The Scornful Lady
Encyclopedia
The Scornful Lady is a Jacobean era stage play, a comedy
written by Francis Beaumont
and John Fletcher
, and first published in 1616
, the year of Beaumont's death. It was one of the pair's most popular, often revived, and frequently reprinted works.
; it later passed into the possession of the King's Men
, who revived the play in 1624
. (The company's clown, John Shank
, played the Curate in their 1624 production.) The King's Men acted The Scornful Lady on 19 October 1633
, when Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels
, refused to let them perform The Woman's Prize
. Prince Charles, the future King Charles II
, attended a performance of the play at the Cockpit-in-Court
Theatre on Twelfth Night
, 6 January 1642
.
While the theatres were closed during the English Civil War
and the Interregnum
(1642–60), material was extracted from The Scornful Lady to form a droll
called The False Heir and Formal Curate, published by Kirkman in The Wits.
The play was revived early in the Restoration
and became a standard in the repertory. In his Diary, Samuel Pepys
recorded seeing it on 27 November 1660
and on 4 January 1661
, both times with male actors in the title role, as was standard up to that time. Then Thomas Killigrew
staged the play with women in the female parts; Pepys saw that production on 12 February 1661. Pepys saw the play again on 27 December 1666
, 16 September 1667
, and 3 June 1668
. Charles Hart
and Edward Kynaston
were among the actors of the day who played in it. The Scornful Lady remained in the repertory until the middle of the 18th century. Some early actresses acquired reputations for their work in the play; Anne Marshall was noted for her portrayal of the title character in the 1660s, while in the next century Mrs. Macklin, the wife of Charles Macklin
, was a popular success as the servant Abigail.
on 19 March 1616; both the Register entry and the first edition assign the play to Beaumont and Fletcher
. Cyrus Hoy
, in his survey of authorship problems in the canon of Fletcher and his collaborators, produced this breakdown in the two writers' contributions:
Hoy's schema is in general agreement with the work of earlier researchers. A few early critics suggested the participation of Philip Massinger
, though that possibility has generally been rejected due to lack of evidence. Based on references and allusions to contemporary events, scholars generally date the play to the 1613–16 period, though dates as early as 1610 have also been proposed.
The Scornful Lady participates in a complex inter-relationship with several other plays of its era, a set of dramas that includes Marston's
The Dutch Courtesan
, Fletcher and Massinger's The Little French Lawyer
, Massinger's The Parliament of Love
, and A Cure for a Cuckold
by John Webster
and William Rowley
. All the plays exploit the idea of a woman who wants her beloved to duel with and kill his closest friend.
Subsequent editions followed in the 18th century. Like other already-published Beaumont/Fletcher plays, The Scornful Lady was omitted from the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio
of 1647
, but was included in the second folio of 1679
.
Thomas Shadwell
borrowed from the Beaumont/Fletcher play for his own The Woman-Captain (1680
), which was revived in 1744
as The Prodigal.
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 Francis Beaumont
Francis Beaumont
Francis Beaumont was a dramatist in the English Renaissance theatre, most famous for his collaborations with John Fletcher....
and 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...
, and first published in 1616
1616 in literature
The year 1616 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*Nicolaus Copernicus' De revolutionibus is placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by the Roman Catholic Church....
, the year of Beaumont's death. It was one of the pair's most popular, often revived, and frequently reprinted works.
Performances
The title page of the 1616 first edition states that the play was premiered by the Children of the Queen's RevelsChildren 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....
; it later passed into the possession of the King's Men
King's Men (playing company)
The King's Men was the company of actors to which William Shakespeare belonged through most of his career. Formerly known as The Lord Chamberlain's Men during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, it became The King's Men in 1603 when King James ascended the throne and became the company's patron.The...
, who revived the play in 1624
1624 in literature
The year 1624 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*The King's Men perform The Winter's Tale at Whitehall Palace on January 18...
. (The company's clown, John Shank
John Shank
John Shank was an actor in English Renaissance theatre, a leading comedian in the King's Men during the 1620s and 1630s.-Early career:...
, played the Curate in their 1624 production.) The King's Men acted The Scornful Lady on 19 October 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....
, when 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,...
, refused to let them perform The Woman's Prize
The Woman's Prize
The Woman's Prize, or the Tamer Tamed is a Jacobean comedy written by John Fletcher. Its initial publication occurred in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647, though it was obviously written much earlier...
. Prince Charles, the future King Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, attended a performance of the play at the Cockpit-in-Court
Cockpit-in-Court
The Cockpit-in-Court was an early theatre in London, located at the rear of the Palace of Whitehall, next to St...
