King and the Subject

Massinger, Philip ([[1638])

Historical Records

Office of the Revels

On 5 June 1638, Sir Henry Herbert entered a substantial memorandum on "The King and the Subject." It included a 7-line quotation from the play (Bawcutt, item 386a, pp. 203-04; Adams, p. 23):

Monys? Wee’le rayse supplies what ways we please,

And force you to subscribe to blanks, in which

We’le mulct you as wee shall thinke fitt. The Caesars

In Rome were wise, acknowledginge no lawes

But what their swords did ratifye, the wives

And daughters of the senators bowinge to

Their wills, as deities, &c.'

It also included a background story on the play and the excerpt:

This is a peece taken out of Philip Massingers play, called The King and the Subject, and entered here for ever to bee remembered by my son and those that cast their eyes on it, in honour of Kinge Charles, my master, who, readinge over the play at Newmarket, set his marke upon the place with his owne hande, and in thes words:

This is too insolent, and to bee changed.

Note, that the poett makes it the speech of a king, Don Pedro king of Spayne, and spoken to his subjects.

Theatrical Provenance

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Probable Genre(s)

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Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

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References to the Play

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Critical Commentary

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For What It's Worth

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Works Cited

Bawcutt, N. W., ed. Control and Censorship of Caroline Drama: The Records of Sir Henry Herbert, Master of the Revels, 1623-73. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. item 386a, pp. 203-04 (p. 23).

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