The Double Marriage
Encyclopedia
The Double Marriage is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragedy
written by John Fletcher
and Philip Massinger
, and initially printed in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio
of 1647
.
, with Joseph Taylor
playing the lead — a production that must have occurred after Taylor joined that company in the spring of 1619. The play's absence from the fairly thorough Revels Office records of Sir Henry Herbert probably indicates a date prior to May 1622
, when Herbert first occupied the office of Master of the Revels
. The cast list added to the play in the second Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1679
mentions, in addition to Taylor, John Lowin
, Robert Benfield
, Richard Robinson
, John Underwood
, Nicholas Tooley
, George Birch
, and Richard Sharpe
.
The Double Marriage, like many of the plays in Fletcher's canon, was revived during the Restoration
era. It was acted as late as 6 February 1688 at Whitehall Palace. A revival in the 1671–72 period was given a Prologue, perhaps written by Aphra Behn
, which was re-used for Behn's Abdelazer (1677
) and, as an Epilogue, for Behn's The Widow Ranter (1690
).
, in his wide-ranging survey of authorship problems in Fletcher's canon, provided this breakdown, which resembles the verdicts of earlier critics:
The authorship division is unsurprising for the two collaborators; it resembles their shares in The Spanish Curate
, in which Massinger handled the main plot and Fletcher the subplot. There is no distinct subplot in The Double Marriage; in this play, Fletcher took primary responsibility for the "underworld" elements about the pirates, and Massinger the "overworld" of the royal court of Naples
, as is typical of him. (Massinger as collaborator — as with Nathan Field in The Fatal Dowry
, and with Thomas Dekker in The Virgin Martyr
— tended to handle "upper-crust" materials: kings and dukes; royal courts and law courts; aristocrats, noble families, and great houses. He relied on his co-workers for materials involving lower classes, the common people, the beau monde of fashion, and criminals and clowns and similar elements. The Double Marriage conforms to this pattern.) It appears that Massinger revised the play after Fletcher's death; Fletcher's characteristic preference for ye instead of you was toned down in Massinger's revision.
) by "Lazarus Pyott" (perhaps a pseudonym of Anthony Munday
). The characters' names derive from The Historie of Philip De Commines, in Thomas Danett's English translation (1596/1601). [See: Philippe de Commines
.] Fletcher may also have drawn upon the Controversiae of Seneca the Elder
.
When Virolet meets with his co-conspirators, however, he is appalled to find that they've accepted Ronvere, the commander of Ferrant's guard, as a member. Ronvere tells them that he has lost his post and is disaffected with Ferrant, but Virolet disbelieves his story; and when he learns that Ronvere has brought others into the rebels' plot, Virolet realizes that their plan is hopeless. He accepts Juliana's advice to hide in a cave under their house when the would-be rebels are arrested; but Juliana and her father Pandulpho are rounded up with the others.
Ferrant is shown in his court; he is paranoiac and ruthless. Determined to capture Virolet, whom he recognizes as the key to the revolt, he tortures Juliana on the rack—though she defies him with remarkable courage. Ferrant seems moved by her bravery, and offers the conspirators a pardon—on the condition that they, led by Virolet, battle the pirates plaguing his coast. The pirates are commanded by the Duke of Sesse, a nobleman who has led a successful resistance against Ferrant for the past fourteen years. Most recently, Sesse has captured Ascanio, Ferrant's nephew and heir. If the conspirators defeat Sesse as a sign of their loyalty, all is forgiven. In a private conversation with Ronvere, though, Ferrant reveals that his motive is selfish political manipulation—he is pitting his enemies against each other, and whoever loses, Ferrant wins.
The scene shifts to the Duke of Sesse's pirate ship, and shows his loyal crew—his Boatswain, Gunner, and other crewmen, and most notably Sesse's bold "Amazon" daughter Martia. Sesse is a noble outlaw in the style of Robin Hood
; his controlling motive is opposition to Ferrant. Sesse and his crew engage an approaching ship in combat, and win the fight; Virolet, the captain, is seized, and the rest of the opposing crew and their ship are sent to the bottom. Sesse originally intends to kill Virolet too; but his bold defiance provokes Martia, and Sesse allows his daughter to do what she will with the prisoner.
