A C T A U N I V E R S I T A T I S L O D Z I E N S I S
FO LIA L IT TE R A R IA A N G LIC A 1, 1997
Joanna Kazik
T H E M O N O L O G U E O F T H E VICE
The purpose o f this study is to analyze the function o f the m onologue o f the Vice, the medieval agent of evil, in chosen 16th century m orality plays. I will also deal with certain aspects of the language o f the Vice in his m onologue in the following late moralities: Respublica (1553),1 The Trial o f Treasure (1562-1567)2 Appius and Virginia (1564),3 L ike Will to Like (1568),4 Liberality and Prodigality (1567-1568),5 A ll fo r M oney (1577)6 and one transitional, or “ hybrid play,” Old Fortunatus (1599).7
I
The am biguous structure o f the Vice, who replaces earlier several vices or Seven Deadly Sins in the 16th century dram a, m akes him play the p art
1 “ A M erye Enterlude Entitled Respublica, M ade in the Y eare o f our L ord 1553, and th e F irst Yeare o f the M oost Prosperous Reigne o f out M ost Soveraigne Queen M arye the F irst,” in E. T. Schell, J. D . Shuchter, (eds.), English M orality Play and M oral Interludes, (H olt, R einhart and W inston, Inc., 1969). All references in the text will be to this edition.
2 “ A New and M ery Enterlude called the T rial o f Treasure,” in R. D odsley (ed.), A Select
Collection o f Old English Plays, (L ondon 1874-1876), vol. 3. All references in the text will
be to this edition.
3 “ A new Tragicall Comedie of A pius and V irginia,” in R. Dodsley (ed.), op. cit., vol. 4. All references in the text will be to this edition.
4 “ A n Enterlude Intituled Like Will to Like quoed the Deuil to the Colier,” in R . Dodsley (ed.), vol. 3. All references in the text will be to this edition.
3 “ Liberality and Prodigality. A Pleasant Comedie, Shewing the C ontention betweene Liberalitie and Prodigalitie. As it was playd before her M ajestie,” in R. D odsley (ed.), vol. 8. All references in the text will be to this edition.
6 “All for M oney” [1559-1577], (A moral and Pitieful Comedie, Intituled, All for M oney. Plainly representing the maners o f men and fashion o f the world noweadayes. Compiled by T . L upton, Roger W arde and R ichard M undee, 1578) in E. T. Schell, J. D. Shuchter (eds.)
op. cit. All references in the text will be to this edition.
7 F . Bowers (ed.), The Dramatic Works o f Thomas D ekker, (Cambridge: Cam bridge U niversity Press 1962), vol. 1. All references in the text will be to this edition.
o f an allegorical character, both the tem pter and the entertainer. A t the same time, he develops into a being who is a mem ber of some social group. It is discernible in the m onologue of the Vice which often serves as a kind of self-introduction. The Vice speaks about himself and, usually in a bragging way, presents his origin, education and skills. H aphazard, the Vice in Appius and Virginia, asks himself pseudo-philosophically “ W hat am I?” and in the following twenty lines tries to solve his dilemma. In an entertaining way he enum erates professions that would suit him most:
...a scholar, a schoolmaster, or else some youth.
A lawyer, a student, o r else a country clown. By the gods, I know not how best to devise M y nam e or my property...
M ost o f all these my nature do th enjoy, (p. 118)
Nichol Newfangle in Like Will to Like straightforw ardly announces his nam e in the expository monologue:
N ichol Newfangle is my nam e, do you n o t me know? M y whole education to you I shall show. (p. 309)
Vanity in Liberality and Prodigality, in contrast to Newfangle, is m ore ambiguous and tries to describe himself rather than to reveal directly his identity:
In w ords to m ake description o f my nam e, M y nature or conditions, were b u t vain; Sith this attire so plainly shows the same, As showed cannot be in w ords more plain. ...W hence I come, and why I hither come, And upon w hom I daily do attend, In brief, to show you in a little sum,
M y special meaning is, and so an end. (p. 333)
The Vice also often talks about his past experiences. F o r instance, Inclination in The Trial o f Treasure recounts the story of his life, going back even to the times when “ N oe’s ship was m ade” (p. 267). Newfangle in L ike Will to Like similarly describes his past upon the first appearance on the stage:
M y whole education to you I shall show.
