''Parasitaster, or The Fawn'' is an early Jacobean play, written by the dramatist and

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Under Contemporary, 1930-1960 ...

John Marston, probably in

1604 Events January–June * January 1 – '' The Masque of Indian and China Knights'' is performed by courtiers of James VI and I at Hampton Court. * January 14 – The Hampton Court Conference is held between James I of England ...

, and performed by the

Children of the Queen's Revels The Children of the Chapel are the boys with unbroken voices, choristers, who form part of the Chapel Royal, the body of singers and priests serving the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they were called upon to do so. They were overseen ...

in the

Blackfriars Theatre Blackfriars Theatre was the name given to two separate theatres located in the former Blackfriars Dominican priory in the City of London during the Renaissance. The first theatre began as a venue for the Children of the Chapel Royal, child acto ...

. The play is one of several written by Marston in the busy years 1604 and 1605, which also saw the production of ''

The Dutch Courtesan ''The Dutch Courtesan'' is an early Jacobean stage play written by the dramatist and satirist John Marston circa 1604. It was performed by the Children of the Queen's Revels, one of the troupes of boy actors active at the time, in the Blackf ...

'' and ''Sophonisba'', as well as ''

Eastward Ho ''Eastward Hoe'' or ''Eastward Ho!'' is an early Jacobean-era stage play written by George Chapman, Ben Jonson and John Marston. The play was first performed at the Blackfriars Theatre by a company of boy actors known as the Children of the ...

'', in which he collaborated with

Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...

and

George Chapman George Chapman (Hitchin, Hertfordshire, – London, 12 May 1634) was an English dramatist, translator and poet. He was a classical scholar whose work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been speculated to be the Rival Poet of Shak ...

. There is general agreement that ''The Fawn'' was most likely written and first performed in 1604, although a possible allusion in Act IV, scene i, to the bloody execution of Sir

Everard Digby Sir Everard Digby (c. 1578 – 30 January 1606) was a member of the group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Although he was raised in a Protestant household, and married a Protestant, Digby and his ...

, who was drawn and quartered for his role in the

Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby who sought ...

on 30 January 1606, suggests that the printed texts may include revisions, by Marston or others, after that date. The play was entered into the

Stationers' Register The Stationers' Register was a record book maintained by the Stationers' Company of London. The company is a trade guild given a royal charter in 1557 to regulate the various professions associated with the publishing industry, including print ...

on 12 March

1606 Events January–June * January 24 – Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators, for plotting against Parliament and James I of England, begins. * January 29 – Pedro Fernandes de Queirós discovers the Pi ...

, and two different

quarto Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...

s of that year survive. A note on the title page of the second quarto and an addition to the prefatory address to the reader state that many errors in "the first faulty impression" have been corrected by the author in the second. In addition to simple corrections, there are a number of other small changes to the dialogue and the stage directions. In all, approximately half of the pages in the second quarto were reset; the remainder were reprinted unchanged from the first edition. The play tells the story of Duke Hercules, who disguises himself as a flattering courtier, the Fawn, in order to infiltrate the court of Duke Gonzago and observe the behaviour of his son Tiberio, who has been sent to Gonzago as an ambassador. In the process, Hercules observes the lechery of Gonzago's courtiers, who are all embroiled in seedy sexual adventures, and the vanity and stupidity of Gonzago himself, who is a pompous old windbag., supported by , argues that Gonzago is intended to be an unflattering portrait of King

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

. At the play's conclusion, Hercules holds a symbolic Court of Cupid, in which all the foolish courtiers are arrested for their crimes against love and good sense.

Notes

References

* . * . * . * . * . *

External links

* 1st quarto (1606)
facsimile
(Internet Archive) * 2nd corrected quarto (1606)
facsimile
(Internet Archive)
transcription
(EEBO-TCP) Plays by John Marston 1604 plays {{17thC-play-stub