in Cynthia's Revenge, or Maenander's Ecstasy — Stephens, John
Metadata
Play
Cynthia's Revenge, or Maenander's Ecstasy
Author
Stephens, John
Year (catalogued)
1613
First performance
1613
Decade
1610s
Genre
Tragedy
Play type
Closet
Speech prefix(es)
CAS.
Words
414
Characters
2477
Typicality
0.28 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A12954
BritDrama no.
1710
Cluster
Cluster 21 — Old fathers & plain counsel
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
His message? Then admit the messenger. Now friend, your business? Arm if thou lovest me noble Cassius, And help thy brother with a royal rescue, I am in prison, prithee make great haste, Or I am dead: against Janus-festival, Address thy courage to assault our King, Both King and Statesmen kill, for fit occasion Will be afforded, while they sleep: secure Busied with joy, and jesting Cordials. Arm if thou lovest me noble Cassius? Yes, arm I will, and in despite of spite Rescue thy valour from the blackest night, Which envy, or malignant wrath can yield, To darken thy resplendant fortitude. Carry the letter (friend) from whence you brought it, Let nothing hinder quick delivery: Nothing excels a wise dexterity. Recital serves to tortuous, yet know I am the ghost of slaughtered Cassio, Slain for the zeal I nourished to a friend; Unfaithful usage wrought my timeless end. What echo bred of impudence, what air, Eiaculates the name without a blush? Avaunt, o vanish (thou vild caitiff) run, Least with a repetition of old tort, I make thee vanish by the full report. Stay thou abortive image, who assumest The title of a traitor, whom I loved, Stay thou ignoble wretch, I will inform How falsehood hath deluded innocence. Tremble, o tremble (earth) when I repeat The black disaster of my fatal end. Tremble; for know, this ignominious man, Whose wicked mischief did enthral my days, He was produced from out the loins of earth; Yes (damned politician) thy proud aim Thought by invasion to surprise thy prince, Under pretext of high abuses done, Of wrongful censure, of imprisonment. Thus did your oiled speech infinuate, Thus move a simple meaning friend, my self To train forth Soldiers; o impiety! Pretending rescue still to undertake Rescue of thee, whose finger did not ache. Seated in triumph, sole competitor, With Princes of high courage, thou didst rule: Envy, the common traitor to estate Stood far enough from thee: imprisonment, No way impeached thy lustre: yet as winds Crowded within the recluse caverns, swell, That dreadful earthquake is engendered thence, So did thy turbulent faction over-boil The brim of endue obedience; poor I (Incited to rebellion by fair gloss, Which colourable smoothness had put on) Perished in battle, through thy peevish train, Imprisonment proved false, and rescue vain. Run thou remorseless Image to the womb Of hell, thy heavy mansion: let all sex Believe that man to lethargy condemned, Who takes a politician for his friend.
Plot summary
Plot — Cynthia's Revenge, or Maenander's Ecstasy
PLOT The King of Sparta has decreed that henceforth only women need to worship Cynthia, goddess of change; men are to be exempt. Cynthia takes revenge. The King dies, but his son Menander begins his reign by confirming the edict and marrying Favorina, daughter of a senior counsellor. Malindo plots with Cassius, Governor of Epirus, to murder Menander and the peers as they watch a play, but Malindo’s letter falls into the hands of the playwright Perillus, who writes a special prologue to warn Menander. Malindo is beheaded, the Spartan army mobilized, and Cassius repelled. Malindo’s estate is given to Amilcar, son of the new favourite, Pheudippe, who is himself allowed to marry Lucilla, Menander’s sister. Reading Lucan tempts Pheudippe to aspire to be King, and these thoughts are reinforced by the invisible influence of Malindo’s ghost. Against his better judgement, Pheudippe confides in Lucilla, encouraging her jealousy that Favorina has supplanted her as the top woman at court. Their plan has three heads: Pheudippe will corrupt Laelio, Captain of the Guard, to assassinate Menander; Amilcar will kill Favorina; and they will secure control of the corn supply in order to starve the people into submission. Amilcar has his own agenda, however. He is sexually attracted to Favorina, tells her about the plot in confidence, and invites her to help him circumvent it: he will abduct her with her assistance and procure someone to confess to her murder and implicate Lucilla; once Lucilla has been executed, Favorina will come out of hiding. What Favorina doesn’t know is that Amilcar also intends to rape her. Famine strikes Sparta. Pheudippe is accused of causing it by hoarding corn, but he persuades Menander that this was provident anticipation of the inevitable. Vindicated, Pheudippe invites Menander to a banquet at his house, where he is to be killed; but in the event the loyal Laelio kills Pheudippe himself. Menander is outraged and will not believe Laelio’s story of Pheudippe’s treason. News arrives that Favorina has been murdered, and Menander rails against Cynthia. Realizing she will have to continue her vengeance, the goddess drives him mad. The old statesman Euphorbus puts on an antic disposition to keep him company. Amilcar tells Favorina that Menander is dead and advises her to remain in hiding, but she resists his attempts to seduce her. Pheudippe’s ghost haunts Menander, identifies his surviving accomplices, and reveals that Favorina is still alive, but the…