F o r first, before I was born, I rem em ber very well, T h a t m y grandsire and I made a journey into hell; Where I was bound prentice before my nativity T o Lucifer himself, (p. 310)
T he two monologues echo the idea o f narrating bygone days. Both Inclination and Newfangle reach far back into their mem ory to recreate the past. It is stressed by num erous expressions such as “ I can rem em ber,” “ I am so o ld ” or “ before I was b o rn.” 8
It is notew orthy that the Vice frequently discloses his function as that o f the tem pter and evil-doer. In an exaggerated and m etaphorical way, he presents his purposes. F o r instance, in The Trial o f Treasure, the Vice Inclination declares in his opening monologue:
It is I th a t do guide the bent o f your bow, And ruleth your actions also day by day; (p. 268)
H e explicitly states his aims, thus defining the essence o f his nature. He dem onstrates “ a lucid awareness o f his vicious purpose.”9 N ot only is the Vice, in general, unasham ed o f his m isconduct and lack o f ethical judgem ent, like Inclination in the passage quoted above, but he also strangely prides him self on his m isdem eanour. F ortune in Liberality and Prodigality boasts o f her power:
F ortune is know n the queen of all renown:
T h a t makes, th a t mars; sets up and throws adow n. (p. 342)
T hus, the m onologue combines informative functions, or the announcem ent o f the Vice’s villainous plans with Schadenfreude.10 F o r instance, in Old Fortunatus, when the Virtue and the Vice plant trees o f good and evil, respectively, the latter declares:
Vertue, I am swome thy foe: if there th o u plant, Here opposite to thine, m y tree shall florish, A nd (as the running w ood-bind) spread her armes. T o choke thy withering boughes in their embrace, lie driue thee from this w orld: were Vertue fled, Vice as an Angel should be honoured, (p. 12)
It is noticeable that the Vice stands for practical wisdom. While the Virtue presents a m odel way o f life, the Vice advises his victims how to enjoy oneself and how to avoid remorse. F o r instance, V anity in Liberality and Prodigality counsels Prodigality where he should look for money:
* It should be mentioned th at the expository technique found its way into Renaissance dram a. Shakespeare’s Richard II I m ay be a very good example. In his opening m onologue R ichard introduces him self as an outside observer, scornfully describing his own deform ity and villainy. (See: W. Clemen, Shakespeare’s Soliloquies, Cambridge: Cam bridge U niversity Press, 1974, pp. 9-10).
* Ibid., p. 9. 10 Ibid., p. 9.
M oney comes n o t by force, money comes by chance; And sith a t one instant you both seek for money, Appeal bo th to F ortune, and then shall you try,
W hether either o r neither m ay hit to have money, (p. 347)
W hen Lust in The Trial o f Treasure is overtaken by pangs o f conscience, the Vice and his com panions suggest what to do to rid of them:
IN C . This cram p do th signify nothing in effect; N one o f your counsels he will now reject....
STU R D IN ESS. Then fear not the force o f these th a t be just, B ut labour yourself to advance and augment;
Be jocund and lively, sith your nam e is Lust, And then you shall easily obtain your intent.
ELA TIO N . Esteem yourself always equal with the best, And seek prom otion, power and dignity; ...
G R E E D . N ever fear G od, n o r the governor’s law,
B ut gripe, gripe, gripe greedily all th a t cometh in your hands, (p. 273)
It should be mentioned, however, th a t the Vice’s wisdom is sometimes accom panied by nonsense and implied satire, directed against the vicious. H aphazard in Appius and Virginia, addressing Appius, depicts the world where people are devoid o f sense o f fairness and m oral principles:
Conscience was careless and sailing by seas, W as drow ned in a basket and had a disease. Then care n o t for conscience the w orth o f a pin. And judgem ent judgefd] Justice to have a reward And judging still justly, but all now is m arr’d; T hus judgem ent and justice a w rong w ay hath gone. Then care n o t for Conscience the w orth of fable; Justice is n o m an, nor nought to do able. (p. 129)
H aphazard m anages to still his victim’s scruples so deftly th a t Appius is unable to see the fraud behind the Vice’s words. The Vice intentionally deflates the agents of good to render their impotence and insignificance.
It is im portant to remember that H aphazard’s persuasions m ay be accompanied by certain comic effects. The enactment of the scene, H aphazard’s m ovem ent around the stage can strengthen the purpose of the speech and additionally denigrate the Virtue.
