The Nice Valour
Encyclopedia
The Nice Valour, or The Passionate Madman is a Jacobean stage play of problematic date and authorship. Based on its inclusion in the two Beaumont and Fletcher folios
of 1647
and 1679
and two citations in 17th-century sources, the play has long held a place in the canon of John Fletcher
and his collaborators. Modern scholarship, however, has accumulated much internal evidence for the authorship of Thomas Middleton
.
The Nice Valour is the shortest play in the Beaumont/Fletcher folios, and inconsistencies in the text (the setting shifts between France and Genoa with no explanation) suggest revision by a hand other than that of the original author. Early critics, observing obvious differences from the normal style of Fletcher and Beaumont, postulated the participation of Middleton and perhaps William Rowley
; their twentieth-century successors were able to refine that determination with a close study of the play's stylistic and linguistic preferences
. Cyrus Hoy
, in his massive study of authorship questions in the Fletcher canon, drew this division of authorship:
David Lake, in his study of authorship problems in the Middleton canon, endorses Hoy's conclusion and supports it with additional evidence. The play's date remains uncertain, and has been placed anywhere from 1615 to 1625. Lake favours Baldwin Maxwell's date of c. 1615–16.
is populated with three unusual characters. One is Shamont, the Duke's favourite and the intended husband of the Duke's sister, the Lady. (Several significant characters in the play are not given personal names, but are known only by their roles—the Lady, the Soldier, etc.—a trait common in Middleton's work.) Shamont is abnormally touchy on points of honour; he has the "nice valour" (that is, finicky pride) of the title. (One unsympathetic courtier calls him a "vainglorious coxcomb"—though not to his face.) A second odd fellow is a kinsman of the Duke, who is subject to wild mood swings, from joy to love to melancholy to rage; he is the "passionate madman" of the subtitle. A modern psychotherapist might diagnose an extreme case of bipolar disorder
, a case so severe that the man sometimes hallucinates, and courts, imaginary women. And the third odd duck is a courtier named Lapet, who is a coward; he endures physical abuse rather than fight back.
Trouble is instigated by a visit from Shamont's brother, the Soldier. Shamont sees his brother in conversation with the Lady, and becomes jealous. Later the pair are intruded upon by the Duke's cousin, whose mentally disordered ramblings give the Soldier the impression that he's been insulted. Shamont is so distracted by his jealous imaginings that he fails to notice when the Duke is speaking to him; trying to catch his favourite's attention, the Duke touches Shamont with a riding crop. This is enough to provoke the most extreme reaction from Shamont's hypersensitive honour; convinced that he's been mortally insulted, Shamont vents his feelings and leaves the court.
A second thread of the plot develops around the Duke's kinsman's affliction. The man has courted, seduced, and impregnated a young gentlewoman, but has failed to follow through on his commitment to marry her. Egged on by her brothers, the young woman disguises herself as a Cupid
among the court masquers
, as part of a plan to manipulate the "passionate madman" to the altar. (The cuts in the play's text prevent this subplot from developing into a coherent story.) The Soldier takes out his wounded pride on the Duke's cousin, assaulting the man at swordpoint, and is arrested for the crime. Shamont is summoned back to court to plead for his brother's pardon; the Duke is so pleased to see his favourite again that the pardon is quickly granted. The Duke's kinsman survives his wound, and the shock of his experience jolts him out of his mental state; he recovers his wits and acknowledges the young woman "Cupid" as his intended bride.
In the middle and later portions of the play are scenes devoted to crude verbal and physical humour on the subject of beatings, being beaten, and physical abuse in general. They show the age of Shakespeare and his contemporaries and successors in a deepy unpleasant light.
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...
and 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....
and two citations in 17th-century sources, the play has long held a place in the canon of 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 his collaborators. Modern scholarship, however, has accumulated much internal evidence for the authorship of Thomas Middleton
Thomas Middleton
Thomas Middleton was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. Middleton stands with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson as among the most successful and prolific of playwrights who wrote their best plays during the Jacobean period. He was one of the few Renaissance dramatists to achieve equal success in...
