The Wits
Encyclopedia
The Wits is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy
by Sir William Davenant
. It was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels
, on January 19, 1634
; it was staged by the King's Men
at the Blackfriars Theatre
. It was first published in quarto
by Richard Meighen
in 1636
. A number of critics have considered it "Davenant's most successful and influential comedy."
Herbert was initially unhappy with The Wits, particularly on account of its oaths and explicit language; the influential courtier Endymion Porter
interceded with King Charles I
to tolerate and allow the play, which then proved popular at Court. Davenant would eventually become an effective courtier himself; the 1636 edition contains Davenant's dedication of the play to Porter, and a commendatory poem by Thomas Carew
.
The Wits has been seen as anticipating aspects of Restoration comedy
, especially in its "strong, unsentimental, witty heroine" — "Lady Ample represents the Restoration ideal of a woman being the equal to a man in all respects."
When Davenant became manager of the newly-organized Duke's Company
at the beginning of the Restoration
era, one of the first plays he produced was The Wits (1661
), with Thomas Betterton
in the lead role. The Wits was republished in 1665
, in an octavo
volume that also included The Platonick Lovers
. In a revised form, The Wits was included in the edition of Davenant's collected works issued by Henry Herringman
in 1673
.
and Rowley's
Wit at Several Weapons
. The common story involved two male relatives, an older and a younger. The older fancies himself a "wit;" he controls the family fortune through the rules of primogeniture
, and denies his younger relative any funds. The younger man, impoverished but truly clever, manipulates and cheats the other, until the older man has to concede that the younger has triumphed in a contest of wit, and allows him an income.
Davenant's two brothers, the Elder Pallatine and the Younger Pallatine, are versions of Sir Perfidious Oldcraft and Wittypate Oldcraft in the Middleton/Rowley play. Both comedies also feature an old guardian who tries to arrange an undesirable marriage for the pretty young woman who is his ward; the old guardian must be fooled and out-maneuvered by the play's youngsters for a happy ending.
The second scene shifts to the Elder Pallatine and his confederate Sir Morglay Thwack. Both are wealthy landowners from the north of England, who have developed an absurd plan; outfitting themselves in flashy clothes, they have come to London to live by their wits. They intend to pursue liaisons with women, and moreover to depend on those prospective lovers for income, like gigolos. They even have a division of labor: the Elder Pallatine will pursue the younger women, while the gray-haired Sir Morglay will concentrate on the widows. The Younger Pallatine reproves them over their intentions, but the two are deaf to him. And since the Elder Pallatine intends to live by his wits, he thinks his younger brother should do so too, telling him, "Never hereafter...Will I disburse for you again; never."
Act II brings on the third group of characters, Lady Ample and her servants Engine and Ginet. The Lady is a young heiress who has been under the guardianship of Sir Tyrant Thrift — a guardianship that is scheduled to end the next day. Sir Tyrant has gone to find a husband for Lady Ample, to further his control over her; but the Lady has plans of her own. As his name indicates, Sir Tyrant is a skinflint who has allowed his ward and her servants meager upkeep; Lady Ample has surmounted this by allowing herself to be courted by rich men, and using their expensive presents of gems and other fine things to improve her standard of living. The Lady's cousin Lucy bursts in with distressing news. Lucy's aunt has learned of the money she gave to young Pallatine; assuming (incorrectly) that Lucy has surrendered her virginity to her lover, the aunt has tossed the girl out of her house. Ample is also offended at Lucy's conduct — but over the fact that Lucy has given money to a man, instead of the other way around.
Given the would-be gigolos' plans, it is not surprising that the Elder Pallatine and Sir Morglay find their way to Lady Ample. Their attempts at courtship are offensively inept. The play's two sides are now drawn: Lady Ample and her followers, and young Pallatine and his, are united in the goal of humiliating the two self-styled wits and cheating them of their money.