W hen he is supposed to glorify Lucifer, Nicol Newfangle in L ike Will to L ike m akes fun o f the devil. Nicol distorts the words of the praise changing it into a meaningless speech:
LU. All hail, O noble prince o f hell!
N EW . All my dam e’s cows’ tail[s] fell dow n in the well. LU . I will exalt thee above the clouds.
NEW . 1 will salt thee, and hang thee in the shrouds. LU. T hou art the enhancer o f my renown.
NEW . T hou art Hance, the hangm an o f Calais tow n. LU. T o thee be honour alone.
NEW . T o thee shall come our hobbling Jone. (p. 317)
The Vice seeks a way to diminish Lucifer’s im portance and to show his own superiority. By imitating the devil Nicol not only ridicules him but also increases his own confidence and boosts his position. C ontorted expressions and deliberate play on words bring about verbal comic. The use of intonation can also enhance the comic effect. Elevated and em phatic intonation of an oath, for example, would contrast with Nicol’s jabber. A t the same time, Newfangle’s facial expressions, gestures and m ovem ent can be an im portant theatrical device to intensify the overall effect of nonsense and amuse the audience.
Inclination in The Trial o f Treasure behaves similarly to Newfangle. W hen he is trapped by Sapience, the agent o f good, the evil protagonist pretends to speak foreign languages to conceal his identity:
JU ST. T u rn back, ere you go, we have som ewhat to say. IN C . N on po in t parle fran?ois, non par m a foy.
SA PIEN CE. T o deceive us now himself he do th prepare. IN C . Ick en can ghene english spreken von waer. (p. 277)
Incoherent French- and Flemish-sounding noises are employed to take in the Vice’s opponents. The divergence between the agents of good and evil is shifted from the m oral level onto the linguistic one. The Vice and the Virtue, as it were, speak different languages and are unable to com m unicate. W hat Inclination says in the passage quoted above is incom prehensible and aims at puzzling the Virtue. A sudden switch to a foreign language brings ab o u t a comic effects, especially for the audience w ho are aw are o f Inclination’s attem pts to conceal his identity.
The Vice serves also as a representative of earthly delights. He distracts the hum an protagonist from eternal concerns and focuses his attention on tem porary pleasures. Therefore, the Vice includes in his language items representing earthly life. W hen, for instance, H aphazard in Appius and Virginia succeeds in tem pting Appius, the Vice happily announces he will have a new coat (p. 130). The Vice’s m aterialism indicates his function as a tem pter who stands for physical life and invites the hum an hero to indulge in it. He chooses food as one o f his favourite points o f reference. H e eagerly talks o f bread, pudding and m eat as they epitomize the biological life the Vice embodies. Thus, when almost sure o f his victory over Lust, Inclination in The Trial o f Treasure proudly declares th at Lust is full o f porridge” (p. 277).
T he Vice compares the fulfillment o f hum an needs to the act o f eating, as fit for people “ as a pudding for a friar’s m o u th ” (p. 318). Such imagery suggests the activity of the Vice on the physiological level. The Vice himself is unable to overcome his own depravity and to see the evil he causes.
A p art from frequent references to food and eating, the Vice fondly uses
a n i m al imagery and often compares people and objects to animals. Both Newfangle and Avarice refer to other rogues as dogs. Newfangle speaks o f “ a brace of hounds” that “ have taken their prey.” (p. 355) Avarice, in turn, calls the four gallants his good spaniels and whistles at them. The scene acquires a light tone and the situation becomes vaudeville-like.11 W hen his com panions finally get into a fight, Avarice complains:
I would have a bone here, rather than a groat,
T o m ake these snarling curs gnaw out each other’s throat. Here be eager whelps, lo! T o it, Boy! Cox him, Ball!
Poor I may pick straws, these hungry dogs will snatch all! (p. 248)
The Devil in A ll fo r M oney and Like Will to Like is com pared to a clumsy, dancing bear. M oney in Liberality and Prodigality is “ a b o ar in a sty” (p. 377) while Newfangle calls the gallows a “two-legged m are.” (p. 355)
The similarity of the com parisons o f the objects of desire to mice and rats in The Trial o f Treasure and Respublica is quite striking. Inclination and Avarice refer in their m onologues to the objects of their cravings in terms o f a rat and mice chased by a cat. Inclination describes the pursuit o f sexual pleasure as hunting mice which people “learn of the cat.” (p. 293) Those who look both for riches and physical satisfaction are cats. Avarice, who finds happiness in accum ulating gold, com pares himself to a c a t.12 He recounts the dialogue he supposedly had with the robbers ready to steal his gold:
“W hat would ye, my masters?” “W e look after a cat.” “W hat m ake ye hereabout?” “ W e have smelled a ra t.” (p. 242)
M oney and pleasure are chased by people like mice and rats are by cats. C onstant search for objects of desire resembles a hunt. Once the treasure is obtained, it m ust be guarded covetously to protect it from the outside world.
