365 Day Project: Day 70
Matt Trent
Advocate for Growth through Knowledge & Experience | Co-Founder, GreenBox U | Guiding Professionals to Maximize Their Unique Strengths & Insights
Beaumont - The Adonis of Elizabethan Playwrights
Beaumont and Fletcher.?Philaster.?
[Vol. 47, pp. 667-677 of The Harvard Classics]
Today’s reading is the complete opening scene from Act I of the play Philaster by Beaumont and Fletcher.?Because of the 15-minute daily reading time allotment, Eliot doesn’t do the reader any favors here by not including any of the play’s preface with the reading.?The reader is just dropped into the story with no background knowledge which makes the reading feel a little disjointed and confusing.???
The play opens in one of Philaster's palace chambers. His loyal noblemen Dion, Claremont, and Thrasiline are discussing the current situation in Sicily. It is revealed that Philaster's father (recently deceased) was usurped by the King of Calabria. However, since Philaster is very popular among the people of Sicily, the new king cannot kill him. ?Instead, the new king has to keep Philaster alive and grant him all the comforts and freedom he desires.
“…till they saw Philaster ride through the streets pleased and without a guard; at which they threw their hats and their arms from them; some to make bonfires, some to drink, all for his deliverance: which wise men say is the cause the King labours to bring in the power of a foreign nation to awe his own with.”
The new king is supposed to marry his daughter, Arethusa, to Pharamond (a Spanish Prince). After the marriage, Pharamond will become the new ruler of Sicily.?The new king, along with Pharamond and Arethusa, entered the palace. The king announced he would marry his daughter to Pharamond and make the latter his successor. Philaster entered the palace calling Pharamond a "foreign man" which upsets both Pharamond and the king.
PHARAMOND
“He’s mad; beyond cure, mad.”
KING?
“You displease us: You are too bold.”
PHILASTER???
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“No, sir, I am too tame,
Too much a turtle, a thing born without passion,
A faint shadow, that every drunken cloud
Sails over, and makes nothing.”
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Best,
Matt
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To learn more about me, as well as my coaching services, please visit my website at?https://www.silverarrowcoaching.com/?or connect with me on LinkedIn.
Resources
Kindle version of The Harvard Classics ($1.99):?https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089K4RP1F/