Mother Bombie
Encyclopedia
Mother Bombie is an Elizabethan era stage play, a comedy
by John Lyly
. It is unique in Lyly's dramatic canon as a work of farce
and social realism
; in Mother Bombie alone, Lyly departs from his dream world of classical allusion and courtly comedy to create a "vulgar realistic play of rustic life" in a contemporaneous England.
on June 18, 1594
, and was published later that year, in a quarto
printed by Thomas Scarlet for the bookseller Cuthbert Burby
. Burby issued a second quarto in 1598
, the printing done by Thomas Creede
. The play was next printed in 1632
, when it was included in Six Court Comedies, the initial collection of Lyly's works published by Edward Blount
.
No specific early performances of the play are known; the title page of the first edition states that Mother Bombie was "sundry times" acted by the Children of Paul's
, Lyly's regular company — performances that must have occurred prior to that company's cessation of activity in 1591
. The play's date of authorship is uncertain and conjectural; given the complexity of the play's plot (atypical for Lyly), some critics have regarded Mother Bombie as the last and most technically mature of the dramatist's plays, and have dated it to c. 1590.
Thomas Nashe
praised Mother Bombie is his 1596
pamphlet Have With You to Saffron-Walden as a popular and merry comedy. Modern critics have compared Mother Bombie with The Comedy of Errors
, Shakespeare's
similar classically-shaped comedy; both plays feature comic servants named "Dromio."
is obvious — "This is Lyly's single exploration into the Terentian mode of comedy." Except for the title character and one servant, all the characters in the play have Latin names. Yet no specific source for the plot has been determined; the story, apparently, is largely original with Lyly. Commonalities with the contemporary Italian novels that supplied so much plot material to English Renaissance drama
are too vague and general to support direct linkages.
"Mother Bumbey" is a folklore
figure in the traditional ballad
literature; Lyly did not invent her, though he clearly added to her fame. She is mentioned by other writers in subsequent plays: by Thomas Heywood
in The Wise Woman of Hogsdon (c. 1604), and in The Witch of Edmonton
(1621
), by Dekker, Ford
, and Rowley
.
, the play's plot turns on the marital fortunes of two young couples, and the complicating opposition of their four respective fathers. Memphio and Stellio are two rich old men; they want to arrange an advantageous marriage between their two children, Accius and Silena. Each of the two fathers knows that his child is a simpleton — what the Elizabethans succinctly called a "fool" — but neither knows that his child's prospective partner is also a simpleton. Each father is trying to take advantage of the other, in the same way.
A pair of young lovers named Candius and Livia are the closest the play offers to a hero and heroine; their love is true, but their marriage is opposed by their fathers, Sperantus and Prisius, who want to arrange more lucrative matches for their children. Sperantus, in fact, wants his son Candius to marry the wealthy Silena, while Prisius wants his daughter Livia to wed the rich heir Accius. And of course, since this is the dramatic world of Lyly, each of the four old men has a young page — and all the pages (Dromio, Riscio, Lucio, and Halfpenny) conspire together to manipulate the outcome of their masters' schemes.
Each of the wealthy fathers tries to hide his child's foolishness by disguising them as their poorer but more sensible counterparts — Accius as Candius, Silena as Livia; but the plan falls through and the mutual folly of the two young people is exposed. Conversely, Candius and Livia manage to fool their fathers and marry — by disguising themselves as Accius and Silena. Their fathers, Sperantus and Prisius, eventually reconcile themselves to the idea of their children's marriage. The wealthy fathers, Memphio and Stellio, come close to accepting the same realization, and allowing their foolish children to marry —the idea being that such a marriage is better than no marriage at all.
Yet the foolish marriage is forestalled when the old nurse Vicinia reveals that the two fools are actually her children, and so are brother and sister. Long years before, Vicinia exchanged her children for the rich men's real offspring, who are now called Maestius and Serena. These two, thinking themselves siblings, have been struggling against what they think is a mutual incestuous passion; once they learn that they are not actually related, they can legitimately wed. The rich old men, pleased to have their natural children restored to them, magnanimously agree to provide support for their false imbecilic children; and a happy ending is engineered all around.
Mother Bombie, the local cunning woman, functions rather like a dramatic chorus
in all this; characters consult her for advice and she predicts the outcomes of particular situations in doggerel verse. ("Mother Bombie told me my father knew me not, my mother bore me not, falsely bred, truly begot....") She has relatively little direct effect on events, except for convincing Vicinia to expose her secret and thus resolve the plot's difficulties.
, and calls herself a "cunning woman." The play has attracted the attention of modern scholars interested in feminism
, women's studies
, the witchcraft controversy, and related issues.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
by John Lyly
John Lyly
John Lyly was an English writer, best known for his books Euphues,The Anatomy of Wit and Euphues and His England. Lyly's linguistic style, originating in his first books, is known as Euphuism.-Biography:John Lyly was born in Kent, England, in 1553/1554...
