Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

LORD

in The Taming of a Shrew — Anonymous

Metadata

PlayThe Taming of a Shrew
AuthorAnonymous
Year (catalogued)1594
First performance1592
Decade1590s
GenreComedy
Play typeAdult Professional
CompanyUnknown
Speech prefix(es)Lord.
Words775
Characters3832
Typicality0.23 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA13358
BritDrama no.955
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

Now that the gloomy shadow of the night, Longing to view Orion's drisling looks, Leaps from th'antarticke World unto the sky And dims the Welkin with her pitchy breath, And darksome night overshades the crystal heavens, Here break we off our hunting for to night, Cupple up the hounds and let us High us home, And bid the huntsman see them meated well, For they have all deserved it well to day, But soft, what sleepy fellow is this lies here? Or is he dead, see one what he doth lack? Fie, how the slavish villain stinks of drink. Ho, sirrah arise. What so found asleep? Go take him up and bear him to my house, And bear him easily for fear he wake, And in my fairest chamber make a fire, And set a sumptuous banquet on the board, And put my richest garments on his back, Then set him at the Table in a chair: When that is done against he shall awake, Let heavenly music play about him still, Go two of you away and bear him hence, And then I'll tell you what I have devised, But see in any case you wake him not. Now take my cloak and give me one of yours, All fellows now, and see you take me so, For we will wait upon this drunken man, To see his countenance when he doth awake And find himself clothed in such attire, With heavenly music sounding in his ears, And such a banquet set before his eyes, The fellow sure will think he is in heaven, But we will be about him when he wakes, And see you call him Lord, at every word, And offer thou him his horse to ride abroad, And thou his hawks and hounds to hunt the deer, And I will ask what suits he means to wear, And what so ere he says, see you do not laugh, But still persuade him that he is a Lord. The fittest time they could have chosen out, Bid one or two of them come hither straight, Now will I fit my self accordingly, For they shall play to him when he awakes. Now sirs, what store of plays have you? And whats the name of your Comedy? The taming of a shrew, thats excellent sure, Go see that you make you ready straight, For you must play before a lord to night, Say you are his men and I your fellow, He's something foolish, but what so ere he says, See that you be not dashed out of countenance. And sirrah go you make you ready straight, And dress your self Like some lovely lady, And when I call see that you come to me, For I will say to him thou art his wife, Dally with him and hug him in thine arms, And if he desire to go to bed with thee, Then feign some scuse and say thou wilt anon. Be gone I say, and see thou dost it well. Now sirs go you and make you ready to, For you must play assoon as he doth wake. Very well: sirrah see that they want nothing. How now, what is all things ready? Then found the music, and I'll wake him straight, And see you do as erst I gave in charge. My lord, My lord, he sleeps soundly: My lord. Heers wine my lord, the purest of the grape. For your honour my Lord. More richer far your honour hath to wear, And if it please you I will fetch them straight. Simon and it please your honour. I my gracious Lord, and your lovely lady Long time hath mourned for your absence here, And now with joy behold where she doth come To gratulate your honours safe return. I my Lord. May it please you, your honours players be come To offer your honour a play. I my Lord. Yes my lord. Even when it please your honour, they be ready. I'll call them my lord. Hoe where are you there? Heel come again my Lord anon. So I do my Lord. My Lord here comes the players again, I my Lord. My Lord this is but the play, their but in jest. No more they shall not my Lord, They be run away. Here my Lord. Whose within there? come hither sirs my Lords A sleep again: go take him easily up, And put him in his one apparel again, And lay him in the place where we did find him, Just underneath the alehouse side below, But see you wake him not in any case.

Plot summary

Plot — The Taming of a Shrew
Forcibly ejected from an alehouse, Sly is sleeping off his drunkenness when he is found by a lord, who brings him home and tricks him into thinking himself a nobleman. A play is performed for him: The Taming of a Shrew. In the play, Aurelius of Sestos, newly arrived in Athens, falls in love with Philema; his friend Polidor already loves her sister, Emelia. To pursue his love, Aurelius pretends to be a wealthy merchant’s son and has his man Valeria assume his aristocratic identity. However, the girls’ father Alfonso has decreed that his eldest daughter Kate, a shrewish scold, must be married before them. The two wooers decide to persuade Ferando to marry Kate, but Alfonso has already promised him six thousand crowns to undertake the same task He and Kate meet unchaperoned, and they wrangle, but the marriage is arranged for the following Sunday; Kate seems outwardly unwilling but consents in an aside. Ferando goes to prepare his country house. Valeria is sent to teach Kate the lute, but she behaves aggressively. On the wedding day Ferando arrives in base clothes and forces Kate to leave with him immediately after the ceremony. When they arrive in the country, he claims that the dinner is burnt, and beats his servants. She is kept hungry, and denied her choice of clothing. Aurelius has Philotus pose as his father to persuade Alfonso that he is wealthy enough to marry Philema. He and Polidor are married to Kate’s younger sisters. Kate and Ferando visit them, after Kate submits to Ferando’s will. On the way, they meet the Duke of Sestos (who has come to Athens in disguise to spy on his son), and mock him. The Duke exposes Aurelio’s pretence and proposes to have those involved sent to prison, but Sly intervenes in the performance to prevent this. The three new husbands bet on whose wife will come when called. Ferando wins, and Kate explains to her sisters their duty as wives. Sly falls asleep during the performance. The lord puts him back where he was found. He returns home intending to tame his own wife.