282:. There, Isabella meets Massino's friend Gnaica, the Count of Gazia, and just as precipitously she conceives a passion for him. Gnaica resists her advances at first, unwilling to betray his friend; but the Countess's appeal soon overwhelms his scruples. Massino returns from hunting, only to be denied admission to Isabella's presence. He denounces her uncontrolled lust in satiric verses; she, outraged, solicits Gnaica to kill Massino. The two meet and duel – but soon find that their hearts aren't in the matter. They talk over the situation, and part amicably.
298:
apprehended by the night watch. The watch assume that the Duke's nephew has been assaulted, and scour the city for suspects; they find
Clardiana and Rogero in each other's houses, and arrest them both. The two silly men are ready to be wrongfully condemned, rather than admit publicly that they've been cuckolded (as they now believe); Mendoza, wanting to spare Lady Lentulus dishonor, claims that he was climbing to her apartment to steal her jewels.
107:(1611). Critics have not agreed on the nature of Marston's connection. Some have argued that Marston started the play, but left it unfinished when he encountered his second bout of legal troubles in 1607 and 1608, and that Barkstead and Machin later completed the script. Others have suggested that Marston's contribution is concentrated in the comic subplot.
267:, where she observes the customary period of mourning for her recently deceased husband Viscount Hermus. Her state of mind is far removed from what society expects: instead of grieving over her husband's death, she wishes he had died much sooner. She quickly strikes up a new romance with Roberto, the Count of
297:
Meanwhile, the virtuous widow Lady
Lentulus is being pursued by her own would-be seducer, Mendoza Foscari, nephew of Duke Amago of Venice. When Mendoza tries to climb to the widow's balcony, his rope ladder breaks under him. Mendoza is injured in the fall; he crawls away from the Lady's house, and is
289:
Isabella's lustful career is contrasted with the three virtuous women of the play's subplot. Two foolish citizens, Rogero and
Clardiana, are determined to continue a family feud begun by their grandfathers; even on their mutual wedding day, the two quarrel in the street. Their new brides, Thais and
135:
In his analysis of the play's text, modern editor
Giorgio Melchiori sees Act I, the beginning of Act II, and portions of Act V scene i as the remains of Marston's original authorship, though reworked by Barkstead and Machin, while the rest of Act II and Acts III and IV constitute little Marston and
301:
The exasperated Duke sentences all three men to death, hoping that the move will shock someone into telling the truth. On the day appointed for the executions, Abigail and Thais come forward to explain the double bed trick; their husbands, now realising that they are not cuckolds, retract their
285:
Isabella is even more outraged by this, and determines to work the deaths of both men. A Spanish colonel named Don Sago falls in love with her on first sight; she uses him to kill Count
Massino. Sago is captured and brought before the Duke of Medina; he confesses fully. As a result, Isabella is
139:
Conversely, David Lake has argued against
Marston's presence, and Martin Wiggins assigns the play to Barkstead and Machin in his 1988 edition. Darren Freebury-Jones, Marina Tarlinskaja, and Marcus Dahl argue that Barkstead and Machin revised and completed a play originally written by Marston.
51:
issued by the bookseller Thomas Archer. The title page attributes the play's authorship to
Marston. A second quarto appeared, in 1613 or 1614, without Marston's name, perhaps to avoid legal difficulties. (Marston left dramatic authorship after 1608, and apparently tried to minimise public
52:
acknowledgement of his earlier playwriting phase; his name was removed even from the 1633 collected edition of his plays.) A third quarto was published by bookseller Hugh Perrie in 1631; one surviving copy of this third quarto assigned authorship not to
Marston but to actor and poet
290:
Abigail, are old friends, and decide to teach their silly husbands a lesson. The two men are not brave enough to fight an actual duel; each tries to gain advantage on his rival by seducing the rival's wife. Thais and
Abigail use this circumstance to stage a doubled version of the
278:
is staged at their wedding feast – and the wanton
Countess is attracted to one of the dancers in the masque, Count Massino. She writes him a love letter; they meet and quickly flee together to
194:
has compared and contrasted the sexual morality of the play with Marston's other works. The play's richness in female characterisation, with four prominent women's roles, has also been noted.
99:
Modern scholarship generally regards the play as a composite work. The play's text shows a range of commonalities with Barkstead's two non-dramatic narrative poems,
294:
that is so common in English Renaissance drama. Both Rogero and Clardiana have sex with their own wives, each mistakenly thinking that he is a successful seducer.
136:
mostly Barkstead/Machin. The final scene, V, ii, is a makeshift ending tacked on by an "unscrupulous hack", to turn a defective play text into publishable form.
420:
Mizaldus's name derives from Antoine Mizauld (1520–78), French physician and astronomer – though there is no other connection between the two. Wiggins, p. 331.
