The Duke's Mistress
Encyclopedia
The Duke's Mistress is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy
written by James Shirley
and first published in 1638
. It was the last of Shirley's plays produced before the major break in his career: with the closing of the London theatres due to bubonic plague
in May 1636, Shirley left England for Ireland, where he worked under John Ogilby
at the Werburgh Street Theatre
in Dublin for four years.
The Duke's Mistress was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels
, on Jan. 18, 1636
, and was acted by Queen Henrietta's Men
at the Cockpit Theatre
. On February 22, 1636 it was performed at St. James's Palace
before the King and Queen, Charles I
and Henrietta Maria
.
The play was entered into the Stationers' Register
on March 13, 1638, and was published in quarto
later that year, printed by John Norton for the booksellers Andrew Crooke and William Cooke, the partners who issued many of Shirley's plays in that era. Curiously, surviving copies of the quarto differ in identification of the publishers; some copies name Crooke alone, while others mention only Cooke.
The play shares some clear similarities with contemporaneous works like The Queen and Concubine by Richard Brome
and A Wife for a Month by John Fletcher
. Shirley's use of the idea of men who are attracted to ugly women has provoked commentary on the psychological and other aspects of such a fixation.
, tries to dismiss his faithful wife Euphemia and win Ardelia as his mistress. The secondary plot reverses the main plot situation: Leontio, Farnese's kinsman and heir, loves the Duchess, and plans to murder the Duke and take his place. In the comic subplot, Horatio woos Ardelia's waiting-woman Fiametta, only to abandon her to pursue another; Horatio has an obsession with homely women — the homelier they are, the more strongly he is attracted to them.
The play opens with a celebration in Ardelia's favor — which is interrupted by Duchess Euphemia, who melodramatically begs her husband to put her to death now that she has lost his affection. A crucial misunderstanding occurs when Ardelia, not having heard the Duchess's plea and being ignorant of its nature, tells the Duke that he should fulfill the Duchess's request, whatever it is. The Duchess vows revenge on her husband and Ardelia. Farnese incarcerates his wife, and places his heir Leontio in charge of her; he already suspects Leontio's attraction for her.
In the midst of this, Bentivolio, Ardelia's fiancé, returns to the Duke's court after an absence. He accuses Ardelia of betrayal of their engagement. When the Duke arrives, Ardelia hides Bentivolio, and while he listens from hiding she manipulates Farnese into an admission that she has not yet submitted to him sexually. But a courtier named Valerio knows the situation of Bentivolio and Ardelia, and theatens to expose Bentivolio to the Duke's anger unless Ardelia sleeps with him, Valerio. Playing for time, Ardelia arranges a meeting with Valerio.
Leontio has bribed Pallante, a captain, to assassinate the Duke. Valerio overhears their plot, and joins their conspiracy. He also prevails upon Bentivolio to kill the Duke, assuring him that the new Duke, Leontio, will offer a pardon.
In her chamber, Ardelia resists Valerio, and when he tries to rape her she draws a pistol on him. Bentivolio arrives; Valerio, thinking the Duke has come, hides behind a tapestry. Bentivolio, likewise mistaking the man behind the arras, runs him through with his sword (as Hamlet does to Polonius in Hamlet
, III,iv). Thinking he has killed the Duke, Bentivolio flees with Ardelia.
Pallante comes to Leontio, telling him that he has killed Farnese, who repented of his crimes and sins before he died. Then Bentivolio and Ardelia are brought in, apprehended by the guards; and Bentivolio too admits to having killed the Duke. Leontio opportunistically sends the lovers to prison for the crime, thus throwing suspicion from himself and his henchman. Leontio rushes to the Duchess, to stake his claim to Farnese's wife as well as his dukedom — but the still-living Farnese is with her. Pallante lied about the Duke's death, but told the truth about Farnese's repentance — for that is what caused the assassin to spare his victim's life. Believing the Duke is dead, Leontio mistakes Farnese for one of his own servants; Leontio carelessly tells Euphemia that Farnese's death leaves her free for him. Euphemia rejects Leontio, and Farnese kills him. The Duke and Duchess reconcile, and Bentivolio and Ardelia marry.
Tragicomedy
Tragicomedy is fictional work that blends aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. In English literature, from Shakespeare's time to the nineteenth century, tragicomedy referred to a serious play with either a happy ending or enough jokes throughout the play to lighten the mood.-Classical...
written by James Shirley
James Shirley
James Shirley was an English dramatist.He belonged to the great period of English dramatic literature, but, in Lamb's words, he "claims a place among the worthies of this period, not so much for any transcendent genius in himself, as that he was the last of a great race, all of whom spoke nearly...
and first published in 1638
1638 in literature
The year 1638 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*February 6 - Luminalia, a masque written by Sir William Davenant and designed by Inigo Jones, is staged at the English Court....
. It was the last of Shirley's plays produced before the major break in his career: with the closing of the London theatres due to bubonic plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
in May 1636, Shirley left England for Ireland, where he worked under John Ogilby
John Ogilby
John Ogilby was a Scottish translator, impresario and cartographer. Best known for publishing the first British road atlas, he was also a successful translator, noted for publishing his work in handsome illustrated editions.-Life:Ogilby was born in or near Killemeare in November 1600...
at the Werburgh Street Theatre
Werburgh Street Theatre
The Werburgh Street Theatre, also the Saint Werbrugh Street Theatre or the New Theatre, was a seventeenth-century theatre in Dublin, Ireland...
in Dublin for four years.
The Duke's Mistress was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels
Master of the Revels
The Master of the Revels was a position within the English, and later the British, royal household heading the "Revels Office" or "Office of the Revels" that originally had responsibilities for overseeing royal festivities, known as revels, and later also became responsible for stage censorship,...
