cage of birds, which the Duke sends as a present to Eugenia. It arrives while the ladies are putting on a play, The New Prison, about Jupiter and Danaë, imprisoned by her tyrannous father. Eugenia feels sorry for the birds and opens the cage. Rolliardo is hidden inside. He woos her, but she refuses him: her heart belongs to Philenzo. He…