Upturning Social Tradition in Middleton's A Chaste Maid in Cheapside and Beaumont's Knight of the Burning Pestle
Satirical dramatic works from early seventeenth-century England provide
invaluable information about the society that spawned them through their
comical and critical insights. Recurring themes from these works enhance
one's knowledge of the culture in which they first appeared. The ascension
of the lower and middle classes into social prestige and nobility emerges
among the most prevalent dramatic themes of the time. Capitalizing upon
the subsequent social confusion, seventeenth-century playwrights convey
the uncertainty of whether to follow the dictum of flagging traditions or
to purchase a higher place in society. To understand the nuances of how
social change affected England, one needs only to glance at Thomas
Middleton's A Chaste Maid in Cheapside, which illustrates the struggle of
the English aristocracy to survive as lower-born citizens triumphantly
rise into its ranks. A Chaste Maid in Cheapside's sister drama, Francis
Beaumont's The Knight of the Burning Pestle, also depicts this situation
in England despite its differing plot and structure. Moreover, both plays
feature similar resolutions that subtly contribute to the aura of social
confusion. To emphasize the prevalence of upward mobility, Middleton's A
Chaste Maid in Cheapside and Beaumont's The Knight of the Burning Pestle
feature women who overcome sexually-motivated male suitors by feigning
death, an action that symbolically exemplifies the quavering social
boundaries and the diminishing...
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...h works. One inconspicuous ripple of the numerous
social shock waves appears as women overcome their insolent suitors by
feigning death: a figurative upheaval of orthodox social values. In
addition, the unfulfilled eroticism of the suitors suggests the future
deterioration of their belief that they must marry a woman for propagation
and not for love. After the women escape subjection to this lifestyle by
faking their deaths, the consequences of their resurrection demonstrate
the inconstancy of cultural certainties in their society.
Works Cited
Beaumont, Francis. The Knight of the Burning Pestle. Ed. John Doebler.
Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1967.
Middleton, Thomas. A Chaste Maid in Cheapside. Ed. Alan Brissenden. New
York: WW Norton & Company, Inc., 1997.
In conclusion, we have seen that the race of the victim and the emotionality of the victim impact statements highly affects the jury’s empathy and therefore might influence their decision making. Understanding the interaction between the racial in-group/out-group and empathy may allow defense attorneys to lead jurors for harsher punishments for out-group racial groups and more lenient punishments for in-groups by playing on juror empathy and thus putting emotions before law and reason. Consequently, in any capital punishment case, race of the victim and race of the jury, could be the difference between life and death for a defendant and therefore needs to be studied further.
Byrne, Muriel St. Clare. Elizabethan life in Town and Country. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1954.
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.
Castle, Terry. Masquerade and Civilization:.The Carnivalesque in Eighteenth-Century English Culture and Fiction. Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1996.
...says, `A clerk hadde literly biset his whyle,/But if he koude a carpenter bigyle' we get the impression that the class system, in both reality and in the text, is doomed to failure should Nicholas not capture John's wife. His higher position in society dictates this: John is a lowly carpenter while Nicholas is a parish clerk and keen astrologer. Similarly this debate within the text can reflect the struggle for power in England during the late 14th Century.
In the first few chapters Gaskell offers various examples of what the traditional woman of England is like. Margaret’s early descriptions in Chapter 7, characterize the beautiful, gentle femininity so idolized. Margaret is beautiful in her own way, she is very conscious of her surroundings. She is privileged in her own way by being in a respectable position in the tranquil village of Helstone. Throughout the beginning of the novel it is eluded that Margaret has the onset of a mature middle class mentality. During the planning of her beloved cousin Edith Shaw’s wedding, Margaret comments on Edith seemingly oblivious demeanor, as the house is chaos in preparations. Edith tries hard to please expectation of her social class. She is privileged and beautiful; angelic and innocent, she is the perfect idyllic, ignorant child bride, designed to please. For Margaret, “...the prospect of soon losing her companion seemed to give force to every sweet quality and charm which Edith possessed”(Gaskell, 7). It is in this passage that the readers familiarize themselves with Margaret’s keen ability to see and perceive the differences between her and her cousin’s manor. Edith poses the calm demure and angelic tranquility a woman is decreed to posses. Unsurprisingly at the brink of commotion Margaret observes that, “the whispered tone had latterly become more drowsy; and Margaret, after a pause of
Astell, Mary. "A Serious Proposal To The Ladies." The Broadview Anthology of British Literature: The Restoration And The Eighteen Century. Joseph Black [et all]. Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press, 2006. Print. Pages 291-296.
