The Lovesick Court
Encyclopedia
The Lovesick Court, or the Ambitious Politique is a Caroline-era stage play, a tragicomedy
written by Richard Brome
, and first published in 1659
.
on 4 August 1640
by the bookseller Andrew Crooke
, along with five other plays by Brome. Yet the play was not published until it was included in the 1659 Brome collection Five New Plays. In that volume, each of the plays has a separate title page; and three of those title pages, including the one for The Lovesick Court, are dated 1658 instead of 1659. Three of the plays have their own separate pagination, suggesting the possibility that they were intended for individual publication. The Lovesick Court, however, is not one of these three; its pagination is continuous with The English Moor
, the previous play in the collection.
, his collaboration with Thomas Heywood
), none are tragedies and only three are tragicomedies (the other two are The Queen's Exchange
and The Queen and Concubine
). The Lovesick Court is a "Fletcherian" tragicomedy; it resembles the tragicomedies of John Fletcher
, perhaps most notably A King and No King
, along with other plays in the same class, like Fletcher and Shakespeare's The Two Noble Kinsmen
, and James Shirley
's The Coronation
and The Arcadia
. The latter play accentuates the point that the influence of Sir Philip Sidney
's The Arcadia can generally be observed in this type of Fletcherian drama.
, licensed an otherwise-unknown play titled The Lovesick Courtier for the Salisbury Court Theatre
in 1638; this is generally thought to be Brome's play. Critics have recognized that the play contains an element of satire
on the political situation of the later 1630s.
and his follower Brome on the one hand, and on the other the amateur dramatists of the royal court of Queen Henrietta Maria
, most prominently Sir John Suckling
. Brome and Suckling were perhaps the primary opponents in the "second war;" see Aglaura
and The Court Beggar
.
The satire in Lovesick Court is in some ways more subtle than Brome's comparable satire in Court Beggar, and directed less toward personalities like Suckling and Sir William Davenant
than toward the type of drama they wrote. Brome saw the courtier drama as deficient regarding human nature and common sense; he judged it a highly artificial mode that perpetrated a "silly distortion of human motive and conduct...," with exaggerated behavior and excessive posturing on ideas and ideals of friendship, love, chastity, honor, and self-renunciation. The more realistic drama that Brome inherited from Jonson and practiced in his comedies was inherently hostile to the highly mannered work of Lodowick Carlell
and other courtier dramatists.
faces a succession crisis: the ruling King has no son and heir. His daughter, the princess Eudina, must marry a suitable candidate, or the choice of a successor will pass to the common people — and they will favor Stratocles, the ruthless aristocrat who has courted and won the popular favor. (He is the "ambitious politique," or politician, of the play's subtitle.) Stratocles is resented by the king's courtiers, who long to see the selection of an alternative candidate. Yet the King vows that he will marry his daughter to Stratocles unless she finds another husband soon.
Eudina faces a choice between Philargus and Philocles, the twin sons of the late general and hero Adrastus; but she finds it impossible to choose between two equally-worthy young men. At the start of the play, the two brothers have just returned from the oracle
at Delphi
, where they have sought divine guidance for their problem. The message they have received is of limited help:
Stratocles, meanwhile, plots to gain the throne, and Eudina, for himself. Eudina is supported by her governess Thymele, the twins' mother, and by the waiting woman Doris and the talkative and often inebriated old midwife Garrula. Yet none of these can help her much in her predicament. (Throughout the play, Garrula repeatedly hints at a secret that she and Thymele share, without revealing its substance.)
The main plot is mirrored and parodied in the comic subplot. Doris, like Eudina, faces three potential suitors — Philargus's tailor Tersulus, Philocles' barber Varillus, and the pompous Geron, the twins' tutor and the son of Garrula (and the play's main clown). Doris agrees to marry the servant of the twin that Eudina chooses — if it is Philargus, Doris will marry Tersulus, and if Philocles, Varillus. (Doris says she will marry Geron only if Eudina marries both twins.) Doris's resolution gives the tailor and the barber a strong interest in the outcome of Eudina's choice.
