John S. Farmer (1854–1916)

[The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth] - Anonymous
[A Knack to Know an Honest Man] - Anonymous
Two popular plays from London stage of 1594 both of which have connections to Shakespeare, so much so that there has been much critical study to see if he had a hand in either of them. Neither of them claim much evidence of his genius, but both would seem precursors of plays that have safely been attributed to him.

The famous Victories of Henry the Fifth seems to be a template of Shakespeares Henry V and follows the same broad pattern. The first part describes the young prince Henry as a roustabout in London associating with criminals and committing robberies, with the character of Sir John Oldcastle being an earlier version of Shakespeares Falstaff. The play turns at the death of Henry IV when prince Henry becomes king and accepts his new responsibilities and brings to the kingship his prodigious energies in leading England to its famous victory at Agincourt. The play is fairly pedestrian, but might have owed its success to the part of the clown Derick, which tradition has it, was played by the famous comedian Tarlton. There is some conjecture that Tarlton may have written parts of the play himself, anyway he was such a personality on the Elizabethan stage that he only had to make an appearance and he would cause the audience to laugh. Tarlton died in 1588 and so while the play was entered in the Stationer's Registers in 1594 it is clear that it was written some years earlier: the version I read was in prose rather than blank verse which also points clearly to a play that was probably being staged some ten years earlier.

A Knack to know an Honest Man was also entered in the Stationers Registers in 1594, but the version that has come down to us was probably cobbled together from an actual stage performance. It is not divided into acts and scenes and there are no stage directions, the text is apparently not in a good state with some parts missing. It has a complicated plot, but there is evidence that it may well have been at one time a well produced play that was more popular than most. It is written in blank verse, but is fairly uneven and points to being a collaboration of sorts. The action takes place mostly in Venice where nobles and merchants strive to appease the iron rule of Corrodino the Duke of Venice. The play starts with two members of the nobility Sempronto and Lelio fighting after Lelio accuses Sempronto of seducing his wife. Lelio appears to kill Sempronto and flees the city fearing retribution from the Duke. However Sempronto is nursed back to health by the hermit Philip and takes on a disguise as Penitent Experience. Servio the uncle to Sempronto takes advantage of Leilo's absence to sequester his property while Fortunato the Dukes son, has plans to seduce his daughter Lucida and his friend the senatot Marchetto has eyes on his wife Annetta. Brisheo father to Annetta organises a guard on Leilo's house and Fortunato and Marchetto are beaten off, but Brisheo must now also flee the city. It is the task of Sempronto as Penitent Experience to heal all the wounds and make honest men of the various combatants. It is only the merchant and money lender Servio who is beyond being an honest man. Venice, and a recalcitrant money lender like Servio could have been an inspiration for Shakespeares Merchant of Venice.

Neither of these plays would warrant serious consideration today, but are interesting because both were popular in their time and so 3 star reads.… (mais)

[Five Anonymous Plays] - John S Farmer
Another in the series of anonymous plays from the sixteenth century edited by John S Farmer. These five take us into the 1570’s, however some of them have now been credited to certain playwrights. There is a mixed bag here and nothing really that would warrant attention from prospective producers for theatre events today. So no hidden gems.

Appius and Virginia
This was probably performed about 1563, but not printed until 1575 and although short in running time it provided the best entertainment for me. Set in Roman times it is the story of Virginia who would rather die than lose her virginity to a man who was not approved by her parents.

“The rather, dear father, if it be thy pleasure
Grant me my death; then keep I my treasure”

Judge Appius has the hots for Virginia and he is spurred on by Haphazard an evil devil like character, who reminds him that as ruler he can do as he wishes. Appius concocts a charge against Virginius (Virginias father) and instructs him to submit his daughter as punishment. Virginia asks her father to kill her rather than submit and so he cuts off her head and takes it wrapped in cloth to Appius. Appius is enraged and orders Virginius to be executed, but two characters Justice and Reward turn the tables and Virginius arrests judge Appius and hangs Haphazard.
This is a play that has not quite broken from the morality plays of medieval times; allegorical figures of Justice, Conscience, Fame and Reward appear to shape events, but there are plenty of good speeches from the human characters who dominate the action. The play is full of word play and the devil like character of Haphazard has the best lines.
A Tragi-comedy which I enjoyed.

