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Locrine: a tragedy
Following the Senecan model of revenge tragedy, each of the play's five acts is preceded by a Prologue that features Ate, the ancient Greek goddess of folly and ruin. In each, Ate introduces and explicates a dumbshow; the play's five dumbshows feature symbolic figures and animals, or personages of classical mythology. In the first, an archer kills a lion; the second shows Perseus and Andromeda, and the third, a snake stinging a crocodile. The fourth dumbshow features Hercules and Omphale; the final dumbshow depicts Medea's murder of Jason and Glauce. Ate returns for a sixth and final appearance at the play's conclusion.
The opening scene of the play proper shows the aged Brutus, the leader of the Trojans in Britain, before his courtiers, including his three sons, Locrine, Camber, and Albanact. Brutus knows he is dying, and attempts to order the kingdom's affairs; among other points, he decrees that Locrine marry Guendoline, the daughter of his loyal general Corineus. The scene ends with Brutus's death. Locrine obeys his father's behest and marries Guendoline.
Meanwhile, the invading Scythians arrive for their (totally unhistorical) incursion into the British Isles, led by their king Humber, with his wife Estrild and their son Hubba. Subsequent scenes depict a back-and-forth combat between Trojans and Scythians. When his apparent victory turns to sudden defeat, the Trojan prince Albanact commits suicide; Albanact's ghost appears through the remainder of the play, calling for revenge. The Trojans are eventually victorious. Estrild, the Scythian queen, is captured and brought to the Trojan court, where Locrine quickly falls in love with her. Corineus warns his royal son-in-law to remain faithful to Guendoline. Locrine does not follow this advice, though he sequesters Estrild in a subterranean hideaway for seven years. Once Corineus dies, Locrine brings his affair into the open; Guendoline's brother Thrasimachus vows revenge.
The defeated Humber has been living in seclusion and grinding privation for seven years since his defeat; when he kills himself, the ghost of Albanact exults. Corineus's ghost also appears to witness Locrine's fate; defeated in battle by the forces of Guendoline and Thrasimachus, Locrine and Estrild commit suicide, and their daughter Sabren eventually drowns herself. Guendoline has her husband buried royally, next to his father, but consigns Estrild to an obscure grave.
The play's comic relief is provided by a coterie of clown characters, Strumbo, Trompart, and Dorothy. Strumbo the cobbler marries Dorothy, but is impressed into the army along with his servant Trompart, to fight the Scythians. Strumbo survives battle by counterfeiting death:
Trompart: Yet one word, good master.
Strumbo: I will not speak, for I am dead, I tell thee.
Later Strumbo has an encounter with Humber, just before the latter's suicide. Strumbo is prepared to feed the starving Humber, but is frightened away by Albanact's ghost.
The opening scene of the play proper shows the aged Brutus, the leader of the Trojans in Britain, before his courtiers, including his three sons, Locrine, Camber, and Albanact. Brutus knows he is dying, and attempts to order the kingdom's affairs; among other points, he decrees that Locrine marry Guendoline, the daughter of his loyal general Corineus. The scene ends with Brutus's death. Locrine obeys his father's behest and marries Guendoline.
Meanwhile, the invading Scythians arrive for their (totally unhistorical) incursion into the British Isles, led by their king Humber, with his wife Estrild and their son Hubba. Subsequent scenes depict a back-and-forth combat between Trojans and Scythians. When his apparent victory turns to sudden defeat, the Trojan prince Albanact commits suicide; Albanact's ghost appears through the remainder of the play, calling for revenge. The Trojans are eventually victorious. Estrild, the Scythian queen, is captured and brought to the Trojan court, where Locrine quickly falls in love with her. Corineus warns his royal son-in-law to remain faithful to Guendoline. Locrine does not follow this advice, though he sequesters Estrild in a subterranean hideaway for seven years. Once Corineus dies, Locrine brings his affair into the open; Guendoline's brother Thrasimachus vows revenge.
The defeated Humber has been living in seclusion and grinding privation for seven years since his defeat; when he kills himself, the ghost of Albanact exults. Corineus's ghost also appears to witness Locrine's fate; defeated in battle by the forces of Guendoline and Thrasimachus, Locrine and Estrild commit suicide, and their daughter Sabren eventually drowns herself. Guendoline has her husband buried royally, next to his father, but consigns Estrild to an obscure grave.
