The Picture
Encyclopedia
The Picture is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy
written by Philip Massinger
, and first published in 1630
.
The play was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels
, on June 8, 1629
; it was acted by the King's Men
at both of their theatres, the Globe
and the Blackfriars
. The play was published in quarto
the following year; Massinger dedicated the work to the members of the Inner Temple
. The play was popular and highly regarded in its own era; in 1650
Richard Washington wrote an elegy on Massinger in his own copy of the quarto of The Picture.
Massinger's sources for his plot were the 28th novel in Volume 2 of The Palace of Pleasure (1567
) by William Painter
, and an anonymous English translation of The Theatre of Honour and Knighthood (1623
) by André Favyn.
The list is informative on the state of the King's Men company at this period. The veteran Lowin, who was likely the Iago
to Richard Burbage
's Othello three decades earlier, was by his early 50s tending toward senior roles. The clown Hilario, played by John Shank, is a thin-man character; the thin man was apparently a standard feature of the King's Men's dramaturgy — in the previous generation of Shakespeare
and Burbage, hired man John Sinklo had filled thin-man clown roles like Pinch in The Comedy of Errors
and Shadow in Henry IV, Part 2
. And the female character of Queen Honoria is written for a supremely beautiful woman; she is more than once described as a "Juno
" — which raises questions as to how the boy player
Thompson managed the role.
An adaptation of The Picture by a Rev. Henry Bate, titled The Magic Picture, was performed at Covent Garden
in 1783. It was not a success. In 1835 Alfred de Musset
produced his own adaptation, Barberine. In 2010 Philip Wilson directed a production for Salisbury Theatre, with Olivia Grant and Simon Harrison as the central romantic couple.
n knight who has decided to repair his financial situation by serving in the Hungarian
defense against the invading Ottoman Turks
. He takes a tender farewell from his wife Sophia, which is somewhat marred by his fears about her fidelity during his absence. The depth of his insecurity is displayed in a conversation with his friend Julio Baptista. Baptista is identified as a "scholar," though in the seventeenth century a scholar's practice could include magic
and forms of divination
like astrology
. It becomes clear that Baptista is this type of scholar, when he informs Mathias that he has "found, / By certain rules of art," that Sophia is as yet a faithful wife. Baptista has also prepared a miniature portrait of Sophia that will remain clear as long as she is a chaste wife, but will yellow if she is tempted to infidelity, and turn dark if she succumbs to temptation.
In the royal court of Hungary, King Ladislaus is a devoted and doting husband to his queen, Honoria — to a degree that earns criticism from his old counsellor Eubulus, who styles the queen as a potential Semiramis
and the king a Ninus
who will fall under her domination. Honoria goes out of her way to express her devotion to her husband; but the tone of royal uxoriousness is established. The court is also depicted a sink of lust, in the persons of the "wild courtiers" Ubaldo and Ricardo.
The Hungarian forces, under the command of the general Ferdinand, are victorious in battle with the Turks, and Mathias is hailed as the victory's chief hero. Honoria rewards Mathias with rich gifts of jewels and presents for his wife — though she is also provoked by his deep devotion to Sophia. In her egotism she fancies Sophia as a kind of rival for primacy, and decides to challenge Mathias's commitment to her. Meanwhile, Sophia pines for her absent husband.
Honoria delays Mathias's return home, and goes so far as to have him seized and brought to her clandestinely. She offers herself to Mathias; he is shocked, and pleads for a night's delay to consider the matter. Honoria sends the jewels and gifts to Sophia in the custody of the licentious courtiers Ricardo and Ubaldo, who have been instructed to seduce her. They convince Sophia that Mathias has been repeatedly unfaithful to her, and that the presents they carry are the cast-offs of his many lovers. Sophia is shocked and hurt by this; and their temptations of her cause the picture in Mathias's possession to turn yellow. Seeing this, he decides to respond positively to the queen's advances.
When he meets Honoria again, Mathias is passionate rather than hesitant; when the queen advises caution about the king, Mathias dismisses the notion and is ready to brave any consequences of their adultery. Now it is Honoria's turn to hesitate, and to plead for the same one night's delay that she'd given Mathias. In Bohemia, Sophia, though wounded emotionally, takes sanctuary in her sense of virtue, and decides to teach her temptors a lesson. She convinces both that she will yield to their desires; but when they are undressed and expecting her, both men find themselves imprisoned. They can gain food only by their manual labor, spinning and reeling thread. The clown Hilario dresses himself in their cast-off finery.