With the help of a complaisant constable and his night watch, the conspirators launch a series of tricks that victimize first the Elder Pallatine, then Sir Morglay, and finally Sir Tyrant Thrift; each man falls victim to his greed and folly. The Elder Pallatine is locked in a trunk for hours; Sir Morglay buys his freedom with his last hundred pounds; Sir Tyrant thinks he is arrested for sacrilege and robbing a church. In the end, the conspirators are rewarded with ample funds; the Elder Pallatine graciously concedes that his younger brother is his superior in wit, and endows him with one of his country estates. The Younger Pallatine and Lucy can now marry; and Lady Ample agrees to take the Elder Pallatine as her husband, as long as he acknowledges her superiority in cleverness.
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...
by 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...
. It 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 January 19, 1634
1634 in literature
The year 1634 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*January 1 - The King's Men perform Cymbeline at the court of King Charles I of England.*January 22 - The King's Men perform Davenant's The Wits at the Blackfriars Theatre....
; it was staged by 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...
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...
. It was first 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"...
by 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...
in 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...
. A number of critics have considered it "Davenant's most successful and influential comedy."
Herbert was initially unhappy with The Wits, particularly on account of its oaths and explicit language; the influential courtier Endymion Porter
Endymion Porter
Endymion Porter was an English diplomat and royalist.-Life:He was descended from Sir William Porter, sergeant-at-arms to Henry VII, and son of Edmund Porter, of Aston-sub-Edge in Gloucestershire, by his cousin Angela, daughter of Giles Porter of Mickleton, in the same county.He was brought up in...
interceded with 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...
to tolerate and allow the play, which then proved popular at Court. Davenant would eventually become an effective courtier himself; the 1636 edition contains Davenant's dedication of the play to Porter, and a commendatory poem by Thomas Carew
Thomas Carew
Thomas Carew was an English poet, among the 'Cavalier' group of Caroline poets.-Biography:He was the son of Sir Matthew Carew, master in chancery, and his wife, Alice daughter of Sir John Rivers, Lord Mayor of the City of London and widow of Ingpen...
.
The Wits has been seen as anticipating aspects of Restoration comedy
Restoration comedy
Restoration comedy refers to English comedies written and performed in the Restoration period from 1660 to 1710. After public stage performances had been banned for 18 years by the Puritan regime, the re-opening of the theatres in 1660 signalled a renaissance of English drama...
, especially in its "strong, unsentimental, witty heroine" — "Lady Ample represents the Restoration ideal of a woman being the equal to a man in all respects."
When Davenant became manager of the newly-organized Duke's Company
Duke's Company
The Duke's Company was one of the two theatre companies that were chartered by King Charles II at the start of the English Restoration era, when the London theatres re-opened after their eighteen-year closure during the English Civil War and the Interregnum.The Duke's Company had the patronage of...
at the beginning of 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...
era, one of the first plays he produced was The Wits (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....
), with Thomas Betterton
Thomas Betterton
Thomas Patrick Betterton , English actor, son of an under-cook to King Charles I, was born in London.-Apprentice and actor:...
in the lead role. The Wits was republished in 1665
1665 in literature
The year 1665 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*November 7 - The London Gazette is published for the first time.* Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society begins publication....
, in an octavo
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"...
volume that also included The Platonick Lovers
The Platonick Lovers
The Platonick Lovers is a Caroline era stage play which blends the genres of tragicomedy, satire, and comedy of manners. It was written by Sir William Davenant and first printed in 1636...
. In a revised form, The Wits was included in the edition of Davenant's collected works issued by Henry Herringman
Henry Herringman
Henry Herringman was a prominent London bookseller and publisher in the second half of the 17th century. He is especially noted for his publications in English Renaissance drama and English Restoration drama; he was the first publisher of the works of John Dryden...
in 1673
1673 in literature
The year 1673 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*With the death of Sir Henry Herbert, Thomas Killigrew is appointed Master of the Revels...
.
Source
In plotting The Wits, Davenant depended upon a play of the previous generation, MiddletonThomas Middleton
Thomas Middleton was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. Middleton stands with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson as among the most successful and prolific of playwrights who wrote their best plays during the Jacobean period. He was one of the few Renaissance dramatists to achieve equal success in...
and Rowley's
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...
