in Satiromastix, or The Untrussing of the Humorous Poet — Dekker, Thomas
Metadata
Play
Satiromastix, or The Untrussing of the Humorous Poet
Author
Dekker, Thomas
Year (catalogued)
1602
First performance
1601
Decade
1600s
Genre
Comedy
Play type
Adult Professional; Boys Professional
Company
Lord Chamberlain's (Hunsdon's) Men and Children of Paul's (second)
Speech prefix(es)
Flash. | Fla. | Peter Flash.
Words
355
Characters
1749
Typicality
0.32 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A20081
BritDrama no.
1304
Cluster
Cluster 23 — Gulls, fops & laughing-stocks
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
As soon as ere they entered our gates, the noise went, before they came never the great Hall, the faint hearted villiacoes sounded at least thrice. Up sir? she was seen up and hour a go. Shee'l be a late stirrer soon at night sir. If your wine play with my nose Sir, I'll knock's coxcomb. Here Sir, I'll pull all your guests out of my bosom; the men that will come, I have crossed, but all the Gentlewo men have at the tail of the last letter a prick, because you may read them the better. I had much a do sir, to draw Sir Adam Prickeshaft home, because I told him it early, but heel come. He took physic yesterday sir. Oh Lord yes, sir yes 'twas but to make more room in his Crop for your good cheer, Crop will come. She's pricked you see sir, and will come. All will come. Beware there, room for Sir Adam Prickeshaft: your Worship— Light there for sir Vaughan; your good Worship— All here sir. I thank your Worship, for I have as good a sto macke to your Worship as a man could wish. No Sir, my petition runs thus, that your worship would thrust me out of doors, and that I may follow Sir Vaughan. It's no matter Sir, the Flashes have ever been known to be quick and light enough. With hue and cry and you will Sir. I warrant Sir, I'll give every one of them a good stool. Idem fling you out too and I might would my will, a pox of all fools. Is the fray done si ? Sounds Sir, I hope you will not serve me so, to turn me away in this case. I'll home to your cost, and I can get into the Wineseller. I'll not drink it down sir, but I'll turn it into that which shall run down, o merrily! God a mercy to your worship, I hope you shall never repent for me. Draw Sir Rees he's yonder shall I upon him? The name's too good for me, I thank your worship.
Plot summary
Plot — Satiromastix, or The Untrussing of the Humorous Poet
Celestine and Sir Walter Terrill are married. At the wedding dinner, the King becomes enamoured of Celestine and induces the bridegroom to swear to give up his first night of sex with her: he must deliver her to court that evening, still a virgin. Her father, Sir Quintilian, devises a scheme to save both her honour and Sir Walter’s: he gives her a cup of poison, and she drinks it. She keeps her marriage vows, and Sir Walter delivers her body to the King as part of a masque. The King is abashed to discover that she is a chaste, faithful wife. Then she wakes up: it was only a sleeping draught, and Sir Quintilian has proved both the bride’s constancy and the bridegroom’s love. In the sub-plot, Sir Quintilian and two other knights all become interested in marrying the widow Mistress Miniver, and each independently bribes Tucca to advance his suit. Miniver seems most interested in the bald Sir Adam, so Sir Vaughan engages Horace to write a satire against baldness. He invites the ladies, including Miniver, to a banquet of plums, and there Horace recites his poem on the glories of hair. The poem has the desired effect on Miniver; but Sir Adam hires Horace’s rival, Crispinus, to write a defence of baldness. It all comes to naught, however, for Tucca ends up marrying Miniver himself. In the third plot, Horace’s bitter epigrams against Tucca get into circulation among the gallants. Tucca swears vengeance, and stabs Horace, but with an edgeless sword; Horace’s response is shown to derive from fear rather than physical pain. Horace is accused of giving up a useful trade, bricklaying, and of unlawfully arraigning his rivals on the stage. He is brought to court dressed as a satyr, and the King appoints Crispinus to judge him. Crowned with a nettle wreath, Horace is exposed as an impostor (the real Horace was a better poet), and is made to forswear his inclination to arrogance and personal satire.