The Maid's Tragedy by Beaumont & Fletcher

PRIMARY SOURCE: The Maid's Tragedy (1619)
Context

• Publication: First performed 1610-11, by the King's Men, probably at the Blackfriar's, then at court. Fletcher is believed to have written 2:2, 4:1, 5:1-2, several notable for their sudden reversals. Registered to Richard Higgenbotham (2) and Francis Constable in 1619. There are two issues of the first edition, varying by the imprint: Higgenbotham (2) or Constable. DEEP has six editions. EEBO link.
• Scholarship: Scholars are interested in the representations of courtly politics and tyranny in the play, as well as the development of the tragi-comedy under Beaumont & Fletcher.
• Why I'm reading it: The counter-canon, ekphrasis, the court, tragicomedy, women.

Content

• Form: Play in five acts.
• Genre: Courtly/romantic tragedy.
• Conceit: Melantius returns from war to Rhodes, only to find that the King has given the hand of his sister Evadne to his friend Amintor, a courtier. The problem is that Amintor had already promised to marry Aspatia, daughter of old lord Calianax. Aspatia grieves, Calianax insults Melantius, and all watch a masque--the king bids Amintor to father a great warrior, and wishes all a good night. Evadne prepares for bed accompanied by Aspatia, who kisses Amintor while leaving. As Amintor regrets his reversal, Evadne reveals that she will never share her bed with him. Under threat from Amintor, she admits to being the queen's kept woman. Amintor will make the king's bastards appear to be legitimate children. Amintor sleeps on the floor to maintain the illusion.
  Aspatia commends her servants to never give away their hearts. For her broken heart, Calianax vows revenge. Vengeful Amintor casts aspersions on Evadne to Melantius, and makes the king doubt Evadne's loyalty as a kept woman. Amintor admits that Evadne has been faithful to the king, and vows non-violent vengeance. Amintor shares the truth with Melantius, who had just brushed off a threat from Calianax. Melantiaus threatens Amintor with death for this slander, which Amintor welcomes. Melantius is disabused, though Amintor threatens in order to die. They reconcile and plot against the king. Covertly, they plot with Calianax to secure the fortress as a faithful citadel. Melantius threatens Evadne into confessing her tryst, and she swears to kill the king. She reconciles with Amintor. Calianax leaks the plan to the king, who summons the conspirators. On the strength of his reputation, Melantius convinces the king that Calianax is a fool. They win control of the fortress, and Melantius persuades Amintor not to harm the sacred body of the king. Instead, Evadne puts the king in bondage, kills him with a knife, and forgives him.
  The king's brother Lysippus regroups to the citadel, under Melantius' control. Melantius and Lysippus agree to amnesty. Aspatia duels Amintor in disguise, on the pretense of avenging Aspatia's (her own) honor. Amintor stabs her, and Evadne enters with a bloody knife. She asks to be his wife, but he leaves in disgust. Evadne stabs herself and dies. Aspatia reveals her true identity before dying, and Amintor--bereft of all hope--kills himself. The bloody scene is uncovered by Melantius, Calianax, and Lysippus. Melantius tries to kill himself; Calianax stops him, and they are reconciled; Lysippus vows to be a chaste king.
• Sudden reversals by Fletcher:
• 4:1 Melantius pulls a double-reverse on Calianax before the king.
• 5:1-2 The bloody end.

• Other notes: In an extended ekphrastic section, Aspatia amends a number of classical allusions to make them match her sorrow.
• Mneumonic: Mel(antius) Ev(adne) Am(intor) Asp(atia) Cal(ianax) Lys(ippus)
  Melting evidence amounts (to) aspermous calamitous licensciousness.

The Roaring Girl by Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker

PRIMARY SOURCE: The Roaring Girl (1611)
Context

• Publication: Written by Decker and Middleton for Prince Henry's Men; performed in 1611. Printed by Nicholas Okes for Thomas Archer. The title-page features an illustration of Moll. EEBO link.
• Scholarship: Scholars are interested in the gender-epistemology invoked by a character like Moll. Is she a proto-feminist, or an exceptional character that rather reaffirms the norm (as per Greenblatt)? Her Amazonian nature resembles established stereotypes, as well as Spenser's Brittomart.
• Why I'm reading it: The counter-canon, social satire.

Content

• Form: Iambic pentameter couplets. Five acts.
• Genre: Comedy.
• Conceit: 
• The titular character, Moll Cutpurse, is modeled on Mary Frith. She famously wore men's clothing, roared, associated with criminals, and came before the court many times for theft.
• In the main plot, Sir Alexander Wengrave prevents his son, Sebastian, from marrying Mary Fitzallard, because of her small dowry. Sebastian pretends to love Moll Cutpurse, to make Mary look acceptable in comparison. Moll gently rebuffs Sebastian and confirms her chastity. Sir Alexander falls for Sebsatian's trick, but hates Moll as a thief and so hires a spy, "honest Ralph" Trapdoor, to defame Moll. Moll takes on Trapdoor as a servant, but then learns of Sebastian's plot and agrees to help. Moll diverts Trapdoor's plots with cunning, but defends him from a gang nevertheless. In the end, Trapdoor confesses his plot and apologizes. Moll and Sebastian create one final ruse for Sir Alexander and Sir Fitzallard, showing them the value of the Mary-Sebastian match. Sir Alexander sees the true virtue in Moll, and Sebastian may marry Mary.
• In one subplot, Laxton seduces Mrs. Gallipot for thirty pounds from Mr. Gallipot. Mrs. Gallipot becomes disillusioned with Laxton and confesses to her husband, denouncing Laxton.
• In another subplot, Goshawk tries to Mrs. Openwork, but Mr. and Mrs. Openwork outmaneuver Goshawk and expose him.
• Other notes:
• In the closing soliloquy, Moll anatomizes her own face and then relates it to the plot.
• Mneumonic: Wen(grave) Seb(astian) Mar(y) Moll Tra(pdoor) La(xton) Gal(lipot) Go(shawk) Op(enwork).
• When sybarite marriages mollify a transvestite lad, gallantry guards obedience.