. It is unique in Lyly's dramatic canon as a work of farce
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
and social realism
Social realism
Social Realism, also known as Socio-Realism, is an artistic movement, expressed in the visual and other realist arts, which depicts social and racial injustice, economic hardship, through unvarnished pictures of life's struggles; often depicting working class activities as heroic...
; in Mother Bombie alone, Lyly departs from his dream world of classical allusion and courtly comedy to create a "vulgar realistic play of rustic life" in a contemporaneous England.
Publication and performance
Mother Bombie was entered into the Stationers' RegisterStationers' Register
The Stationers' Register was a record book maintained by the Stationers' Company of London. The company is a trade guild given a royal charter in 1557 to regulate the various professions associated with the publishing industry, including printers, bookbinders, booksellers, and publishers in England...
on June 18, 1594
1594 in literature
-Events:*The London theatres re-open in the spring, after two years of general inactivity due to the bubonic plague epidemic of 1592–94. Many of the actors who used to be Lord Strange's Men form a new organization, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, under the patronage of Henry Carey, 1st Baron...
, and was published later that year, in a quarto
Book size
The size of a book is generally measured by the height against the width of a leaf, or sometimes the height and width of its cover. A series of terms is commonly used by libraries and publishers for the general sizes of modern books, ranging from "folio" , to "quarto" and "octavo"...
printed by Thomas Scarlet for the bookseller Cuthbert Burby
Cuthbert Burby
Cuthbert Burby was a London bookseller and publisher of the Elizabethan and early Jacobean eras. He is remembered for publishing a series of significant volumes of English Renaissance drama, including works by William Shakespeare, Robert Greene, John Lyly, and Thomas Nashe.-Beginnings:Burby...
. Burby issued a second quarto in 1598
1598 in literature
-Events:*September 22 - Ben Jonson is charged with manslaughter, after killing actor Gabriel Spenser in a duel.*October - Edmund Spenser's castle at Kilcolman, near Doneraile in North Cork, is burned down by the native Irish forces of Aodh Ó Néill...
, the printing done by Thomas Creede
Thomas Creede
Thomas Creede was a printer of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, rated as "one of the best of his time." Based in London, he conducted his business under the sign of the Catherine Wheel in Thames Street from 1593 to 1600, and under the sign of the Eagle and Child in the Old Exchange from 1600 to...
. The play was next printed in 1632
1632 in literature
The year 1632 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*On February 14, Tempe Restored, a masque written by Aurelian Townshend and designed by Inigo Jones, is performed at Whitehall Palace....
, when it was included in Six Court Comedies, the initial collection of Lyly's works published by Edward Blount
Edward Blount
Edward Blount was a London publisher of the Elizabethan, Jacobean, and Caroline eras, noted for his publication, in conjunction with William and Isaac Jaggard, of the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays in 1623....
.
No specific early performances of the play are known; the title page of the first edition states that Mother Bombie was "sundry times" acted by the Children of Paul's
Children of Paul's
The Children of Paul's was the name of a troupe of boy actors in Elizabethan and Jacobean London. Along with the Children of the Chapel, the Children of Paul's were the most important of the companies of boy players that constituted a distinctive feature of English Renaissance theatre.St...
, Lyly's regular company — performances that must have occurred prior to that company's cessation of activity in 1591
1591 in literature
-Events:*In the spring of the year, a dispute with James Burbage impels the Admiral's Men to leave The Theatre and move to Philip Henslowe's Rose Theatre.*Summer - Sir Walter Raleigh secretly marries Elizabeth Throckmorton....
. The play's date of authorship is uncertain and conjectural; given the complexity of the play's plot (atypical for Lyly), some critics have regarded Mother Bombie as the last and most technically mature of the dramatist's plays, and have dated it to c. 1590.
Thomas Nashe
Thomas Nashe
Thomas Nashe was an English Elizabethan pamphleteer, playwright, poet and satirist. He was the son of the minister William Nashe and his wife Margaret .-Early life:...
praised Mother Bombie is his 1596
1596 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...
pamphlet Have With You to Saffron-Walden as a popular and merry comedy. Modern critics have compared Mother Bombie with The Comedy of Errors
The Comedy of Errors
The Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare's earliest plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. The Comedy of Errors is one of only two of Shakespeare's...
, Shakespeare's
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
similar classically-shaped comedy; both plays feature comic servants named "Dromio."
