Beaumont's Failed Comedy, The Knight of the Burning Pestle

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Beaumont's failed comedy, 'The Knight of the Burning Pestle', is a unique play that seeks to satirise and burlesque the theatrical and social domain. Crucial to this satire is the collision of two concurrent plots that vie for the audience’s attention. These collisions allow the audience to see opposing ideologies in contrast through the dramatic effect of the breakdown in the boundaries of theatre. It is arguable that this play encourages one to question hierarchy and tradition through exploration of ideology, disputed genres, and Rafe's potential rebellion. In act two, the central characters of each narrative are forced into combat by the demands of the wife, who with her husband, have hijacked the stage to demand a play of their own desire. The battle between Rafe and Jasper is can be seen as a comical attempt for control over the stage but also an ideological dispute born out of the character differing identities. For example, this scene can be taken quite literally as an attempt by the players to regain power over their performance: Jasper: Come, knight, I am ready for you. Now Your pestle Snatches away his pestle. Shall try what temper, sir your mortar's of. [recites] "With that he stood upright in his stirrups, And gave the knight of the calfskin such A knock [Knocks Rafe down] […] Wife: Run, Rafe; run, Rafe; run for thy life, boy; Jasper comes, Jasper comes In this small excerpt, Jasper overpowers the improvising Rafe in an attempt to reclaim the stage and continue with the narrative of 'The London merchant'. A performance of this could see Jasper as a strong actor dominating the stage, taking Rafe's pestle and once more rendering it a simple prop. Rafe's Pestle has phallic connotat... ... middle of paper ... ...bodies Hotspur who he earlier quoted. Thus this shows us that the collisions in the narrative have created a character free to challenge the social boundaries. In , one can see that the dramatic effect of the narrative collisions is the creation of contrasts which microcosm society and allows Beaumont to satirise. The principal feature of his Satire is the boundaries of society and theatre which he fragments to reflect there artificiality. The collision of Rafe and Jasper highlights the changes of ideology within society and the hidden agendas of different genres. The collision of George and Prologue questions the boundaries of the theatre, reflecting society at large. The collisions also serve to mould Rafe from a grocers apprentice to the harbinger of a social revolution. Thus showing us Beaumont’s desire to challenge societal boundaries.

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