Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

PISANO

in The Traitor — Shirley, James

Metadata

PlayThe Traitor
AuthorShirley, James
Year (catalogued)1635
First performance1631
Decade1630s
GenreTragedy
Play typeAdult Professional
CompanyQueen Henrietta Maria's Men
Speech prefix(es)Pisano. | Pis. | Pi. | Pis, | Pis | Pie.
Words800
Characters4286
Typicality0.38 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA12154
BritDrama no.2337
ClusterCluster 9 — Boon companions & bluff banter

Important excerpts

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

Full speech

Worser Idst bid him come? Go back again, And tell him, I am gone abroad O Cosmo! I was wooing Cosmo, My man, to tell thee, I was gone abroad, Before thou camest. What for telling truth? He thus should would but made thee fit to see Thy friend, thou comest with expectation To hear me talk sense, dost not? La now! And to discourse as I was wont, of State, Our friendship, or of women, no such matter. Right, right Cosmo, The reason is, I would straggled, And lost my see fe I know not where, in what Partly of the world, and would not this be shown As well in him, to would prepared thee now? Tounder stand? why Cosmo, Had I not changed my Dialect and Method, What need this tedious Apology? Thats it, I would have had thee known before, Thou canst not understand me, yet thou hast A name in Florence, for a ripe young man, Of nimble apprehension, of a wise And spreading observation, of whom Already our old men do prophesy Good, and great things, worthy thy fair dimensions. Beside, there is another reason, Thou shouldst discover me at heart, through all These missed, thou art in love too, and who Can ̄ not, That feels himself the heat, but shrewdly guess At every symptom of that Wanton Fever, O Cosmo! Before me where? why dost Thou mock me Cosmo? she's not here: 'Tis not for you. I will give thee proof; So well I love thee, nothing in the world Thy soul does heartily affect, but I Do love it too, does it not trouble thy Belief? I wear not my own heart about me, But thine exchanged, thy eyes let in my objects, Thou hearest for me, talkest, kissest, and enjoyest All my felicities. But whats all this to thee? go to Oriana, And both thy lips in Rosy Due of kisses, Renew thy eye that looks as Saturn hung Upon the lid, take in some golden beam, Shee'le dart a thousand at one glance, and if At thy return, thou findest I have a being In this vain world, I'll tell thee more. Oh friend, thou canst not be so merciful, To give away such happiness, my Love Is for some sin I have committed, thus Transplanted, I looked rather thou shouldst kill me, Then give away this comfort, 'tis a charity Will make thee poor, and 'twere a great deal better That I should languish still, and die. Each sillable is a blessing, hark Petruchio. Away. Thou miracle of friendship! I am not well Amidea. Altered of late a little. Wo'd he were come back, I might would finishd ere he went, and not Delayed his business much, two or three words, And I had dispatched. We shall expect to long, Lady I am come To render all my interest in your love, And to demand my self again, live happier, In other choice Fair Amidea, 'tis Some shame to say my hearts revolted. Heeres witness, all is canceled betwixt us, Nay and you weep— Farewell. Now lead me to my blessing. Theres for thy pains, They are now at opportunity What service can reward thee? She is prepared already No, but Court it With honour, and religion, thus invite it, Th'art all friendship. My dearest Oriana, She faints, what grief is so unmannerly To interrupt thee now Oriana? Will Heaven divorce us ere the Priest have made Our Marriage perfect? we in vain hereafter Shall hear him teach, that our Religion binds To have the Churches ceremony, she returns. There is nothing. Set forward. What of him? Alas her grief hath made her wild poor Lady: J should not love Oriana to go back, Set forward, Amidea, you may live To be a happier Bride: Sciarrha is not So irreligious to profane these rites. No more, Go forward. Thou art. Here, Sciarrha. I should have answered with less el mor. Why? This must not fright me sir, set forward. I am patient: This day I consecrate to love, not anger; Weel meet some other time. I am murdered. Bloody Sciarrha. You hastily interpret, Thy pardon I have only erred, but not With the least scruple of thy faith, and honour To me, thou hast a noble Soul, and lovest me Rather too well, I would thou Wertenberg my enemy, That we had been born in distant climes, and never Took cement from our Sympathies in nature. Would we had never seen, or known each other, This may seem strange, from him, that loves thee Cosmo, More precious then his life. Be you Comforted Lady let all gr ifes repair To this, their proper Centre. To whom? This shows her heart's not yet consenting, 'tis Her Mother's fierce command.

Plot summary

Plot — The Traitor
PLOT Lorenzo plots against both the Duke and his political rivals. He induces Pisano to jilt his fiancée Amidea and transfer his affections to the wealthy Oriana, who loves Cosmo; this will block Cosmo’s political ascent by denying him Oriana’s money. Cosmo, motivated by male friendship, agrees to give up his girlfriend. The Duke is warned against Lorenzo, but when he publicly confronts Lorenzo with the letter of denunciation, the traitor argues plausibly that it is a malicious libel. The sexually undisciplined Duke is attracted to Amidea, and Lorenzo arranges an assignation for him, but also inflames her brother Sciarrha with a desire for revenge: the liaison is to be the occasion for the Duke’s assassination. When he comes to Sciarrha’s, the Duke is shown a moral masque rebuking royal lust, but he is so busy chatting up Amidea that he doesn’t watch the entertainment. He visits Amidea in her bedroom, but she keeps him off by threatening suicide, and he returns to his senses. Sciarrha is satisfied: he denounces Lorenzo to the Duke, but when Lorenzo is told that the assassination has taken place, with the Duke eavesdropping, the traitor disclaims all knowledge and again re-establishes his good faith. De Pazzi, Lorenzo’s ally, worries that his part in the treason will lead to his execution, and asks to be excused from further complicity; he gets his wish to leave court when the Duke banishes him. Oriana’s mother, believing Cosmo is a poor match while his enemy Lorenzo is in the ascendant, forces her to marry Pisano; but Sciarrha kills the bridegroom on the way to the ceremony, to avenge his treatment of Amidea. Having persuaded the Duke to make another attempt on Amidea’s chastity, Lorenzo tries to enlist Sciarrha’s help by promising a pardon for Pisano’s murder. Sciarrha makes the proposition, but when Amidea consents to save his life, he saves her honour by killing her. Meanwhile Lorenzo recruits a new accomplice in Petruccio, and practises stabbing the Duke’s portrait. The Duke’s assignation with Amidea goes ahead, but he finds himself in bed with her corpse. Lorenzo and Petruccio assassinate him, but Lorenzo is killed by Sciarrha, who dies himself in the fight. Cosmo, the next in blood, becomes Duke.