Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

BOSS

in Every Woman in Her Humor — Anonymous

Metadata

PlayEvery Woman in Her Humor
AuthorAnonymous
Year (catalogued)1609
First performance1607
Decade1600s
GenreComedy
Play typeBoys Professional
CompanyChildren of the King's Revels
Speech prefix(es)Boſſ. | Boſ. | Bo. | Boſſe. | Bos | Bos: | Bos. | Bos;
Words983
Characters5038
Typicality0.35 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA15676
BritDrama no.1532
ClusterCluster 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.

Tapster. The Triplicity, will colours change? Not so sir, but in respect. In a Bitch. A kind of Mongrel, he will carry, but not fetch, marry he is to be put to a dancing school for instructi on. It was oil, for I drew the Tap. O sir, he that has not a tilde house must be glad of a thatched house: may I crave a suit of you signior?
following: nay, for the sciences, he's a good physician he vomits himself rarely, and will give any man else a vomit that looks on him (if he have not a very good stomach) perfect in Geomitrie, for he hangs in the air by his own conceit, and feels no ground: and he's all musical, the world turns round with him, every face in the
hangs in the air by his own conceit, and feels no ground: and he's all musical, the world turns round with him, every face in the painted cloth shows Like a Fairy dancing about him, and every spar in the house a minstrel. Bos is the name of a thing may be seen, felt, herd, or understood, and the nominative case goes before, my

Full speech

Mistress, that face wants a fresh Gloss. Leave you, zounds sir, we scorn their compa nies, come, they are still, do not open to them, we have no Conies to catch. Rare, Mistress, heeres a cheek Like a Chameleon or a blazing Star: you shall here me blaze it, here's two sau cers sanguine in a sable field, pomegranet, a pure penda ̄ to, Ready to drop out of the stable, a pin and web argent in hair de Roy. In the Crest? o sweet Vermilion mistress! 'tis pit tie the Vermilion Worms should eat thee, isle set it with precious stones and you will. Hold up, so sir now away: o Mistress your scant ling, most sweet mistress most derydent star. I sir, but the man is not in the moon, & my bushis before me, ergo not at my back, et ergo, not moon sir. Salve, sis salvus, I pray ye which of you five is the Hostis of the house? The fruit is known by the Tree at the first view, as the Author writes learnedly, come, basilus manus. I'll call my self to account and specify thus: my Lady and her Dog that's two visible: then there's the Dog and my Lady, that's four invisible: then there's my Ladies dog and I quoth the dog, that's six: then there's sequence of three, videlicet. the Dog and I and my Lady: then there's a pair of Knaves, videlicet the Dog & my self, & my Lady turned up: videlicet my Lady sequence of three: a pair of knaves, & my Lady turned up to play upon, we can have no less then five beds. Faith weel lie together as close as we can: there's my Lady and her dog lie all together, and I at the beds feet, and there's all our family of Love. The truth is, the fatal sisters have cut the thread of her Corke-shoe, & she's stepped aside into a Cobblers shop to take a true stitch, whither I mean to send my self as a Court of Guard to conduct her: but see, o, inconstant fortune! see where she comes solus. I, and you would but scauiage the pavilion of your nose. The triplicity, here's those has sup: at and ordinam rye. The triplicity, here's those has cracked Glasses, & drawn blood of a Tapster. The Triplicity, will colours change? Not so sir, but in respect. In a Bitch. A kind of Mongrel, he will carry, but not fetch, marry he is to be put to a dancing school for instructi on. It was oil, for I drew the Tap. O sir, he that has not a tilde house must be glad of a thatched house: may I crave a suit of you signior? What you please, beggars must not choose. I speak hebrew indeed Like Adam and Eve, before they fell to spinning: not a rag. As you see, will you hear my suit signior? I deny it still, good drink makes good blood, Good blood needs no Barber, Ergo, 'tis good to drink good drink. Then he's a good Lawyer, for he's never with out a fiery fancies, & the jest Capias will take his habeas Corpus: beside, another point of a Lawyere, heel rail and rave against his dearest friends, and make the world think they are enemies, when the next day theile laugh, be fat and drunk together: and a rare Astronomer, for he has stars twinkling in his eyes, in the darkest night, when a wise man discerns none in the firmament, and will take great pains in the practice: for lay him on his back in the open fields over night, and you shall be sure to find him there in the morning: have I said well, or shall I give you a stronger proof? and honest man will be as good as his word: Signior Graccus is and honest man, Ergo I must have a new suit. Near the sooner for that my diminutive youth, for women now adais wear breeches as well as men, marry the difference lies in the bauble. Secondly, Mistress Hostess, I would know what lodging you have for my Lady and her train. Very kind to any thing but his meat, that he devours with great alacrity. As sure as you are there Signior. Any thief sir, but no true man. Of two evils the least is to be chosen, I had a care of your puppy being less then your self. O Sir, relish but your liquour as you do your song, you may go drunk to bed any day in the week. I'll doo't. Drunkenness is a virtue. Good drink is full of virtue, Now full of good drink is drunk, Erge, to be drunk is to be virtuous. Heeres stronger proof, drunkenness engenders with two of the moral virtues, and six of the liberal sciences. A drunkard is valiant and liberal, heel outface Mars, brave Hercules, and fears not the Devil, then for the most partly he's liberal, for heel give all the clothes off his back, though he weep Like a Widow all the day following: nay, for the sciences, he's a good physician he vomits himself rarely, and will give any man else a vomit that looks on him (if he have not a very good stomach) perfect in Geomitrie, for he hangs in the air by his own conceit, and feels no ground: and he's all musical, the world turns round with him, every face in the painted cloth shows Like a Fairy dancing about him, and every spar in the house a minstrel. Bos is the name of a thing may be seen, felt, herd, or understood, and the nominative case goes before, my Mistress the Verb, my mistress requires and accusative case to follow, as usus feminae pro ̄ ptus facit. Exeunt all but Hostis

