A King and No King - Beaumont and Fletcher

This play deals with questions surrounding human nature, power, authority, and cowardice. After winning a war against the Armenians, Arbaces, king of Iberia, takes Tigranes, king of Armenia, prisoner. Tigranes’s lover, Spaconia, asks Bessus, a captain of Arbaces, if she can accompany them and work for a lady of Arbaces house so she can be close to Tigranes and convince him to not love Panthea, the princess of Armenia (sister to Arbaces). We find out that Arane has attempted to kill Arbaces multiple times, but has always been stopped by Gobrius, the lord-protector. There’s an interesting scene, in Act II, where the “citizens” of Iberia show up and act both as a comedic relief, but also to show that Arbaces is out of touch when he addresses them as “united”. In spite of that, the citizens do appreciate Arbaces as their king. Act III is when the crux of the play happens, as Arbaces finally sees his sister after several years apart and falls in love with her. The rest of the play deals with the consequences of this sinful love while simultaneously questioning the nature of manhood (with Bessus’ cowardice) and other familial ties such as father/mother and children (with Lygones wanting to disown Spaconia and with the final reveal that Arbaces is Gobrius’ son and not related to Panthea). At the height of their passion, Arbaces asks Panthea if it is only the words “brother and sister” that stop them from loving freely, meaning, is there something more intrinsic in their relationship.

Arbaces compares his sinful desire to that of beasts frequently in the play. And nature is often used as a metaphor for his emotional state.ac

Ben Jonson Poems

Epigrams

The epigram style was usually a short and witty poem written in heroic couplets that had a pithy turn at the end.

“To Fine lady Would-Be”

A poem about abortion and the reasons why a “lady” would use an apothecary to bury her “not born” children. The end of the poem almost seems as if her body itself is the tomb for the buried. Jonson claims that the reasons why she wouldn’t want a child, the world thinks she’s barren, but he speculates it could be pain, loss of complexion, her figure, and loss of time and sport.

“On Something that Walks Somewhere”

A poem about an “it” but one that doesn’t even seem to be about a person. It’s just a social type as pure materiality, and bad materiality at that. Rather than an indictment against a particular person, it’s a poem that criticizes a type of behavior and social relations. The line, “and such from whom let no man hope least good” shows the reader that there’s a social ecology of value.

“Inviting a Friend to Supper”

A very long epigram with Epicurean ideals, trying to convince his patron and friend William Herbert Earl of Pembroke to come to dinner. In fact, the poem itself serves not only as an invitation, but a meal itself as it is laid out before us. The event is at Jonson’s “poor house”, but Jonson says it is the entertainment (and company) that make the evening, not the quality of the food. Nevertheless, Jonson’s meal plan is in the poem, as long as its affordable its possible, but in the middle of the poem he writes, “I’ll tell you of more, and lie, so you will come: / Of partridge, pheasant, woodcock, of which some/ May yet be there…” Everything that follows the “lie” seems questionable then, including whether or not they’ll be sad the following morning. Implicit in the poem is almost a sense of melancholy because all of the mirth and enjoyment happen during the dinner, but what of before and after?

“On My First Son”

Following the death of his firstborn son, Jonson wrote this poem. Jonson claims that his biggest sin was hoping for more out of his son’s life than just seven years. He wishes that he wasn’t a “father” at all anymore or maybe that he didn’t encounter any other fathers? In any event he wants it to be known that his son was his best creation and best “piece of poetry.”

“On my first Daughter”

Following the death of his first daughter, Mary, at 6 months old, Jonson wrote this poem about how his daughter is in “safety of her innocence” because she died so young, and will go join Queen Mary in heaven as part of her virgin train.

“To William, Earl of Pembroke”

Jonson writes about his patron and friend that William is an epigram in and of himself, one that should be studied if people want to know how the Commonwealth and public good will survive.

“To Mary, Lady Wroth”

Mary Wroth is so wonderful that her true internal Sidney-ness shines out from her “noted for what flesh such souls were framed, / Know you to be a Sidney, though unnamed”. Jonson doesn’t even need to write this poem for her, because she’s so good and wonderful that she doesn’t need his praise.

Sir Thomas Overbury – Characters

“A Roaring Boy”

A fake person, full of hot air—and he talks so much because he’s illiterate. He’s spent all his money by “running through great houses”. I’m not sure who the “keeper of the ordinary” is, maybe a police officer? He supervises brothels and is a “more unlawful reformer of vice than prentices on shrove-Tuesday.” He sleeps with a tobacco pipe. He borrows money. He keeps good company. If he does not drink he gets sick, so an alcoholic.

“A Distaster of the Time”

The metaphor of the “winter grasshopper” as someone who looks starved the whole year is connected with another metaphor about venom and poison which comes from his own conceitedness. If any other man advances he considers it a personal offence, but becomes so envious that he becomes wrapped up in the envy and slowly tortured by it like Philarius’ Bull. His blood is yellow (perhaps related to yellow bile in the humours—anger?) Nothing pleases him, war or peace, death or plenty. He commonly rails against religion as a source of his discontent, but this type of person can be of any religion. Ultimately he’s annoying, but relatively harmless.

“A Divellish Usurer”

He thinks he thrives from the curses people throw at him and understands the legal code better than the bible. There’s a pun on “evil angel” as an evil spirit, but also as the gold currency which  will save him. He can have no friends because he has too much “interest” in them. He wishes he could shorten the year so he could love a scholar, because, apparently, scholars borrow a lot of money? He’s a bondsmen, seeming to be the son of the jailor, because his estate is heavy with all the bonds people have paid. His only fear about the day of judgment is that it will come sooner than his payments are due. He considers the court his religion. Even though he has all this money, his own servants die from hunger. He wants everyone else to be frugal but himself. If he dies it’s never of God’s doing, but rather surfeit, pox, or despair.

“An Excellent Actor”

“You will think you see so many lines drawn from the circumference of so many ears, while the Actor is the Center. He doth strive to make nature monstrous, she is often seen in the same scene with him, but neither on stilts nor crutches…” Here, the actor is able to use what seems natural to fix all eyes on him. Even though he’s pretending “personating” the audience feels as though it is real. All men living, a worthy actor can contain. He values the actor for his quality, recognizing some are not as good and you may have to sit through some bad acting, as he would “do gold the ore, I should not mind the dross, but the purity of the metal.”