May Day (play)
Encyclopedia
May Day is an early seventeenth-century stage play, a comedy
written by George Chapman
that was first published in 1611
.
May Day enters the historical record when it was printed in a quarto
edition by the stationer
John Browne. This was the sole edition of the play prior to the nineteenth century. The title page of the 1611 quarto identifies Chapman as the author, and states that the play was acted at the Blackfriars Theatre
, meaning it was performed by the Children of the Blackfriars
, the troupe of boy actors
that staged most of Chapman's early comedies.
's Antonio's Revenge
(1600
); the play's parodies of passages in Hamlet
, including the famous soliloquy, have been widely noted by commentators. So, some critics have agreed with Chapman scholar T. M. Parrott
in favoring a date of c. 1601-2. Yet the text also shows links with works current almost a decade later, like Thomas Dekker's The Gull's Hornbook (1609
). One solution for this contradiction is the hypothesis, offered by Parrott, that Chapman wrote the play c. 1601-2 and then revised it for a new production c. 1609. This hypothesis, while certainly possible, has also been received with a measure of skepticism.
setting, upon a Commedia erudita by Alessandro Piccolomini
called Alessandro (1544). The story, as adapted by Chapman, is a complex, crowded, multiple-plot tangle of intrigue and disguise. In the original production, "much of the play's humor probably derived from the child actors' interpretations of adult roles." "The whole play, if over-ingenious, is vivaciously written, and the characters are well-sustained."
The play exploits the plot device of gender disguise and cross-dressing that was so common in English Renaissance drama
— though Chapman manages to double and re-double the cross-dressing trick. Two characters cross-dress, one male, one female. The page Lionell disguises "himself" as a "gentlewoman" in the course of the play; but at the conclusion it is revealed that Lionell is actually Theagine in disguise — so that a boy player
played a female character who disguises as a male page, who then disguises as a woman.
in 1715
.
: Lorenzo is in erotic pursuit of Franceschina, and composes bad poetry praising her (questionable) beauties. He solicits Angelo (servant of Aurelio, the play's young lover) to deliver his love poems; and Angelo reluctantly agrees, though only to mock the elder man's foolishness. The opening scene also introduces the wealth but repulsive Gasparo; Lorenzo wants to arrange a marriage between his daughter Aemilia and Gasparo — though Aemilia is already attracted to Aurelio, and he to her. The two young people are so bashful and self-conscious, however, that they tend to run away from rather than court each other. They desperately need a go-between; Lodovico — Lorenzo's nephew, Aemilia's cousin, and Aurelio's friend — is ready to fulfill the need. Lodovico counsels both young people to overcome their shyness, brings the two together, and even supplies a rope ladder for the climb to Aemilia's balcony.
The early scenes of the play also introduce the soldier and captain Quintiliano, the play's Miles gloriosus
figure, and his followers — lieutenant Innocentio, servingman Fannio, and wife Franceschina (the same "Frank" who is the target of Lorenzo's lusty attentions). Quintiliano devotes much of his time and effort to dodging his creditors and swindling any vulnerable mark who comes within his reach. One of these is Giovenelle, a scholar visiting from Padua
, who is gotten drunk, taught to swagger and swear, and relieved of his purse. The scenes featuring Quintiliano and his party allow satiric commentary on soldiering, gambling, money, drinking, and various other aspects of society, manners, and life.
A third skein of the plot involves a mysterious young woman who calls herself Lucretia; she is an apparent relative of Aurelio, staying at his father Honorio's house. Her unattached status makes her a target for the town's would-be seducers; Leonoro, accompanied by his page Lionell, works upon Lucretia's maid Temperance to gain admittance to Lucretia's private apartment.