The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare

PRIMARY SOURCE: The Winter's Tale (prod. 1609-1611, pub. 1623)
Context

• Publication: First produced in 1609. Published in collections: 1623 and 1632. Categorized with "comedies" in the Folio; same as The Tempest. EEBO link.
• Scholarship: Scholars are interested in the early romantic sensibilities of this play: the disruption of Aristotelian unity, the importance of magical intervention, and the plot of coincidences. Scholars are also interested in Shakespeare's modifications of Roland Greene's Pandosto, namely the addition of Paulina and the redemption of Leontes. Consequently, scholars have viewed Winter's Tale as a Christocentric play, newly structured around death, penitence, and resurrection. The passage from Winter to spring roughly matches the Lenten period, though the diptych may also signify a naturalist passage between seasons and ages. Mamilla is also of interest, as Shakespeare augmented his role and named him after the mammary--a sign of the kingdom contingent upon the mother's sustenance.
• Why I'm reading it: The Canon, formalism, the pastoral, statues, ballads.

Content

• Form: Mixed verse. Five acts.
• Genre: Romance, tragicomedy, comedy (Folio attribution). 
• Conceit: Polixenes (King of Bohemia) visits his boyhood friend, Leontes (King of Sicilia). When Polixenes tries to leave, Leontes sends his wife, Hermione to persuade him to stay. Unlike his normal response, Bohemia yields to Hermione. Leontes concludes that Polixenes has cuckholded him. Leontes doubts the legitimacy of his son, Mamillus, and orders the counselor Camillo to poison Polixenes  Camillo resists, but agrees to poison Polixenes on the condition that Leontes should trust and reconcile with Hermione. Polixenes asks Camillo about Leontes s change in spirit, and Camillo reveals the plot. Together, they flee for Bohemia. Leontes learns that they have fled and suspects more than ever that Polixenes is the father of Hermione's current pregnancy. Against his servants' protests, Leontes publicly accuses Hermione and orders her to be imprisoned. In prison, Hermione births Paulina. She takes Paulina to the Leontes, but Leontes orders Antigonus to abandon the baby on the shore. Leontes orders a messengers to the Oracle at Delphi to confirm Hermione's guilt, but they return with a scroll stating that Hermione is innocent, Leontes is a tyrant, and that he will live without an heir until that which is lost is found. Leontes ignores that and rails against Hermione. Suddenly, a servant tells him that Mamillus died overnight of anxiety for Hermione. Hermione swoons and dies in her chambers. Leontes realizes that the oracle was right, and vows penance.
  Antigonus takes Paulina to the shore, but lays a bag of gold with her, alongside instructions to call the baby Perdita (from his dream). Antigonus is killed by a bear, and his ship and crew are wrecked by a storm. A shepherd sees all of this, and finds Perdita.
  Time itself appears and explains the passage of 16 years. While the grown shepherdess Perdita allures Prince Florizel, heir to Bohemia, Leontes grieves alone in the palace. Polixenes and Camillo follow Florizel to a sheep-shearing festival, all in disguise. Polixenes recognizes the noble bearing of Perdita when she dances with Florizel, but forbids Florizel's marriage. Florizel plans to elope with Perdita. Camillo advises them to go to Sicilia as a goodwill ambassador from Bohemia, and so supplies them with letters of introduction. Camillo wants Polixenes to pursue them into Sicilia, so Camillo can retutrn home. The shepherd-father tells Polixenes how he found Perdita, but he is captured by Autolycus and taken away to Sicilia.
  Florizel and Perdita arrive in Sicilia, pursued by Polixenes and Camillo. The shepherd hears of Leontes' lost daughter, and describes Perdita's origin. Leontes is reunited with Perdita/Paulina, and Polixenes blesses her marriage to Florizel. Still, Leontes mourns Hermione.
  Paulina visits a statue of Hermione in Leontes' memorial chapel. All gather to view the statue, hear soft music, and marvel at the statue. The statue is in fact Hermione, who lived in the wilderness awaiting news of Paulina. The family is united, as are the friends. All celebrate the marriage of Florizel and Perdita.
• Other notes: Autolycus' ballad-selling is an interesting moment of economic ambiguity. The character is a masterless man, but he bases the authority of his ballads on the testimony of judges. Also, the shepherds buy these "true" tunes on the strength of the signed testimonies of other common people. The ballad market is represented as a self-sustaining system of myths, maintained by a con man's textual claim to authority.
  The statue scene is more fascinating. This seems like Renaissance move to secularize the power of the Resurrection, rather than represent it, because Hermione is (a) a transgressive female in Christ's role, and (b) not otherwise endowed with any sanctified qualities of Christ.
• Mneumonic: Pol(ixenes) Her(mione) Le(ontes) Mam(illus) Cam(illo) Ant(igonus) Pau(lina) Per(dita) Flo(rizel) Aut(olycus)
• Politicians and hermits, leaders and mamillists come anticipating polity, perish flourishing autonymy.

(NB: written with notes.)
Atchity, Kenneth John. "The Winter’S Tale." Masterplots, Fourth Edition(2010): 1-4. Literary Reference Center. Web. 6 Feb. 2013.

Shakespeare, William, Stephen J. Greenblatt, and Andrew Gurr. The Norton Shakespeare. New York: W. W. Norton, 1997. Print.