The Lady Mother
Encyclopedia
The Lady Mother is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy
generally attributed to Henry Glapthorne
, and dating from the middle 1630s. Never printed in its own era, the play survived in a manuscript
marked as a theatre prompt-book, revealing significant details about the stage practice of its time.
The Lady Mother was licensed for performance by the office the Master of the Revels
on October 15, 1635
. It was originally staged by the King's Revels Men
at the Salisbury Court Theatre
, and was acted for the royal court at Whitehall Palace that year.
Yet the play was not published for more than two centuries; it was first issued in 1883 by editor A. H. Bullen in his Old English Plays Vol. 2. Bullen first assigned the play to Glapthorne. The Malone Society produced a modern text in 1959, edited by Arthur Brown. The drama survived the centuries in manuscript form, part of MS. Egerton 1994
(folios 186-211) in the collection of the British Library
. In the MS., the entrances and exits are consistently marked, the entrances in advance so that the prompter could cue the actors; the necessary properties are also marked, in advance of their needs. Cues for music and dancing are also included — all the details that the prompter would have needed to guide the performance. The MS. displays its license on the final page. The MS. is a scribal copy, and shows repeated revision; it reveals Glapthorne working with his scribe to shape the final text. The Revels office (specifically William Blagrave, the assistant of the Master, Sir Henry Herbert) demanded some changes in the text, and several lines are crossed out, to be omitted from performance.
F. G. Fleay
speculated that The Lady Mother was an alternative title for The Noble Trial, a Glapthorne play that was among those in the collection of John Warburton
that were destroyed by fire.
Bullen argued that Glapthorne's play showed the influence of the drama of James Shirley
, a dominant figure in Caroline drama. The play's plot involves the marital fortunes of Lady Marlove (The title character) and her daughters Belisea and Clariana. One of her suitors is a foolish old country knight, Sir Geffrey — a figure who provides the play's lighter comic element. The more serious element of the plot involves Lady Marlove and her son facing execution for a supposed murder. The play concludes in a "death masque
" in which a personified Death invokes despair and the Furies, only to be dispelled by Hymen, the god of marriage. It is then revealed that Thurston, the supposedly dead man, is alive and married to Clariana; happy ending.
Tragicomedy
Tragicomedy is fictional work that blends aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. In English literature, from Shakespeare's time to the nineteenth century, tragicomedy referred to a serious play with either a happy ending or enough jokes throughout the play to lighten the mood.-Classical...
generally attributed to Henry Glapthorne
Henry Glapthorne
Henry Glapthorne was a Caroline era dramatist.Glapthorne was baptized in Cambridgeshire, the son of Thomas Glapthorne and Faith nee Hatcliff. His father was a bailiff of Lady Hatton, the wife of Sir Edward Coke...
, and dating from the middle 1630s. Never printed in its own era, the play survived in a manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
marked as a theatre prompt-book, revealing significant details about the stage practice of its time.
The Lady Mother was licensed for performance by the office the 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,...
on October 15, 1635
1635 in literature
The year 1635 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*February 22 - In Paris, the Académie française is founded.*May 6 - The King's Men perform Othello at the Blackfriars Theatre.*Birth of René Descartes' daughter, Francine....
. It was originally staged by the King's Revels Men
King's Revels Men
The King's Revels Men or King's Revels Company was a playing company or troupe of actors in seventeenth-century England. In the confusing theatre nomenclature of that era, it is sometimes called the second King's Revels Company, to distinguish it from an earlier troupe with the same title that was...
at the Salisbury Court Theatre
Salisbury Court Theatre
The Salisbury Court Theatre was a theatre in 17th-century London. It was located in the neighbourhood of Salisbury Court, which was formerly the London residence of the Bishops of Salisbury. Salibury Court was acquired by Richard Sackville in 1564; when Thomas Sackville was created Earl of Dorset...
, and was acted for the royal court at Whitehall Palace that year.
Yet the play was not published for more than two centuries; it was first issued in 1883 by editor A. H. Bullen in his Old English Plays Vol. 2. Bullen first assigned the play to Glapthorne. The Malone Society produced a modern text in 1959, edited by Arthur Brown. The drama survived the centuries in manuscript form, part of MS. Egerton 1994
MS. Egerton 1994
MS. Egerton 1994 is a manuscript collection of English Renaissance plays, now in the Egerton Collection of the British Library. Probably prepared by the actor William Cartwright around 1642, and later presented by him to Dulwich College, the collection contains unique copies of several...
(folios 186-211) in the collection of the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
. In the MS., the entrances and exits are consistently marked, the entrances in advance so that the prompter could cue the actors; the necessary properties are also marked, in advance of their needs. Cues for music and dancing are also included — all the details that the prompter would have needed to guide the performance. The MS. displays its license on the final page. The MS. is a scribal copy, and shows repeated revision; it reveals Glapthorne working with his scribe to shape the final text. The Revels office (specifically William Blagrave, the assistant of the Master, Sir Henry Herbert) demanded some changes in the text, and several lines are crossed out, to be omitted from performance.
F. G. Fleay
Frederick Gard Fleay
Frederick Gard Fleay was an influential and prolific nineteenth-century Shakespeare scholar.Fleay, the son of a linen draper, graduated from King's College London and Trinity College, Cambridge , where he received mathematical training that was key to his later achievements...
speculated that The Lady Mother was an alternative title for The Noble Trial, a Glapthorne play that was among those in the collection of John Warburton
John Warburton (officer of arms)
John Warburton was Somerset Herald of Arms in Ordinary at the College of Arms in the early 18th century. Warburton was a collector of old drama manuscripts, who is perhaps most notable because of his carelessness. On one occasion, he left a pile of manuscripts in the kitchen. When he came looking...
that were destroyed by fire.
Bullen argued that Glapthorne's play showed the influence of the drama of James Shirley
James Shirley
James Shirley was an English dramatist.He belonged to the great period of English dramatic literature, but, in Lamb's words, he "claims a place among the worthies of this period, not so much for any transcendent genius in himself, as that he was the last of a great race, all of whom spoke nearly...
, a dominant figure in Caroline drama. The play's plot involves the marital fortunes of Lady Marlove (The title character) and her daughters Belisea and Clariana. One of her suitors is a foolish old country knight, Sir Geffrey — a figure who provides the play's lighter comic element. The more serious element of the plot involves Lady Marlove and her son facing execution for a supposed murder. The play concludes in a "death masque
Masque
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in 16th and early 17th century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio...
" in which a personified Death invokes despair and the Furies, only to be dispelled by Hymen, the god of marriage. It is then revealed that Thurston, the supposedly dead man, is alive and married to Clariana; happy ending.