The image o f the miser created in Respublica is reinforced in A varice’s language. Avarice treats m oney like a hum an being. He directly addresses his bags of gold in his apostrophes. The Vice promises to bring the one he already has m ore fellows and let them live in peace and quiet in his
11 I. Janicka, Ben Jonson and the Popular Theatrical Tradition, (Łódź: U niw ersytet Łódzki, 1972), p. 34.
lodging (p. 271). The personification o f the m oney creates, as it were, a listener to whom Avarice m ay freely talk. The goods are his im aginary p artn ers.13 Interestingly, Avarice addresses his treasures in an affectionate way as if he were talking to his lover. His language is full of concern and sorrow when his sweet bags are “ lank and em pty” (p. 254), and amiable and tender when they are filled with money:
Come on, sweet bags o f gold, come on with a good will, I on you so tender and ye so forw ard still?
I know your desire: ye would fain be in my chest; When the belly is full the bones would be a t rest. Be content for a while, I will couch you all up soon
W here you shall n o t be spied neither of sun nor m oon. (p. 265)
The audience seem to be listening to a private conversation. They witness an intim ate confession, which makes the scene m ore personal. T he soothing m anner o f expression, gentle adjectives and loving words inten sify the m onologue. The intim acy o f the scene increases its dram atic impact.
It is w orth m entioning that the Vice, in general, from time to time employs techniques o f narration typical o f story-telling. Sometimes, he takes pleasure in delaying the climax o f his stories. F o r example, Avarice in Respublica promises his com panions to announce a piece o f news. Yet, instead o f getting straight to the point, the Vice pauses when the crucial p a rt of his tale is m ost awaited. Avarice teases the four gallants:
A D U LA T IO N : Oh, would Christ, good founder, ye would th a t thing open! A V A RICE: Bones, knave! W ilt thou have it ere it can be spoken?
O PPRESSIO N : F o r the passion o f G od, tell it us with all speed! A V A RICE: By the Cross, not a word here in haste made, indeed! IN SO LEN C E: Yes, good sweet Avarice, dispatch and tell a t once! A VA RICE: Will ye have a m atter before it can be told? (p. 245)
The Vice plays with his com rades and does not w ant to reveal the core o f the m atter. H e enjoys their curiosity and kindles it even m ore. Even when Avarice eventually begins his story, he is careful not to disclose the entire issue right away. He puts on the air o f an actor who, conscious of those who watch him, purposefully delays the solution to raise the listeners’ curiosity and engage them in his anecdote. Avarice scolds and quiets the four gallants to ensure silence in which everyone can concentrate well enough to hear the news and to appreciate his wit:
13 W. Clemen observes th at such an artificial form as a m onologue requires th e use o f im agined addressees to cover up the lack o f the real partner. In the case o f A varice, his bags seem to substitute for this lacking partnership. (W. Clemen, op. cit., p. 16-17).
A VA RICE: Whist! Silence! N o t a word! Mum! Let your clatter cease! A re ye with child to hear, and cannot hold your peace?
So sir, now. (p. 245)
Inclination in The Trial o f Treasure plays the same game with his listeners:
Tush, if you will give me leave, I ’ll tell ye how; ... B ut then these gentlewomen will be angry, T herefore I think best to hold my peace: N ay, I beseech you, let the m atter stay,
F o r I would n o t for tw enty pounds come in their hands; (p. 267)
The Vice also employs natural and simple language. It is free from the loftiness of the Virtue’s idiom. M oreover, the Vice introduces obscenities, like for example Nicol Newfangle in Like Will to Like after he swore to obey the Devil:
Body o f me, I was so afraid, I was like to bestench the place! M y buttocks m ade buttons o f the new fashion,
While the whoreson Devil was m aking his salutation, (p. 317)
The Vice’s m onologues often abound with dialectical and colloquial expressions. F o r instance, at the beginning o f his opening m onologue in Respublica, Avarice greets the audience, “ Now G odigood everychone, both great and small,” with the word “everychone,” an archaic form of “everyone” which “carries a suggestion o f a lower-class dialect.” 14 Unlike the Virtue, who with his sermonizing style intellectually dom inates the audience, the Vice tries to meet its level. W hat he says is comprehensible and easy to follow.