Virolet is shown locked in the "bilboes" (shackles) with Ascanio, who turns out to be a noble and humane young man who has tried to moderate his uncle's rule, though without success. Martia confronts the two prisoners, and reveals that she has fallen in love with Virolet; she will free them and escape with them, if Virolet agrees to marry her. Virolet protests that he is already married, but Martia doesn't care. Without a better option, Virolet agrees to her bargain. Martia, Virolet, and Ascanio flee in the ship's longboat, and Sesse and his crew, becalmed, cannot follow. But Sesse vows revenge on his turncoat daughter: "She runs hot like a whore...."
Back in Naples, Ferrant welcomes Ascanio and appears to pardon Virolet as well. Juliana, trying to recover from her torture on the rack, is delighted at Virolet's return—until he presents her with Martia, and informs her that their marriage is over. (He obtains a divorce, on the grounds that Juliana cannot have children...due to the effects of her torture.) Once Virolet and Martia are married, however, Martia is stunned when her new husband abandons her before their marriage is consummated. By marrying Martia, Virolet has fulfilled his promise—but that is as far as he will go with her. He remains sexually faithful to Juliana. (This is the "double marriage" of the title.) Martia is outraged, and shifts from love of Virolet to hatred and revenge.
Sesse and his crew come to Naples in pursuit of Martia; they disguise themselves as "Switzers" (Swiss mercenaries, common in Italy at the time) and take service under Ferrant and Ronvere. In order to obtain her vengeance on Virolet, Martia joins with Ronvere and is introduced to Ferrant; he fancies her, and seats her next to him on his throne. Sesse and his crew launch a rebellion, and the discontented populace rise with them; Ferrant and his supporters retreat to the tower of his castle. In the tumult of the rebellion, Virolet disguises himself as Ronvere, in an attempt to reach Ferrant; Juliana, mistaking him for the true Ronvere, kills him. Juliana discovers her mistake, and dies of grief and the effects of her ordeal.
The rebels are victorious, and are shown with Ferrant's severed head. Martia is unrepentant, and gloats over the deaths of Virolet and Juliana. A disgusted Sesse is about to kill her when his Boatswain intervenes and stabs Martia to death—to save Sesse from the shame of killing his own child. The Neapolitans hail Sesse as their new king—but Sesse, never motivated by a taste for personal power, refuses, and instead nominates Ascanio, "warn'd by the example" of his uncle's fate to be a better ruler.
The play's comic relief
is supplied by Ferrant's jester Villio and by Castruccio, a court sycophant and parasite.
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
written by John Fletcher
John Fletcher (playwright)
John Fletcher was a Jacobean playwright. Following William Shakespeare as house playwright for the King's Men, he was among the most prolific and influential dramatists of his day; both during his lifetime and in the early Restoration, his fame rivalled Shakespeare's...
and Philip Massinger
Philip Massinger
Philip Massinger was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including A New Way to Pay Old Debts, The City Madam and The Roman Actor, are noted for their satire and realism, and their political and social themes.-Early life:The son of Arthur Massinger or Messenger, he was baptized at St....
, and initially printed in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio
Beaumont and Fletcher folios
The Beaumont and Fletcher folios were two large folio collections of the stage plays of John Fletcher and his collaborators. The first was issued in 1647, and the second in 1679. The two collections were important in preserving many works of English Renaissance drama.-The first folio, 1647:The 1647...
of 1647
1647 in literature
The year 1647 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* Thomas Hobbes becomes tutor to the future Charles II of England.* Plagiarist Robert Baron publishes his Deorum Dona, a masque, and Gripus and Hegio, a pastoral, which draw heavily on the poems of Edmund Waller and John Webster's...
.
