Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

CLERK

in Wily Beguiled — Anonymous (?)

Metadata

PlayWily Beguiled
AuthorAnonymous (?)
Year (catalogued)1606
First performance1602
Decade1600s
GenreComedy
Play typeBoys Professional
CompanyUnknown
Speech prefix(es)Clearke. | Cleark.
Words167
Characters839
Typicality0.19 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA15549
BritDrama no.1321
ClusterCluster 3 — Citizens, tradesfolk & neighbors

Important excerpts

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

Full speech

Who calls me? what would you with me? Marry Sir, I would have you to make proclamation, that if any manner of man, oath Town, or oath Country, can lay any claim to Peg Pudding, let him bring word to the Crier, or else William Cricket will wipe his nose of her. You mean you would be asked ith Church? When would you have it done? I'll warrant you, fear it not. Faith you may be asked ith Church on Sunday at morning prayer, but Sir John cannot tend to do it at Eve ning prayer: For there comes a Company of Players tuth Town, on Sunday ith after noon; and Sir John is so good a fellow, that I know heel scarce leave their company, to say Evening prayer. For (though I say it) he's a very painful man, and takes so great delight in that faculty, that heel take as great pain a bout building of a Stage or so, as the basestfellow among them.

Plot summary

Plot — Wily Beguiled
Grip the usurer wants to marry his daughter Lelia to the foolish son of his neighbour, Ploddall, in order to gain control of Ploddall’s extensive land-holdings. For her part, Lelia loves the scholar Sophos, but Grip doesn’t think him rich enough and warns the young man off. The fathers agree and Churms the lawyer is engaged to draw up the marriage contract. Churms persuades Grip to let him visit her to intercede for Peter Ploddall, and also agrees to act as an intermediary woeer for Sophos; but all the while his objective is to win Lelia for himself. Meanwhile he engages Robin Goodfellow to provide Peter with a fake love-philtre for Lelia, and to frame Sophos for rape so that Lelia will fall out of love with him. Robin in turn plans to cozen Churms of Lelia and Grip of his money; but his plotting is overheard by Grip’s son, Fortunatus, who has just returned from the wars. Fortunatus finds the despairing Sophos sleeping in the woods, and listens to his woes. It becomes clear that Churms is double-crossing Sophos, so Fortunatus lays a plot. At her brother's behest, Lelia arranges to abscond with Churms, who capitalizes Grip’s debts at less than their true value in order to finance the elopement. While Fortunatus and Sophos are waiting ===== PAGE 368 ===== to.intercept Churms, Robin tries to frighten Sophos by dressing up as the devil, but Fortunatus beats him and forces him to admit his misdeeds. When the eloping ‘couple’ arrive, Fortunatus intervenes and asks Lelia to choose between Sophos and Churms; she chooses Sophos. They take up temporary residence in a hermitage while Fortunatus straightens things out with their father. Grip learns independently of Churms’s treachery - both amatory and financial - and despairs. Fortunatus offers to prevent the elopement and bring Lelia back, provided that Grip agrees to her marrying Sophos. He does, and Fortunatus fetches the happy couple home.