The ease with which the Vice converses with the viewers is enhanced by his frequent addresses to it. Direct appeals let the Vice establish a good rap p o rt with the audience and retain their attention. They play a crucial role in both including the audience in the performance and breaking the m onotony o f speeches as well as preventing boredom . D irect addresses introduce a sudden alteration in the usual tem po and offer a new perspective on the scenes. By m eans o f them , the Vice seeks the audience’s em otional involvement and understanding. W hen Avarice in Respublica m akes his first appearance on the stage, he entreats the audience:
Ye m ust p ardon my wits, for I tell you plain
I have a hive of hum ble bees swarming in my brain, (p. 237)
The Vice, unlike the agents o f virtue, treats his audience like a partner. H e speaks their language, shares their problem s and is m ore accessible than
the pom pous Virtue. Thus, it seems natural for Sin in A ll fo r M oney to implore the spectators:
...I tell you, sorrowfully;
Therefore, give me counsel w hat is best to be done. (p. 255)
Nicol Newfangle is similarly frank when he dem ands to know:
D o all o f you hold your peace?
W hy then, good gentle boy, how likest thou this play? N o m ore, but say thy mind;
H ow say you, little Meg? (p. 355)
T he Vice here is open and direct. Additionally, he is cheerful, which m akes him m ore likeable. Through the direct address, he invites the audience to participate in the play. The direct address challenges the audience and provides the actor with feedback. On the other hand, it breaks the theatrical illusion, showing the Vice as a real person and not merely as a theatrical creation.15
II
It would be interesting to analyze at this point the kinds o f the syntactic patterns the Vice in the m oralities analyzed uses and the struc tures which either are rhetorical or approach rhetoric. M ost dram atic are recurrent open questions, exclamations, commands and repetitions enhanced by rhythm.
1. Open questions are employed to intensify the em otional overtone of scenes, dram atize the m onologue and raise the listeners’ interest. W hen overtaken by a fit o f pain, the Vice Sin in A ll fo r M oney m oans:
O ut, alas m asters, w hat thing is in my belly?
W ho, w ho is able to abide this grief or pains? (p. 432)
T he questions provoke the audience to think about the reason o f Sin’s pain. T he audience feels itself in a position to find out w hat causes such suffering and how to help the Vice.
H aphazard in Appius and Virginia is even m ore convincing in his lam entation before being hanged. A long series o f questions opens his m onologue in which he sorrowfully complains of being m istreated. Instead o f a reward as Appius’s hard-working servant, H aphazard receives punishment:
W hy, how now, my lord Appius, w hat cheer? Why, where is my reward for this gear? Why did I ride, run, and revel,
And for all my jaunting now made a javel? Why - run, sir knave, call me Claudius? Then - run with a vengeance, watch Virginius? Then ride, sirrah; is Virginia a t church?
Then - gallop to see where her father d o th lurch? Then - up, sirrah; now w hat counsel?
O f dam e beauty w hat news canst thou tell? (pp. 150-51)
H aphazard questions the punishm ent he is about to receive and expresses disappointm ent with the world. A sharp divergence between the intensity o f the com plaints, pleas for sympathy and the source o f grief is discernible. H ap h azard ’s position as an agent of evil who brings destruction is contrasted with his miserable wails of a victim of an apparently unfair treatm ent.
Sometimes questions take on a satirical m eaning when the Vice ridicules his com panions. H e assumes a superior position tow ards his partners. His sarcastic attitude stresses the irony of the situation as the Vice shares the same qualities with those he wants to taunt.
Sancte benedicite, whom have we here?
T om Tum bler, or else some dancing bear? (p. 310)
asks Nicol Newfangle in Like Will to Like when the Devil enters. His questions are derisive. On seeing Money, all tired and worn out, Vanity in Liberality and Prodigality mockingly accuses him of drinking too m uch alcohol:
Why, where the vengeance, where the devil hast thou been? A m ong bram bles or briars? or spirits? (p. 360)
The Vice’s questions are one o f the devices of including the other p art into the conversation and stressing its two-fold structure.
