A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 4

In Short

This volume gathers four rare Early Modern English plays: a domestic murder tragedy, a classical comedy of shipwreck and identity, a dark satire on state corruption, and a lively domestic comedy of urban manners. Across these pieces, greedy guardians attempt child murder, lost women endure predatory villains, corrupt counselors scheme against royals, and tavern rascals swap insults with local wives. Preserved and restored by a dedicated nineteenth-century editor, these texts showcase the dramatic variety, rough energy, and poetic vitality of Jacobean theater beyond the familiar canon.

The Story

The anthology opens with Two Tragedies in One, where the ruthless Fallerio plots to murder his young nephew, Pertillo, in order to seize his inherited lands and riches. Fallerio tries to recruit his own son, Allenso, to commit the deed, but Allenso refuses out of moral devotion to his cousin. Fallerio then hires two assassins. While one assassin feels a sudden prick of conscience, the other cold-bloodedly executes the child. When the crime comes to light, the tragic sequence concludes with public executions and symbolic appearances by allegorical figures, including Truth, Homicide, and Covetousness, who frame the tale as a stern moral warning against greed and murder.

The second work, The Captives, or the Lost Recovered, shifts the tone to romantic comedy and classical intrigue. A violent storm wrecks a ship off the coast, casting two young women, Palestra and Scribonia, onto the shore. They escape the ocean waves only to face the predatory designs of Mildew, a brothel-owner who holds them captive. Supported by the sympathetic local resident Ashburne, the women seek to buy their freedom. A fisherman named Gripus drags up a submerged bag containing a casket of baby clothes and an inscribed handkerchief. These items prove Palestra’s noble birth and reunite her with her long-lost father, securing freedom for both women and allowing them to marry their noble suitors, Raphael and Treadway.

In The Costlie Whore, political intrigue and social tyranny take center stage. Greedy lords like Hatto and Alfred counsel the Duke to enrich himself by oppressing the poor—enclosing common pastures, burning down timber for iron mills, and causing widespread famine. When the Duke falls under the spell of a courtesan and insists on marrying her, his son Frederick revolts alongside loyal nobles to save the realm. Meanwhile, the corrupt counselors privately celebrate the chaos, using the sovereign’s obsession to consolidate their own power over the starving populace.

The final play, Everie Woman in her Humor, provides a buoyant, rowdy slice of London tavern life. Swashbuckling swaggerers, foolish gallants, loud hostesses, and sharp-tongued city wives exchange crude wit, dodge constables, and get drunk on canary wine. Amid domestic quarrels over money and clothes, characters masquerade in outlandish outfits and sing street ballads, showcasing the chaotic rhythms of ordinary Jacobean town life.

How It Unfolds

A uncle’s deadly ambition Fallerio demands that his son Allenso kill young Pertillo to retain his estate, but Allenso rejects the evil scheme out of pure love for his cousin.

Murder in the woods Fallerio hires two ruthless killers who track Pertillo into a forest, where one assassin stabs the innocent boy while the other hesitates.

Justice and allegorical judgment The murder is uncovered, the culprits are sent to the gallows, and Truth enters to banish Homicide and Covetousness from the land.

Shipwreck on the rocks A violent tempest destroys a ship off the coast, leaving the maidens Palestra and Scribonia clinging to wreckage before washing ashore.

The fisherman’s discovery A fisherman pulls a heavy bag from the sea, revealing a hidden casket of infant clothes that establishes Palestra's true lineage.

Tyranny and popular revolt Corrupt advisers convince the Duke to exploit the poor, prompting Prince Frederick to draw his sword and lead a rebellion against his father’s court.

Tavern brawls and city wit In a bustling inn, foolish gallants and sarcastic wives trade jabs, trick the host, and attempt to evade the local constable.

The People

• Fallerio: A scheming guardian driven by absolute avarice. He seeks the death of his young nephew Pertillo solely to keep the boy's inherited lands, castles, and jewels for his own family.
• Allenso: Fallerio's moral son, who loves his young cousin Pertillo dearly. He flatly refuses his father's command to murder the child, choosing virtue over wealth.
• Pertillo: An innocent, trusting orphan boy whose inherited wealth makes him the target of his ruthless uncle's murder plot.
• Palestra: A courageous young woman who survives a horrific shipwreck, only to be held captive by a brothel owner until a discovered casket reveals her noble origin.
• Ashburne: A generous coastal resident who leaps to the defense of the shipwrecked women and ensures they receive justice.
• Mildew: A corrupt brothel keeper who attempts to profit from holding Palestra and Scribonia, relinquishing them only when cornered by legal force.
• Duke: A headstrong ruler who ignores the needs of his starving subjects, alienates his son, and marries a scandalous woman despite widespread political unrest.
• Frederick: The Duke’s honorable son, who draws his sword against his father's court to stop the corrupting influence of flattering advisers.
• Hatto: A cold-hearted courtier who starves the peasantry by enclosing land and ruining crops, viewing the poor as mere vermin.

In Its Own Voice

"If the boy live, then like to sencelesse beasts, / Like longd-eard Asses and riche-laden Mules, / We must resign these treasures to a boye, / And we like Asses feede on simple haye..."

A mercenary father urges his hesitant son to murder an innocent child so they can retain his stolen inheritance.

"A shipp laboringe for liffe / Nowe cast upon the rocks, nowe splitt, nowe sinkinge, / Nowe dasht to peeces."

Spectators watch in helpless horror as a sea vessel is crushed against the shoreline during a violent tempest.

"There's so many swaggerers; but alasse, how fel ye out?"

An innkeeper inquires about a sudden tavern brawl, capturing the chaotic, everyday atmosphere of Jacobean town comedy.

What It's Really About

Beneath their varied plots, these plays probe the dark power of unbridled greed and the fragile nature of social justice. Two Tragedies in One exposes how money can erode the closest family bonds, turning guardians into murderers. The Captives explores how vulnerable women navigate physical peril and human predation, relying on fortune and moral courage to regain their rightful status. The Costlie Whore offers a sharp critique of political tyranny, demonstrating how selfish leaders and sycophantic counselors enrich themselves at the expense of starving commoners. Everie Woman in her Humor looks at the comedic absurdities of vanity and pride, showing how human folly plays out in the ordinary streets and taverns of early modern England.

Why Read It Today

This collection offers an authentic, unpolished window into early modern English theater beyond the canonical plays of Shakespeare and Marlowe. Readers who enjoy Jacobean drama, historical theater history, and unedited period texts will appreciate the dramatic variety gathered here, from dark moral tragedies to classical sea-adventures and raucous street comedies.

Reading this volume requires some patience, as the plays feature archaic spelling, irregular verse, dense period slang, and heavy Jacobean vocabulary. Furthermore, the archaic stage conventions, abrupt tone shifts, and raw depictions of violence or social oppression reflect the unfiltered attitudes of the early seventeenth century. Yet, for readers fascinated by the working repertoire of the Renaissance stage, the collection delivers a vibrant, unedited taste of historical performance. The sharp dialogue, dramatic suspense, and raw comedic energy stay with you long after the final act.

<ElicitationsGroup message="Interested in exploring these plays further?"> <Elicitation label="Analyze the moral themes of Two Tragedies in One" query="Analyze the moral themes and use of allegorical figures in Two Tragedies in One from A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 4."/> <Elicitation label="Compare the comedic styles of the collection" query="Compare the romantic comedy elements of The Captives with the city satire of Everie Woman in her Humor in A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 4."/> <Elicitation label="Examine the political commentary in The Costlie Whore" query="Examine the political satire and depiction of class conflict in The Costlie Whore from A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 4."/> </ElicitationsGroup>