The play's comic relief is provided by a coterie of clown characters, Strumbo, Trompart, and Dorothy. Strumbo the cobbler marries Dorothy, but is impressed into the army along with his servant Trompart, to fight the Scythians. Strumbo survives battle by counterfeiting death:
Trompart: Yet one word, good master.
Strumbo: I will not speak, for I am dead, I tell thee.
Later Strumbo has an encounter with Humber, just before the latter's suicide. Strumbo is prepared to feed the starving Humber, but is frightened away by Albanact's ghost.
- GenresPlays
436 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1595
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 28, 2015
The latest in my exploration of the Shakespearean apocrypha. Weak characters, dull plot, and stiff, formal writing make it hard to believe this was ever attributed to Shakespeare. That early attribution claims the play had been recently revised by "W. S." There were a couple brief scenes that were different from the rest and showed a little more life. If Shakespeare ever touched this play, maybe those spots are where, but that's highly conjectural.
One of the more interesting things in this play were the occasional detailed stage directions that give some insight into how plays were performed
I didn't hate this play, but it was not particularly likable either.
One of the more interesting things in this play were the occasional detailed stage directions that give some insight into how plays were performed
I didn't hate this play, but it was not particularly likable either.
October 29, 2024
Locrine is another play from the Shakespeare Apocrypha collection I am reading my way through; according to Wikipedia, the play was published as "Newly set foorth, overseene and corrected, / By W. S.", so it may in fact have been an older play edited by Shakespeare in his role as chief playwright for the King's Men. That article says the authors who are most often proposed for the play are Peele or Greene; in fact, before reading the article I thought it resembled Greene's Orlando Furioso and that both plays were deliberate parodies. Locrine is from beginning to end composed of bombastic speeches in a heavily Euphuistic style, and like Orlando Furioso is full of geographical nonsense and anachronisms (the Orlando Furioso has kings from Cuba and Mexico in the time of Charlemagne, and Locrine has a character mention the "Mines of America" more than a thousand years before Christ).
The plot is taken from the legendary history of Britain, first put forward by Geoffrey of Monmouth. The Trojan, Brutus, who supposedly founded Britain, is dying at the opening and leaves the Kingdom to his eldest son Locrine, while his other sons, Camber and Albanact, get Cambria (Wales) and Albania (Scotland). Brutus urges Locrine to marry his cousin Gwendoline, daughter of his uncle Corineus (who is given Cornwall), which he does. The Kingdom is then invaded by Scithians, also described as Huns, led by Humber, who defeat Albanact (he declaims a long speech and then commits suicide) but are in turn defeated by Locrine. Humber makes a long speech and commits suicide by drowning himself in a river, which is then (and still is) called the Humber. Locrine then falls in love with the Scithian king's concubine, Estrild, and abandons Gwendoline, who, with their son Mandan, takes up arms, and defeats Locrine. Locrine, Estrild and their daughter Sabren then make long speeches and commit suicide, the latter by drowning herself in a river, called the Sabren, and Gwendoline rules the Kingdom until her death.
There is also a comic subplot involving a cobbler named Strumbo and his two wives, which has the immortal line, "sweet wench, let me lick thy toes."
As with Orlando Furioso, if it is not a parody, it is definitely a very lamentable tragedy, but if it is, it is funny and well worth reading.
The plot is taken from the legendary history of Britain, first put forward by Geoffrey of Monmouth. The Trojan, Brutus, who supposedly founded Britain, is dying at the opening and leaves the Kingdom to his eldest son Locrine, while his other sons, Camber and Albanact, get Cambria (Wales) and Albania (Scotland). Brutus urges Locrine to marry his cousin Gwendoline, daughter of his uncle Corineus (who is given Cornwall), which he does. The Kingdom is then invaded by Scithians, also described as Huns, led by Humber, who defeat Albanact (he declaims a long speech and then commits suicide) but are in turn defeated by Locrine. Humber makes a long speech and commits suicide by drowning himself in a river, which is then (and still is) called the Humber. Locrine then falls in love with the Scithian king's concubine, Estrild, and abandons Gwendoline, who, with their son Mandan, takes up arms, and defeats Locrine. Locrine, Estrild and their daughter Sabren then make long speeches and commit suicide, the latter by drowning herself in a river, called the Sabren, and Gwendoline rules the Kingdom until her death.
There is also a comic subplot involving a cobbler named Strumbo and his two wives, which has the immortal line, "sweet wench, let me lick thy toes."
As with Orlando Furioso, if it is not a parody, it is definitely a very lamentable tragedy, but if it is, it is funny and well worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews