The London Prodigal
The London Prodigal is an English Renaissance play, most notable for its inclusion among among the
Date, authorship and publication
The London Prodigal has been dated as early as c. 1591, and as late as 1603–04. It is one of a long series of "prodigal son" plays that reach back as far as the Bible for inspiration and precedent; but it is also an example of the evolving Elizabethan genre of domestic dramas, and is "one of the first naturalistic dramas in English".[1]
The play was not entered into the Stationers' Register. It was published in quarto in 1605 by the stationer Nathaniel Butter, and printed by Thomas Creede. The title states that it is "By William Shakespeare", and that it was performed by the King's Men's, the company for whom Shakespeare worked. The attribution to Shakespeare is generally rejected by scholars as the play does not read like his other work.
It was not included in the 1623
Individual scholars have attributed the play to
Synopsis
Matthew Flowerdale, the prodigal son of a merchant, Flowerdale Senior, is a libertine, gambler, swearer, brawler, drinker and thief. Flowerdale Senior's brother, Flowerdale Junior, warns him about Matthew's dissolute behaviour but Flowerdale Senior dismisses his fear, believing that "youth must have its course" and that his son will soon make amends. In order to spy on his son, Flowerdale Senior feigns death and appears disguised as a servant. He is soon appalled by the sum of his son's vices. Matthew Flowerdale forges a will in which he pretends to be a wealthy man bequeathing all his fortune to Sir Lancelot Spurcock. When the latter discovers the will, he decides to marry his daughter Luce with Matthew. They are quickly married but Matthew is arrested for debt on his wedding day. He becomes poorer and poorer and robs one of Luce's sisters. Although she is abominably treated by her husband (he even asks her to become a whore), Luce remains loyal to him and finally moves her dissolute husband to repentance and reform. Flowerdale Senior reveals his true identity and congratulates his son for his new resolutions.
Notes
- ^ Willard Thorp, quoted in Logan and Smith, The Popular School, p. 222.
- ^ ISBN 9781137271440.
- ^ Logan and Smith, The New Intellectuals, p. 92.
- ^ Logan and Smith, The Popular School, p. 221.
- ISBN 0521417376.)
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: CS1 maint: date and year (link
References
- C. F. Tucker Brooke, The Shakespeare Apocrypha, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1908.
- Terence P. Logan and Denzell S. Smith, The Popular School: A Survey and Bibliography of Recent Studies in English Renaissance Drama, Lincoln, Nebraska, University of Nebraska Press, 1975.
- Terence P. Logan and Denzell S. Smith, The New Intellectuals: A Survey and Bibliography of Recent Studies in English Renaissance Drama, Lincoln, Nebraska, University of Nebraska Press, 1977.
External links
- The London Prodigal at Project Gutenberg
- The London Prodigal at the Internet Archive
- The London Prodigal public domain audiobook at LibriVox