Date and performance
Though firm evidence on the play's date of authorship and early stage history is lacking, scholars usually assign the play to the 1619–22 period. It was acted by the King's MenKing'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...
, with Joseph Taylor
Joseph Taylor (17th-century actor)
Joseph Taylor was a 17th-century actor. As the successor of Richard Burbage with the King's Men, he was arguably the most important actor in the later Jacobean and the Caroline eras....
playing the lead — a production that must have occurred after Taylor joined that company in the spring of 1619. The play's absence from the fairly thorough Revels Office records of Sir Henry Herbert probably indicates a date prior to May 1622
1622 in literature
The year 1622 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*February 28 - Loiola, a Latin comedy mocking the Jesuits, is acted at Cambridge; the performance is repeated before King James I on March 12.*March 12 - Teresa of Ávila The year 1622 in literature involved some significant...
, when Herbert first occupied the office of 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,...
. The cast list added to the play in the second Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1679
1679 in literature
This article lists some of the most significant events of the year 1679 in literature.-Events:*John Locke returns to England from France.*Étienne Baluze becomes almoner to King Louis XIV of France....
mentions, in addition to Taylor, John Lowin
John Lowin
John Lowin was an English actor born in the St Giles-without-Cripplegate, London, the son of a tanner. Like Robert Armin, he was apprenticed to a goldsmith. While he is not recorded as a free citizen of this company, he did perform as a goldsmith, Leofstane, in a 1611 city pageant written by...
, Robert Benfield
Robert Benfield
Robert Benfield was a seventeenth-century actor, noted for his longtime membership in the King's Men in the years and decades after William Shakespeare's retirement and death.Nothing is known of Benfield's early life...
, Richard Robinson
Richard Robinson (17th-century actor)
Richard Robinson was an actor in English Renaissance theatre and a member of Shakespeare's company the King's Men.Robinson started out as a boy player with the company; in 1611 he played the Lady in their production of The Second Maiden's Tragedy. He was cast in their production of Ben Jonson's...
, John Underwood
John Underwood (actor)
John Underwood was an early 17th century actor, a member of the King's Men, the company of William Shakespeare.-Career:Underwood began as a boy player with the Children of the Chapel, and was cast in that company's productions of Ben Jonson's Cynthia's Revels and The Poetaster...
, Nicholas Tooley
Nicholas Tooley
Nicholas Tooley was a Renaissance actor in the King's Men, the acting company of William Shakespeare.Recent research has shown that Tooley was born in late 1582 or early 1583; his birth name was not Tooley but Wilkinson...
, George Birch
King's Men personnel
King's Men personnel were the people who worked with and for the Lord Chamberlain's Men and the King's Men from 1594 to 1642...
, and Richard Sharpe
Richard Sharpe (actor)
Richard Sharpe was an actor with the King's Men, the leading theatre troupe of its time and the company of William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage...
.
The Double Marriage, like many of the plays in Fletcher's canon, was revived during 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. It was acted as late as 6 February 1688 at Whitehall Palace. A revival in the 1671–72 period was given a Prologue, perhaps written by Aphra Behn
Aphra Behn
Aphra Behn was a prolific dramatist of the English Restoration and was one of the first English professional female writers. Her writing contributed to the amatory fiction genre of British literature.-Early life:...
, which was re-used for Behn's Abdelazer (1677
1677 in literature
The year 1677 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* Roger Morrice begins his Entring Book.* Francis North's A Philosophical Essay of Music published....
) and, as an Epilogue, for Behn's The Widow Ranter (1690
1690 in literature
The year 1690 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*December 10 - Playwright Henry Nevil Payne is tortured for his role in the "Montgomery Plot" to restore James II to the throne — the last time a political prisoner is subjected to torture in Britain.* Colley Cibber becomes...
).
Authorship
Scholars have been able to differentiate the respective contributions of Fletcher and Massinger in the play. Cyrus HoyCyrus Hoy
Cyrus Hoy was a literary scholar of the English Renaissance stage who taught at the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University, and was the John B. Trevor Professor of English at the University of Rochester...