A New and Pleasant Interlude - The Marriage of Wit and Science
Written by Ulpian Fulwell probably in 1567.A morality play - allegorical as the young Wit seeks to marry Science but he must fight Tediousness and get Study and Diligence on his side. He refuses to spend 4 years with them, but wants to marry Science at once. It is mostly debate and dialogue, but there is a fight with Tediousness followed by a song for the Vanquished Wit.

GRIM THE COLLIER OF CROYDON or the Devil and his dame; with the devil and Saint Dunstan
The devil Belphagor comes to live on Earth for a time, to investigate reports that women have grown extreme in their misbehaviors and have made marriage a curse. He disguises himself as a Spanish doctor named Castiliano. He offers to cure a mute woman named Honoria if she will marry him in return — a proposal that is accepted by the young woman and her family. Once he cures her, however, she repudiates her marital promise, calling him a "base Spaniard" who she wouldn't allow her slave to marry. All the English seem to turn on him: he is bed-tricked into marrying Honoria's shrewish maid, who cheats on him; one of the maid's former suitors tries to kill him; and his wife eventually poisons him. Castiliano dies just as Belphagor's predetermined time on Earth expires, and the devil returns to Hell with great relief at escaping the toils of earthly existence and its ferocious females. (The play's depiction of its devil is surprisingly restrained; he is described as "patient, mild, and pitiful," and is rather a sympathetic character than otherwise. Its infernal domain, ruled by Pluto, is a mixture of Christian and classical elements.)
In the play's subplot, Grim the collier is a simple and good-hearted soul who is devoted to his love, Joan of Badenstock. After complications with Clack the Miller and Parson Shorthose, Grim wins her in the end, with the help of Puck or Robin Goodfellow (alias Akercock; in this play, a devil like Belphagor). This is a play from the mid 17th century, but is based on one from the late 16th century. It is written largely in blank verse and the ample stage directions signify it is a play from a different century than the others included here.

Common Conditions
This one really is anonymous, which is no surprise because it is a bit of a mess. it reads like it was written by several different people, which was probably the case. The convoluted plot involves…………… well just too convoluted. It does not help that the beginning and end is missing. Written in rhyming couplets it is an adventure story of sorts involving pirates, chance meetings, disguises, kidnapping and general confusion. More pantomime than anything else and dating from 1576.

Interlude of a Contract of Marriage between Wit and Wisdom
The final piece was probably written between 1571-6 by Francis Maybury, who was a Puritan Preacher. A morality play; it is well written with a rhyming scheme that transcends some of the dialogue. There are some good lines and it is witty, with language that can get quite bawdy. There are fights and there are songs, no long speeches and it is all over fairly quickly. It was probably good entertainment.

These plays and interludes were collected for publication in the Early English Dramatists series in 1908. Spelling has been modernised and their are copious notes at the back of the book which help with the language and also tells of the difficulties of locating the original texts: the edition that is free on the internet is from 1966. You would need to have an interest in early English drama to read these from cover to cover, but they are not difficult and provide a snapshot of drama from the 1570’s. 3 stars… (mais)

Continuing my troll through mid 16th century drama I stumbled on this collection edited by John S Farmer which was privately printed for subscribers by the English drama society probably in 1906. It is now happily freely available on the net and contains some gems. The six plays are:
The History of Jacob and Esau - 1568
The interlude of Youth - 1560
A Moral play of Albion Knight - this is a fragment of a moral play date uncertain.
A Comedy called Misogonus - survived in manuscript only probably dates from 1577 or earlier
An interlude of Godly Queen Hester - 1561
Tom Tyler and his wife. - 1561
The dates are all approximate, for example An interlude of Godly Queen Hester might have existed in a printed version some thirty years earlier.