The twins are determined to fulfill at least the first dictate of the Delphic prophecy, and "contend not for the jewel" — each is ready to sacrifice his prospects in favor of the other. Stratocles, however, sends forged challenges to both brothers, to provoke them to duel; his henchman Matho lingers at the site of the expected duel, planning to finish off the wounded and exhausted survivor(s). The plan fails: when the twins meet, they maintain their bent toward self-sacrifice, and each would rather yield his life to the other than violate their bond. Matho foolishly tries to overcome the two of them, and fails; he confesses the plot to save himself. The scene is witnessed by the rustics who could decide the succession; they bring the three men before the king. Exposed in his plots, Stratocles throws himself upon the king's mercy, and the twins magnanimously urge his forgiveness.
Eudina still has not chosen between Philargus and Philocles by the King's deadline. True to his vow, the King is ready to offer her to the forgiven Stratocles; but Stratocles, sincerely repentant, disavows any claim to either Eudina's hand or the throne. The courtier Disanius, the twins' uncle, has the brothers resolve the conflict by choosing lots; the winner will have Eudina and the succession, while the loser departs for foreign travel. Philargus wins the pick; but Philocles' follower Varillus is not willing to give up his hopes to marry Doris. He serves Philargus a bowl of drugged wine. Philargus passes out, and is thought to be dead.
In the climactic final scene, Philargus's body and the other characters are brought before the king. When it appears that the surviving twin Philocles will marry Eudina, her governess Thymele and the old midwife Garrula finally reveal the secret they've been keeping: the two cannot marry because they are brother and sister, and Philocles is the king's true son and heir. He had been born during a time of civil war, and his birth concealed for his own safety. The two women had maintained the secret ever since, due to vows made to the late queen. Doris admits that she provided the drug that Varillus slipped to Philargus — but she insists that it was not a poison, but merely a sleeping potion. And Philargus recovers from his swoon. Philocles is now the royal heir, while Philargus and Eudina will be married. In this way, the two men fulfill the Delphic prophecy: as brothers-in-law, they become the brothers that they had previously only seemed to be.
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 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 first published in 1659
1659 in literature
The year 1659 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* Andrew Marvell becomes a member of Parliament.* Méric Casaubon edits John Dee's journal of angel magic.-New books:*Richard Baxter - The Holy Commonwealth...
.
Publication
The Lovesick Court was entered into the Stationers' RegisterStationers' 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 4 August 1640
1640 in literature
The year 1640 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*January 21 - Salmacida Spolia, a masque written by Sir William Davenant and designed by Inigo Jones, is performed at Whitehall Palace — the final royal masque of the Caroline era.*March 17 - Henry Burnell's play Landgartha...
by the bookseller Andrew Crooke
Andrew Crooke and William Cooke
Andrew Crooke and William Cooke were London publishers of the mid-17th-century. In partnership and individually, they issued significant texts of English Renaissance drama, most notably of the plays of James Shirley....
, along with five other plays by Brome. Yet the play was not published until it was included in the 1659 Brome collection Five New Plays. In that volume, each of the plays has a separate title page; and three of those title pages, including the one for The Lovesick Court, are dated 1658 instead of 1659. Three of the plays have their own separate pagination, suggesting the possibility that they were intended for individual publication. The Lovesick Court, however, is not one of these three; its pagination is continuous with 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...
, the previous play in the collection.
Genre
Of Brome's sixteen extant plays (including The Late Lancashire WitchesThe Late Lancashire Witches
The Late Lancashire Witches is a Caroline era stage play, written by Thomas Heywood and Richard Brome, published in 1634. The play is a topical melodrama on the subject of the witchcraft controversy that arose in Lancashire in 1633.-Performance:...
, his collaboration with Thomas Heywood
Thomas Heywood
Thomas Heywood was a prominent English playwright, actor, and author whose peak period of activity falls between late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre.-Early years:...
), none are tragedies and only three are tragicomedies (the other two are The Queen's Exchange
The Queen's Exchange
The Queen's Exchange is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Richard Brome.-Publication and performance:The Queen's Exchange was first published in 1657, in a quarto issued by the bookseller Henry Brome...
and The Queen and Concubine
The Queen and Concubine
The Queen and Concubine is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Richard Brome and first published in 1659. It has sometimes been called Brome's best tragicomedy.-Publication and date:...
