The Soddered Citizen
Encyclopedia
The Soddered Citizen is a Caroline era stage play, a city comedy
now attributed to John Clavell
. The play was lost for three centuries; the sole surviving manuscript was rediscovered and published in the twentieth century.
The Soddered Citizen was produced onstage, most likely in 1630
, by the King's Men
at the Blackfriars Theatre
. The play was entered into the Stationers' Register
in 1632
, but no edition was printed in the seventeenth century. Thereafter the play was thought to be lost; it was known only by its title, and widely attributed to Shackerley Marmion
. The manuscript surfaced in 1932, when its owner, Lt. Col. E. G. Troyte-Bullock, brought it to the British Museum
for examination. It was studied by scholar John Henry Pyle Pafford and published in 1936.
The manuscript, now kept in the collection of the Wiltshire Record Office
, is written in the hand of a professional scribe, and bears notations in five other hands; one of them is the hand of Edward Knight
, the prompter and "book-keeper" of the King's Men. John Clavell's signature occurs twice in the manuscript, providing clear clues to the author's identity; it may have been Clavell's personal copy of the work, though the manuscript also shows signs that it went through at least the initial stages of preparation for use as a theatrical promptbook. Notations indicate the identities of some of the actors and their roles in the King's Men's staging.
The play has thirteen speaking parts, four assigned to boy player
s in female roles. Clavell, the amateur or neophyte dramatist, helpfully loaded his play with copious stage directions — 80 in the text's 2826 lines. The manuscript also contains a list of dramatis personae, a rare feature in dramatic manuscripts of the era; it is the earliest cast list known. The actors were:
Additionally, Pollard and Shank doubled small roles, as did Alexander Gough
and Anthony Smith
. Sharpe spoke the play's Prologue and Epilogue during performances.
The play is set in the milieu of London goldsmiths, with characters named Undermine and Mountain. Its protagonist, Wittworth, is a melancholic whose romantic pursuit of the heroine, Modestina, provides the driving force of the plot. Wittworth's physician, Doctor Makewell, treats him with a radical approach: the delirious Wittworth is led on a pretended passage through Hell, in which Modestina acts the ghost of a love-lorn girl and Makewell is a spell-casting devil at Hell's gates. Wittworth witnesses a masque
of seven dancers, "all in Shrowdes," and joins with them to dance in "an antick mockway." Doctor Makewell treats Wittworth with a potion concocted of "an Opiate, of Laudanum, and Diescordium, mixt with Besar stone and Amber."
The Doctor's treatment is successful; Wittworth and Modestina are happily united at the end of the play.
City comedy
City comedy, also called Citizen Comedy, is a common genre of Elizabethan, Jacobean, and Caroline comedy on the London stage from the last years of the 16th century to the closing of the theaters in 1642...
now attributed to John Clavell
John Clavell
John Clavell was a highwayman, author, lawyer, and doctor.He is known for his poem A Recantation of an Ill Led Life, and his play The Soddered Citizen...
. The play was lost for three centuries; the sole surviving manuscript was rediscovered and published in the twentieth century.
The Soddered Citizen was produced onstage, most likely 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:...
, 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 the Blackfriars Theatre
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 entered into the Stationers' Register
Stationers' 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...
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....
, but no edition was printed in the seventeenth century. Thereafter the play was thought to be lost; it was known only by its title, and widely attributed to Shackerley Marmion
Shackerley Marmion
Shackerley Marmion , also Shakerley, Shakerly, Schackerley, Marmyon, Marmyun, or Mermion, was an early 17th-century dramatist, often classed among the Sons of Ben, the followers of Ben Jonson who continued his style of comedy...
. The manuscript surfaced in 1932, when its owner, Lt. Col. E. G. Troyte-Bullock, brought it to the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
for examination. It was studied by scholar John Henry Pyle Pafford and published in 1936.
The manuscript, now kept in the collection of the Wiltshire Record Office
Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre
Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre is a building in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England, which serves as a focal point for heritage services relating to Wiltshire and Swindon. It is funded by Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council...
, is written in the hand of a professional scribe, and bears notations in five other hands; one of them is the hand of Edward Knight
Edward Knight (King's Men)
Edward Knight was the prompter of the King's Men, the acting company that performed the plays of William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, John Fletcher, and other playwrights of Jacobean and Caroline drama.In English Renaissance theatre, the prompter managed the company's performances, ensuring that they...
, the prompter and "book-keeper" of the King's Men. John Clavell's signature occurs twice in the manuscript, providing clear clues to the author's identity; it may have been Clavell's personal copy of the work, though the manuscript also shows signs that it went through at least the initial stages of preparation for use as a theatrical promptbook. Notations indicate the identities of some of the actors and their roles in the King's Men's staging.
The play has thirteen speaking parts, four assigned to 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...
s in female roles. Clavell, the amateur or neophyte dramatist, helpfully loaded his play with copious stage directions — 80 in the text's 2826 lines. The manuscript also contains a list of dramatis personae, a rare feature in dramatic manuscripts of the era; it is the earliest cast list known. The actors were:
| Role | Actor |
|---|---|
| Wittworth | 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... |
| Doctor Makewell | 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... |
| Undermine | 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... |
| Modestina | 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... |
| Miniona | 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... |
| Mountain | Curtis Greville 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... |
| Shackle | Nicholas Underhill 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... |
| Sly | 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... |
| Brainsick | 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.... |
| Hodge | 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:... |
Additionally, Pollard and Shank doubled small roles, as did 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...
and Anthony Smith
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...
. Sharpe spoke the play's Prologue and Epilogue during performances.
The play is set in the milieu of London goldsmiths, with characters named Undermine and Mountain. Its protagonist, Wittworth, is a melancholic whose romantic pursuit of the heroine, Modestina, provides the driving force of the plot. Wittworth's physician, Doctor Makewell, treats him with a radical approach: the delirious Wittworth is led on a pretended passage through Hell, in which Modestina acts the ghost of a love-lorn girl and Makewell is a spell-casting devil at Hell's gates. Wittworth witnesses a 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...
of seven dancers, "all in Shrowdes," and joins with them to dance in "an antick mockway." Doctor Makewell treats Wittworth with a potion concocted of "an Opiate, of Laudanum, and Diescordium, mixt with Besar stone and Amber."
The Doctor's treatment is successful; Wittworth and Modestina are happily united at the end of the play.