A New Way to Pay Old Debts
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Category Archives: Comedy
Paulina’s Guise (The Winter’s Tale, Act III Scene II)
(The following post contains spoilers to the end of The Winter’s Tale)
While Paulina’s account of Hermione’s death may seem shocking and quite feverish in its delivery, with the later ‘reanimation’ of the Queen in mind, it is possible to read her delivery as a kind of act to disguise the truth of Hermione’s death. Even before Paulina has left and returned to announce the Queen’s death, she hints at the potential fatality, she states, “This news is mortal to the Queen–look down / And see what death is doing.” This foreboding warning to Leontes cannot be mere happenstance. Perhaps Paulina and Hermione have decided to take advantage of her sons death in order to escape from the rampaging madness and rashness of the king. This would also allow Hermione to live a (relatively) free life, until the events of the play would allow for her return.
Paulina’s sudden hysterical reaction to Hermione’s death can easily be interpreted as an expression of grief for her departed mistress. Yet, Paulina’s previous behaviour in the play depicts her as an observant and persistent person. Even when she playfully calls Leontes a tyrant when she attempts to present his new born child to him, she remains witty and logical in her banter and advice/condemnation. To suddenly turn so explosive, so explicitly brutal in her tone and speech, is a auspicious turn of character for Paulina.
“What studied torments, tyrant, hast for me? / What wheels, racks, fires? What flaying, boiling / In lead or oils?.”
Later when questioned about her explosive behaviour by one of the gentlemen at court, Paulina rationalizes her actions as “the rashness of a woman.” This posture of Paulina’s could further indicate her pretense of Hermione’s death. Paulina understands the benefits that this performance affords her. Socially, her role as a woman excuses her irrational behaviour, and by fulfilling that expected role of the over-emotional grief stricken woman, by conceding to these conventions (and hiding her normally rational behaviour–thus allowing Paulina to overcome this particular branch of madness, implying perhaps another win for the distaff sphere) Paulina can successfully hide the death of the Queen and convince the court of her sincerity.
Posted in Comedy, Life vs. Death, Love relationships, Power struggles, Psychological detail, Tragedy
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Greed Doesn’t Pay
As we have recently seen in The Changeling, villainous greed is not a successful route to obtain your goals. The same theme is reinforced here by Sir Giles Overreach in A New Way to Pay Old Debts. Massinger’s Overreach makes it known his true colors of extortion and abuse of power; “‘Twas for these good ends/ I made him a justice. He that bribes his belly/ Is certain to command his soul” (2.1.8–10). Going as low as helping his nephew Wellborn relieve himself of all his worth. Overreach goes on to reveal pride that he “value not an atom” of the religious right and wrong, (2.1.26). He creates devious plans to obtain the wealth of those around him concerned only with his position in the end. However, just like Beatrice, all his scheming is for naught. Overreach’s own greed becomes his downfall as he loses to the very people, good people, he planned to sabotage.
Happily, we end the semester with a comedy. One with a valuable lesson. Be weary of the over ambitious ones surrounding you, there is a fine line between ambition and greed. Greedy people will walk all over you if allowed and we should all be aware of them. I am glad to end with a play that didn’t require anyone’s tongue being cut out or children threatened to prove a point. Somehow, this 400 year old play says a lot for what a group of good people can do regardless of the position held by the opposition. Without becoming political, it amazes me how this play points out that if one greedy tyrant is stopped, many other lives can flourish.
Ethics of Service
In Massinger’s A New Way to Pay Old Debts, the role of the servant is captured in two differing lights. Firstly there are the servants that work in the home of Lady Allworth with great pride and fulfillment. These servants are absolutely necessary for the upkeep and normal function of the household. There is Order the steward, Amble the usher, Furnace the cook, Watchall the porter, and Waiting-woman and Chambermaid. Lady Allworth treats her staff with respect and shows them gratitude for their work, as when she gave Furnace money for new aprons and a summer suit: “In the meantime, there is gold / To buy thee aprons and a summer suit” (1.2.58-59). The staff shows great loyalty in return for Lady Allworth’s conscientious conduct. Overreach tries and fails to get Order to criticize Lady Allworth about her mourning rituals: “Sir, it is her will, / Which we that are her servants ought to serve it / And not dispute” (1.3.4-6). The staff also knows their place in the household and in society in general. In the presence of Lovell, Lady Allworth asks Amble and Waiting-woman for some privacy. Their reply characterizes both their social status and their respect for Lady Allworth: “Amble: We are taught better / By you, good madam. / Waiting-woman: And well know our distance” (4.1.173-174). The house servants’ compliance was imperative to the fruition of Wellborn’s plot (of the false engagement to Lady Allworth). Without the servants this plot would have never worked and Wellborn would not have been able to attain the same resolution for his debts.