2. Exclam ations enhance the em otional involvement o f the speaker and accentuate rhythm . They appear at the m om ent o f increased agitation before climactic points, which stresses their role as carriers o f m otion. Exclam ations reinforce the rhythm ical patterns and punctuate the tem po and emphasize parallel ideas and structures.16 In Respublica, Avarice’s exclam ations intensify his concern when he recalls th at he has forgotten to close his coffers of gold. Avarice, terrified, cries out:
O ut, alas, I fear I left my coffer open! I am surely undone! Alas, where be my keys?
16 See: M . J. H errick, Comic Theory in the Sixteenth Century, (U rbana: U niversity of Illinois Press, 1964), p. 92.
It is gone th a t I have sweat for all ray live days!
Woe w orth all whoreson thieves and such covetous knaves,
T h at for their winding sheet would scrape men out o f their graves! (p. 241)
The Vice shows his discomfort till he almost forgets himself. His exclamations, strengthened by the use o f rhymes in the last three lines prom pt action and dem onstrate the psychological state the Vice is in.17
3. Com m ands functionally correspond to exclamations which anim ate action and stress characters’ involvement in them. Their usual curtness and directness enforce a brisk tempo. F or instance, the Vice Sin in A ll fo r M oney orders Satan to
Stand back, ..., or I will h it you on the snout! It is high time th a t you had ended your song. (p. 437)
Sin’s order cuts short Satan’s whining and adds dynamics to the static complaining. Imperatives connote action. Due to their vivacity, they swi ftly change the overtone o f the scene. Thanks to the intonation and pitch at which they should usually be uttered as well as their em otional load, orders sound m ore forceful than declarative statem ents. C om m ands which H aph azard in Appius and Virginia gives him self are vivid and lively:
H aste for a hangm an in hazard o f hemp:
R un for a ridduck, there is no such imp. (p. 134)
The two verbs, run and haste, carry the idea o f m ovem ent and change. They prom pt H aphazard to undertake action. C oupled with alliteration, they enliven the scene and create an atm osphere o f urgency and agitation.
4. Rhythm helps to punctuate the m ost im portant elements o f the Vice’s m onologues. They are paced in enum erations of which the Vice is fond. A num ber o f nouns grouped together stresses the even rate of the m onologue. Vanity, in Liberality and Prodigality, clusters adjectives describing Prodigality and Tenacity:
Prodigality...? Y oung, wasteful, roisting Prodigality And old, sparing, covetous, niggard Tenacity? (p. 340)
The rhythm ical value o f parallel short phrases is m ore conspicuous in H ap h azard ’s monologue:
A louse, a louser, a leek or a lark, A dream er, a drum ble, a fire or a spark?
A caitiff, a cutthroat, a creeper in com ers.
A hairbrain, a gangman, or a grafter o f hom ers? (p. 118)
Rhythm , reinforced by the phonetic qualities of repeated sounds, becomes discernible when the speech is acted out. A lliteration stresses the phonic elements of the speech and its sound composition. A similar example can be found in Liberality and Prodigality.
VAN ITY: ... She, m inding in this place forthw ith t ’ appear, In her m ost gorgeous pom p and princely port,
Sends me to see all things in presence here, Prepar’d and furnish’d in the bravest sort. (p. 335)
Phonetic qualities of the consonants “ p ” and “ s” give the m onologue alternatively the impression of abrupt strength and hideous intrigue. The plosive “p ” sounds confident and conceited, while strident “ s” hisses in a sneaky and dishonest way.
5. Repetitions o f similar or identical structures serve to reinforce action. They emphasize the same idea in a rhythm ical m anner. The vision o f the corrupted world is strengthened in V anity’s m onologue in Liberality and Prodigality where seven out of nine lines end with the word “ vanity” :
N ow, sure, it is a w orld o f worlds to see, How all the world inclines to Vanity; M en seek a t first - th a t is but Vanity, A nd lose a t last - th a t was by Vanity, A nd yet continue still to follow Vanity, As though it were a thing o f certainty. A nd I th a t bear the m ane o f Vanity, And see the w orld’s exceeding Vanity, In following so the tracks of Vanity, D o trium ph still amid my empery. (p. 361)
The repetition o f the same word emphasizes the dom ination o f the Vice in the world. The attained rhythm reinforces this idea even m ore. A similar aim is achieved by the repetitive use of the identical structure in F o rtu n e ’s m onologue in the same play. Describing her power, she com pares herself to a queen:
By vestures w rought with gold so gorgeously: By reverence done to me o f high and low: By all these ornam ents o f bravery, By this my train, th a t now attends me so: By kings, th a t hale my chariot to and fro,
III
The discussed elements o f rhetoric diversify the language o f the Vice and m ake it m ore accessible for the audience. A t the same time, they anim ate it and introduce additional features of expression to the purely narrative or descriptive style o f some o f the Vice’s m onologues. These figures o f speech are associated with action and m ark the passages of heightened tension. They help to bring out the dram atic qualities o f the given m onologue. The following passage from Respublica m ay serve as an example o f the dram atic m onologue. Avarice recalls he left his coffers of gold open and imagines that his m oney is being stolen. H e hastily runs home. U pon coming back tells the audience how he found knaves around ready to rob him:
There was such tooting, such looking and such prying, Such harkening, such stalking, such watching, such spying, “W hat would ye, my masters?” “ We look after a cat.”
