The Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois
Encyclopedia
The Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois is a Jacobean revenge tragedy
written by George Chapman
. The Revenge is a sequel to his earlier Bussy D'Ambois
, and was first published in 1613.
and history. The play was preceded by the original Bussy D'Ambois and The Conspiracy and Tragedy of Charles, Duke of Byron
, and followed by The Tragedy of Chabot, Admiral of France
. As with the two Byron plays, Chapman's primary source for The Revenge was Edward Grimeston
's A General Inventory of the History of France (1607). The historical events depicted in The Revenge occurred in 1588, during the reign of Henri III
.
on April 17, 1612. It was published the next year, in a quarto
printed by Thomas Snodham for the bookseller John Helme. The title page of the quarto states that the play was acted by the Children of the Chapel
, then known as the Children of the Whitefriars; the sequel is thought to have been performed in conjunction with Chapman's original Bussy play. In the quarto the play is prefaced by an Epistle by Chapman, addressed to Sir Thomas Howard
(second son of the first Earl of Suffolk
), later Earl of Berkshire.
. Clermont is a follower of the Duc de Guise
, a powerful nobleman—though this relationship breeds suspicion in the King, who is urged on by the political manipulator Baligny. (Malicious characters in the play see Clermont's devotion to the Guise in homoerotic terms; but the stoical Clermont prefers relations with men over those with women, precisely because they are asexual.) Eventually the Guise is assassinated, and Clermont commits suicide. A subplot involves the relationship between Clermont and Tamyra, Bussy's former lover; Tamyra urges Clermont to take vengeance on her husband Montsurry, the agent of Bussy's destruction. The cowardly Montsurry manages to avoid a confrontation with Clermont through most of the play; but in the final Act, Bussy's ghost rises to tell Clermont that divine justice demands the punishment of Montsurry. Clermont finally persuades Montsurry to face him on the field of honor and accept his death.
The Stoic nature of the play extends beyond the values and worldview of the character Clermont. In The Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois, even more so than in other Chapman plays, events are reported rather than enacted, and little actually happens on stage. This has prevented the play from earning itself a significant stage history.
Revenge play
The revenge play or revenge tragedy is a form of tragedy which was extremely popular in the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. The best-known of these are Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy and William Shakespeare's Hamlet...
written by George Chapman
George Chapman
George Chapman was an English dramatist, translator, and poet. He was a classical scholar, and his work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been identified as the Rival Poet of Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Minto, and as an anticipator of the Metaphysical Poets...
. The Revenge is a sequel to his earlier Bussy D'Ambois
Bussy D'Ambois
The Tragedy of Bussy D'Ambois is a Jacobean stage play written by George Chapman. Classified as either a tragedy or "contemporary history," Bussy D'Ambois is widely considered Chapman's greatest play, and is the earliest in a series of plays that Chapman wrote about the French political scene in...
, and was first published in 1613.
Genre and source
The Revenge of Bussy is one in Chapman's series of plays on then-recent French history and politics, blending the genres of tragedyTragedy
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...
and history. The play was preceded by the original Bussy D'Ambois and The Conspiracy and Tragedy of Charles, Duke of Byron
The Conspiracy and Tragedy of Charles, Duke of Byron
The Conspiracy and Tragedy of Charles, Duke of Byron, Marshall of France is a Jacobean tragedy by George Chapman, a two-part play or double play first performed and published in 1608...
, and followed by The Tragedy of Chabot, Admiral of France
The Tragedy of Chabot, Admiral of France
The Tragedy of Chabot, Admiral of France is an early seventeenth-century play, generally judged to be a work of George Chapman, later revised by James Shirley...
. As with the two Byron plays, Chapman's primary source for The Revenge was Edward Grimeston
Edward Grimeston
Edward Grimeston was an English sergeant-at-arms and one of the most active translators of his day.-Life:He was sworn in as sergeant-at-arms to assist the Speaker in the Parliament of England on March 17, 1609/10. He married a daughter of Armiger Strettly. He had a son, Edward, and Sir Harbottle...
's A General Inventory of the History of France (1607). The historical events depicted in The Revenge occurred in 1588, during the reign of Henri III
Henry III of France
Henry III was King of France from 1574 to 1589. As Henry of Valois, he was the first elected monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the dual titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.-Childhood:Henry was born at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau,...
.
Performance and publication
The Revenge 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 April 17, 1612. It was published the next 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 Snodham for the bookseller John Helme. The title page of the quarto states that the play was acted by the Children of the Chapel
Children of the Chapel
The Children of the Chapel were the boys with unbroken voices, choristers, who formed part of the Chapel Royal, the body of singers and priests serving the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they were called upon to do so....
, then known as the Children of the Whitefriars; the sequel is thought to have been performed in conjunction with Chapman's original Bussy play. In the quarto the play is prefaced by an Epistle by Chapman, addressed to Sir Thomas Howard
Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire
Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire was the second son of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk and Catherine Knyvet....
(second son of the first Earl of Suffolk
Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk
Admiral Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, KG, PC was a son of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk by his second wife Margaret Audley, Duchess of Norfolk, the daughter and heiress of the 1st Baron Audley of Walden....
), later Earl of Berkshire.
Synopsis
The Revenge tells the story of Clermont D'Ambois, the brother of the dead Bussy. Unlike the ruthless Bussy, Clermont is a Christian StoicStoicism
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early . The Stoics taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, and that a sage, or person of "moral and intellectual perfection," would not suffer such emotions.Stoics were concerned...
. Clermont is a follower of the Duc de Guise
Henry I, Duke of Guise
Henry I, Prince of Joinville, Duke of Guise, Count of Eu , sometimes called Le Balafré, "the scarred", was the eldest son of Francis, Duke of Guise, and Anna d'Este...
, a powerful nobleman—though this relationship breeds suspicion in the King, who is urged on by the political manipulator Baligny. (Malicious characters in the play see Clermont's devotion to the Guise in homoerotic terms; but the stoical Clermont prefers relations with men over those with women, precisely because they are asexual.) Eventually the Guise is assassinated, and Clermont commits suicide. A subplot involves the relationship between Clermont and Tamyra, Bussy's former lover; Tamyra urges Clermont to take vengeance on her husband Montsurry, the agent of Bussy's destruction. The cowardly Montsurry manages to avoid a confrontation with Clermont through most of the play; but in the final Act, Bussy's ghost rises to tell Clermont that divine justice demands the punishment of Montsurry. Clermont finally persuades Montsurry to face him on the field of honor and accept his death.
The Stoic nature of the play extends beyond the values and worldview of the character Clermont. In The Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois, even more so than in other Chapman plays, events are reported rather than enacted, and little actually happens on stage. This has prevented the play from earning itself a significant stage history.