Greedy and Marall are technically Overreach’s servants and parallel the loyal servants in Lady Allworth’s home. These two show their loyalty to their master by complementing his notorious schemes and in most cases carrying them out. However they do not show the same respect for Overreach as the respect that Lady Allworth gets from her servants. Marall and Greedy are in it for themselves and each one only serves in order to attain their personal desires. They interact in a way that befits common thieves and sell-swords. Overreach calls them fools and knaves while they reply: “You are all wisdom” (2.1.23), or “The best I ever heard! I could adore you” (2.1.43). Overreach realizes that he needs his servants : “Alone I can do nothing, but I have servants / And friends to second me…” (5.1.312-313). Unfortunately, Marall does not have much loyalty left for Overreach and he betrays him by changing the deed for Wellborn. He then offers his services to Wellborn :”If it please Your Worship / To call to memory, this mad beast once caused me to urge you to or drown or hang yourself; / I’ll do the like to him, if you command me” (5.1.335-337). To which Wellborn replies:
You are a rascal! He that dares be false
To a master, though unjust, will ne’er be true
To any other. Look not for reward
Or favor from me; I will shun thy sight
As I would do a basilisk’s. Thank my pity
If thou keep thy ears. Howe’r, I will take order
Your practice shall be silenced (5.1.337-344).
In the end, everyone gets what they deserve and those who were loyal to their masters retain pride in their loyalty, while those that betrayed their masters retain great shame. As Wellborn said: “His conscience be his prison” (5.1.347).
Posted in A New Way to Pay Old Debts, Comedy, Power struggles, Satire
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A New Way to Pay: Scene Study
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7MKa-Z2w1k
Hi everyone.
This is the final scene study of the semester brought to you by Peter and Eugene. While we will gladly share some of the tribulations that we faced in the course of doing this in class tomorrow (namely filming a two-character scene with a crew of two already acting in the scene), for now try to absorb the hundred or so lines that are as densely packed and difficult to recite as they appear to be. I am sure that Massinger never intended the likes of us to perform this, but I suppose that is the price to pay for having your play last nearly 400 years.
Anyway, enjoy (or at least try to).
Posted in A New Way to Pay Old Debts, Comedy, Love relationships
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The Shoemaker’s Holiday: The Wheel of Fortune
When finishing The Shoemaker’s Holiday, by Thomas Dekker, I was surprised to find it a very light play in comparison to the past ones we’ve read. Every character ended up in a favorable position, even the so called antagonists, Oatley and Lincoln. First, Lacy who rebelled against Lincoln and the English in general, was not only allowed to keep his marriage but also knighted by the King; Lincoln and Oatley got over their obsession over social standing because of this event. Simon Eyre changed from a lowly shoemaker into the high position of a Mayor, taking the place of Oatley. The shoemakers gained a holiday despite any actions of their own and the King was so pleased with Eyre that he obliged to his request for Leadenhall. Ralph was able to reunite with Jane. It may seem that only Hammon didn’t come out favorably in this play; however that is not really an option for him since it didn’t seem he was very driven for Jane anyway. He wagered money over her and even before meeting her, he had his fickle mind set on Rose.
So what does this make for the purpose of this play? I wondered about this, seeing that many plays we’ve read already presented very serious messages, going as far as murder in order to get them across. Is this simply a grown-up fairy tale in that everyone has their happy endings with a multitude of crude humor mixed in? Well, it could very well be that this play was made for this reason, maybe because of tragedy-based plays being presented during the Renaissance Era or maybe it could be a voice for different social classes in the English audience; where characters like Firk and Ralph can shine as unexpected heroes and instigators despite the higher authority they might be facing, be it Oatley, Lincoln, or Hammon. Simon Eyre can also serve as an escape for older members of the audience who dream of changing their economic standing despite the odds. It’s funny to think that the kind of messages this play sends out was even performed in front of royalty, who would probably relate the least to the main characters in the play.
