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)
Iudge. | Iudg.
Words
197
Characters
1101
Typicality
0.46 (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
Call for the prisoner. How sayest thou, Prodigality, to this , felony, and murder? art thou , or not guilty? That may not be, it stands not with our laws. Neither may that be: thus does the indictment lie, Thou art of murder, and of robbery, To which thou must now answer presently, Whither thou be thereof guilty or not guilty. Then what canst thou say for thy self, Prodigality, That according to the law thou shouldst not die? Then Harken to thy judgement. Thou, Prodigality, by that name haste been indited and arraigned here, of a robbery, murder, and felony, against the laws commit ted by thee: the indictment whereof being read unto thee here, thou confessest thy self to be guilty therein: whereupon I ludge thee, to be had from hence, to the place thou camest from, and from thence to the place of execution, there to be hanged till thou be dead. God have mercy on thee. Say on. Prodigality, I not mislike your wailful disposition, And therefore, for you to the Prince, there shall be made Petition, That though your punishment be not fully remitted, Yet in some partly, it may be qualified.
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.