Honoria reveals that she never intended to violate her marital vows with Mathias; she only wanted to win a victory of pride over Sophia. She intends to confront him while Ladislaus and his courtiers watch — but she is surprised when Mathias turns the tables on her, rejecting her advances before she can reject him. Honoria is humbled by his virtuous speeches, and confesses sending Ricardo and Ubaldo to seduce Sophia.
The king, queen, and courtiers travel to Mathias's castle in Bohemia to meet Sophia. She, though warned of their coming, humiliates Mathias by giving them a very cold welcome; it becomes clear that she intends to embarrass her husband in retaliation for his doubts and her mistreatment. The irritated Mathias criticizes her as a Gorgon
and the Fury
Tisiphone
— but when Sophia produces the humiliated courtiers Ubaldo and Ricardo from their laborious incarceration, Mathias and the visitors get the point of her behavior. When Sophia asks to be freed of her marriage vows to enter a nunnery, Mathias confesses his error and all appeal to her to forgive him. She acquiesces. Baptista, whom Sophia calls an "enchanter," renounces his "devilish art." The play's conclusion expresses the moral that "married men" should steer a middle course between the extremes of Ladislaus and Mathias, "Neither to dote too much, nor doubt a wife."
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...
written by 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 first published in 1630
1630 in literature
The year 1630 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* English literature, drama, and education lose a major patron and benefactor when William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke and Lord Chamberlain of England, dies on April 10.-New books:...
.
The play was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, 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 June 8, 1629
1629 in literature
The year 1629 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*April 6 - Tommaso Campanella is released from custody in Rome, and gains the confidence of Pope Urban IV....
; it was acted by the King's Men
King'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...
at both of their theatres, the Globe
Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...
and the Blackfriars
Blackfriars Theatre
Blackfriars Theatre was the name of a theatre in the Blackfriars district of the City of London during the Renaissance. The theatre began as a venue for child actors associated with the Queen's chapel choirs; in this function, the theatre hosted some of the most innovative drama of Elizabeth and...
. The play was published in 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"...
the following year; Massinger dedicated the work to the members of the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
. The play was popular and highly regarded in its own era; in 1650
1650 in literature
The year 1650 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* Blaise Pascal's poor health forces him to retire from the study of mathematics....
Richard Washington wrote an elegy on Massinger in his own copy of the quarto of The Picture.
Massinger's sources for his plot were the 28th novel in Volume 2 of The Palace of Pleasure (1567
1567 in literature
-Events:*October 14 - António Ferreira becomes Desembargador da Casa do Civel and leaves Coimbra for Lisbon.-New books:*Joan Perez de Lazarraga - Silbero, Silbia, Doristeo, and Sirena *Magdeburg Centuries, vols X-XI...
) by William Painter
William Painter
William Painter was an English author and translator.William Painter was a native of Kent. He matriculated at St John's College, Cambridge, in 1554. In 1561 he became clerk of the ordnance in the Tower of London, a position in which he appears to have amassed a fortune out of the public funds...
, and an anonymous English translation of The Theatre of Honour and Knighthood (1623
1623 in literature
The year 1623 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*February 2 - The King's Men perform Twelfth Night at Court on Candlemas....
) by André Favyn.
Cast
The 1630 quarto contains an unusually full cast list of the original King's Men's production of the play:| Role | Actor |
|---|---|
| Mathias, "a knight of Bohemia" | 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.... |
| Ladislaus, King of Hungary | 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... |
| Ferdinand, "general of the army" | 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... |
| Eubulus, "an old counsellor" | 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... |
| Ubaldo, a "wild courtier" | Thomas Pollard Thomas Pollard Thomas Pollard was an actor in the King's Men — a prominent comedian in the acting troupe of William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage.... |
| Ricardo, a "wild courtier" | Eliard Swanston Eliard Swanston Eliard Swanston , alternatively spelled Heliard, Hilliard, Elyard, Ellyardt, Ellyaerdt, and Eyloerdt, was an English actor in the Caroline era. He became a leading man in the King's Men, the company of William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage, in the final phase of its existence.-Career:Swanston... |
| Julio Baptista, "a great scholar" | William Penn 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... |
| Hilario, "servant to Sophia" | John Shank John Shank John Shank was an actor in English Renaissance theatre, a leading comedian in the King's Men during the 1620s and 1630s.-Early career:... |
| Honoria, "the queen" | John Thompson John Thompson (actor) John Thompson was a noted boy player acting women's roles in English Renaissance theatre. He served in the King's Men, the acting troupe formerly of William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage.Thompson's career is notable for his length... |
| Sophia, "wife to Mathias" | John Honyman John Honyman John Honyman , also Honeyman, Honiman, Honnyman, or other variants, was an English actor of the Caroline era. He was a member of the King's Men, the most prominent playing company of its era, best known as the company of William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage.Honyman belonged to the generation... |
| Acanthe, a maid of honor | Alexander Gough Alexander Gough Alexander Gough , also Goughe or Goffe, was an English actor in the Caroline era. He started out as a boy player filling female roles; during the period of the English Civil War and the Interregnum when the theatres were closed and actors out of work, Gough became involved in the publication of... |
| Corisca, "Sophia's woman" | William Trigg 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... |
The list is informative on the state of the King's Men company at this period. The veteran Lowin, who was likely the Iago
Iago
Iago is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Othello . The character's source is traced to Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio's tale "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi . There, the character is simply "the ensign". Iago is a soldier and Othello's ancient . He is the husband of Emilia,...