The prologue to Tom Tyler and his wife ends with a call to the assembled audience that they:

“…….. which was to come before to pray of you
To make them room, and silence as you may
which being done, they shall come to play”

This extract from the prologue puts these “plays” in context, because it would be more accurate to call them interludes. At the time of their publication, they would not have been performed on a stage in a theatre (the first theatre for staging plays was not licensed until 1576), they would probably have been performed as an interlude at another event, perhaps a dinner or a private party, and a space would have to be cleared to allow the players to perform.

The two pieces that interested me the most were; The History of Jacob and Esau and Misogonus. They both look forward to modern drama, breaking away from the morality plays format that still held sway in the earlier part of the 16th century. They have similarities; both could be described as comedies, the major plot theme is that of the prodigal son, there is Christian comment and moral sentiment, they both have real characters rather than allegorical entities, they tell a story that has a satisfying conclusion, but there is real drama in the telling, musical interludes feature at appropriate moments to assist the drama. The History of Jacob and Esau sticks pretty closely to the biblical story, but the author is able to inject much drama into the situation by his telling of the incident where the blind Isaac is tricked into giving his blessing to Jacob rather than Esau despite Esau being the eldest of the two. The humour is present both in the trickery performed by Jacob and his mother and by the dialogue from the servants. The overriding message of the play is that all happenings are God’s will, but characters can make it God’s will by their own actions. It was God’s will that Esau the spendthrift and waster was the eldest son, but it is also God’s will that Jacob was able to trick his father into giving him the inheritance, because he was the most deserving son.

Misogonus although a prodigal son story does not follow a biblical tale. It is a little looser in its construction with sharper dialogue and real comic characters. The main theme here is the proper upbringing of children with the idea that sparing the rod will spoil the child. Misogonus is the son that goes astray, spending his time gambling and whoring with his servants egging him on. His father tries to take him to task but is rebuffed and when the fathers friend also tries to talk to Misogonus he is even more rudely treated. The centre piece of the play is the long episode in a gambling house where Sir John the local priest is a more than a willing participant. There is much humour at the expense of Father John as a bawdy time is had by all. The servant Cacugas is a mischief maker, and although his actions help in moving the plot along his scheming does not succeed. The resolution to the story is the discovery of a twin brother unknown to the father who is persuaded to return home. Two old retainers are aware of his existence and the scene where they go about telling the worried father is wrung for much drama as it seems that they will never actually get round to revealing the truth. Codrus one of the retainers is particularly comical in the way he always manages to say the wrong word, getting muddled and providing much misinformation. The play ends with two appeals to the audience: Cacugas has been thrown out for his mischeif making and he asks someone from the audience to take him in and Misogonus asks the audience to forgive his youthful vanity as he asks and gets his fathers forgiveness. There is a more recent version of Misogonus in the form of a thesis by L E Barber that is worth searching for on the net.

The Interlude of Youth and the fragment of Albion Knight seem to belong to an earlier period as they both use stock characters from the medieval morality plays. The dialogue may be sharper, but they do not look forward to a more modern dramatic tradition. Tom Tyler and his wife is a very early precursor to The Taming of the Shrew and although it is fast paced and has some lively speech making it also looks backwards rather than forwards. The same could also be said of Godly Queen Hester which is a dramatisation of a story from the bible, as it has its share of moral characters. Both of these plays however feature strong female characters. They have control over the men in their lives who appear weak and boorish beside them.

This edition of these anonymous works feature modernised spelling and punctuation, but wherever possible the original orthography has been maintained. At the back of the book there is an alphabetical word list with some extensive explanations, there is some musical notation to a few of the songs and some information on the history of the publication of the plays. It is not at all convenient to read these alongside the plays as their is no linking device apart from being arranged alphabetically yet they do provide a lot of information and provide much entertainment in their own write. I found real enjoyment in reading Misogonus and Jacob and Esau was also interesting the other pieces really do require an interest in 16th century literature, but overall a four star read… (mais)