Of the verse which follows, most of the observations made in regard to
the preceeding Scene are applicable. The comic touch in the midst of
Romont’s tirade (ll. 174-206) against old Novall, when the vehemence
of his indignation leads him to seek at every breath the epithet of
a different beast for his foe, is surely Field’s, not Massinger’s. A
Field scene of _The Queen of Corinth_, D. V, 438, parallels with its
_Thou a gentleman! thou an ass_, the construction of l. 276, while
there too is duplicated the _true-love knots_ of l. 314, though in a
rather grotesque connection. The verse tests are confirmative of Field:
21 per cent. double endings; 19 per cent, run-on lines. While a few
resemblances to phrases occurring somewhere in the works of Massinger
can be marked here and there in the 355 lines of the Scene, they are
not such as would demand consideration, nor are more numerous than
sheer chance would yield in the case of a writer so prolific as the
“stage-poet.” The parallel between ll. 284-297 and a passage from _The
Unnatural Combat_ is pointed out under the head of DATE, and one of
several possible explanations for this coincidence is there offered.
These lines in _The Fatal Dowry_ are as unmistakably Field’s as any
verse in the entire play; their short, abruptly broken periods and
their rapid flow are as characteristic of him as the style of their
analogue in _The Unnatural Combat_ is patently Massingerian.
Act III presents a more difficult problem. It will be noted that Fleay
and Boyle alike declare that its single long Scene is divided between
the two authors, but are unable to agree as to the point of division.
The first 316 lines are beyond question the work of Massinger. The tilt
between Romont and Beaumelle is conducted with that flood of rhetorical
vituperation by which he customarily attempts to delineate passion;
in no portion of the play is his diction and sentence-structure more
marked; and the parallels to passages elsewhere in his works reappear
with redoubled profusion. Indeed, they become too numerous for complete
citation; let it suffice to refer ll. 43-4 to D. III, 477; ll. 53-4 to
C-G. 173 a; ll. 80-3 to D. III, 481; l. 104 to C-G. 532 a; l. 116 to
C-G. 146 b; ll. 117-8 to D. VI, 294 and D. VI, 410; ll. 232-5 to C-G.
307 a, also to 475 b, and to D. VIII, 406; while the phrase, _Meet with
an ill construction_ (l. 238) is a common one with Massinger (cf. C-G.
76 a, 141 b, 193 b, 225 b, 339 b), as are such ironic observations as
the _Why, ’tis exceeding well_ of l. 293 (cf., e. g., 175 b). This part
of the Scene contains 45 per cent. double endings and 36 per cent.
run-on lines.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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