A Fine Companion
Encyclopedia
A Fine Companion is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy
written by Shackerley Marmion
that was first printed in 1633
. It is one of only three surviving plays by Marmion.
The play was published in 1633 in a quarto
printed by Augustine Matthews
for the bookseller Richard Meighen
. The title page of the first edition states that the play was performed by Prince Charles's Men
at the Salisbury Court Theatre
, and that the work was acted before King Charles I
and Queen Henrietta Maria
at Whitehall Palace. The original production most likely occurred in the 1632–33 period. The same company had staged Marmion's first play, Holland's Leaguer
, in 1631
.
Marmion based his drama on one of the popular stories in Barnabe Rich
's Farewell to the Military Profession (1581
). Like Marmion's other plays, A Fine Companion shows the clear and abundant influence of Ben Jonson
's style of comedy. Marmion was one of the Sons of Ben, self-professed admirers and followers of Jonson.
In the 1633 first edition, the play is prefaced by a Prologue featuring an Author and a Critic, in which Marmion defends his practice of satire.
His own father being deceased, Careless is determined to spend and enjoy his patrimony. He mortgages his lands to Littlegood and wastes his funds on high living; his tailor, sempster, and haberdasher wait upon him faithfully. He is surrounded by a set of questionable friends. Spruce is a would-be lady's man who carries a box full of pre-written love letters, only the names left blank. Captain Whipple and Lieutenant Stern are cashiered soldiers who mooch what they can.
Littlegood has two daughters and a son. In addition to Valeria there is the high-spirited Aemilia; son Lackwit is the darling of his mother, Fondling Littlegood, who encourages him to live the life of a gentleman and a gallant, much to his father's displeasure. Littlegood wants to marry off his daughters to husbands of his choice; he plans to bestow Valeria upon Spruce, and Aemilia on the elderly Dotario, the uncle of Aurelio and Careless. Aemilia, however, is determined to foil her father's plans; she prefers Careless for her husband.
Directed by Aurelio, Valeria pretends to be mad; Aurelio disguises himself as the doctor who is to cure her. Careless disguises himself as Dotario, and makes off with Aemilia. (Lackwit mistakes the real Dotario for a false Dotario, and scares him away with a longsword.) The disguised brothers marry their brides. Littlegood and Dotario are stunned to learn they've been duped, though Fondling is pleased with the results. To avoid public embarrassment and keep the family secrets, Littlegood agrees to return Careless's mortgaged lands to him, and Dotario provides Aurelio with an income.
Interspersed with the play's main plot scenes are scenes of the comic subplot, which trace the adventures of Careless, Lackwit, the Captain, and comic servants through a milieu of taverns, confidence games, and pranks.
Captain Whipple is a version of the "Miles gloriosus
" of classical comedy: he talks big and blusters, but is a coward at heart. He indulges in a fantastic style of speech —
Yet by the end of the play he has been humbled: he marries the Hostess of the tavern where he resides, and becomes the Host.
, a play in the canon of William Rowley
, bears noteworthy common features with Marmion's comedy: the old usurer (Bloodhound, Littlegood) and his rebellious children; the witty virgin (Moll Bloodhound, Aemilia Littlegood) and her decrepit old suitor (Earlack, Dotario); the usurer's silly son (Tim Bloodhound, Lackwit Littlegood); dishonest tavern-crawling discharged soldiers, etc.
In turn, Marmion's play influenced subsequent writers. A Fine Companion served "as a source for plot elements" in Richard Brome
's The English Moor
. During the Restoration
, Thomas d'Urfey
borrowed from Marmion's drama to create his Sir Barnaby Whig, or No Wit Like a Woman's (1681
). D'Urfey's Captain Porpuss is modeled on Marmion's Captain Whipple. (Four years earlier, in 1677
, d'Urfey had similarly plundered Marmion's The Antiquary
for another of his works.)
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
written by Shackerley Marmion
Shackerley Marmion
Shackerley Marmion , also Shakerley, Shakerly, Schackerley, Marmyon, Marmyun, or Mermion, was an early 17th-century dramatist, often classed among the Sons of Ben, the followers of Ben Jonson who continued his style of comedy...
that was first printed in 1633
1633 in literature
The year 1633 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*On May 21, Ben Jonson's masque The King's Entertainment at Welbeck is performed....