Theatre on Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night (holiday)
Twelfth Night is a festival in some branches of Christianity marking the coming of the Epiphany and concluding the Twelve Days of Christmas.It is defined by the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary as "the evening of the fifth of January, preceding Twelfth Day, the eve of the Epiphany, formerly the...
, 6 January 1642
1642 in literature
The year 1642 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*May - John Milton marries Marie Powell.*September 2 - The theatres in London are closed by the Puritan government; the "lascivious mirth and levity" of stage plays are to "cease and be forborn" for the next eighteen years, during...
.
While the theatres were closed during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
and the Interregnum
English Interregnum
The English Interregnum was the period of parliamentary and military rule by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the Commonwealth of England after the English Civil War...
(1642–60), material was extracted from The Scornful Lady to form a droll
Droll
A droll is a short comical sketch of a type that originated during the Puritan Interregnum in England. With the closure of the theatres, actors were left without any way of plying their art. Borrowing scenes from well-known plays of the Elizabethan theatre, they added dancing and other...
called The False Heir and Formal Curate, published by Kirkman in The Wits.
The play was revived early in 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...
and became a standard in the repertory. In his Diary, Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
recorded seeing it on 27 November 1660
1660 in literature
The year 1660 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* January 1 - Samuel Pepys starts his diary.* February - John Rhodes reopens the old Cockpit Theatre in London, forms a company of young actors and begins to stage plays...
and on 4 January 1661
1661 in literature
The year 1661 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* The Book of Kells is presented to Trinity College, Dublin.* Controversial author James Harrington is arrested on a charge of conspiracy....
, both times with male actors in the title role, as was standard up to that time. Then Thomas Killigrew
Thomas Killigrew
Thomas Killigrew was an English dramatist and theatre manager. He was a witty, dissolute figure at the court of King Charles II of England.-Life and work:...
staged the play with women in the female parts; Pepys saw that production on 12 February 1661. Pepys saw the play again on 27 December 1666
1666 in literature
The year 1666 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*2 September - Samuel Pepys begins recording details of the Great Fire of London in his diary.*Aphra Behn goes to Antwerp to work as a government spy.-New books:...
, 16 September 1667
1667 in literature
-Events:* The Roman Catholic Church places the works of René Descartes on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum.* Molière's play, Tartuffe, is banned.* Edmund Castell is imprisoned for debt....
, and 3 June 1668
1668 in literature
The year 1668 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*Izaak Walton's Compleat Angler goes into its fourth edition.*John Dryden signs a contract to produce three plays a year for the King’s Company.-New books:...
. Charles Hart
Charles Hart (17th-century actor)
Charles Hart was a prominent British Restoration actor.A Charles Hart was christened on 11 December 1625, in the parish of St. Giles Cripplegate, in London. It is not absolutely certain that this was the actor, though the name was not common at the time...
and Edward Kynaston
Edward Kynaston
Edward Kynaston was an English actor, one of the last Restoration "boy players," young male actors who played women's roles.-Career:...
were among the actors of the day who played in it. The Scornful Lady remained in the repertory until the middle of the 18th century. Some early actresses acquired reputations for their work in the play; Anne Marshall was noted for her portrayal of the title character in the 1660s, while in the next century Mrs. Macklin, the wife of Charles Macklin
Charles Macklin
Charles Macklin , originally Cathal MacLochlainn , was an actor and dramatist born in Culdaff, a village on the scenic Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in the north of Ireland. He was one of the most distinguished actors of his day, equally in tragedy and comedy...
, was a popular success as the servant Abigail.
Authorship
The play 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 19 March 1616; both the Register entry and the first edition assign the play to Beaumont and Fletcher
Beaumont and Fletcher
Beaumont and Fletcher were the English dramatists Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, who collaborated in their writing during the reign of James I ....
. Cyrus Hoy
Cyrus Hoy
Cyrus Hoy was a literary scholar of the English Renaissance stage who taught at the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University, and was the John B. Trevor Professor of English at the University of Rochester...
, in his survey of authorship problems in the canon of Fletcher and his collaborators, produced this breakdown in the two writers' contributions:
- Beaumont — Act I, scene 1; Act II, 2; Act V, 2;
- Fletcher — Act I, scene 2; Act II, 2 and 3; Act III; Act IV; Act V, scenes 1, 3, and 4.
Hoy's schema is in general agreement with the work of earlier researchers. A few early critics suggested the participation of Philip Massinger
Philip Massinger
Philip Massinger was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including A New Way to Pay Old Debts, The City Madam and The Roman Actor, are noted for their satire and realism, and their political and social themes.-Early life:The son of Arthur Massinger or Messenger, he was baptized at St....
, though that possibility has generally been rejected due to lack of evidence. Based on references and allusions to contemporary events, scholars generally date the play to the 1613–16 period, though dates as early as 1610 have also been proposed.