110:
Little is known of Barkstead, and even less of Machin. Barkstead (or Barksted, Barksteed, Backstead, etc.) was an actor with several companies, including the
286:
condemned to death. Her husband Count Roberto, disguised as a friar, visits her on the scaffold, to offer her his forgiveness and bid her a final farewell.
539:
318:
R. E. Brettle, "Bibliographic Notes on Some Marston Quartos and Early Collected Editions," cited in Logan and Smith, pp. 171, 230.
672:
548:
76:
as the company that staged it. The date of first production is uncertain, and is generally assigned to the period c. 1610.
580:
532:
171:
612:
552:
440:
33:
175:
115:
111:
174:
translated Bandello's account into French in 1565, which in turn appeared in English as the 24th story in
73:
525:
25:
53:
667:
588:
564:
677:
636:
628:
572:
158:
80:
69:
462:
The New Intellectuals: A Survey and Bibliography of Recent Studies in English Renaissance Drama
385:
433:
Brettle, R. E. "Bibliographical Notes on Some Marston Quartos and Early Collected Editions,"
377:
163:
156:
who was executed for adultery on 20 October 1526. (Marston also based his Franceschina in
124:
119:
604:
661:
596:
620:
512:
57:
506:
302:
confessions and are released. (Mendoza's part of the story is never resolved.)
162:
on Bianca Maria.) An account of Bianca Maria's life and death was included by
148:
The title character of the Insatiate Countess, Isabella Countess of "Swevia" (
389:
128:(1608), and probably was the "L. M." who contributed eclogues to Barkstead's
68:
The title page of the 1613 quarto states that the drama was performed at the
291:
48:
56:. One copy of the 1613 first quarto has a cancelled title page that links
153:
517:
365:
29:
381:
275:
268:
264:
254:
Senators, captain, lieutenant, soldiers, messengers, executioner etc.
149:
118:, in the 1607–16 period, as well as a poet. Machin collaborated with
364:
Freebury-Jones, Darren; Tarlinskaja, Marina; Dahl, Marcus (2018).
279:
521:
32:
first published in 1613. The play is a problematic element in
476:
Children of the Queen's Revels: A Jacobean Theatre Repertory
263:
As the play opens, Countess Isabella is at her house in
89:
God's Revenge Against the Abominable Sin of Adultery
464:, Lincoln, NE, University of Nebraska Press, 1977.
481:Scott, Michael. "Marston's Early Contribution to
366:"The Boundaries of John Marston's Dramatic Canon"
471:. Manchester, Manchester University Press, 1984.
271:; they violate mourning with a sudden marriage.
411:Logan and Smith, pp. 188, 190, 205, 216 and ff.
478:. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2005.
460:Logan, Terence P., and Denzell S. Smith, eds.
533:
489:, new series Vol. 24 (1977), pp. 116–17.
457:, new series Vol. 28 (1981), pp. 166–70.
152:), is based on Bianca Maria, the Countess of
8:
446:. 4 Volumes, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1923.
370:Medieval & Renaissance Drama in England
540:
526:
518:
345:Chambers, Vol. 2, p. 301, Vol. 3, p. 417.
496:. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1988
453:: Linguistic Evidence for Authorship,"
311:
7:
437:Vol. 8 (1927–28), pp. 336–48.
14:
236:Mendoza Foscari, nephew to Amago
47:was first printed in 1613, in a
215:Anna, waiting woman to Isabella
74:Children of the Queen's Revels
1:
203:Isabella, Countess of Swevia
494:Four Jacobean Sex Tragedies
248:Don Sago, a Spanish Colonel
694:
511:Giorgio Melchiori, ed. at
209:Abigail, wife to Clardiana
60:'s name with Barkstead's.
613:Parasitaster, or The Fawn
581:Jack Drum's Entertainment
559:
190:The critical response to
16:1613 play by John Marston
467:Melchiori, Giorgio, ed.
402:Wiggins, pp. xxxvi, 331.
224:Roberto, Count of Cyprus
508:The Insatiate Countess.
172:François de Belleforest
645:The Insatiate Countess
483:The Insatiate Countess
469:The Insatiate Countess
451:The Insatiate Countess
233:Gnaica, Count of Gazia
230:Guido, Count of Arsena
206:Lady Lentulus, a widow
192:The Insatiate Countess
91:, was staged in 1679.
85:The Insatiate Countess
72:— which indicates the
45:The Insatiate Countess
21:The Insatiate Countess
673:Plays by John Marston
492:Wiggins, Martin, ed.
444:The Elizabethan Stage
218:Amago, Duke of Venice
212:Thais, wife to Rogero
103:(published 1607) and
116:Prince Charles's Men
112:Lady Elizabeth's Men
637:The Wonder of Women
629:The Dutch Courtesan
573:Antonio and Mellida
354:Melchiori, pp. 5–8.
159:The Dutch Courtesan
70:Whitefriars Theatre
36:'s dramatic canon.
