Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

ARMENIA

in Two Lamentable Tragedies — Yarington, Robert

Metadata

PlayTwo Lamentable Tragedies
AuthorYarington, Robert
Year (catalogued)1601
First performance1594
Decade1600s
GenreTragedy
Play typeAdult Professional
CompanyUnknown
Speech prefix(es)Ar. | A • m.
Words313
Characters1679
Typicality0.34 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA15814
BritDrama no.1015
ClusterCluster 10 — Mourners, mothers & doleful voices

Important excerpts

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

Full speech

Thanks gentle brother, husband feal the Will. I my sweet Boy, his soul to heaven is fled, But I shall after him immediately, Then take my latest blessing ere I die, Come let me kiss thy little tender lips, Cold death hath taken possession of thy mother. Let me embrace thee in my dying arms, And pray the lord protect thee from all harms: Brother, I fear, this child when I am gone, Will have great cause of grief & hideous fear: You will protect him, but I prophecy, His share will be of woe and misery: But mother's fears do make these cares arise, Come boy and close thy mother's dying eyes. Brother and sister, here the latest words, That your dead sister leaves for memory: If you deal ill with this distressed boy, God will revenge poor orphans injuries, If you deal well, as I do hope you will, God will defend both you and yours from ill. Farewell, farewell, now let me breath my last, Into his dearest mouth, that wants breath, And as we loved in life embrace in death Peace conscience, peace, thou art too scripulous, Gain does attended this resolution, Hence dastard fear, I must, I can, I will, Kill my best friend to get a bag of gold: They shall die both, had they a thousand lives, And therefore I will place this hammer here, And take it as I follow Beech up stairs, That suddenly before he is aware, I may with blows dash out his hateful brains, Ho Rachell, bring my cloak, look to the house, I will return again immediately. Enough kind brother, we assure us so, Else would we seek another friend abroad, To do our wills and dying Testament, Nature and love will have a double care, To bring him up with careful diligence, As best beseems one of such parentage.

Plot summary

Plot — Two Lamentable Tragedies
MOmicide is frustrated at finding the town so virtuous, but AWaige recommends two men as suitable agents of violence. [Filth overhears them and introduces the stories. In one plot, MRGM@SIMERY, who would like to be richer, notices how well off B&BGh is. He lures Beech to his inn and murders him there with a hammer. The other members of his household quickly discover what has happened; his man MWilli@fhs leaves his service rather than condone the crime, but nevertheless agrees to keep it a secret. Merry is concerned that BEGeh’sIBSy may know too much, and murders him too. Thinking there are thieves in Beech’s shop, a Maid gives the alarm, and the dying boy is found with the hammer still embedded in his head. Beech comes under suspicion. Merry wants to get the other body out of his inn before it starts to putrefy, and chops it up to facilitate disposal. The various parts of the body are found around London; the torso is in an identifiable sack, but when a house-to-house search is instigated, its vendor fails to recognize M@PySisister as the woman who bought it. Merry begins to feel secure, but the melancholy Williams finally reveals the secret after close questioning by a friend. Merry and his sister are arrested and hanged; Williams is allowed benefit of clergy. In the other plot, ——- —f% die, leaving him in the custody of his uncle, , who will inherit everything should the boy die. Fallerio plans murder, but when his son All@H8o will not co-operate, he hires two ruffans instead. The assassins are to escort Pertillo to university at Padua, and kill him on the way; Allenso follows in secret to see that his cousin is safe. In the event one of the ruffians proves to have a conscience, and tries unsuccessfully to buy off his colleague. Perfillo dies, and the two murderers then kill one another. The bodies are found by the Dike, and Allenso is arrested; the virtuous rufhan survives just long enough to exonerate him and name Fallerio as the guilty man. Allenso brings home the news of Pertillo’s murder, which causes his mother to drop dead. Suicidally guilt-stricken, Allenso disguises himself as his father in order to be executed in his place. He is convicted, but Fallerio follows him to court and admits the truth. Both father and son are sentenced to death. Truth insists that Homicide and Avarice will never get away with their crimes in Eliza’s realm, but they leave the stage threatening more covetousness and murder to come.