The Scornful Lady participates in a complex inter-relationship with several other plays of its era, a set of dramas that includes Marston's
John Marston
John Marston was an English poet, playwright and satirist during the late Elizabethan and Jacobean periods...
The Dutch Courtesan
The Dutch Courtesan
The Dutch Courtesan is an early Jacobean stage play written by the dramatist and satirist John Marston circa 1604. It was performed by the Children of the Queen's Revels, one of the troupes of boy actors active at the time, in the Blackfriars Theatre in London.The play was entered into the...
, Fletcher and Massinger's The Little French Lawyer
The Little French Lawyer
The Little French Lawyer is a Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger. It was initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647.-Date:...
, Massinger's The Parliament of Love
The Parliament of Love
The Parliament of Love is a late Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by Philip Massinger. The play was never printed in the seventeenth century, and survived only in a defective manuscript — making it arguably the most problematical work in the Massinger canon.The Parliament of Love was...
, and A Cure for a Cuckold
A Cure for a Cuckold
A Cure for a Cuckold is a late Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by John Webster and William Rowley. The play was first published in 1661, though composed some four decades earlier.-Date and performance:...
by John Webster
John Webster
John Webster was an English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi, which are often regarded as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. He was a contemporary of William Shakespeare.- Biography :Webster's life is obscure, and the dates...
and 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...
. All the plays exploit the idea of a woman who wants her beloved to duel with and kill his closest friend.
Texts
The play went through multiple editions in the 17th century, leaving it with a complex publication history.- The 1616 first edition, published in quartoBook sizeThe 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"...
by the bookseller Miles Partridge, with the printing probably done by Richard Bradock. - Q2, 1625, published by Thomas Jones, the printing presumably done by Augustine MatthewsAugustine MatthewsAugustine 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....
. - Q3, 1630, issued again by Thomas Jones, printed by Bernard Alsop and Thomas Fawcett.
- Q4, 1635, published and printed by Augustine Matthews, the printer of Q2.
- Q5, 1639, issued by Robert Wilson, printing by Marmaduke Parsons.
- Q6, 1651, published by Humphrey MoseleyHumphrey MoseleyHumphrey Moseley was a prominent London publisher and bookseller in the middle seventeenth century.Possibly a son of publisher Samuel Moseley, Humphrey Moseley became a "freeman" of the Stationers Company, the guild of London booksellers, on 7 May 1627; he was selected a Warden of the Company on...
; the printer was probably William Wilson. - Two pirated editions of Moseley's Q6, issued by Francis KirkmanFrancis KirkmanFrancis Kirkman appears in many roles in the English literary world of the second half of the seventeenth century, as a publisher, bookseller, librarian, author and bibliographer...
, both with the false date "1651." - Q7, 1677, which, in light of the previous piracies, pointedly identifies itself as "The Seventh Edition" on its title page; "As it is now Acted at the Theatre Royal" in Drury LaneTheatre Royal, Drury LaneThe Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
. The likely publishers were Thomas Collins and Dorman Newman, acting through the bookseller Simon Neale. - Q8, 1691, from Dorman Newman.
Subsequent editions followed in the 18th century. Like other already-published Beaumont/Fletcher plays, The Scornful Lady was omitted from the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio
Beaumont and Fletcher folios
The Beaumont and Fletcher folios were two large folio collections of the stage plays of John Fletcher and his collaborators. The first was issued in 1647, and the second in 1679. The two collections were important in preserving many works of English Renaissance drama.-The first folio, 1647:The 1647...
of 1647
1647 in literature
The year 1647 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* Thomas Hobbes becomes tutor to the future Charles II of England.* Plagiarist Robert Baron publishes his Deorum Dona, a masque, and Gripus and Hegio, a pastoral, which draw heavily on the poems of Edmund Waller and John Webster's...
, but was included in the second folio of 1679
1679 in literature
This article lists some of the most significant events of the year 1679 in literature.-Events:*John Locke returns to England from France.*Étienne Baluze becomes almoner to King Louis XIV of France....
.
Thomas Shadwell
Thomas Shadwell
Thomas Shadwell was an English poet and playwright who was appointed poet laureate in 1689.-Life:Shadwell was born at Stanton Hall, Norfolk, and educated at Bury St Edmunds School, and at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, which he entered in 1656. He left the university without a degree, and...
borrowed from the Beaumont/Fletcher play for his own The Woman-Captain (1680
1680 in literature
The year 1680 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* The spring/summer production of Nathaniel Lee's Theodosius at Dorset Garden features Henry Purcell's earliest theatre music....
), which was revived in 1744
1744 in literature
The year 1744 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*May 29 - Alexander Pope is received into the Roman Catholic faith, a day before his death.*Samuel Foote makes his debut as an actor....
as The Prodigal.