Plot summary

Plot — Every Woman in Her Humor
Misogyny has made the normally jovial Acutus.- melancholy. After scaring some foolishly fashionable characters, he joins them at the Hobby tavern, where Gaetica has taken lodgings with her dog. Disguised as a © soldier, Acutus picks a fight with Scilicet and Servulus, © then exposes their hypocrisy by returning disguised as first a friend and then an enemy of the ‘soldier’, and eliciting inconsistent responses. Scilicet attempts to woo Gaetica; she is more concerned about the disappearance of her man Bos with her dog, but becomes betrothed to him. , Lentulus is in love, and asks Cicero to woo Terentia for him. They go to dine with Flaminius, Terentia’s father, and Cicero is left alone with the ladies of the house. The upshot is that Terentia falls in love — but -- with Cicero himself rather than Lentulus. Rumours circulate that she is to marry Cicero, but Flaminius has not given his consent and takes offence. Lentulus makes Cicero and Terentia admit wronging him, and. _ he sentences Cicero to death — but only if Terentia will kill him. He woos and wins Terentia’s sister Flavia, and plans a double wedding. Acutus gives Philautus a sleeping potion, and he appears to die. He is rumoured to have drunk himself to death, but the reported numbers of alcohol victims escalate as the news circulates. Acutus pays for the funeral and invites the tavern’s proprietors and customers, Philautus wakes up on the way to his interment: initially it is assumed that he is a ghost, but - ===== PAGE 375 ===== 1607 an exorcism is unsuccessful. The Hostess allows him to hide in her chamber, but Acutus, pretending to have been robbed, sends a constable to search the tavern; Philautus is found and arrested. The drunken Bos has his clothes stolen, and is brought back to the tavern in a barrel. Gracchus agrees to give him a new suit if he can demonstrate that drunkenness is a virtue, which he proceeds to do in a debate. Gracchus promises to arrange for the Hostess and Dama to attend the wedding. Trying to get better, more fashionable clothes for the event, the Hostess turns to Gaetica, who has already had to pawn her jewels to support her impecunious fiancé, and arranges to wear her outfit. At the wedding, Caesar declares a general amnesty; Acutus and Gracchus have Lentulus intercede to procure Philautus’ release. Forced to sing in the imperial presence, the bashful Philautus is sent to the suburbs and told not to get drunk again. Acutus presents a masque of bestial men, and shows…