Posted in Comedy, Power struggles, The Shoemaker's Holiday
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The Shoemaker’s Holiday – Scene Study
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFX50ZlpYNM
In planning this scene study, our group came up with several ideas on how to go about presenting this scene. We decided to film in the library although we preferred to have a more classic background which was not available for us in the area. In order to depict where Scene 16 was taking place, we displayed a drawing of the Old Ford, Oatley’s estate, to provide a backdrop for us. Also, we ran into the problem of not having any people on hand to film for us, realizing that all four of us had to be on camera at a particular time. Thus, we decided to have a stationary camera as we filmed our scene.
As for the dialogue, it consisted for very dynamic expressions at certain points, especially Firk’s quips and remarks, and also changes in mood throughout the scene. So we added some background music to help in setting the mood as certain characters entered the scene. We were fortunate enough to have a quiet setting to film our scene and did not have a difficult time hearing our voices played back through the video. Overall, it was a smooth filming session and gave us more insight into the detailed work required for live theatre.
– Jillian Gritz, Jasmine Bajraktari, Peter Wang ,
Melissa Salamat
Shoemaker’s Holiday
Thomas Dekker’s play The Shoemaker’s Holiday is based around the buying and selling of goods. His play is a working class success story showing that true human value is measured in honest work instead of high class and social connections. During the time the play was written England was going through financial expansion and capitalism was on the rise. Throughout the play, the labor of shoemaking becomes a disguise in helping Lacy and Eyre to succeed.
Simon Eyre began the play as a middle-class shoemaker. After luck and with the help of Lacy, he ends up the Lord Mayor of London. However, it wasn’t the actual shoemaking which caused him financial gain but from pretending to be wealthy and sneakily buying a very profitable ship of goods. Lacy had helped him to do this buy getting the ship’s skipper drunk and giving him a down payment. He was then able to make his social climb.
In the same way Lacy set Eyre up in gaining his fortune, Eyre also gave Lacy the opportunity to work for him. Lacy, disguised as a Dutch shoemaker, was able to reconnect with Rose and ended up fitting her for shoes. At that point they then planned out their marriage. Ralph was also another main male character caught in a romance plot. However, shoemaking did not take the same disguise as it did for Lacy; instead the aftermath of war did. Ralph went off to war and came back physically unrecognizable. Unable to find his wife, he went back to the craft of shoemaking. While working, a servingman comes acquiring a shoe to be made for Hammon and his bride. He also gave a shoe to fit for size and Ralph realizes it is his wife who is to be married. Realizing his wife is alive, he is able to find her and take her home where she belongs.
All three of these men were able to obtain what they wanted through honest labor but very different approaches. Eyre shows human value by being an honest shoemaker most of his career. Although his gain of the ship was sneaky, it was given freely. By him helping Lacy and hiring him, it brought him success. Lacy’s new job of being a shoemaker and working helped him to get the girl. Ralph was honest throughout the play and went off to war even when he was just married. Even after war he continued to labor making shoes and was connected with his wife again. Shoemaking in this play was used to symbolize honest work of the middle class and the triumphs gained from it.
Posted in Comedy, Power struggles, The Shoemaker's Holiday, Uncategorized
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The Shoemaker’s Holiday: Beyound the bawdy jokes
The Shoemaker’s Holiday is a comedy filled with sexual humor but there are much deeper meanings behind the bawdy jokes. Dekker’s play is a citizen’s comedy and it clearly and explicitly represents the voice of the upward rising class of the craftsmen.
Simon Eyre and also Roger Oatley are successful working class men who, by acquiring positions in city government got additional respect and also political power above their financial strength. What they also represent is a strong criticism toward the aristocrats. They are conscious representatives of their own class who have disdain toward courtiers. In Scene 1 Oatley doesn’t want Lacy for his son in law. To have one’s daughter marry with an aristocrat should be desirable, but for him to have a husband for his daughter from his own class is much more important. Eyre further reinforces this opinion in his advice to Rose in Scene 11 about who should she marry to. His advice to the fellow craftsman’s daughter furthermore has a universal, ever valid connotation: don’t judge a person by his external appearance. People can be well dressed but have nothing in the inside.
Juxtaposing Lacy’s and Ralph’s situation in Scene 1 is also a great example for this aforementioned additional meaning behind the explicit sexual humor. Both young men have to go to the war in France. Lacy as a courtier appointed by the king to be the chief colonel of the London’s company sent to the war. Ralph as a shoemaker was drafted as a soldier. Lacy deserts the army because he is in love with Rose and doesn’t want to leave her. In a romantic play this would represent the greatness of love, that can go beyond any boundaries. But Dekker’s play is not like that. There is Ralph’s figure in the other corner. He is a young husband deeply in love with his wife and not just a guy who having a secret affair with someone. Eyre and his men are trying to persuade the captains (who are – so brilliantly written – Lacy and his cousin) not to take him to France, but poor Ralph never says a word. He arrived with gun and gunpowder, ready for the battle. Deserting the army was never in the mind of the young craftsman.