186:Critical responses
180:Palace of Pleasure
28:era stage play, a
655:
654:
589:Antonio's Revenge
487:Notes and Queries
455:Notes and Queries
336:Munro, pp. 154–5.
327:Wiggins, p. xxvi.
198:Dramatis personae
54:William Barkstead
685:
542:
535:
528:
519:
449:Lake, David J. "
421:
418:
412:
409:
403:
400:
394:
393:
382:10.2307/26800526
361:
355:
352:
346:
343:
337:
334:
328:
325:
319:
316:
239:Signior Mizaldus
693:
692:
688:
687:
686:
684:
683:
682:
658:
657:
656:
651:
555:
546:
503:
441:Chambers, E. K.
430:
425:
424:
419:
415:
410:
406:
401:
397:
363:
362:
358:
353:
349:
344:
340:
335:
331:
326:
322:
317:
313:
308:
261:
200:
188:
176:William Painter
164:Matteo Bandello
146:
125:The Dumb Knight
120:Gervase Markham
97:
66:
42:
17:
12:
11:
5:
691:
689:
681:
680:
675:
670:
660:
659:
653:
652:
650:
649:
641:
633:
625:
617:
609:
605:The Malcontent
601:
593:
585:
577:
569:
560:
557:
556:
547:
545:
544:
537:
530:
522:
516:
515:
502:
501:External links
499:
498:
497:
490:
479:
472:
465:
458:
447:
438:
429:
426:
423:
422:
413:
404:
395:
356:
347:
338:
329:
320:
310:
309:
307:
304:
260:
257:
256:
255:
252:
249:
246:
243:
240:
237:
234:
231:
228:
225:
222:
221:Duke of Medina
219:
216:
213:
210:
207:
204:
199:
196:
187:
184:
145:
142:
96:
93:
83:adaptation of
65:
62:
41:
38:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
690:
679:
676:
674:
671:
669:
666:
665:
663:
647:
646:
642:
639:
638:
634:
631:
630:
626:
623:
622:
618:
615:
614:
610:
607:
606:
602:
599:
598:
597:What You Will
594:
591:
590:
586:
583:
582:
578:
575:
574:
570:
567:
566:
565:Histriomastix
562:
561:
558:
554:
550:
543:
538:
536:
531:
529:
524:
523:
520:
514:
510:
509:
505:
504:
500:
495:
491:
488:
484:
480:
477:
474:Munro, Lucy.
473:
470:
466:
463:
459:
456:
452:
448:
445:
442:
439:
436:
432:
431:
427:
417:
414:
408:
405:
399:
396:
391:
387:
383:
379:
375:
371:
367:
360:
357:
351:
348:
342:
339:
333:
330:
324:
321:
315:
312:
305:
303:
299:
295:
293:
287:
283:
281:
277:
272:
270:
266:
258:
253:
250:
247:
244:
241:
238:
235:
232:
229:
227:Count Massino
226:
223:
220:
217:
214:
211:
208:
205:
202:
201:
197:
195:
193:
185:
183:
181:
177:
173:
169:
165:
161:
160:
155:
151:
143:
141:
137:
133:
131:
127:
126:
121:
117:
113:
108:
106:
102:
94:
92:
90:
86:
82:
77:
75:
71:
63:
61:
59:
55:
50:
46:
39:
37:
35:
31:
27:
23:
22:
644:
643:
635:
627:
621:Eastward Hoe
619:
611:
603:
595:
587:
579:
571:
563:
553:John Marston
513:Google Books
507:
493:
486:
482:
475:
468:
461:
454:
450:
443:
434:
416:
407:
398:
373:
369:
359:
350:
341:
332:
323:
314:
300:
296:
288:
284:
273:
262:
191:
189:
179:
170:collection.
167:
166:in his 1554
157:
147:
138:
134:
129:
123:
109:
104:
100:
98:
88:
84:
78:
67:
58:Lewis Machin
44:
43:
34:John Marston
24:is an early
20:
19:
18:
668:1610s plays
584:(1599–1600)
576:(1599–1600)
81:Restoration
64:Performance
40:Publication
678:1613 plays
662:Categories
428:References
95:Authorship
390:0731-3403
376:: 43–77.
292:bed trick
242:Clardiana
87:, titled
624:(1604–5)
608:(1603–4)
259:Synopsis
251:Cardinal
182:(1567).
154:Challant
26:Jacobean
435:Library
168:Novelle
144:Sources
30:tragedy
648:(1608)
640:(1606)
632:(1605)
616:(1604)
600:(1601)
592:(1600)
568:(1599)
388:
276:masque
269:Cyprus
265:Venice
245:Rogero
150:Swabia
130:Myrrha
101:Myrrha
49:quarto
549:Plays
306:Notes
280:Pavia
105:Hiren
386:ISSN
114:and
551:by
485:,"
378:doi
178:'s
122:on
664::
384:.
374:31
372:.
368:.
274:A
132:.
79:A
541:e
534:t
527:v
392:.
380::
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.