Source, style, and influence
Unlike Lyly's other plays, which can be described as lightly plotted, Mother Bombie has a tight and complex plot. The influence of TerenceTerence
Publius Terentius Afer , better known in English as Terence, was a playwright of the Roman Republic, of North African descent. His comedies were performed for the first time around 170–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought Terence to Rome as a slave, educated him and later on,...
is obvious — "This is Lyly's single exploration into the Terentian mode of comedy." Except for the title character and one servant, all the characters in the play have Latin names. Yet no specific source for the plot has been determined; the story, apparently, is largely original with Lyly. Commonalities with the contemporary Italian novels that supplied so much plot material to English Renaissance drama
English Renaissance theatre
English Renaissance theatre, also known as early modern English theatre, refers to the theatre of England, largely based in London, which occurred between the Reformation and the closure of the theatres in 1642...
are too vague and general to support direct linkages.
"Mother Bumbey" is a folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
figure in the traditional ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
literature; Lyly did not invent her, though he clearly added to her fame. She is mentioned by other writers in subsequent plays: by Thomas Heywood
Thomas Heywood
Thomas Heywood was a prominent English playwright, actor, and author whose peak period of activity falls between late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre.-Early years:...
in The Wise Woman of Hogsdon (c. 1604), and in The Witch of Edmonton
The Witch of Edmonton
The Witch of Edmonton is an English Jacobean play, written by William Rowley, Thomas Dekker and John Ford in 1621.The play—"probably the most sophisticated treatment of domestic tragedy in the whole of Elizabethan-Jacobean drama"—is based on supposedly real-life events that took place...
(1621
1621 in literature
The year 1621 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*August 26 - Barten Holyday's allegorical play Technogamia, originally produced at Christ Church, Oxford in 1618, is staged before King James at Woodstock Palace...
), by Dekker, Ford
John Ford (dramatist)
John Ford was an English Jacobean and Caroline playwright and poet born in Ilsington in Devon in 1586.-Life and work:...
, and Rowley
William Rowley
William Rowley was an English Jacobean dramatist, best known for works written in collaboration with more successful writers. His date of birth is estimated to have been c. 1585; he was buried on 11 February 1626...
.
Synopsis
Set in Rochester in KentKent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, the play's plot turns on the marital fortunes of two young couples, and the complicating opposition of their four respective fathers. Memphio and Stellio are two rich old men; they want to arrange an advantageous marriage between their two children, Accius and Silena. Each of the two fathers knows that his child is a simpleton — what the Elizabethans succinctly called a "fool" — but neither knows that his child's prospective partner is also a simpleton. Each father is trying to take advantage of the other, in the same way.
A pair of young lovers named Candius and Livia are the closest the play offers to a hero and heroine; their love is true, but their marriage is opposed by their fathers, Sperantus and Prisius, who want to arrange more lucrative matches for their children. Sperantus, in fact, wants his son Candius to marry the wealthy Silena, while Prisius wants his daughter Livia to wed the rich heir Accius. And of course, since this is the dramatic world of Lyly, each of the four old men has a young page — and all the pages (Dromio, Riscio, Lucio, and Halfpenny) conspire together to manipulate the outcome of their masters' schemes.
Each of the wealthy fathers tries to hide his child's foolishness by disguising them as their poorer but more sensible counterparts — Accius as Candius, Silena as Livia; but the plan falls through and the mutual folly of the two young people is exposed. Conversely, Candius and Livia manage to fool their fathers and marry — by disguising themselves as Accius and Silena. Their fathers, Sperantus and Prisius, eventually reconcile themselves to the idea of their children's marriage. The wealthy fathers, Memphio and Stellio, come close to accepting the same realization, and allowing their foolish children to marry —the idea being that such a marriage is better than no marriage at all.
Yet the foolish marriage is forestalled when the old nurse Vicinia reveals that the two fools are actually her children, and so are brother and sister. Long years before, Vicinia exchanged her children for the rich men's real offspring, who are now called Maestius and Serena. These two, thinking themselves siblings, have been struggling against what they think is a mutual incestuous passion; once they learn that they are not actually related, they can legitimately wed. The rich old men, pleased to have their natural children restored to them, magnanimously agree to provide support for their false imbecilic children; and a happy ending is engineered all around.
Mother Bombie, the local cunning woman, functions rather like a dramatic chorus
Greek chorus
A Greek chorus is a homogenous, non-individualised group of performers in the plays of classical Greece, who comment with a collective voice on the dramatic action....
in all this; characters consult her for advice and she predicts the outcomes of particular situations in doggerel verse. ("Mother Bombie told me my father knew me not, my mother bore me not, falsely bred, truly begot....") She has relatively little direct effect on events, except for convincing Vicinia to expose her secret and thus resolve the plot's difficulties.
"Cunning woman"
In Mother Bombie, the title character specifically denies that she is a witchWitchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
, and calls herself a "cunning woman." The play has attracted the attention of modern scholars interested in feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, women's studies
Women's studies
Women's studies, also known as feminist studies, is an interdisciplinary academic field which explores politics, society and history from an intersectional, multicultural women's perspective...
, the witchcraft controversy, and related issues.