There is so much more in this sort scene. Yes, it is filled with bawdy jokes that are the trademarks of Firk’s character and are there to make the comedy more enjoyable (or more offensive for others). But among these it is showing how virtuous is the working class and how prone to vice are the aristocrats. There is the master who is willing to suffer financial loss just to save his worker, there is the young craftsman who is ready to go to war, and on the other side there is Lacy, the aristocrat showing his true character. I believe that Lacy had the power to discharge Ralph, yet he does nothing. Even if he really couldn’t do anything, he is a true hypocrite. A man presented to him in a really similar situation as himself; nevertheless he cares nothing about him. He is already made his decision to desert the army for her love but he is telling Jane that his husband must go because his country needs him.
Posted in Comedy, Love relationships, The Shoemaker's Holiday
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The Shoemaker’s Holiday: Concealed Lover
Thomas Dekker’s The Shoemaker’s Holiday brings a change of pace to the usual blood, vengeance, and death I’ve grown accustomed to reading in the past few plays. Dekker’s play, being a comedy, encompasses the up spirited topic of love. Rightly so, this topic is usually what makes up most of our current day comedies. Yet, at the same time, love makes up much more than a comedy altogether; it provides conflicting emotions and the intriguing chase for a lovers’ embrace. Dekker elects Hammon to be Cupid’s target practice.
If Hammon were around today he would surly be the quirky main character of a romance/comedy who bides his time until the girl he loves finally notices his affection toward her. Given that we are studying English Renaissance Drama, the struggle for one girl’s affection is not enough. Hammon claims love for both Rose and Jane. Love is always a dangerous thing because it tricks you. Why does Hammon have this conflict between Rose and Jane? He seems like a completely suitable man yet the love he claims to have for them goes unwanted and unnoticed. Does he have this conflict because he doesn’t truly know what love is? Is he proclaiming love just for the slim chance that he might get noticed? I believe so.
Hammon’s going from one girl to the next announcing his love proves just how little he knows of it. His conversation with Jane in scene 12 shows that maybe Hammon is throwing love around in hopes that he may enjoy the more physical nature of love. Hammon being ‘muffled’ at the start of the scene can also suggest that his true motives are concealed and that his urge for physical attention drives him to fall in love quickly. There is something off with Hammon and I’m hoping that there is some perverse nature underlying his gentle, loving outward form in order to make things a bit more interesting.
Posted in Comedy, Love relationships, The Shoemaker's Holiday
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The Shoemaker’s Holiday, Love, Fate, and No Bloodshed
Up to the point of scene 13, we as a class have taken a harmonious holiday from the bloody affair that is love in Renaissance drama. Unlike The Spanish Tragedy, Dekker’s characters have proposed a dubious, yet non-lethal scheme to achieving inter-class love. Rose is attempting to reclaim her affair with Lacy but through his new identity of Hans. Rather than Rose killing off her father or herself for love’s sake, she has devised a romantic plan of deception and triumphant love. Surprisingly enough, Lacy seems to agree, and exits scene 13 with Sybil to go see Rose. Ironically, the two characters are not desperately searching for each other, but have shown that they desperately love each other. They fatefully cross paths at a celebration for Eyre. It seems to me that Dekker substitutes bloodshed for fate. If fate achieves love, then bloodshed may be avoided.
Also adding an ironic twist, Dekker gives us Hammon. He desperately seeks love but cannot obtain it from a woman. Whether from Rose or Jane, Hammon just wants somebody to love. He “will do any task at your command” he tells Jane (12.37). Hammon is a “gentleman” and from descriptions a handsome man, but he cannot woo a woman to love him. What seems like fate to him, Ralph’s name on the list of the dead, is actually a lie. After seeing Ralph’s name, Jane forces herself to agree that if she marries another man it would be Hammon.
It seems as though Dekker has removed the bloodshed to project his opinion on fate. In the case of Rose and Lacy/Hans, their love is true and not sought for class, wealth, or to fill loneliness. On the other hand is Hammon. He so desperately wants love, but everyone he seeks it with loves another person. His persistence forces Jane to believe her love is dead but gains no love for himself. I can only hope in the following scenes that fate brings Jane and Ralph back together to show that fate and true love prevail.