Arms and the Book: "Workes," "Playes," and "Warlike Accoutrements" in William Cavendish's The Country Captain

In the opening scene of The Country Captain, a play by William Cavendish, Earl of Newcastle, the titular Underwit reports that he has been newly "made a Captain of the traind band". When his servant Thomas Commends his master for the "desert, and vertue" that earned him this new...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Philological quarterly 2012-03, Vol.91 (2), p.277
Main Author: Pasupathi, Vimala C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cavendish, William (English duke)
Drama
Dramatists
Hughes, Stuart
Military personnel
Playwrights
Works
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In the opening scene of The Country Captain, a play by William Cavendish, Earl of Newcastle, the titular Underwit reports that he has been newly "made a Captain of the traind band". When his servant Thomas Commends his master for the "desert, and vertue" that earned him this new office, Underwit admits willingly that he is possessed of neither: "thou art deceaued," he says; "it is the vertue of the Commision, the Commission is enough to make any man an officer without desert". Endowed with the power to make a man something he is not, the commission functions something like an actor's part, a sense that Newcastle reinforces as his "Paper Captaine" attempts to perform his role convincingly. He declares, "he must thinkes how to provide mee of warlike accoutrements, to accommodate, which comes of Accommodo. Shakespeare the first, and the first".
ISSN:0031-7977
2169-5342