to Richard Burbage
Richard Burbage
Richard Burbage was an English actor and theatre owner. He was the younger brother of Cuthbert Burbage. They were both actors in drama....
's Othello three decades earlier, was by his early 50s tending toward senior roles. The clown Hilario, played by John Shank, is a thin-man character; the thin man was apparently a standard feature of the King's Men's dramaturgy — in the previous generation of Shakespeare
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"...
and Burbage, hired man John Sinklo had filled thin-man clown roles like Pinch in 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...
and Shadow in Henry IV, Part 2
Henry IV, Part 2
Henry IV, Part 2 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed written between 1596 and 1599. It is the third part of a tetralogy, preceded by Richard II and Henry IV, Part 1 and succeeded by Henry V.-Sources:...
. And the female character of Queen Honoria is written for a supremely beautiful woman; she is more than once described as a "Juno
Juno (mythology)
Juno is an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counselor of the state. She is a daughter of Saturn and sister of the chief god Jupiter and the mother of Mars and Vulcan. Juno also looked after the women of Rome. Her Greek equivalent is Hera...
" — which raises questions as to how the boy player
Boy player
Boy player is a common term for the adolescent males employed by Medieval and English Renaissance playing companies. Some boy players worked for the mainstream companies and performed the female roles, as women did not perform on the English stage in this period...
Thompson managed the role.
An adaptation of The Picture by a Rev. Henry Bate, titled The Magic Picture, was performed at Covent Garden
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
in 1783. It was not a success. In 1835 Alfred de Musset
Alfred de Musset
Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.Along with his poetry, he is known for writing La Confession d'un enfant du siècle from 1836.-Biography:Musset was born on 11 December 1810 in Paris...
produced his own adaptation, Barberine. In 2010 Philip Wilson directed a production for Salisbury Theatre, with Olivia Grant and Simon Harrison as the central romantic couple.
Synopsis
Mathias is a BohemiaBohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
n knight who has decided to repair his financial situation by serving in the Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
defense against the invading Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. He takes a tender farewell from his wife Sophia, which is somewhat marred by his fears about her fidelity during his absence. The depth of his insecurity is displayed in a conversation with his friend Julio Baptista. Baptista is identified as a "scholar," though in the seventeenth century a scholar's practice could include magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
and forms of divination
Divination
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...
like astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
. It becomes clear that Baptista is this type of scholar, when he informs Mathias that he has "found, / By certain rules of art," that Sophia is as yet a faithful wife. Baptista has also prepared a miniature portrait of Sophia that will remain clear as long as she is a chaste wife, but will yellow if she is tempted to infidelity, and turn dark if she succumbs to temptation.
In the royal court of Hungary, King Ladislaus is a devoted and doting husband to his queen, Honoria — to a degree that earns criticism from his old counsellor Eubulus, who styles the queen as a potential Semiramis
Semiramis
The real and historical Shammuramat , was the Assyrian queen of Shamshi-Adad V , King of Assyria and ruler of the Neo Assyrian Empire, and its regent for four years until her son Adad-nirari III came of age....
and the king a Ninus
Ninus
Ninus , according to Greek historians writing in the Hellenistic period and later, was accepted as the eponymous founder of Nineveh , Ancient capital of Assyria, although he does not seem to represent any one personage known to modern history, and is more likely a conflation of several real and/or...
who will fall under her domination. Honoria goes out of her way to express her devotion to her husband; but the tone of royal uxoriousness is established. The court is also depicted a sink of lust, in the persons of the "wild courtiers" Ubaldo and Ricardo.