, in his wide-ranging survey of authorship problems in Fletcher's canon, provided this breakdown, which resembles the verdicts of earlier critics:
- Massinger — Act I; Act III, scene 1; Act IV, 2; Act V, 3 and 4;
- Fletcher — Act II; Act III, scenes 2 and 3; Avt IV, 1, 3, and 4; Act V, scenes 1 and 2.
The authorship division is unsurprising for the two collaborators; it resembles their shares in The Spanish Curate
The Spanish Curate
The Spanish Curate is a late Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger. It premiered on the stage in 1622, and was first published in 1647.-Date and source:...
, in which Massinger handled the main plot and Fletcher the subplot. There is no distinct subplot in The Double Marriage; in this play, Fletcher took primary responsibility for the "underworld" elements about the pirates, and Massinger the "overworld" of the royal court of Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, as is typical of him. (Massinger as collaborator — as with Nathan Field in The Fatal Dowry
The Fatal Dowry
The Fatal Dowry is a late Jacobean era stage play, a tragedy written by Philip Massinger and Nathan Field, and first published in 1632. It represents a significant aspect of Field's very limited dramatic output....
, and with Thomas Dekker in The Virgin Martyr
The Virgin Martyr
The Virgin Martyr is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragedy written by Thomas Dekker and Philip Massinger, and first published in 1622. It constitutes a rare instance in Masssinger's canon in which he collaborated with a member of the previous generation of English Renaissance dramatists —...
— tended to handle "upper-crust" materials: kings and dukes; royal courts and law courts; aristocrats, noble families, and great houses. He relied on his co-workers for materials involving lower classes, the common people, the beau monde of fashion, and criminals and clowns and similar elements. The Double Marriage conforms to this pattern.) It appears that Massinger revised the play after Fletcher's death; Fletcher's characteristic preference for ye instead of you was toned down in Massinger's revision.
Sources
The dramatists drew their plot from two tales in The Orator (15961596 in literature
-Events:*The first complete edition of The Faerie Queene in six books is published.*James Burbage buys the disused Blackfriars Theatre from Sir William More for £600; yet he is prevented from using it for theatrical productions by the opposition of wealthy and influential neighbors.* Lord Hunsdon...
) by "Lazarus Pyott" (perhaps a pseudonym of Anthony Munday
Anthony Munday
Anthony Munday was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer. The chief interest in Munday for the modern reader lies in his collaboration with Shakespeare and others on the play Sir Thomas More and his writings on Robin Hood.-Biography:He was once thought to have been born in 1553, because...
). The characters' names derive from The Historie of Philip De Commines, in Thomas Danett's English translation (1596/1601). [See: Philippe de Commines
Philippe de Commines
Philippe de Commines was a writer and diplomat in the courts of Burgundy and France. He has been called "the first truly modern writer" and "the first critical and philosophical historian since classical times"...
.] Fletcher may also have drawn upon the Controversiae of Seneca the Elder
Seneca the Elder
Lucius or Marcus Annaeus Seneca, known as Seneca the Elder and Seneca the Rhetorician , was a Roman rhetorician and writer, born of a wealthy equestrian family of Cordoba, Hispania...
.
Synopsis
Naples suffers under the rule of a brutal and capricious despot, the "libidinous Tyrant" Ferrant. The opening scene shows the "noble Gentleman" Virolet brooding about the political situation. His wife Juliana questions him about his neglect of her; Virolet assures her that it is not lack of affection on his part, but his preoccupation with tyranny that keeps him from her bed. When she challenges him to do something about Ferrant's despotism, Virolet informs her that the plan is already in motion.When Virolet meets with his co-conspirators, however, he is appalled to find that they've accepted Ronvere, the commander of Ferrant's guard, as a member. Ronvere tells them that he has lost his post and is disaffected with Ferrant, but Virolet disbelieves his story; and when he learns that Ronvere has brought others into the rebels' plot, Virolet realizes that their plan is hopeless. He accepts Juliana's advice to hide in a cave under their house when the would-be rebels are arrested; but Juliana and her father Pandulpho are rounded up with the others.