, on Jan. 18, 1636
1636 in literature
The year 1636 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*January 31 - The King's Men perform Shakespeare's Julius Caesar at St. James's Palace.*February - James Shirley's The Duke's Mistress is performed at St...
, and was acted by Queen Henrietta's Men
Queen Henrietta's Men
Queen Henrietta's Men was an important playing company or troupe of actors in Caroline era London. At their peak of popularity, Queen Henrietta's Men were the second leading troupe of the day, after only the King's Men.-Beginnings:...
at the Cockpit Theatre
Cockpit Theatre
The Cockpit was a theatre in London, operating from 1616 to around 1665. It was the first theatre to be located near Drury Lane. After damage in 1617, it was christened The Phoenix....
. On February 22, 1636 it was performed at St. James's Palace
St. James's Palace
St. James's Palace is one of London's oldest palaces. It is situated in Pall Mall, just north of St. James's Park. Although no sovereign has resided there for almost two centuries, it has remained the official residence of the Sovereign and the most senior royal palace in the UK...
before the King and Queen, 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 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...
.
The play was entered into the Stationers' Register
Stationers' Register
The Stationers' Register was a record book maintained by the Stationers' Company of London. The company is a trade guild given a royal charter in 1557 to regulate the various professions associated with the publishing industry, including printers, bookbinders, booksellers, and publishers in England...
on March 13, 1638, and was published in 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"...
later that year, printed by John Norton for the booksellers Andrew Crooke and William Cooke, the partners who issued many of Shirley's plays in that era. Curiously, surviving copies of the quarto differ in identification of the publishers; some copies name Crooke alone, while others mention only Cooke.
The play shares some clear similarities with contemporaneous works like The Queen and Concubine by 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...
and A Wife for a Month by John Fletcher
John Fletcher (playwright)
John Fletcher was a Jacobean playwright. Following William Shakespeare as house playwright for the King's Men, he was among the most prolific and influential dramatists of his day; both during his lifetime and in the early Restoration, his fame rivalled Shakespeare's...
. Shirley's use of the idea of men who are attracted to ugly women has provoked commentary on the psychological and other aspects of such a fixation.
Synopsis
The Duke's Mistress employs the three-level plot structure that Shirley favors through much of his output. In the main plot, Dionisio Farnese, the Duke of ParmaParma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
, tries to dismiss his faithful wife Euphemia and win Ardelia as his mistress. The secondary plot reverses the main plot situation: Leontio, Farnese's kinsman and heir, loves the Duchess, and plans to murder the Duke and take his place. In the comic subplot, Horatio woos Ardelia's waiting-woman Fiametta, only to abandon her to pursue another; Horatio has an obsession with homely women — the homelier they are, the more strongly he is attracted to them.
The play opens with a celebration in Ardelia's favor — which is interrupted by Duchess Euphemia, who melodramatically begs her husband to put her to death now that she has lost his affection. A crucial misunderstanding occurs when Ardelia, not having heard the Duchess's plea and being ignorant of its nature, tells the Duke that he should fulfill the Duchess's request, whatever it is. The Duchess vows revenge on her husband and Ardelia. Farnese incarcerates his wife, and places his heir Leontio in charge of her; he already suspects Leontio's attraction for her.
In the midst of this, Bentivolio, Ardelia's fiancé, returns to the Duke's court after an absence. He accuses Ardelia of betrayal of their engagement. When the Duke arrives, Ardelia hides Bentivolio, and while he listens from hiding she manipulates Farnese into an admission that she has not yet submitted to him sexually. But a courtier named Valerio knows the situation of Bentivolio and Ardelia, and theatens to expose Bentivolio to the Duke's anger unless Ardelia sleeps with him, Valerio. Playing for time, Ardelia arranges a meeting with Valerio.
Leontio has bribed Pallante, a captain, to assassinate the Duke. Valerio overhears their plot, and joins their conspiracy. He also prevails upon Bentivolio to kill the Duke, assuring him that the new Duke, Leontio, will offer a pardon.
In her chamber, Ardelia resists Valerio, and when he tries to rape her she draws a pistol on him. Bentivolio arrives; Valerio, thinking the Duke has come, hides behind a tapestry. Bentivolio, likewise mistaking the man behind the arras, runs him through with his sword (as Hamlet does to Polonius 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...
, III,iv). Thinking he has killed the Duke, Bentivolio flees with Ardelia.
Pallante comes to Leontio, telling him that he has killed Farnese, who repented of his crimes and sins before he died. Then Bentivolio and Ardelia are brought in, apprehended by the guards; and Bentivolio too admits to having killed the Duke. Leontio opportunistically sends the lovers to prison for the crime, thus throwing suspicion from himself and his henchman. Leontio rushes to the Duchess, to stake his claim to Farnese's wife as well as his dukedom — but the still-living Farnese is with her. Pallante lied about the Duke's death, but told the truth about Farnese's repentance — for that is what caused the assassin to spare his victim's life. Believing the Duke is dead, Leontio mistakes Farnese for one of his own servants; Leontio carelessly tells Euphemia that Farnese's death leaves her free for him. Euphemia rejects Leontio, and Farnese kills him. The Duke and Duchess reconcile, and Bentivolio and Ardelia marry.
Sources
- Clark, Ira. Professional Playwrights: Massinger, Ford, Shirley, and Brome. Lexington, KY, University Press of Kentucky, 1992.
- Forsythe, Robert Stanley. The Relations of Shirley's Plays to the Elizabethan Drama. New York, Columbia University Press, 1914.
- Nason, Arthur Huntington. James Shirley, Dramatist: A Biographical and Critical Study. New York, 1915; reprinted New York, Benjamin Blom, 1967.