Lodovico and Angelo join forces to play a trick on Lorenzo. Angelo convinces Lorenzo that he needs to disguise himself to gain entry to Franceschina's house, and he helps the old man dress up as Snail, the local chimney sweep
, with blackened face and filthy clothes. Angelo arranges for Lorenzo to hear himself traduced and abused by other characters while in his chimney-sweep disguise. Franceschina, who is in on the joke, allows her would-be seducer into her house, but then claims that her husband has come home unexpectedly, and hides Lorenzo in the coal cellar. She locks him in the coal cellar and leaves him there.
Lodovico uses Lorenzo's absence to bring Aurelio and Aemilia together. (Their love scene is the only substantial part of the play in verse — unusually for Chapman, most of the play is written in prose.) While sneaking about in the dark on this mission, Lodovico is mistaken for Leonoro by Temperance, and is ushered into Lucretia's presence. Lucretia, however, draws a sword and drives him out; in the process, Lodovico discovers that Lucretia is a man in disguise.
Eventually, Quintiliano and his friends really do return to his house; they hear Lorenzo calling out from the coal cellar, and release him. Lorenzo has sense enough to maintain his disguise, and to claim that Franceshina had locked him, Snail the chimney-sweep, in the cellar for doing a bad job of sweeping the chimney. Lorenzo returns home and catches sight of Aurelio with Aemilia — not a good enough look to identify Aurelio, but enough to provoke the old man's outrage. Lodovico and Angelo pacify Lorenzo by dressing up Franceschina in one of Aurelio's suits, and making the old man think that it was Franceschina that he'd seen.
Quintiliano borrows the page Lionell from Leonoro, in order to play a joke upon Innocentio: the page will be dressed up as a woman for the lieutenant to court. This occurs at the party that concludes the play, which features a masque
, music and dancing. In the style of the Venetian carnival, all the characters are masked and disguised, leading to the grand exposure of all the plotting and manipulation. It turns out that Lucretia is really Lucretio, a gentleman who had to flee his native Sicily
for political reasons; Lionell is actually his betrothed, Theagine, who has come to search for him in the guise of a page. Lorenzo is made to realize that his embarrassments as Snail can only remain hidden if he consents to the marriage of Aurelio and Aemilia. Loving couples are united in a happy ending. (Even Temperance finds a husband, in Innocentio.)
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 George Chapman
George Chapman
George Chapman was an English dramatist, translator, and poet. He was a classical scholar, and his work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been identified as the Rival Poet of Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Minto, and as an anticipator of the Metaphysical Poets...
that was first published in 1611
1611 in literature
The year 1611 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*January 1 - Oberon, the Faery Prince, a masque written by Ben Jonson and designed by Inigo Jones, is performed at Whitehall Palace....
.
May Day enters the historical record when it was printed 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"...
edition by the stationer
Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers
The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was founded in 1403; it received a Royal Charter in 1557...
John Browne. This was the sole edition of the play prior to the nineteenth century. The title page of the 1611 quarto identifies Chapman as the author, and states that the play was acted at the Blackfriars Theatre
Blackfriars Theatre
Blackfriars Theatre was the name of a theatre in the Blackfriars district of the City of London during the Renaissance. The theatre began as a venue for child actors associated with the Queen's chapel choirs; in this function, the theatre hosted some of the most innovative drama of Elizabeth and...
, meaning it was performed by the Children of the Blackfriars
Children of the Chapel
The Children of the Chapel were the boys with unbroken voices, choristers, who formed part of the Chapel Royal, the body of singers and priests serving the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they were called upon to do so....
, the troupe of boy actors
Boy player
Boy player is a common term for the adolescent males employed by Medieval and English Renaissance playing companies. Some boy players worked for the mainstream companies and performed the female roles, as women did not perform on the English stage in this period...
that staged most of Chapman's early comedies.
Date
The date of the play's authorship and stage premier is a matter of dispute among scholars. The play's text shows a number of references, allusions, and borrowings from dramas current around the turn of the century, like John MarstonJohn Marston
John Marston was an English poet, playwright and satirist during the late Elizabethan and Jacobean periods...
