417:
and that
Margaret has married Allworth. Enraged, he demands that Welborn provide security for the loan of £1000 from the Lady's estates; Welborn rejects this, and demands that Over-reach return possession of his lands. Sir Giles dismisses this as folly—but discovers that the text of his deed to Welborn's lands has mysteriously faded away (thanks to the trickery of Marall). Over-reach is ready to work his revenge with his sword, but Welborn, Lovell, and the Lady's servants altogether are too formidable for him. He storms out, but returns in a distracted state of mind. The stresses of his reversal of fortune have caused him to lose his sanity, and he is taken into protective custody.
377:, indicating that Welborn and Allworth are both members of the local gentry who have fallen victim to the financial manipulations of Sir Giles Over-reach. Welborn has lost his estates and been reduced to penury, while young Allworth has been forced to become the page of a local nobleman, Lord Lovell. Allworth offers Welborn a small sum, "eight pieces", to relieve his immediate wants, but Welborn indignantly rejects the offer from a junior contemporary; he says that as his own vices have led to his fall, he will rely on his own wits for his recovery.
401:
change his tune when he sees Lady
Allworth come out of mourning to meet Welborn. When she kisses Welborn, Marall is convinced that the two will marry. When Marall informs Over-reach of what he's seen, however, Over-reach refuses to believe him, and even beats him. Eventually, though, Over-reach himself sees Welborn and Lady Allworth together, and accepts the "truth" of their connection. Sir Giles favours their marriage, since he is sure that once Welborn possesses the Lady's remaining property he can cheat the dissolute man of this property too.
405:
resist
Margaret's charms; but Lovell is an honourable man, and sincerely promotes their match. Over-reach thinks that Allworth is carrying messages between the Lord and his daughter, though the young page is actually pursuing his own romance. Together, the young couple manages to fool Sir Giles into thinking that Lovell wants a reluctant Margaret to elope with him; Over-reach pressures his daughter to conform, and even sends hurried written instructions to a compliant clergyman at the village of
345:, in contrast, Lord Lovell would rather see his family line go extinct than marry Over-reach's daughter Margaret, even though she is young, beautiful, and virtuous. In Act IV, scene i, Lovell specifies that his attitude is not solely dependent on his loathing of the father's personal vices, but is rooted in class distinction. Lovell rejects the idea of his descendants being "one part scarlet" (aristocratic) and "the other London blue" (common).
413:
play, Over-reach's expressions of his villainy become more flagrant and overwrought, leading up to the denouement of the final scene.) Marall sees
Welborn's apparent ascension in fortune, and, chafing at Over-reach's insulting and brutal treatment of him, decides to switch allegiances; his command of Over-reach's legal papers gives Marall a key advantage in seeking his own revenge.
373:, the play opens with its protagonist, Frank Welborn, being ejected from an alehouse by Tapwell and Froth, the tavernkeeper and his wife. Welborn has been refused further service ("No booze? nor no tobacco?"); he quarrels with the couple and beats them, but is interrupted by Tom Allworth. The conversations in the scene supply the play's
281:. (Sir Giles' assistant in villainy, Justice Greedy, was suggested by Mompesson's associate Sir Francis Michell.) The power of the role of Sir Giles may lie in Massinger's success in depicting a blatant villain who has a quality of everyday believability. Sir Giles is down-to-earth in his cold malice:
420:
Welborn decides to demonstrate his reformation by taking a military commission in the regiment Lovell commands. Lovell and Lady
Allworth have agreed to marry. Allworth and Margaret state that they will turn control of Over-reach's estates to Lord Lovell, to make reparations for all to the people Sir
400:
Over-reach is shown with Marall, discussing his plan to marry his daughter
Margaret to Lord Lovell. He also gives a first glimpse into the ruthless way he conducts his business affairs. Welborn seeks out Over-reach, but Sir Giles refuses to speak with him; Marall mocks his poverty. Yet Marall has to
380:
Tom
Allworth's widowed mother, Lady Allworth, retains her country house; she is visited there by neighbours and prospective suitors, including Sir Giles. While she has her servants greet these guests with appropriate hospitality, she remains "cloister'd up" in the seclusion of her mourning. When Sir