Wit at Several Weapons
Wit at Several Weapons
Wit at Several Weapons is a seventeenth-century comedy of problematic date and authorship.-Authorship and Date:In its own century, the play appeared in print only in the two Beaumont and Fletcher folios of 1647 and 1679; yet modern scholarship has determined that the Wit at Several Weapons is a...
. The common story involved two male relatives, an older and a younger. The older fancies himself a "wit;" he controls the family fortune through the rules of primogeniture
Primogeniture
Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings . Historically, the term implied male primogeniture, to the exclusion of females...
, and denies his younger relative any funds. The younger man, impoverished but truly clever, manipulates and cheats the other, until the older man has to concede that the younger has triumphed in a contest of wit, and allows him an income.
Davenant's two brothers, the Elder Pallatine and the Younger Pallatine, are versions of Sir Perfidious Oldcraft and Wittypate Oldcraft in the Middleton/Rowley play. Both comedies also feature an old guardian who tries to arrange an undesirable marriage for the pretty young woman who is his ward; the old guardian must be fooled and out-maneuvered by the play's youngsters for a happy ending.
Synopsis
The opening scene introduces the Younger Pallatine and his henchmen, Pert and Meager, two discharged soldiers. The overall plot is quickly delineated. To finance his planned con-games, Pallatine has to borrow money from Lucy, the girl he loves; she has traded in her small supply of jewelry for funds for Pallatine.The second scene shifts to the Elder Pallatine and his confederate Sir Morglay Thwack. Both are wealthy landowners from the north of England, who have developed an absurd plan; outfitting themselves in flashy clothes, they have come to London to live by their wits. They intend to pursue liaisons with women, and moreover to depend on those prospective lovers for income, like gigolos. They even have a division of labor: the Elder Pallatine will pursue the younger women, while the gray-haired Sir Morglay will concentrate on the widows. The Younger Pallatine reproves them over their intentions, but the two are deaf to him. And since the Elder Pallatine intends to live by his wits, he thinks his younger brother should do so too, telling him, "Never hereafter...Will I disburse for you again; never."
Act II brings on the third group of characters, Lady Ample and her servants Engine and Ginet. The Lady is a young heiress who has been under the guardianship of Sir Tyrant Thrift — a guardianship that is scheduled to end the next day. Sir Tyrant has gone to find a husband for Lady Ample, to further his control over her; but the Lady has plans of her own. As his name indicates, Sir Tyrant is a skinflint who has allowed his ward and her servants meager upkeep; Lady Ample has surmounted this by allowing herself to be courted by rich men, and using their expensive presents of gems and other fine things to improve her standard of living. The Lady's cousin Lucy bursts in with distressing news. Lucy's aunt has learned of the money she gave to young Pallatine; assuming (incorrectly) that Lucy has surrendered her virginity to her lover, the aunt has tossed the girl out of her house. Ample is also offended at Lucy's conduct — but over the fact that Lucy has given money to a man, instead of the other way around.
Given the would-be gigolos' plans, it is not surprising that the Elder Pallatine and Sir Morglay find their way to Lady Ample. Their attempts at courtship are offensively inept. The play's two sides are now drawn: Lady Ample and her followers, and young Pallatine and his, are united in the goal of humiliating the two self-styled wits and cheating them of their money.
With the help of a complaisant constable and his night watch, the conspirators launch a series of tricks that victimize first the Elder Pallatine, then Sir Morglay, and finally Sir Tyrant Thrift; each man falls victim to his greed and folly. The Elder Pallatine is locked in a trunk for hours; Sir Morglay buys his freedom with his last hundred pounds; Sir Tyrant thinks he is arrested for sacrilege and robbing a church. In the end, the conspirators are rewarded with ample funds; the Elder Pallatine graciously concedes that his younger brother is his superior in wit, and endows him with one of his country estates. The Younger Pallatine and Lucy can now marry; and Lady Ample agrees to take the Elder Pallatine as her husband, as long as he acknowledges her superiority in cleverness.