The Hungarian forces, under the command of the general Ferdinand, are victorious in battle with the Turks, and Mathias is hailed as the victory's chief hero. Honoria rewards Mathias with rich gifts of jewels and presents for his wife — though she is also provoked by his deep devotion to Sophia. In her egotism she fancies Sophia as a kind of rival for primacy, and decides to challenge Mathias's commitment to her. Meanwhile, Sophia pines for her absent husband.
Honoria delays Mathias's return home, and goes so far as to have him seized and brought to her clandestinely. She offers herself to Mathias; he is shocked, and pleads for a night's delay to consider the matter. Honoria sends the jewels and gifts to Sophia in the custody of the licentious courtiers Ricardo and Ubaldo, who have been instructed to seduce her. They convince Sophia that Mathias has been repeatedly unfaithful to her, and that the presents they carry are the cast-offs of his many lovers. Sophia is shocked and hurt by this; and their temptations of her cause the picture in Mathias's possession to turn yellow. Seeing this, he decides to respond positively to the queen's advances.
When he meets Honoria again, Mathias is passionate rather than hesitant; when the queen advises caution about the king, Mathias dismisses the notion and is ready to brave any consequences of their adultery. Now it is Honoria's turn to hesitate, and to plead for the same one night's delay that she'd given Mathias. In Bohemia, Sophia, though wounded emotionally, takes sanctuary in her sense of virtue, and decides to teach her temptors a lesson. She convinces both that she will yield to their desires; but when they are undressed and expecting her, both men find themselves imprisoned. They can gain food only by their manual labor, spinning and reeling thread. The clown Hilario dresses himself in their cast-off finery.
Honoria reveals that she never intended to violate her marital vows with Mathias; she only wanted to win a victory of pride over Sophia. She intends to confront him while Ladislaus and his courtiers watch — but she is surprised when Mathias turns the tables on her, rejecting her advances before she can reject him. Honoria is humbled by his virtuous speeches, and confesses sending Ricardo and Ubaldo to seduce Sophia.
The king, queen, and courtiers travel to Mathias's castle in Bohemia to meet Sophia. She, though warned of their coming, humiliates Mathias by giving them a very cold welcome; it becomes clear that she intends to embarrass her husband in retaliation for his doubts and her mistreatment. The irritated Mathias criticizes her as a Gorgon
Gorgon
In Greek mythology, the Gorgon was a terrifying female creature. The name derives from the Greek word gorgós, which means "dreadful." While descriptions of Gorgons vary across Greek literature, the term commonly refers to any of three sisters who had hair of living, venomous snakes, and a...
and the Fury
Erinyes
In Greek mythology the Erinyes from Greek ἐρίνειν " pursue, persecute"--sometimes referred to as "infernal goddesses" -- were female chthonic deities of vengeance. A formulaic oath in the Iliad invokes them as "those who beneath the earth punish whosoever has sworn a false oath"...
Tisiphone
Tisiphone
Tisiphone is the name of two figures in Greek mythology.-Erinyes:Tisiphone was one of the Erinyes or Furies, and sister of Alecto and Megaera. She was the one who punished crimes of murder: parricide, fratricide and homicide...
— but when Sophia produces the humiliated courtiers Ubaldo and Ricardo from their laborious incarceration, Mathias and the visitors get the point of her behavior. When Sophia asks to be freed of her marriage vows to enter a nunnery, Mathias confesses his error and all appeal to her to forgive him. She acquiesces. Baptista, whom Sophia calls an "enchanter," renounces his "devilish art." The play's conclusion expresses the moral that "married men" should steer a middle course between the extremes of Ladislaus and Mathias, "Neither to dote too much, nor doubt a wife."
Historical background
The play's King Ladislaus evidently refers to King Vladislas II of Hungary, who was also King of Bohemia and who managed to hold off the Ottoman pressures. However, there is otherwise little resemblance to the king in the play (the historical king was married three times, but none of his wives was called Honoria).Sources
- Clark, Ira. The Moral Art of Philip Massinger. Lewisburg, PA, Bucknell University Press, 1993.
- Gibson, C. A. "Massinger's Hungarian History." The Yearbook of English Studies Vol. 2, 1972.
- Maxwell, Baldwin. Studies in Beaumont, Fletcher, and Massinger. Chapel Hill, NC, University of North Carolina Press, 1939.
- Obermueller, Erin. "'On cheating Pictures': Gender and Portrait Miniatures in Philip Massinger's The Picture." Early Theatre, Vol. 10 No. 2 (2007).
- Phelan, James. On Philip Massinger. Halle, E. Karras, 1878.
- Smith, Nigel. Literature and Revolution in England, 1640–1660. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1994.