416:
When Over-reach believes that Lovell and
Margaret are married, he enters a state of near rapture: "My ends! my ends are compass'd! . . . I can scarce contain myself, / I am so full of joy; nay, joy all over!" The play's final scene shows his sudden reversal, when he realises that he has been fooled
348:
The drama's class conflict can seem obscure to the modern reader, since Sir Giles Over-reach appears as an upper-class, not a lower-class figure: he is a knight and a rich man with large country estates, who lives the lavish lifestyle of the landed gentry. There is even a family connection between
429:
The play's prominence in theatrical history has won it the attention of scholars and critics. Some of the criticism has been favourable; one editor judged it "a highly finished, integrated piece of work, with everything handsomely symmetrical about it." Yet critics have not been shy about finding
412:
To facilitate the marriage of
Welborn and Lady Allworth, Sir Giles advances Welborn a thousand pounds. He also discusses his plans with Lovell, revealing more of his intentions and his dark character, so that Lovell breaks into a "cold sweat" listening to him. (With each of his appearances in the
404:
Margaret Over-reach has no interest in marrying Lord Lovell, since she is in love with Tom
Allworth, as he is with her. Lord Lovell knows of his page's affections, and is willing to act as a go-between for the two. Young Allworth is nervous at this, suspecting that his patron will not be able to
360:
For a conservative moralist like Massinger, the upper classes, the "true gentry", have a right to run society insofar as they fulfil the moral and ethical obligations of their traditional roles. It is Over-reach's rejection of those tradition moral and ethical standards, his embrace of ruthless
232:
The play also falls into the category of the "villain play", a drama in which the dominant figure is not a traditional protagonist or hero but his antagonist, a figure of evil. In the context of English Renaissance drama, the villain play grew out of the "ranting Herod" of the Medieval
42:
140:(c. 1605), it transcends mere imitation to achieve a powerful dramatic effectiveness – verified by the fact that, apart from the Shakespearean canon, it was almost the only pre-Restoration play that was continuously in the dramatic repertory through much of the modern era. After
397:. The recollection makes Lady Allworth repent her harsh attitude toward the reprobate Welborn, and she offers him financial help; he rejects this, but requests a favour of her instead. The request is made in a whisper; the audience discovers its nature as the plot progresses.
392:
Lady Allworth instructs her son to avoid the dissolute Welborn; but Welborn forces his way into her presence, and reminds her of his relationship with her late husband. When the late Allworth had been down on his luck, Welborn had supported him, even seconding him in all his
582:
The Amazing Career of Sir Giles Over-reach: being the life and adventures of a nefarious scoundrel who for three centuries pursued his sinister designs in almost all the theatres of the British Isles and America, the whole comprising a history of the
277:, Massinger took the villain play in a new direction of social realism: his villain is not a king or a conqueror but a credible figure from contemporary life. The play's dominating character, Sir Giles Over-reach, is based on the real-life Sir
187:
and Keeper of the King's Hawks and Falcons, at the age of six). In this dedication, Massinger states that he "born a devoted servant to the thrice noble family of your incomparable Lady," that lady being Anna Sophia Herbert, daughter of
199:
The 1633 quarto was the only edition of the play in the seventeenth century. Its later popularity onstage guaranteed frequent reprints, with 52 editions between 1748 and 1964 (not counting collections); others have followed since.
430:
faults; one called Sir Giles Over-reach "the character whom his author could not control." Massinger's blending of lighter dramatic materials, like comedy of intrigue, with the play's more serious aspects, has also been faulted.
349:
hero and villain: Frank Welborn is the nephew of Sir Giles' late wife. Yet Sir Giles himself expresses the conflict by noting that he is a "city" man—he comes from the financial milieu of the
196:. Massinger's connection to the Herbert family, derived from his father, is well known; whether Carnarvon responded in any positive way to the dedication is obscure.
