in The Contention between Liberality and Prodigality — Anonymous
Metadata
Play
The Contention between Liberality and Prodigality
Author
Anonymous
Year (catalogued)
1602
First performance
1601
Decade
1600s
Genre
Moral
Play type
Boys Professional
Company
Children of the Chapel (second)
Theater
before the Court;
Speech prefix(es)
Clerk.
Words
156
Characters
877
Typicality
0.37 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A19182
BritDrama no.
1276
Cluster
Cluster 14 — Law & judgment
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
Make and oyes, crier. Sheriff of Middlesex. Bring forth the prisoner. Prodigality. Pain of the peril shall fallen thereon. Prodigality, hold up thy hand. Thou art indited here by the name of Prodigality, for that thou, the fourth day of February, in the three & forty year of the pros perous reign of Elizabeth our dread Sovereign, by the grace of God, of England, France, and Ireland Queen, defender of the faith, &c. together with two other malefactors yet unknown, at High-gate in the County of Middle sex afore said, didst lie take from one Tenacity of the parish of Pancridge yeoman, the said County, one thousand pounds of gold and silver star ling: And also, how thy , the ; with a sword, price twenty shillings, then and there cruelly didst give the said Tenacity upon the head, one mortal , whereof he is now dead, contrary to the Queens peace, her, Crown and dignity.
Plot summary
Plot — The Contention between Liberality and Prodigality
Fortune rules the world even though her gifts are unreliable, whereas Virtue rewards genuine merit. The roisterer Prodigality and the miser Tenacity both sue to Fortune for the custody of her son Money, and this is granted to Prodigality. Meanwhile, various suitors approach Liberality, Virtue’s steward: the good are rewarded and the impatient told to wait and accrue desert. Prodigality falls into bad company and loses everything: Money has to pay all the bills, grows lean, and goes home to his mother. He is then granted to Tenacity, is kept indoors and grows fat for lack of exercise. Prodigality turns to burglary to steal back Money, but Fortune puts a halter around his neck as he is climbing into the house; he is saved from hanging when the rope snaps. He fatally assaults Tenacity, finds Money, and offers medical treatment for his obesity. Pursued by a hue and cry, he is arrested for robbery and murder. Money is given into the safe keeping of Liberality, and Prodigality is indicted and sentenced to death. He admits that his situation is the result of a bad life and over-reliance on Fortune. The court petitions Queen Elizabeth, in the audience, for a reprieve.