's Antonio's Revenge
Antonio's Revenge
Antonio's Revenge is a late Elizabethan play written by John Marston ca. 1599–1600, and performed by the Children of Paul's, one of the troupes of boy actors popular at the time.Antonio's Revenge was entered into the Stationers' Register on Oct...
(1600
1600 in literature
The year 1600 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*January 1 - The Admiral's Men perform Dekker's The Shoemaker's Holiday at Court....
); the play's parodies of passages in Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, including the famous soliloquy, have been widely noted by commentators. So, some critics have agreed with Chapman scholar T. M. Parrott
Thomas Marc Parrott
Thomas Marc Parrott was a prominent twentieth-century American literary scholar, long a member of the faculty of Princeton University in New Jersey....
in favoring a date of c. 1601-2. Yet the text also shows links with works current almost a decade later, like Thomas Dekker's The Gull's Hornbook (1609
1609 in literature
The year 1609 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*January 1 - the Children of the Blackfriars perform Middleton's A Trick to Catch the Old One at Court....
). One solution for this contradiction is the hypothesis, offered by Parrott, that Chapman wrote the play c. 1601-2 and then revised it for a new production c. 1609. This hypothesis, while certainly possible, has also been received with a measure of skepticism.
Plot and source
Chapman based the plot of May Day, and its VenetianVenice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
setting, upon a Commedia erudita by Alessandro Piccolomini
Alessandro Piccolomini
Alessandro Piccolomini was an Italian humanist and philosopher from Siena, who promoted the popularization in the vernacular of Latin and Greek scientific and philosophical treatises...
called Alessandro (1544). The story, as adapted by Chapman, is a complex, crowded, multiple-plot tangle of intrigue and disguise. In the original production, "much of the play's humor probably derived from the child actors' interpretations of adult roles." "The whole play, if over-ingenious, is vivaciously written, and the characters are well-sustained."
The play exploits the plot device of gender disguise and cross-dressing that was so common in English Renaissance drama
English Renaissance theatre
English Renaissance theatre, also known as early modern English theatre, refers to the theatre of England, largely based in London, which occurred between the Reformation and the closure of the theatres in 1642...
— though Chapman manages to double and re-double the cross-dressing trick. Two characters cross-dress, one male, one female. The page Lionell disguises "himself" as a "gentlewoman" in the course of the play; but at the conclusion it is revealed that Lionell is actually Theagine in disguise — so that a boy player
Boy player
Boy player is a common term for the adolescent males employed by Medieval and English Renaissance playing companies. Some boy players worked for the mainstream companies and performed the female roles, as women did not perform on the English stage in this period...
played a female character who disguises as a male page, who then disguises as a woman.
Revival
May Day proved to be the rare Chapman comedy that had a life on the stage past its own era. An adapted version, titled Love in a Sack, was acted at Lincoln's Inn FieldsLincoln's Inn Fields
Lincoln's Inn Fields is the largest public square in London, UK. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entrepreneurs who took a hand in developing London", as Sir Nikolaus Pevsner observes...
in 1715
1715 in literature
The year 1715 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* Nicholas Rowe becomes Poet Laureate of Great Britain.* Peter the Great takes lessons in maritime affairs from Hermann Boerhaave, before departing for Holland....
.
Synopsis
The opening scene introduces the play's senex amansSenex amans
A senex amans is a stock character of classical Greek and Roman comedy, medieval literature and drama. It is an old jealous man married to a young woman and thus often an object of mockery. He is variously ugly, impotent, puritanical, and foolish to be cuckolded by a young and handsome man...
: Lorenzo is in erotic pursuit of Franceschina, and composes bad poetry praising her (questionable) beauties. He solicits Angelo (servant of Aurelio, the play's young lover) to deliver his love poems; and Angelo reluctantly agrees, though only to mock the elder man's foolishness. The opening scene also introduces the wealth but repulsive Gasparo; Lorenzo wants to arrange a marriage between his daughter Aemilia and Gasparo — though Aemilia is already attracted to Aurelio, and he to her. The two young people are so bashful and self-conscious, however, that they tend to run away from rather than court each other. They desperately need a go-between; Lodovico — Lorenzo's nephew, Aemilia's cousin, and Aurelio's friend — is ready to fulfill the need. Lodovico counsels both young people to overcome their shyness, brings the two together, and even supplies a rope ladder for the climb to Aemilia's balcony.