152:'s version of Sir Giles, which debuted in 1816, was in particular a tremendous popular success, and drove the play's reputation through the remainder of the century.
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by stationer Henry Seyle (his shop was "in S. Pauls Church-yard, at the signe of the Tygers head"). The 1633 quarto carries a dedication of "this trifle" to
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325:(1599), it was acceptable and even admirable that a young nobleman marry a commoner's daughter; other plays of the era, like
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with its worldly and materialistic values, the domain of nascent capitalism in contrast to the older social order rooted in
155:
The play remains in the active theatrical repertory; modern stagings are usually amateur or student productions, though the
91:
Massinger probably wrote the play in 1625, though its debut on stage was delayed a year as the theatres were closed due to
845:
144:'s 1748 revival, the play remained popular throughout the nineteenth century and into the twentieth. (It was praised by
136:
357:. He observes that there is "More than a feud, a strange antipathy / Between us", the men of money, "and true gentry".
72:
781:
614:
The Later Jacobean and Caroline Dramatists: A Survey and Bibliography of Recent Studies in English Renaissance Drama.
765:
445:
333:
321:
641:
409:, to marry his daughter to "this man." Of course he means Lovell, though the ambiguity favours the young lovers.
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Giles visits, he is accompanied by his two prime henchmen, the lawyer Jack Marall and Justice Greedy, the local
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389:. Greedy is a lean man with an enormous appetite; a gourmand and a glutton, he is obsessed with food.
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The audience is presented with a character they might meet in their own lives, to their own cost.
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Putting History to the Question: Power, Politics, and Society in English Renaissance Drama.
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The play illustrates the hardening of class distinctions that characterised the early
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79:. Its central character, Sir Giles Over-reach, became one of the more popular
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A modern reader might suspect that Greedy suffers from a tapeworm infection.
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era, leading up to the outbreak of the Civil War. In Elizabethan plays like
213:
176:
513:: Massinger's grim comedy," in Cordner, Holland, and Kerrigan, pp. 119–36.
628:
The Theatrical City: Culture, Theatre, and Politics in London, 1576–1649.
327:
80:
385:. Together, Greedy and the Lady's servants provide most of the play's
183:, Master Falconer of England (he'd succeeded to his hereditary title,
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637:
549:
Muriel St. Claire Byrne, quoted in Logan and Smith, pp. 96–7.
626:
Smith, David L., Richard Strier, and David Bevington, eds.
609:
Third edition, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1992.
123:, down to the closing of the theatres at the start of the
588:
Cordner, Michael, Peter Holland, and John Kerrigan, eds.
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on English and American stages through the 19th century.
107:. It was continuously in the repertory there and at the
567:
Alexander Leggatt, cited in Logan and Smith, p. 96.
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These trespasses draw on suits, and suits expenses,
224:, and social satire, in a distinctive combination.
54:
34:
292:Set fire on his barns, or break his cattle's legs.
288:Which done, I'll make my men break ope his fences,
241:was the great innovator in the villain play, with
616:Lincoln, NE, University of Nebraska Press, 1978.
585:Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 1939.
558:D. J. Enright, quoted in Logan and Smith, p. 97.
337:(c. 1597–9), share this liberal attitude toward
286:I'll therefore buy some cottage near his manor,
283:
130:Though Massinger's play shows obvious debts to
612:Logan, Terence P., and Denzell S. Smith, eds.
592:. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1994.
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296:Which I can spare, but will soon beggar him.
290:Ride o'er his standing corn, and in the night
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630:Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1995.
599:Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1978.
270:is another obvious example in the subgenre.
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623:New York, Columbia University Press, 2000.
540:Smith, Strier, and Bevington, pp. 183–208.
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31:
441:A New Way to Pay Old Debts
175:The play was first published in 1633 in
159:performed the play in 1983, directed by
597:The Selected Plays of Philip Massinger.
