The Maid's Tragedy

The Maid's Tragedy is a play by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. It was first published in 1619.

Quotes

Text from the Second Folio (1679), edited by Arnold Glover (Cambridge UP, 1905)

Act I

• Cinthia to thy power, and them
          we obey.
  Joy to this great company,
          and no day
  Come to steal this night away,
  Till the rites of love are ended,
  And the lusty Bridegroom say,
  Welcome light of all befriended.
  Pace out you watry powers below,
          let your feet
  Like the Gallies when they row,
          even beat.
  Let your unknown measures set
  To the still winds, tell to all
  That Gods are come immortal great,
  To honour this great Nuptial.
  • [First] Song
    • Cynthia, to thy power and thee
              We obey.
      Joy to this great company!
              And no day
      Come to steal this night away
        Till the rites of love are ended,
      And the lusty bridegroom say,
        Welcome, light, of all befriended!
      Pace out, you watery powers below;
              Let your feet,
      Like the galleys when they row,
              Even beat;
      Let your unknown measures, set
        To the still winds, tell to all
      That gods are come, immortal, great,
        To honour this great nuptial!
      • Oxford Book of English Verse (1900), no. 208: "Bridal Song"

Act II

• Lay a Garland on my Hearse of the dismal yew;
  Maidens, Willow branches bear; say I died true:
  My Love was false, but I was firm from my hour of birth;
  Upon my buried body lay lightly gentle earth.
  • Aspatia [singing]
    • Lay a garland on my herse
        Of the dismal yew;
      Maidens, willow branches bear;
        Say, I died true.
      My love was false, but I was firm
        From my hour of birth.
      Upon my buried body lie
        Lightly, gentle earth!
      • Oxford Book of English Verse (1900), no. 209: "Aspatia’s Song"

• Something whispers me,
  Go not to bed; my guilt is not so great
  As mine own conscience (too sensible)
  Would make me think.
  • Evadne

• Timorous flesh,
  Why shak'st thou so? away my idle fears.
  • Amintor

• Why, it is thou that wrongest me, I hate thee,
  Thou shouldst have kill'd thy self.
  • Evadne

• I sooner will find out the beds of Snakes,
  And with my youthful blood warm their cold flesh,
  Letting them curle themselves about my Limbs,
  Than sleep one night with thee; this is not feign'd,
  Nor sounds it like the coyness of a Bride.
  • Evadne

• A Maidenhead Amintor at my years?
  • Aspatia
    • A maidenhead, Amintor,
      At my years?
      • The Maid's Tragedy, ed. T. W. Craik (Manchester UP, 1988), p. 90

• Is flesh so earthly to endure all this?
  Are these the joyes of Marriage? Hymen keep
  This story (that will make succeeding youth
  Neglect thy Ceremonies) from all ears.
  • Amintor

Act III

What could he do, ... But ruin thee for ever, if he had not killed thee?

• Do not I know the uncontroulèd thoughts
  That youth brings with him, when his bloud is high
  With expectation and desires of that
  He long hath waited for? is not his spirit,
  Though he be temperate, of a valiant strain,
  As this our age hath known? what could he do,
  If such a sudden speech had met his blood,
  But ruine thee for ever.
  • The King to Evadne

Act IV

• My charity shall go along with thee,
  Though my embraces must be far from thee.
  • Amintor to Evadne

Act V

This steel
Comes to redeem the honour that you stole.

• I was a world of vertue,
  Till your curst Court and you (hell bless you for't)
  With your temptations on temptations
  Made me give up mine honour.
  • Evadne

• Evadne: Stay Sir, stay,
  You are too hot, and I have brought you Physick
  To temper your high veins.
  King: Prethee to bed then; let me take it warm,
  There you shall know the state of my body better.
  Evadne: I know you have a surfeited foul body,
  And you must bleed.
  King: Bleed!
  Evadne: Ay, you shall bleed: lie still, and if the Devil
  Your lust will give you leave, repent: this steel
  Comes to redeem the honour that you stole.
  • Evadne

• Die all our faults together; I forgive thee.
  • Evadne

• I am not she: nor bear I in this breast
  So much cold Spirit to be call'd a Woman:
  I am a Tyger: I am any thing
  That knows not pity.
  • Evadne

• 1 Gentleman: Come now she's gone, let's enter, the King expects it, and will be angry.
  2 Gentleman: 'Tis a fine wench, we'l have a snap at her one of these nights as she goes from him.
  1 Gentleman: Content: how quickly he had done with her! I see Kings can do no more that way than other mortal people.
  • Two of the Bed-chamber

• Be sudden Sir to tie
  All again; what’s done is past recal,
  And past you to revenge.
  • Strato
    • Be sudden, sir, to tie
      All up again. What’s done is past recall,
      And past you to revenge.
      • The Maid's Tragedy, ed. T. W. Craik (Manchester UP, 1988), p. 181

• May this a fair example be to me,
  To rule with temper: for on lustful Kings
  Unlookt for sudden deaths from heaven are sent!
  But curst is he that is their instrument.
  • Lysippus, closing speech

External links

• Encyclopedic article on The Maid's Tragedy on Wikipedia
• Works related to The Maid's Tragedy on Wikisource