The early scenes of the play also introduce the soldier and captain Quintiliano, the play's 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...
figure, and his followers — lieutenant Innocentio, servingman Fannio, and wife Franceschina (the same "Frank" who is the target of Lorenzo's lusty attentions). Quintiliano devotes much of his time and effort to dodging his creditors and swindling any vulnerable mark who comes within his reach. One of these is Giovenelle, a scholar visiting from Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
, who is gotten drunk, taught to swagger and swear, and relieved of his purse. The scenes featuring Quintiliano and his party allow satiric commentary on soldiering, gambling, money, drinking, and various other aspects of society, manners, and life.
A third skein of the plot involves a mysterious young woman who calls herself Lucretia; she is an apparent relative of Aurelio, staying at his father Honorio's house. Her unattached status makes her a target for the town's would-be seducers; Leonoro, accompanied by his page Lionell, works upon Lucretia's maid Temperance to gain admittance to Lucretia's private apartment.
Lodovico and Angelo join forces to play a trick on Lorenzo. Angelo convinces Lorenzo that he needs to disguise himself to gain entry to Franceschina's house, and he helps the old man dress up as Snail, the local chimney sweep
Chimney sweep
A chimney sweep is a worker who clears ash and soot from chimneys. The chimney uses the pressure difference caused by a hot column of gas to create a draught and draw air over the hot coals or wood enabling continued combustion. Chimneys may be straight or contain many changes of direction. During...
, with blackened face and filthy clothes. Angelo arranges for Lorenzo to hear himself traduced and abused by other characters while in his chimney-sweep disguise. Franceschina, who is in on the joke, allows her would-be seducer into her house, but then claims that her husband has come home unexpectedly, and hides Lorenzo in the coal cellar. She locks him in the coal cellar and leaves him there.
Lodovico uses Lorenzo's absence to bring Aurelio and Aemilia together. (Their love scene is the only substantial part of the play in verse — unusually for Chapman, most of the play is written in prose.) While sneaking about in the dark on this mission, Lodovico is mistaken for Leonoro by Temperance, and is ushered into Lucretia's presence. Lucretia, however, draws a sword and drives him out; in the process, Lodovico discovers that Lucretia is a man in disguise.
Eventually, Quintiliano and his friends really do return to his house; they hear Lorenzo calling out from the coal cellar, and release him. Lorenzo has sense enough to maintain his disguise, and to claim that Franceshina had locked him, Snail the chimney-sweep, in the cellar for doing a bad job of sweeping the chimney. Lorenzo returns home and catches sight of Aurelio with Aemilia — not a good enough look to identify Aurelio, but enough to provoke the old man's outrage. Lodovico and Angelo pacify Lorenzo by dressing up Franceschina in one of Aurelio's suits, and making the old man think that it was Franceschina that he'd seen.
Quintiliano borrows the page Lionell from Leonoro, in order to play a joke upon Innocentio: the page will be dressed up as a woman for the lieutenant to court. This occurs at the party that concludes the play, which features a masque
Masque
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in 16th and early 17th century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio...
, music and dancing. In the style of the Venetian carnival, all the characters are masked and disguised, leading to the grand exposure of all the plotting and manipulation. It turns out that Lucretia is really Lucretio, a gentleman who had to flee his native Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
for political reasons; Lionell is actually his betrothed, Theagine, who has come to search for him in the guise of a page. Lorenzo is made to realize that his embarrassments as Snail can only remain hidden if he consents to the marriage of Aurelio and Aemilia. Loving couples are united in a happy ending. (Even Temperance finds a husband, in Innocentio.)