in The Three Lords and Three Ladies of London — Wilson, Robert
Metadata
Play
The Three Lords and Three Ladies of London
Author
Wilson, Robert
Year (catalogued)
1590
First performance
1588
Decade
1590s
Genre
Moral
Play type
Adult Professional
Company
Queen Elizabeth's Men (?)
Speech prefix(es)
Pen. | pen.
Words
334
Characters
1721
Typicality
0.55 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A15517
BritDrama no.
821
Cluster
Cluster 0 — Clowns, beggars & street sellers
Important excerpts
Passages from this character's speech that contain the most distinguishing words for Cluster 0 (shillings, tom, guts, mutton, wares, dan…). Matches are highlighted.
comes here? Husband see the beware, & if ten shilling will buy it, it shall go hard but we will make that money: Friend, show my husband your wares Here is five shillings buy them of this stranger. You'il warrant them gold sirrah,
You have customers enough and if they were ought, What do you with these boys here to filtch away your beware? You show all your wit, you'il never have more care. I meant not you,
lose my draught at Conduit, and therefore I'll away. Young Gentlemen God be with you. No sir by my say. Exit Penury. I mean no alehouse score, but a note of your wares, let me see, First you began to set up with a Royal, how much money have you? what beware, and what gain? I thank you husband, well, till then look well to your
let me see, First you began to set up with a Royal, how much money have you? what beware, and what gain? I thank you husband, well, till then look well to your wares, and I'll ply my waterbearing and save and get, and get and save till we be rich, but bring these wares home every night with you: Come on gentle husband, let us
purses together, and our reckonings together, to see whither we win or lose, thrive or not, go forward or backward, do you keep a book or a score? That is nine shillings and eight pence, so we are worse by a a groat then when we began, well once again I'll set you up, here is four groats I have God by bearing water this week, make
Full speech
You have customers enough and if they were ought, What do you with these boys here to filtch away your beware? You show all your wit, you'il never have more care. I meant not you, young master, Gods blessing on your heart You have bought indeed sir I see, for your partly. Be these two young Gentlemen of your company, Buy Gentlemen, buy ballads to make your friends merry. True Gentlemen, but you may see poor painful penury Is feign to carry three Tankerds for a penny. But husband I say, come not home to dinner, its Ember day, You must eat nothing till night, but fast and pray. I shall lose my draught at Conduit, and therefore I'll away. Young Gentlemen God be with you. No sir by my say. Exit Penury. I mean no alehouse score, but a note of your wares, let me see, First you began to set up with a Royal, how much money have you? what beware, and what gain? I thank you husband, well, till then look well to your wares, and I'll ply my waterbearing and save and get, and get and save till we be rich, but bring these wares home every night with you: Come on gentle husband, let us lay our heads together, our purses together, and our reckonings together, to see whither we win or lose, thrive or not, go forward or backward, do you keep a book or a score? That is nine shillings and eight pence, so we are worse by a a groat then when we began, well once again I'll set you up, here is four groats I have God by bearing water this week, make up your stock, and run no more behind Who comes here? Husband see the beware, & if ten shilling will buy it, it shall go hard but we will make that money: Friend, show my husband your wares Here is five shillings buy them of this stranger. You'il warrant them gold sirrah,
Plot summary
Plot — The Three Lords and Three Ladies of London
The three lords of London, in want of wives, plan to marry the three ladies. There are two complications. ===== PAGE 450 ===== First, it emerges that they all want the same lady, Lucre. More pressingly, all three ladies are in prison. The lords agree to secure their freedom and worry later about who marries whom. But Judge Nemo has heard petitions for the ladies’ release before: many men wanted Lucre, some wanted Love, and nobody cared about Conscience. His conditions are that either all three ladies go free or none of them, and that, if they do, he shall decide which lady marries which lord. The ladies are taken from prison and sat on uncomfortable penitential stones. They are visited by Lucre’s former servants, who were banished from London but now want their old jobs back; Lucre is unable to accommodate them. Falsehood and Double- Dealing offer the ladies clothes to replace their prison rags, but they refuse. Nemo arranges for them to have more virtuous garments, the first stage in their rehabilitation. When the three lords continue to quarrel over which of them should have Lucre, Nemo agrees to give up his right to make the marital dispositions, on condition that the lords accept the lady’s own choice. He then has Conscience pose as Lucre. Each lord offers her a different benefit — power, magnificence, and hedonism - and she eventually bestows herself on Pleasure. He is happy with his fiancée even when he learns of the deception. Conscience declares that Policy should marry Love and that Lucre is best suited to Pomp. Before the lords can proceed with their marriages, however, they must repel a Spanish invasion. Three lords of Spain arrive and plan to take the ladies for themselves. The London lords defeat them and present their captured shields to their ladies. Nemo grants the two remaining ladies to the appropriate lords, but three lords of Lincoln intervene, claiming pre-contracts with the ladies. The London lords outface their rivals, who are sent away with the penitential stones in lieu of the ladies. In the sub-plot, Fraud sells Simplicity some cheap ‘gold’, which turns out to be mere copper, so Simplicity repeatedly attempts to have him arrested. Posing as Skill and Fair Semblance, Fraud and Dissimulation seek jobs with the lords, but are recognized. Dissimulation is branded, and Fraud is taken to prison, but bribes Diligence to release him on the way; the bribe money is later found to be counterfeit. Fraud attends the lords’ wedding in…