. It is one of only three surviving plays by Marmion.
The play was published in 1633 in a quarto
Book size
The size of a book is generally measured by the height against the width of a leaf, or sometimes the height and width of its cover. A series of terms is commonly used by libraries and publishers for the general sizes of modern books, ranging from "folio" , to "quarto" and "octavo"...
printed by Augustine Matthews
Augustine Matthews
Augustine Matthews was a printer in London in the Jacobean and Caroline eras. Among a wide variety of other work, Matthews printed notable texts in English Renaissance drama....
for the bookseller Richard Meighen
Richard Meighen
Richard Meighen was a London publisher of the Jacobean and Caroline eras. He is noted for his publications of plays of English Renaissance drama; he published the second Ben Jonson folio of 1640/1, and was a member of the syndicate that issued the Second Folio of Shakespeare's collected plays in...
. The title page of the first edition states that the play was performed by Prince Charles's Men
Prince Charles's Men
Prince Charles's Men was a playing company or troupe of actors in Jacobean and Caroline England.-The Jacobean era troupe:...
at the Salisbury Court Theatre
Salisbury Court Theatre
The Salisbury Court Theatre was a theatre in 17th-century London. It was located in the neighbourhood of Salisbury Court, which was formerly the London residence of the Bishops of Salisbury. Salibury Court was acquired by Richard Sackville in 1564; when Thomas Sackville was created Earl of Dorset...
, and that the work was acted before King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
and Queen Henrietta Maria
Henrietta Maria of France
Henrietta Maria of France ; was the Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife of King Charles I...
at Whitehall Palace. The original production most likely occurred in the 1632–33 period. The same company had staged Marmion's first play, Holland's Leaguer
Holland's Leaguer
Holland's Leaguer is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by Shackerley Marmion. It premiered onstage in 1631 and was first published in 1632...
, in 1631
1631 in literature
The year 1631 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*January 9 - Love's Triumph Through Callipolis, a masque written by Ben Jonson and designed by Inigo Jones, is staged at Whitehall Palace....
.
Marmion based his drama on one of the popular stories in Barnabe Rich
Barnabe Rich
Barnabe Rich , was an English author and soldier, and a distant relative of Lord Chancellor Rich....
's Farewell to the Military Profession (1581
1581 in literature
-Events:*Stationer Thomas Marsh publishes Seneca's Tragedies in English, a collected edition of ten dramas written by Seneca the Younger , translated by Jasper Heywood, John Studley, Alexander Neville, Thomas Newton, and Thomas Nuce...
). Like Marmion's other plays, A Fine Companion shows the clear and abundant influence of Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
's style of comedy. Marmion was one of the Sons of Ben, self-professed admirers and followers of Jonson.
In the 1633 first edition, the play is prefaced by a Prologue featuring an Author and a Critic, in which Marmion defends his practice of satire.
Synopsis
The play opens with its lovers, Aurelio and Valeria. Aurelio is a worthy son who has been disinherited by a capricious father, in favor of his wastrel younger brother Careless (the latter is the "fine companion" of the title). The lovers' plans to marry are frustrated by Aurelio's lack of means; and they are separated physically by Aurelia's father, the usurer Littlegood.His own father being deceased, Careless is determined to spend and enjoy his patrimony. He mortgages his lands to Littlegood and wastes his funds on high living; his tailor, sempster, and haberdasher wait upon him faithfully. He is surrounded by a set of questionable friends. Spruce is a would-be lady's man who carries a box full of pre-written love letters, only the names left blank. Captain Whipple and Lieutenant Stern are cashiered soldiers who mooch what they can.
Littlegood has two daughters and a son. In addition to Valeria there is the high-spirited Aemilia; son Lackwit is the darling of his mother, Fondling Littlegood, who encourages him to live the life of a gentleman and a gallant, much to his father's displeasure. Littlegood wants to marry off his daughters to husbands of his choice; he plans to bestow Valeria upon Spruce, and Aemilia on the elderly Dotario, the uncle of Aurelio and Careless. Aemilia, however, is determined to foil her father's plans; she prefers Careless for her husband.
