in If It Be Not Good, the Devil Is in It (If This Be Not a Good Play, the Devil Is in It) — Dekker, Thomas
Metadata
Play
If It Be Not Good, the Devil Is in It (If This Be Not a Good Play, the Devil Is in It)
Author
Dekker, Thomas
Year (catalogued)
1612
First performance
1611
Decade
1610s
Genre
Comedy
Play type
Adult Professional
Company
Queen Anne's Men
Theater
Red Bull;Outdoor Professional
Speech prefix(es)
Lur. | Lur:
Words
783
Characters
4046
Typicality
0.36 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A20066
BritDrama no.
1641
Cluster
Cluster 20 — Conjurers, witches & physicians
Important excerpts
Passages from this character's speech that contain the most distinguishing words for Cluster 20 (ithimore, nat, invisible, notary, glycerie, humfrey…). Matches are highlighted.
against you sir, the crowns are come. As most watches use to go sir, sleepily, heavily. I spurred it all that I could. Little passed one. Thus windest thou to domnation. A fox, and overtaken? Brain! try this. That all my errand. Sir, I am bound To do you all service, till I you all confound. Why sir? 'Tis but your swearing the
oaths, if perjuries, Cheatings, or gnawing men's souls by usuries, If all the villainies (that a City can,) Are able to get thee a son, I would found that man. Damnation gives his soul but one turn more, Cause he shall be enough. Make the door sure the house is round beset. What nest of birds are these new-kild with fear? Such
Full speech
Thou liest. Brave pitchy villains there. So: 'tis done. Command us. Here. Fuh, Stay not for me, I shall outgo you all. 2 I hold 5. Crowns, We all leave you behind us. Done; but I Must not leave you behind me; what pains a poor Devil takes to get into a Merchant? he's so civil, One of Hell must not know him, with more ease A Devil may win ten Gallants, then one of these, Yet a Merchant's wife, before these ten is won To entertain her Devil, if Pride be one. But Lurchall, now than rt in, and for years bound, To play the Merchant, play him right: th'ast owned A Master, who more villainy has by heart, Then thou by rote; See him but play his own partly, And thou dost Hell good service; Barteruile, Theres in thy name a Harvest makes me smile. I. So Sir. There sir, I'll fit, And c oak Like a R ven, to dam thee in hels pit. The tid against you sir, the crowns are come. As most watches use to go sir, sleepily, heavily. I spurred it all that I could. Little passed one. Thus windest thou to domnation. A fox, and overtaken? Brain! try this. That all my errand. Sir, I am bound To do you all service, till I you all confound. Why sir? 'Tis but your swearing the money is paid. Tell him my master shall come in and swear. I have a brave one fort. Bring in a pottle of wine: will Carlo here my fellow, Depose a truth if he see it, to help his master? Set this to your head anon sir, when 'tis there Away you, and to morrow thou mayest swear Before the Chancellor, and swear true, if he Were in that case thou leftest him, it in vain To hope he could live, till thou camest back again. All Knights a'th Post learn this trick: the fits upon me now. Take a good draught, 'twill help you sir: It gulps, he's almost breathless Carolo; away. He's gone, he's gone sir. Yes and will swear his heart out, to your good. Swear let him; be thy self and he dambde too. And let all else sink. Master, look up man, In this black trance had thy soul flyen away, I had wrought hard and made a holiday. Mine own deer creature. But fit, your Aims, and ends in this. Yowl bre ke sir. R re! What will hence befall? Theile tell the King. Say the King prevails. But how can you excuse your turning Turk? Protection! whats that? Pray sir, for I never broke with any man. You have out-reacht me. Why fetch I a Friar? True City doctrine sir. I came to teach, but now (me thinks) must learn. No Lucifer. Great Prince of devils, Thy hests I have obeyed, I am bartering for one soul, able to lade And Argocy; if City, oaths, if perjuries, Cheatings, or gnawing men's souls by usuries, If all the villainies (that a City can,) Are able to get thee a son, I would found that man. Damnation gives his soul but one turn more, Cause he shall be enough. Make the door sure the house is round beset. What nest of birds are these new-kild with fear? Such as strike dead the heart, yet give no blows. You shall de damned together. Heres the Duke of Calabria sir if you have made me tell a you, they e see me of a voyage to the Island of Hogs and Devils, (the Barmudas,) e Duke sir. I warrant you. I warrant you. Passing well? Art hungry, eat this adder: dry? Suck this Snake. Mall Cutpurse plies her task and cannot come. No, thart undone for drinking. A prodigal: Who (in one year,) spent on whores, fools and slaves, And Armies maintenance, now begs for cromes, and raves To see his sumptuous buildings, pastures, woods, That stood in uplands, drowned in Rhenish floods. No covetous wretch: 'tis Hell, thy black-souls pri son. His thirst it cannot slake, Seas could not quench his dropsy: Gold to get He would hang a City, statue a Country. Even yet Raves he for Bonds and encumbers: to save who e soul, (Though he fed none living) Saw-sages were his dole. I'll let him stand. I'll turn the wheels: and spin the hours up faster Troth so would I, And we their Jackesath Clockhouse. A mere Turk sir, none can take you for less. But pray sir, what is't turns you into a Turk? That will be never. Yes, (King of endless horror) see who's here: Barteruile Now thou shalt find th'ast one.
Plot summary
Plot — If It Be Not Good, the Devil Is in It (If This Be Not a Good Play, the Devil Is in It)
Hell has a population problem: so few new souls are arriving that Charon’s earnings are in decline, but Pluto is reluctant to allow him to raise his fare lest the new price should prove a deterrent. Instead, he sends devils to Naples in human disguise to tempt people into sin in the court, the abbey, and the city. They are later to rendezvous in a grove to report their progress. Ruffman goes to court, assuming the identity of the foreign courtier Bohor. The newly crowned King of ===== PAGE 144 ===== Is In It Naples, Alfonso, intends to be a just and godly ruler, and plans out his week to devote each day toa different state task. Bohor persuades him to spend more time on pleasure and less on duty, so Saturday is designated a day of hedonism. Alfonso proclaims a reward for whoever entertains him best, and Bohor wins with a display of airborne fireballs. Alfonso’s devotion to pleasure starts to extend beyond Saturdays, and he neglects his state duties. He also breaks off his engagement with Princess Ermenhild, who retires to a convent and lets it be known that she is dead. Shackle-Soul becomes Friar Rush, a novice in the abbey. On learning that the friars eat frugally, he tempts them to gluttony and is appointed the abbey cook. Only Clement, the Sub-Prior, dissents, and Rush identifies him as an enemy who will have to be dealt with. He also makes an enemy of Scumbroth, his predecessor as cook, when he lays an untrue accusation of unchastity. Obtaining gold from a spirit, he tempts Clement: when Clement goes to fetch water, he finds his pot filled instead with gold, which he gives away to Scumbroth. After squandering the money, Scumbroth returns to the grove to get more, witnesses the diabolic rendezvous there, and realizes that Friar Rush is a devil. Ermenhild hears that her father, the Duke of Calabria, has declared war on Naples over her apparent death. She asks Friar Clement to deliver him a letter establishing that she is in fact alive. Clement continues to withstand Rush’s temptations, proving insensible to the pleasures of music, dancing, and voluptuous women, and is steadfast even when Rush reverts to diabolic form and tells him he is to die that night. Grumball adopts the name Lurchall and enters the service of the corrupt merchant Bartervile, who attempts to cheat his client Innocentio: the terms of Innocentio’s loan require him to repay it at a set time, or else his mortgaged estate will revert to Bartervile; so Bartervile tries unsuccessfully to…