.
The Nice Valour is the shortest play in the Beaumont/Fletcher folios, and inconsistencies in the text (the setting shifts between France and Genoa with no explanation) suggest revision by a hand other than that of the original author. Early critics, observing obvious differences from the normal style of Fletcher and Beaumont, postulated the participation of Middleton and perhaps William 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...
; their twentieth-century successors were able to refine that determination with a close study of the play's stylistic and linguistic preferences
Stylometry
Stylometry is the application of the study of linguistic style, usually to written language, but it has successfully been applied to music and to fine-art paintings as well.Stylometry is often used to attribute authorship to anonymous or disputed documents...
. Cyrus Hoy
Cyrus 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 massive study of authorship questions in the Fletcher canon, drew this division of authorship:
- Middleton — Act III; Act V, scene 1;
- Fletcher and Middleton — Acts I, II, and IV; Act V, scenes 2 and 3.
David Lake, in his study of authorship problems in the Middleton canon, endorses Hoy's conclusion and supports it with additional evidence. The play's date remains uncertain, and has been placed anywhere from 1615 to 1625. Lake favours Baldwin Maxwell's date of c. 1615–16.
Synopsis
The court of the Duke of GenoaGenoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
is populated with three unusual characters. One is Shamont, the Duke's favourite and the intended husband of the Duke's sister, the Lady. (Several significant characters in the play are not given personal names, but are known only by their roles—the Lady, the Soldier, etc.—a trait common in Middleton's work.) Shamont is abnormally touchy on points of honour; he has the "nice valour" (that is, finicky pride) of the title. (One unsympathetic courtier calls him a "vainglorious coxcomb"—though not to his face.) A second odd fellow is a kinsman of the Duke, who is subject to wild mood swings, from joy to love to melancholy to rage; he is the "passionate madman" of the subtitle. A modern psychotherapist might diagnose an extreme case of bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
, a case so severe that the man sometimes hallucinates, and courts, imaginary women. And the third odd duck is a courtier named Lapet, who is a coward; he endures physical abuse rather than fight back.
Trouble is instigated by a visit from Shamont's brother, the Soldier. Shamont sees his brother in conversation with the Lady, and becomes jealous. Later the pair are intruded upon by the Duke's cousin, whose mentally disordered ramblings give the Soldier the impression that he's been insulted. Shamont is so distracted by his jealous imaginings that he fails to notice when the Duke is speaking to him; trying to catch his favourite's attention, the Duke touches Shamont with a riding crop. This is enough to provoke the most extreme reaction from Shamont's hypersensitive honour; convinced that he's been mortally insulted, Shamont vents his feelings and leaves the court.
A second thread of the plot develops around the Duke's kinsman's affliction. The man has courted, seduced, and impregnated a young gentlewoman, but has failed to follow through on his commitment to marry her. Egged on by her brothers, the young woman disguises herself as a Cupid
Cupid
In Roman mythology, Cupid is the god of desire, affection and erotic love. He is the son of the goddess Venus and the god Mars. His Greek counterpart is Eros...
among the court masquers
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...
, as part of a plan to manipulate the "passionate madman" to the altar. (The cuts in the play's text prevent this subplot from developing into a coherent story.) The Soldier takes out his wounded pride on the Duke's cousin, assaulting the man at swordpoint, and is arrested for the crime. Shamont is summoned back to court to plead for his brother's pardon; the Duke is so pleased to see his favourite again that the pardon is quickly granted. The Duke's kinsman survives his wound, and the shock of his experience jolts him out of his mental state; he recovers his wits and acknowledges the young woman "Cupid" as his intended bride.
In the middle and later portions of the play are scenes devoted to crude verbal and physical humour on the subject of beatings, being beaten, and physical abuse in general. They show the age of Shakespeare and his contemporaries and successors in a deepy unpleasant light.