Directed by Aurelio, Valeria pretends to be mad; Aurelio disguises himself as the doctor who is to cure her. Careless disguises himself as Dotario, and makes off with Aemilia. (Lackwit mistakes the real Dotario for a false Dotario, and scares him away with a longsword.) The disguised brothers marry their brides. Littlegood and Dotario are stunned to learn they've been duped, though Fondling is pleased with the results. To avoid public embarrassment and keep the family secrets, Littlegood agrees to return Careless's mortgaged lands to him, and Dotario provides Aurelio with an income.
Interspersed with the play's main plot scenes are scenes of the comic subplot, which trace the adventures of Careless, Lackwit, the Captain, and comic servants through a milieu of taverns, confidence games, and pranks.
Captain Whipple is a version of the "Miles gloriosus
Miles Gloriosus
Miles Gloriosus is a stock character of a boastful soldier from the comic theatre of ancient Rome, and variations on this character have appeared in drama and fiction ever since. The character derives from the alazôn or "braggart" of the Greek Old Comedy...
" of classical comedy: he talks big and blusters, but is a coward at heart. He indulges in a fantastic style of speech —
- There's a wench that has her suburb tricks about her, I warrant you. Hold there
- Bellerophon! take thy Ocyrois, and mount her like Phlegon.
Yet by the end of the play he has been humbled: he marries the Hostess of the tavern where he resides, and becomes the Host.
Literary connections
Like many Caroline era plays, Marmion's Fine Companion shows a range of resemblances with, and borrowings from, earlier works. A Match at MidnightA Match at Midnight
A Match at Midnight is a Jacobean era stage play first printed in 1633, a comedy that represents a stubborn and persistent authorship problem in English Renaissance drama.-Publication:...
, a play in the canon of William Rowley
William Rowley
William Rowley was an English Jacobean dramatist, best known for works written in collaboration with more successful writers. His date of birth is estimated to have been c. 1585; he was buried on 11 February 1626...
, bears noteworthy common features with Marmion's comedy: the old usurer (Bloodhound, Littlegood) and his rebellious children; the witty virgin (Moll Bloodhound, Aemilia Littlegood) and her decrepit old suitor (Earlack, Dotario); the usurer's silly son (Tim Bloodhound, Lackwit Littlegood); dishonest tavern-crawling discharged soldiers, etc.
In turn, Marmion's play influenced subsequent writers. A Fine Companion served "as a source for plot elements" in Richard Brome
Richard Brome
Richard Brome was an English dramatist of the Caroline era.-Life:Virtually nothing is known about Brome's private life. Repeated allusions in contemporary works, like Ben Jonson's Bartholomew Fair, indicate that Brome started out as a servant of Jonson, in some capacity...
's The English Moor
The English Moor
The English Moor, or the Mock Marriage is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by Richard Brome, noteworthy in its use of the stage device of blackface make-up...
. During the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
, Thomas d'Urfey
Thomas d'Urfey
Thomas D'Urfey was an English writer and wit. He composed plays, songs, and poetry, in addition to writing jokes. He was an important innovator and contributor in the evolution of the Ballad opera....
borrowed from Marmion's drama to create his Sir Barnaby Whig, or No Wit Like a Woman's (1681
1681 in literature
The year 1681 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*Birth of Abigail Williams, much later a central character in Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible.-New books:*Robert Knox - An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon...
). D'Urfey's Captain Porpuss is modeled on Marmion's Captain Whipple. (Four years earlier, in 1677
1677 in literature
The year 1677 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* Roger Morrice begins his Entring Book.* Francis North's A Philosophical Essay of Music published....
, d'Urfey had similarly plundered Marmion's The Antiquary
The Antiquary (play)
The Antiquary is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by Shackerley Marmion. It was acted in the 1634–36 period by Queen Henrietta's Men at the Cockpit Theatre, and first published in 1641. The Antiquary has been succinctly described as "Marmion's best play."-Contemporary...
for another of his works.)