Toy to Please Chaste Ladies, A

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Historical Records

Performance Records

Playlists in Philip Henslowe's diary

Fol. 14 (Greg, I. 27)

ye 14 of novembʒ 1595	. . . . ne . .	Res at a toye to please my ladey	. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ljs
ye 21 of novembʒ 1595	. . . . . . . .	Res at a toye to please chaste ladeyes	. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxjs
ye 31 of novembʒ 1595	. . . . . . . .	Res at the toye to please chaste ladeyes	. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xijs
ye 10 of Jenewary 1595	. . . . . . . .	Res at a toye to please chaste ladeyes	. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviijs

Fol. 15^v (Greg 1.30):

ye 13 of aprell 1596

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Res at toye to please chaste ladeys

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxixs

Fol. 21^v (Greg 1.42)

ye 9 of June 1596	. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	Res at the chaste ladye	. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviijs
ye 12 of July 1596	. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	Res at the toye	. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xs

Theatrical Provenance

"A Toy to Please Chaste Ladies" was performed by the Admiral's men at the Rose over the span of a year, from November 1596 to November 1597.

Probable Genre(s)

Comedy (Harbage)

Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

None known.

References to the Play

None known.

Critical Commentary

Neither Malone, Collier, Fleay, BCED (2.304 #175), Greg II (#81, p. 177 ), nor Gurr has hazarded a guess about the story line of this play. Fleay does mention a play associated with James Shirley called "The Toy" and dated 1638, and Greg II picks up the echo, only to observe that it is "unlikely that the two plays were connected" (p. 177 #81).

Wiggins, Catalogue (#1018) doesn't guess at the story but does suggest that scholars have referred to it as "evidence for the view that the Rose repertory included 'soft pornography'" without attributing the claim. For his further musings on the possibilities suggested by Henslowe's change of phrasing from "please my lady" to "please chaste ladies," see #1018.

For What It's Worth

Who discusses the "soft pornography" of the Admiral's men's repertory?

Works Cited

Site created and maintained by Roslyn L. Knutson, Professor Emerita, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; 5 February 2021.