In the tale that Geoffrey Chaucer had wrote, The Wife of Bath’s Tale, a man was described as a Knight. This Knight wasn’t like any normal Knight, he messed up and raped a girl. This is a big mistake, giving a lot of Knights a bad name, and having those that look up to them start to be disappointed in them. Usually the punishment that is given to those that rape, or in general any other crime, is death or time in the slammer, however, the Queen says no because he is a good looking guy. Instead of death, he had find out what women most desire from men. He is given a year and a day to find out, and on the last day, when he nearly had given up all hope, he sees an old woman in a field who makes a deal with him. The old lady gives the Knight a choice: to have an old, but faithful, wife, or to have a drop-dead gorgeous woman, but to have her never to be faithful, before she tells him what the Queen wants to know. The old lady and Knight get married and she wants him to sleep with her, like husbands are supposed to do with their wives. They argue and she gives him the two choices again; to have an ugly wife, but she is faithful. The other choice is to have a drop-dead gorgeous wife, but is never faithful. With this, he learns a lesson, and sufficient punishment.
Tague, Ingrid H. Women of Quality: Accepting and Contesting Ideals of Femininity in England, 1690-1760. Rochester: Boydell Press, 2002.
Mrs and Miss Bates are genteel people and of genteel birth. They are well educated and well spoken and readily invited into the Woodhouse circle. This high class is illustrated at Boxhill during Mr Knightley’s vehement reprimand of Emma’s cutting remark: ‘she has seen you grow up from a period when her notice of you was an honour.’ Of course, they have since slipped in monetary value, but retain their social position nonetheless. Mrs. Elton has the money, but not the connections or character to be considered genteel. Her marriage to a vicar as Mr Elton has raised her a class, but she has clearly not had the breeding to be comfortable in such high society, as she shows by continually dropping Maple Grove into conversations, and justifying her talents: ‘well, my friends say…’ Harriet Smith obviously is not genteel by birth, being the ‘natural daughter of somebody’ but Emma invents her parentage for the sake of the love games. The original modesty and humility that Harriet enjoys are accentuated and extended under the careful care of Emma. Th...
Before the major upheaval occurs Jane Austin gives us a glimpse of what social life, the class distinction, was like through the perspective of Ann Elliot. Ann is the second out of three daughters to Sir Walter Elliot, the proud head of the family (Austen, 2). The Elliots are an old landowning family that seems well known in the upper echelons of British society. The most important piece of background we are presented with as central to the plot of the story is that eight years prior to the setting Ann was engaged to a man she loved, Frederick Wentworth. They were soon engaged, but her family along with mother-like figure, Lady Russell, soon persuaded Ann that the match was unsuitable because Frederick Wentworth was essentially unworthy without any money or prestige (Austen, 30). This piece of background echoes exclusivity among the upper classes of Britain. In that time it would seem unacceptable for a girl like Ann with a family like hers to marry or even associate with someone not of ...
In conclusion, Charles Dickens, a social critic of humble origins himself, has conveyed his conception of a true gentleman, which is such a good conception that it is commonly used in our society today. He shows that you can only be a true gentleman at heart and if you are not it will be revealed. Matthew Pocket’s metaphor that ‘No varnish can hide the grain of the wood; and that the more varnish you put on, the more the grain will express itself’ very successfully delivers and summarises Dickens’ message, that no matter how much you try to, your true identity will always be revealed. It also effectively reinforces Dickens’ treatment of the Victorian preconception of a gentleman as misconstrued and mistakenly engrossed with social status, wealth, birth, and apparel.
Ziakas, V & Costa, C 2011, ‘The Use of an Event Portfolio in Regional Community and Tourism Development’, Creating Synergy between Sport and Cultural Events, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 149-175.
"Video game play may provide learning, health, social benefits." American Psychological Association. February 2014, Vol 45, No. 2
Cloud storage required hosting companies to operate a large data centers, and people who require their data to be hosted buy or lease storage capacity from them.