). The Lovesick Court is a "Fletcherian" tragicomedy; it resembles the tragicomedies of 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...
, perhaps most notably A King and No King
A King and No King
A King and No King is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher and first published in 1619. It has traditionally been among the most highly-praised and popular works in the canon of Fletcher and his collaborators.The play's title became almost...
, along with other plays in the same class, like Fletcher and Shakespeare's The Two Noble Kinsmen
The Two Noble Kinsmen
The Two Noble Kinsmen is a Jacobean tragicomedy, first published in 1634 and attributed to John Fletcher and William Shakespeare. Its plot derives from "The Knight's Tale" in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales....
, and 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...
's The Coronation
The Coronation
The Coronation is the title of*a 1630s play, The Coronation *a 2000 novel, The Coronation...
and The Arcadia
The Arcadia (play)
The Arcadia is James Shirley's dramatization of the prose romance, The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney — one expression of the enormous influence that Sidney's work exercised during the 17th century. Shirley's stage version was first published in 1640.The 1640 quarto was...
. The latter play accentuates the point that the influence of Sir Philip Sidney
Philip Sidney
Sir Philip Sidney was an English poet, courtier and soldier, and is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan Age...
's The Arcadia can generally be observed in this type of Fletcherian drama.
Date
Brome's tragicomedies are generally not judged to be among his best plays; early critics tended to consider The Lovesick Court an early work like The Queen's Exchange, written when Brome was still feeling his way into the practice of playwriting — probably dating from about 1627 or 1629. Modern critics, however, have considered The Lovesick Court a later play, dating from the late 1630s, perhaps 1638. Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the RevelsMaster 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,...
, licensed an otherwise-unknown play titled The Lovesick Courtier for 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...
in 1638; this is generally thought to be Brome's play. Critics have recognized that the play contains an element of satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
on the political situation of the later 1630s.
Satire
In this more modern view, The Lovesick Court relates to the so-called "Second War of the Theatres," a controversy and rivalry between professional playwrights like Ben JonsonBen 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...
and his follower Brome on the one hand, and on the other the amateur dramatists of the royal court of 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...
, most prominently Sir John Suckling
John Suckling (poet)
Sir John Suckling was an English poet and one prominent figure among those renowned for careless gaiety, wit, and all the accomplishments of a Cavalier poet; and also the inventor of the card game Cribbage...
. Brome and Suckling were perhaps the primary opponents in the "second war;" see Aglaura
Aglaura (play)
Aglaura is a late Caroline era stage play, written by Sir John Suckling. Several aspects of the play have led critics to treat it as a key development and a marker of the final decadent phase of English Renaissance drama.-Performance:...
and The Court Beggar
The Court Beggar
The Court Beggar is a Caroline era stage play written by Richard Brome. It was first performed by the acting company known as Beeston's Boys at the Cockpit Theatre. It has sometimes been identified as the seditious play, performed at the Cockpit in May 1640, which the Master of the Revels moved to...
.
The satire in Lovesick Court is in some ways more subtle than Brome's comparable satire in Court Beggar, and directed less toward personalities like Suckling and Sir William Davenant
William Davenant
Sir William Davenant , also spelled D'Avenant, was an English poet and playwright. Along with Thomas Killigrew, Davenant was one of the rare figures in English Renaissance theatre whose career spanned both the Caroline and Restoration eras and who was active both before and after the English Civil...
than toward the type of drama they wrote. Brome saw the courtier drama as deficient regarding human nature and common sense; he judged it a highly artificial mode that perpetrated a "silly distortion of human motive and conduct...," with exaggerated behavior and excessive posturing on ideas and ideals of friendship, love, chastity, honor, and self-renunciation. The more realistic drama that Brome inherited from Jonson and practiced in his comedies was inherently hostile to the highly mannered work of Lodowick Carlell
Lodowick Carlell
Lodowick Carlell , also Carliell or Carlile, was a seventeenth-century English playwright, active mainly during the Caroline era and the Commonwealth period.-Courtier:...
and other courtier dramatists.
