A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 11

In Short

This volume brings together several representative works of Jacobean drama, featuring full play scripts accompanied by nineteenth-century editorial commentary and historical notes. The collection highlights the energetic comedic sensibilities and dramatic storytelling of the period, taking readers from London's bustling urban streets to high-stakes romantic entanglements and intricate family rivalries. Through mistaken identities, elaborate tricks, wild reversals of fortune, and sharp social satire, these plays reveal how early modern playwrights questioned social status, romantic devotion, and human duplicity. The collection endures as a vivid historical window into early English theater, preserving both the original dramatic poetry and the rich stage history surrounding its performance.

The Story

The plays within this volume follow sweeping narrative arcs driven by romantic complications, deceptive plots, and dramatic shifts in status. In the comic storylines, young lovers routinely face the barrier of overbearing parents and wealthy rivals. A young man devoted to his beloved finds his devotion tested when her family attempts to force her into a more lucrative marriage with an older or titled suitor. Rather than yielding to these parental demands, the lovers enlist the help of resourceful friends and cunning servants. Together, they execute intricate schemes—utilizing disguises, fake messages, and midnight assignations—to outwit grasping fathers and gullible aristocrats. Along the way, foolish knights, pretentious rogues, and corrupt local officials are systematically fooled and stripped of their unearned wealth.

Parallel plotlines dive into deeper moral dilemmas, testing the boundaries of friendship, honor, and loyalty. In one dramatic strand, a man finds himself torn between his duty to his closest companion and his overwhelming desire for his friend's betrothed. Under the cover of night and operating through a web of deceit, he yields to temptation and betrays his trust, setting off a cascade of guilt, heartbreak, and fractured sanity. The fallout forces the characters into extreme measures as they wander through field and city, seeking either vengeance or reconciliation while trying to manage the consequences of their shattered faith.

Meanwhile, secondary plots bring comedic relief through colorful urban hustlers, aspiring gentlemen, and absurd charlatans who claim extraordinary powers or absolute authority. In these scenes, foolish suitors spend fortunes trying to master the precise gestures, Latin phrases, and stylish attire needed to pass as true men of quality, only to be effortlessly swindled by streetwise servants and clever rogues. Astrologers and tricksters setup elaborate scams to convince greedy old men that their shapes, identities, or fortunes have been altered by stars and magic.

As the narratives reach their climax, all the hidden tricks, secret marriages, and structural lies are brought into the open. Confrontations before kings, judges, and assembled families force the characters to drop their disguises and admit their wrongdoings. True lovers are reunited, long-standing feuds between rival households are dissolved by royal decree or mutual forgiveness, and long-lost relatives are revealed. The schemers and foolish gulls are exposed to public laughter, yet the overall order is restored as multiple marriages are agreed upon, bringing the dramatic chaos to a joyful and satisfying conclusion.

How It Unfolds

The voyage begins Trouble starts when ambitious parents try to orchestrate marriages based strictly on wealth and social rank rather than affection. True lovers find their private vows threatened by wealthy suitors, forcing them to seek secret ways to communicate and block the impending weddings.

Disguises and deceit To bypass strict parents and jealous rivals, characters adopt elaborate disguises, dressing as pageboys, servingmen, or strangers to deliver messages and test their lovers' devotion. Meanwhile, ambitious fools hire clever servants to teach them how to dress and behave like high-society gallants.

Betrayal in the dark A trusted friend surrenders to improper desire and commits a deep betrayal against his closest companion, breaking sacred vows of honor and friendship under the cover of night. The resulting guilt and confusion drive the affected parties into grief and desperate search for answers.

The charlatan's trick Rascals and pretended astrologers take advantage of wealthy, superstitious victims by staging elaborate hoaxes and convincing them that their shapes or identities have been magically transformed. The victims foolishly embrace the scam, creating endless comedy for the servants watching the chaos.

Reckoning and resolution The various hoaxes, secret marriages, and hidden identities are brought before authority figures for judgment. Truths come to light, long-lost family members recognize one another, and old rivalries are put to rest as multiple couples marry with the king's blessing.

The People

• Scudmore wants to win back his true love, who has been promised by her father to a rich count. He is blocked by the family's obsession with money and rank, but through dramatic persistence and help from a loyal friend, he fights to expose the broken contract and regain his happiness.
• Nevill wants to help his closest friend navigate severe romantic heartbreak while avoiding the wrath of powerful, high-status men. Though initially tempted by self-interest and ambition, his genuine loyalty wins out as he devises clever strategies to outwit greedy suitors.
• Bubble wants desperately to be recognized as an accomplished, stylish gentleman of quality. His utter lack of wit and natural foolishness stand in his way, leading him to rely on his sharp servant for advice on everything from beard trimming to gambling etiquette.
• Staines wants to restore his own low fortunes by taking advantage of a foolish, newly wealthy master. Acting as a clever servant, he expertly guides the foolish master into ridiculous behavior while securing his own romantic and financial success.
• Carracus wants to preserve his honorable marriage and maintain absolute trust in his closest companion. A treacherous night of deceit shatters his peace and sanity, driving him into deep grief before order and truth are finally restored.
• Albert wants to satisfy his immediate, selfish desires, even if it means betraying his most faithful friend. His own overwhelming guilt and conscience torment him after he yields to temptation, ultimately forcing him to seek redemption and repair the damage he caused.

In Its Own Voice

"O, why should music, which joys every part, Strike such sharp killing discords to my heart!"

When a young lover hears the music announcing his mistress's impending marriage to a wealthy rival, the joyful sounds only deepen his sense of personal tragedy.

"I see no difference. The night doth visit me but in one robe, She brings as many thoughts as she wears stars, When she is pleasant, but no rest at all."

Overwhelmed by a sense of deep betrayal, a heartbroken man reflects on his total loss of peace, finding no comfort in either day or night.

"A close heart and free hand make a man admired: a testern or a shilling to a servant that brings you a glass of beer, binds his hands to his lips..."

A cunning servant offers cynical advice on how a true gentleman ought to conduct himself at a gambling house to win the loyalty of lower-class attendants.

What It's Really About

Beneath its swift plots and witty repartee, the book interrogates the nature of loyalty, the fragility of human promises, and the corrupting influence of wealth. It questions whether outward status and titles reflect actual moral worth, repeatedly contrasting refined, high-born hypocrites with sharp-witted servants and honest lovers. The plays examine how easily friendship and honor can be shattered when tested by selfish desire or greed. Marriage is portrayed as a battleground between personal affection and mercenary ambition, exposing how parents often view their children as tradeable assets for social climbing. Furthermore, the drama pokes fun at social vanity, showing how easily people are manipulated when they care more about appearing important than actually being virtuous.

Why Read It Today

This collection offers an authentic, unvarnished look at Jacobean comedy and theatrical craft. Readers who enjoy early modern literature, historical drama, or the works of Shakespeare's contemporaries will appreciate the energetic dialogue, clever staging, and vibrant characterization. Reading these plays feels like stepping directly into the bustling playhouses of seventeenth-century London, full of quick banter, biting satire, and dramatic twists.

While the poetic rhythm and fast-paced comic phrasing give the text immense life, modern readers should be prepared for period challenges. The verse contains obscure contemporary allusions, archaisms, and political references that require occasional historical notes to fully grasp. Additionally, the drama reflects the sharp social hierarchies, gender dynamics, and crude humor typical of early modern English theater. For those willing to navigate these historical quirks, the plays remain wonderfully entertaining, offering a vivid reminder that the absurdities of human vanity, romance, and greed have changed very little over the centuries.