The Works of Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher in Ten Volumes: Volume 01

In Short

This volume serves as the foundational collection of dramatic works by two of the most influential playwrights in English history. It gathers a vast array of comedies and tragedies that, for many years, existed only in scattered manuscripts or performance copies. By preserving these scripts, the book offers a window into the professional theater of the seventeenth century—a landscape defined by collaborative genius, bold characterizations, and a language that bridged the gap between Shakespearean grandeur and a more modern, skeptical sensibility. It remains a cornerstone of literary history.

The Story

The narrative arc of this collection is not found in a single plot, but in the unfolding of a theatrical epoch. The volume opens with a series of dedicatory letters and commendatory verses that serve as an elaborate, formal stage-setting, positioning the authors as the true heirs to the English dramatic tradition. These introductory pieces frame the plays that follow as "treasures" saved from the "winter and sterility" of a closing theater world.

The plays themselves—including The Maids Tragedy, Philaster, and A King, and no King—move through a spectrum of human experience. In the tragedies, the arc typically follows the corruption of noble intentions. Characters are often trapped by their own rigid codes of honor or by the arbitrary whims of those in power. We witness the descent of men and women who, despite their brilliance or high station, are brought low by pride, jealousy, or the "false colors" of their own desires. The tragedies are defined by a high-stakes morality where the consequences of a single act ripple outward, often leading to a violent or cathartic resolution.

In the comedies, such as The Scornful Lady, the arc shifts toward the correction of folly. Here, the story follows characters who are initially blinded by vanity, social affectation, or romantic delusions. Through a series of misunderstandings, sharp-tongued exchanges, and unexpected reversals, these figures are gradually stripped of their masks. The ending of these works rarely involves simple happiness; instead, it brings a form of hard-won clarity. The "mad lover" or the "credulous girl" is forced to confront the gap between their pretenses and the truth.

The collection concludes by moving from the plays themselves into the technical apparatus of textual recovery. The final pages shift from the high-flown praise of poets—who compare the authors to Homer and Virgil—to the meticulous notes of the editors. This ending provides a grounded, material perspective on the work, detailing the history of the folios and the efforts required to piece together the original copies. The arc of the book is thus a journey from the mythic heights of the "Swan of Avon" and his peers down to the quiet, ink-stained labor of the printers who ensured these plays would survive. It is a movement from the roar of the theater to the silence of the library, leaving the reader with the sense that while the stage may fall dark, the "Incomparable" word remains.

How It Unfolds

The call to preserve The volume begins by establishing a sense of urgency, as the stationers claim to be "trustees to the ashes" of authors whose work was threatened by a decaying theater. They invite the reader to treat the book as a "child of happiness" that will act as a corrective to the ignorance and malice of a changing age.

The praise of peers A long sequence of commendatory verses follows, where contemporary poets analyze the specific genius of the two authors. These writers place the plays within the context of the "triumvirate of wit"—Shakespeare, Jonson, and the featured duo—creating a canon of excellence that the reader is expected to respect.

The collision of honor and desire The plays commence with heavy, sophisticated tragedies and comedies that explore the "characters of every nobler and each baser mind." Through these, the reader encounters the central tension of the book: the struggle to maintain virtue in a world where "love lies a bleeding" and power is often synonymous with tyranny.

The correction of the reader Interspersed with the dramatic action are meta-commentaries on the audience itself, suggesting that the plays function as a mirror. The "formall youth" and the "credulous girle" are meant to see their own errors reflected and corrected by the dialogue on the page.

The textual resolution The book concludes with an extensive catalog and technical appendix, shifting from artistic exaltation to bibliographical precision. This section documents the history of the folios, ensuring that the "precious remaines" are cataloged for future generations, marking the final transition from performance to permanent text.

The People

The figures in these pages are often defined by their desire for status or their struggle against it. Arbaces and Tigranes stand as archetypes of the noble warrior, yet they are often undone by their own pride; they begin as masters of their fate and end as victims of their own tempers. Amintor and Aspasia represent the tragic lovers whose fates are dictated by external codes, struggling to navigate a world that punishes their sincerity.

The Scornful Lady serves as a sharp contrast to the more submissive figures, using her wit as a shield against the social expectations of the day. She moves from a position of detached amusement to a more vulnerable understanding of her own humanity. Throughout, the "States-man," the "Souldier," and the "Usurer" appear not as mere caricatures, but as representatives of a society in flux. They are all "rectified" by the plays, forced to discard their masks—the statesman his gravity, the soldier his arrears—to emerge as more honest versions of themselves. They are people caught between the desire to perform their social roles and the urge to be authentic in a world that rarely rewards honesty.

In Its Own Voice

"For since ye saw no Playes this Cloudy weather, Here we have brought Ye our whole Stock together."

The stationer Humphrey Moseley addresses the reader, explaining that the volume was compiled as a remedy for the theater closures of the time.

"The frontis-piece will satisfie the wise And good so well, they will not grudge the price."

In a commendatory verse, the nobleman Grandison argues that the value of the collection far exceeds its financial cost.

"Had now grim Ben bin breathing, with what rage, And high-swolne fury had Hee lash'd this age."

The author Ja. Howell reflects on how the great poets of the past, like Ben Jonson, would have reacted to the volatile political and social climate of the era.

What It's Really About

The central argument of the book is that art functions as a moral and intellectual mirror. The authors are presented as "judges" and "priests" of the human condition, using their craft to expose the "false colours" of both the noble and the base. The underlying question is whether the wit of the poet can survive the collapse of the institutions—the theaters and the governments—that once nurtured it. The collection argues that while political power is fleeting, the "lasting monuments" of language possess a permanent, corrective authority. It is a meditation on the power of the written word to outlive the "rude affronts" of time, poverty, and cultural decline, ultimately asserting that a well-crafted line can do more to reform a society than any law or decree.

Why Read It Today

Reading this volume is an exercise in immersion. For the modern reader, it offers a rare, unfiltered look at the English stage at its most ambitious and complex. You will find a language that is remarkably fluid, designed to be spoken aloud, full of rhythmic surprises and sharp, biting observations on human folly. However, the reader must be prepared for the demands of the period; the prose is dense, the references are specific to a lost social hierarchy, and the gender attitudes—while often sophisticated for their time—can feel jarring or rigid by contemporary standards.

The book is rewarding precisely because it does not aim for ease. It challenges you to navigate the "high-wing'd" rhetoric of the poets and the intricate, sometimes exhausting, plots of the plays. What stays with you is the sheer intellectual vigor of the era—the sense that for these writers, wit was not just a parlor trick, but a vital, dangerous tool for survival. If you appreciate the transition from the grand, moralizing dramas of the Renaissance to the more cynical, psychological inquiry of the later period, you will find this collection an essential companion. It is a work for those who enjoy the feeling of stepping back into a room where the debate over the soul of the nation is still in progress, and the voices are as loud, clever, and defiant as they were four centuries ago.