Synopsis
The kingdom of ThessalyThessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
faces a succession crisis: the ruling King has no son and heir. His daughter, the princess Eudina, must marry a suitable candidate, or the choice of a successor will pass to the common people — and they will favor Stratocles, the ruthless aristocrat who has courted and won the popular favor. (He is the "ambitious politique," or politician, of the play's subtitle.) Stratocles is resented by the king's courtiers, who long to see the selection of an alternative candidate. Yet the King vows that he will marry his daughter to Stratocles unless she finds another husband soon.
Eudina faces a choice between Philargus and Philocles, the twin sons of the late general and hero Adrastus; but she finds it impossible to choose between two equally-worthy young men. At the start of the play, the two brothers have just returned from the oracle
Pythia
The Pythia , commonly known as the Oracle of Delphi, was the priestess at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus. The Pythia was widely credited for her prophecies inspired by Apollo. The Delphic oracle was established in the 8th century BC...
at Delphi
Delphi
Delphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...
, where they have sought divine guidance for their problem. The message they have received is of limited help:
-
-
- Contend not for the jewel, which
- Ere long shall both of you enrich.
- Pursue your fortunes: for 'tis she
- Shall make you what you seem to be.
-
Stratocles, meanwhile, plots to gain the throne, and Eudina, for himself. Eudina is supported by her governess Thymele, the twins' mother, and by the waiting woman Doris and the talkative and often inebriated old midwife Garrula. Yet none of these can help her much in her predicament. (Throughout the play, Garrula repeatedly hints at a secret that she and Thymele share, without revealing its substance.)
The main plot is mirrored and parodied in the comic subplot. Doris, like Eudina, faces three potential suitors — Philargus's tailor Tersulus, Philocles' barber Varillus, and the pompous Geron, the twins' tutor and the son of Garrula (and the play's main clown). Doris agrees to marry the servant of the twin that Eudina chooses — if it is Philargus, Doris will marry Tersulus, and if Philocles, Varillus. (Doris says she will marry Geron only if Eudina marries both twins.) Doris's resolution gives the tailor and the barber a strong interest in the outcome of Eudina's choice.
The twins are determined to fulfill at least the first dictate of the Delphic prophecy, and "contend not for the jewel" — each is ready to sacrifice his prospects in favor of the other. Stratocles, however, sends forged challenges to both brothers, to provoke them to duel; his henchman Matho lingers at the site of the expected duel, planning to finish off the wounded and exhausted survivor(s). The plan fails: when the twins meet, they maintain their bent toward self-sacrifice, and each would rather yield his life to the other than violate their bond. Matho foolishly tries to overcome the two of them, and fails; he confesses the plot to save himself. The scene is witnessed by the rustics who could decide the succession; they bring the three men before the king. Exposed in his plots, Stratocles throws himself upon the king's mercy, and the twins magnanimously urge his forgiveness.
Eudina still has not chosen between Philargus and Philocles by the King's deadline. True to his vow, the King is ready to offer her to the forgiven Stratocles; but Stratocles, sincerely repentant, disavows any claim to either Eudina's hand or the throne. The courtier Disanius, the twins' uncle, has the brothers resolve the conflict by choosing lots; the winner will have Eudina and the succession, while the loser departs for foreign travel. Philargus wins the pick; but Philocles' follower Varillus is not willing to give up his hopes to marry Doris. He serves Philargus a bowl of drugged wine. Philargus passes out, and is thought to be dead.
In the climactic final scene, Philargus's body and the other characters are brought before the king. When it appears that the surviving twin Philocles will marry Eudina, her governess Thymele and the old midwife Garrula finally reveal the secret they've been keeping: the two cannot marry because they are brother and sister, and Philocles is the king's true son and heir. He had been born during a time of civil war, and his birth concealed for his own safety. The two women had maintained the secret ever since, due to vows made to the late queen. Doris admits that she provided the drug that Varillus slipped to Philargus — but she insists that it was not a poison, but merely a sleeping potion. And Philargus recovers from his swoon. Philocles is now the royal heir, while Philargus and Eudina will be married. In this way, the two men fulfill the Delphic prophecy: as brothers-in-law, they become the brothers that they had previously only seemed to be.
External links
- Richard Brome Online http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/brome/ contains a scholarly edition of this play, including textual and critical introductions.