Ferrant is shown in his court; he is paranoiac and ruthless. Determined to capture Virolet, whom he recognizes as the key to the revolt, he tortures Juliana on the rack—though she defies him with remarkable courage. Ferrant seems moved by her bravery, and offers the conspirators a pardon—on the condition that they, led by Virolet, battle the pirates plaguing his coast. The pirates are commanded by the Duke of Sesse, a nobleman who has led a successful resistance against Ferrant for the past fourteen years. Most recently, Sesse has captured Ascanio, Ferrant's nephew and heir. If the conspirators defeat Sesse as a sign of their loyalty, all is forgiven. In a private conversation with Ronvere, though, Ferrant reveals that his motive is selfish political manipulation—he is pitting his enemies against each other, and whoever loses, Ferrant wins.
The scene shifts to the Duke of Sesse's pirate ship, and shows his loyal crew—his Boatswain, Gunner, and other crewmen, and most notably Sesse's bold "Amazon" daughter Martia. Sesse is a noble outlaw in the style of Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
; his controlling motive is opposition to Ferrant. Sesse and his crew engage an approaching ship in combat, and win the fight; Virolet, the captain, is seized, and the rest of the opposing crew and their ship are sent to the bottom. Sesse originally intends to kill Virolet too; but his bold defiance provokes Martia, and Sesse allows his daughter to do what she will with the prisoner.
Virolet is shown locked in the "bilboes" (shackles) with Ascanio, who turns out to be a noble and humane young man who has tried to moderate his uncle's rule, though without success. Martia confronts the two prisoners, and reveals that she has fallen in love with Virolet; she will free them and escape with them, if Virolet agrees to marry her. Virolet protests that he is already married, but Martia doesn't care. Without a better option, Virolet agrees to her bargain. Martia, Virolet, and Ascanio flee in the ship's longboat, and Sesse and his crew, becalmed, cannot follow. But Sesse vows revenge on his turncoat daughter: "She runs hot like a whore...."
Back in Naples, Ferrant welcomes Ascanio and appears to pardon Virolet as well. Juliana, trying to recover from her torture on the rack, is delighted at Virolet's return—until he presents her with Martia, and informs her that their marriage is over. (He obtains a divorce, on the grounds that Juliana cannot have children...due to the effects of her torture.) Once Virolet and Martia are married, however, Martia is stunned when her new husband abandons her before their marriage is consummated. By marrying Martia, Virolet has fulfilled his promise—but that is as far as he will go with her. He remains sexually faithful to Juliana. (This is the "double marriage" of the title.) Martia is outraged, and shifts from love of Virolet to hatred and revenge.
Sesse and his crew come to Naples in pursuit of Martia; they disguise themselves as "Switzers" (Swiss mercenaries, common in Italy at the time) and take service under Ferrant and Ronvere. In order to obtain her vengeance on Virolet, Martia joins with Ronvere and is introduced to Ferrant; he fancies her, and seats her next to him on his throne. Sesse and his crew launch a rebellion, and the discontented populace rise with them; Ferrant and his supporters retreat to the tower of his castle. In the tumult of the rebellion, Virolet disguises himself as Ronvere, in an attempt to reach Ferrant; Juliana, mistaking him for the true Ronvere, kills him. Juliana discovers her mistake, and dies of grief and the effects of her ordeal.
The rebels are victorious, and are shown with Ferrant's severed head. Martia is unrepentant, and gloats over the deaths of Virolet and Juliana. A disgusted Sesse is about to kill her when his Boatswain intervenes and stabs Martia to death—to save Sesse from the shame of killing his own child. The Neapolitans hail Sesse as their new king—but Sesse, never motivated by a taste for personal power, refuses, and instead nominates Ascanio, "warn'd by the example" of his uncle's fate to be a better ruler.
The play's comic relief
Comic relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
is supplied by Ferrant's jester Villio and by Castruccio, a court sycophant and parasite.