Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

HOMICIDE

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)Ho. | Hom. | Homi.
Words216
Characters1140
Typicality0.38 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA15814
BritDrama no.1015
ClusterCluster 22 — Ghosts, curses & horror voices

Important excerpts

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

Full speech

I may supply the man you wish to have. Mistrust me not I am thy faithful friend. But turn about and thou wilt know my face, Knowest thou a heart wide open to receive, A plot of horred desolation, Tell me of this, thou art my chiefest good, And I will quaff thy health in bowls of blood. If gain will draw, I prithee then allure, Their hungry hearts with hope of recompense, But tie despair unto those moving Hope's, Unleast a deed of murder farther it, Then blood on blood, shall overtake them all, And we will make a bloody festival. Why let her weep, lament, and morn for me, We are right bred of damned iniquity, And will go make a twofold Tragedy. Exeunt. Make hast, run headlong to destruction, I Like thy temper, that canst change a heart, From yielding flesh, to Flint and Adamant, Thou hitst it home, where thou dost fasten hold, Nothing can separate the love of gold. I find it true, for where thou art let in, There is no scruple made of any sin, The world may see thou art the root of ill, For but for thee, poor Beech had lived still. Exeunt. Truth, now farewell, hereafter thou shalt see, Ill vex thee more with many tragedies.

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.