“ W hat m ake ye hereabout?” “ We have smelled a rat.” (p. 242-43)
First, Avarice merely describes the action. Later, however, he tries to act out what happened to him in “the playful, vaudeville dialogue o f questions and answers between the imagined thieves and h im self’.18 His story becomes a m ini-dram a with the action reaching climax when the Vice catches the thieves. His fears and rising suspicion are coupled by the intensification o f the action. The use o f rhythm and rhyme adds power to this m onologue.
Similarly, in Appius and Virginia, H aphazard describes w hat is happening off-stage. Like the G reek chorus, he fills in the gaps in the action by narrating it:
Claudius is knocking w ith ham m er and stone A t Virginius’ gate, as hard as he can lay on. By the gods, my m asters, H aphazard is hardy, F o r he will ru n rashly, be they never so many: Yea, he will sing sow’s snout, and snap with the best. But peace! (p. 140)
T he tension in the passage rises up to the m om ent when H aphazard suddenly calms down. The intensity o f the related events is stressed by the use o f short, dynamic words such as “knock,” “ru n ” or “ snap.” Short and rough-sounding words, loaded with consonants, heighten the tension. They create the impression o f haste and confusion, m aking his “ sum m ary” m ore dram atic. M onosyllables are crucial for the introduction o f swiftness and
sm oothness into the flow o f the Vice’s monologues. They enhance the tem po o f speech, accentuate its rhythmical character and give the impression of action and movement. They m ake the speech sound faster, m ore anim ated and diversified. Short words also enliven the language and stress the dram atic quality of the situation in which the Vice finds himself.
The language o f the Vice gives us an insight into the nature of this character and helps to understand his m otivation and m odes o f operation. His m onologue sheds light on the way he perceives the world and his own place in it. F o r the Vice the world consists merely of physiological reflexes which he, m a n ’s “ best friend,” stirs and intensifies. The m onologue o f the Vice reflects the functions the Vice serves. It has features of an allegorical character as well as o f a hum an being belonging to a social group and perform ing a social role. It reveals both a rustic entertainer who uses obscene language, converses with the audience and strives to ap pear entertaining, and a tem pter who appeals to the tempted by m eans of persuasive imagery and carefully chosen expressions. Sometimes, it bears traces of dram atic qualities. The m onologue is especially interesting when the Vice narrates the external action or becomes emotionally involved in his story. The use of rhetorical figures and direct addesses dem onstrate his em otional state. Such features o f the m onologue allow the audience/readers to see the events presented through the Vice’s eyes and to understand w hat kind o f person the Vice is.19
Institute o f English Studies U niversity o f Łódź
Joanna K azik
M O N O L O G W Y STĘPK U
Celem artykułu jest analiza języka W ystępku, alegorycznej postaci reprezentującej zło w moralitecie XVI-wiecznym. N a podstawie sześciu wybranych m oralitetów z drugiej połow y XVI w. oraz dram atu przejściowego z końca XVI w. autorka artykułu analizuje funkcje m onologu W ystępku oraz jego znaczenie jak o źródła informacji o osobowości owej postaci, jej sposobu percepcji świata, intencji, stanów emocjonalnych i motywacji. O m ów ione zostały najczęściej pojaw iające się figury retoryczne oraz rejestry używanego przez W ystępek języka. A u to rk a artykułu podkreśla również coraz wyraźniejszą dram atyzację m onologu W ystępku oraz opisuje pojaw iające się elementy dram atyczne odzwierciedlające przem iany gatunków teatralnych lego okresu.
