Beaumont and Fletcher's Works, Vol. 08 of 10

In Short

This volume presents a quintessential selection of Jacobean drama, showcasing the collaborative brilliance of John Fletcher and his contemporaries. These five plays—The Womans Prize, The Island Princess, The Noble Gentleman, The Coronation, and The Coxcomb—are comedies of intrigue, focusing on the volatile dynamics of love, pride, and social status. Through quick-witted dialogue, elaborate deceptions, and sudden reversals of fortune, the stories explore the tension between traditional authority and individual desire, securing their lasting appeal through their relentless energy and theatrical invention.

The Story

The collection opens with The Womans Prize, a direct sequel to the battle of the sexes. Maria, a determined woman, refuses to submit to her new husband, Petruchio, turning their marriage into a strategic siege of wills. She and her cohort, Livia and Biancha, employ every trick to maintain their independence, forcing Petruchio into a humbling "reformation" of his own temper.

The Island Princess shifts to a grander scale, where high-stakes romance meets political peril. Quisara, a princess of immense beauty and command, finds herself the prize of competing noblemen. Pyniero, a clever and loyal soldier, navigates the shifting loyalties of the court, balancing his duty to his uncle, Ruy Dias, against the need to secure the kingdom’s peace. Through a complex series of plots and counter-plots, the characters must untangle their personal desires from the destiny of the state.

In The Noble Gentleman, the tone turns toward satire. A man named Marine is convinced by two courtiers that he is destined for high office. They treat him with mock reverence, inflating his ego until he is ready to abandon his home and wife for the empty promises of the court. His wife, meanwhile, navigates her own path, highlighting the absurdity of those who chase status at the cost of their common sense.

The Coronation explores a kingdom in transition, centered on the struggle for a successor. As various factions vie for control, the rightful heir must contend with the machinations of the Lord Protector, Cassander. The play examines the burden of sovereignty and the fragility of peace, culminating in a test of character for those who seek to lead.

Finally, The Coxcomb provides a sprawling comedy of misunderstanding. Richardo, an impetuous man, treats his betrothed, Viola, with callous disregard. When he abandons her, she is forced to navigate the world alone, leading to a series of misadventures in inns and taverns. The plot eventually brings all parties to a reconciliation, though not before exposing the follies of the men who take their own power for granted.

How It Unfolds

The staging of defiance In The Womans Prize, the domestic space becomes a battlefield as Maria locks her husband out, using his own stubbornness to trap him in a cycle of absurdity. She demands that he travel and change his ways, successfully asserting her agency through a refusal to be the "tame" wife he expected.

The shift of power In The Island Princess, the narrative moves from the private skirmishes of the court to the public survival of the kingdom. Characters like Pyniero must constantly adjust their masks, lying to enemies and friends alike to prevent the bloodshed that threatens their princess.

The inflation of vanity The Noble Gentleman tracks the rapid psychological collapse of Marine, who is "promoted" by sycophants until he loses sight of his own identity. The beat is one of escalating farce, as the victim of the prank becomes more arrogant with every false honor bestowed upon him.

The crisis of rule The Coronation focuses on the weight of the crown, moving from the quiet plots of the court chambers to the public declarations of a new ruler. The tension rises as the characters debate whether a leader is defined by birthright or by the internal strength to resist the influence of corrupt advisors.

The long journey home The Coxcomb follows the chaotic path of lovers separated by their own poor judgment. The narrative weaves between drunken encounters at the tavern and the desperate, solitary travels of the heroine, ultimately converging on a resolution that exposes the true nature of the "coxcomb" (the fool).

The People

Maria is the architect of her own freedom. She refuses to accept the role of a passive bride, using wit and iron discipline to force her husband to recognize her as an equal. Petruchio begins as a man accustomed to dominance, but his journey is one of necessary attrition, as his pride is dismantled by his wife’s cleverness. Quisara is a figure of sovereign grace; she stands at the center of a storm of competing suitors, yet remains the only person truly capable of commanding the room. Marine is the quintessential dupe, a man so hungry for validation that he willingly hands his autonomy over to anyone who offers him a title. Viola serves as the moral center of her tale; abandoned and forced into the world, she maintains her integrity, eventually teaching the man who rejected her that love is not a possession to be discarded.

In Its Own Voice

"I have shifted sail, and find my Sisters safety / A sure retirement; pray to heaven that Rowland / Do not believe too far, what I said to him."

Livia explains her desperate need to escape a forced marriage by hiding with her sister.

"A stubborn keeper, and worse fare, / An open stable, and cold care, / An open stable, and cold care, / Will tame a Jade, may be your share."

The Governor delivers a grim and biting prophecy to those who believe they can easily control the spirits of others.

"Darkness be thou my cover, I must fly, / To thee I haste for help-- / Wind, if thou lov'st a Virgin, blow it out."

Viola calls upon the elements to hide her from the shame of her situation as she waits in the cold for a man who has already failed her.

What It's Really About

At its heart, this collection asks: what is the cost of pride? Each play examines how individuals define themselves against the expectations of society, whether through the performance of marriage, the pursuit of political station, or the maintenance of honor. The authors are fascinated by the "masks" people wear—the roles we adopt to control others or to protect ourselves. There is a recurring argument that true power lies in the ability to see through these performances. Whether it is a husband learning to respect his wife or a courtier realizing the emptiness of his title, the plays suggest that wisdom only arrives when one is forced to strip away the vanity that hides the truth.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy the sharp, rhythmic repartee of Shakespeare’s comedies will find much to admire here. These plays feel immediate and kinetic; they operate on a logic of high-stakes playfulness where a single clever line can alter the course of a plot. Because they focus on the universal frictions between men and women—the power imbalances, the foolishness of ego, and the messiness of love—they remain surprisingly readable.

However, a modern reader must be prepared for the specificities of the era. The dialogue is dense with the slang and cultural references of the early 17th century, and the period attitudes toward gender and class are frequently stark. The "female war" depicted is one of sharp wits, but it is deeply embedded in a society where women had few legal avenues for autonomy. The prose is often sprawling, and the plots can be labyrinthine, demanding patience as one navigates the shifting allegiances and sudden, sometimes jarring, twists. Read it for the audacity of the language and the sheer, chaotic energy of the storytelling—a reminder that the battle for self-respect and the folly of the heart are timeless subjects.