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361:competition, that makes him a villain.
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190:Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke
181:Robert Dormer, 1st Earl of Carnarvon
607:The Shakespearean Stage 1574–1642.
95:. In its own era it was staged by
25:
421:Giles has cheated and oppressed.
71:(c. 1625, printed 1633) is an
1:
137:A Trick to Catch the Old One
111:, under the managements of
75:, the most popular play by
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822:A New Way to Pay Old Debts
766:The Great Duke of Florence
511:A New Way to Pay Old Debts
491:Logan and Smith, pp. 95–6.
446:Internet Broadway Database
343:A New Way to Pay Old Debts
334:The Merry Wives of Windsor
275:A New Way to Pay Old Debts
237:. In the Elizabethan era,
210:A New Way to Pay Old Debts
68:A New Way to Pay Old Debts
35:A New Way to Pay Old Debts
943:Plays by Philip Massinger
933:English Renaissance plays
702:The Custom of the Country
672:
157:Royal Shakespeare Company
73:English Renaissance drama
39:
798:The Little French Lawyer
790:John van Olden Barnavelt
782:The Honest Man's Fortune
27:Play by Philip Massinger
742:The Emperor of the East
580:Ball, Robert Hamilton.
322:The Shoemaker's Holiday
49:as Sir Giles Over-reach
870:Rollo Duke of Normandy
838:The Parliament of Love
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341:through marriage. In
212:contains elements of
97:Queen Henrietta's Men
902:The Unnatural Combat
806:The Lovers' Progress
595:Gibson, Colin, ed.
383:justice of the peace
718:The Double Marriage
686:Believe as You List
239:Christopher Marlowe
113:Christopher Beeston
894:The Spanish Curate
814:The Maid of Honour
425:Critical responses
192:, then serving as
920:
919:
734:The Elder Brother
726:The Duke of Milan
678:The Bashful Lover
531:Neill, pp. 73–99.
218:comedy of manners
208:Dramaturgically,
125:English Civil War
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16:(Redirected from
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666:Philip Massinger
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619:Neill, Michael.
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257:The Jew of Malta
194:Lord Chamberlain
146:Thomas Jefferson
132:Thomas Middleton
121:William Davenant
109:Red Bull Theatre
77:Philip Massinger
59:Philip Massinger
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339:social mobility
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331:(c. 1590) and
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311:Class conflict
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250:Doctor Faustus
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910:A Very Woman
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862:The Renegado
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809:(1624, 1634)
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185:Chief Avenor
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161:Adrian Noble
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66:
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846:The Picture
830:The Old Law
694:The Bondman
464:Ball, p. 3.
267:Richard III
262:Shakespeare
244:Tamburlaine
228:The villain
171:Publication
165:Emrys James
150:Edmund Kean
87:Performance
47:Edmund Kean
938:1625 plays
927:Categories
913:(1619–22?)
873:(1612–24?)
575:References
119:, and Sir
105:Drury Lane
55:Written by
833:(1614–18)
801:(1619–23)
753:(1619–20)
721:(1619–22)
705:(1619–23)
664:Plays by
375:backstory
355:feudalism
214:melodrama
163:and with
127:in 1642.
365:Synopsis
300:—
81:villains
905:(1624?)
444:at the
328:Fair Em
222:realism
99:at the
897:(1622)
889:(1622)
881:(1626)
865:(1630)
857:(1622)
849:(1630)
841:(1624)
825:(1625)
817:(1632)
793:(1619)
785:(1613)
777:(1633)
769:(1636)
761:(1632)
745:(1632)
737:(1625)
729:(1623)
713:(1632)
697:(1624)
689:(1631)
681:(1636)
583:stage.
407:Gotham
317:Stuart
177:quarto
452:Notes
395:duels
204:Genre
254:and
273:In
264:'s
148:.)
134:'s
103:in
929::
605:.
260:;
220:,
216:,
115:,
657:e
650:t
643:v
252:,
246:,
20:)
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