''The Play of Wyt and Science '' is a mid-sixteenth-century English

morality play The morality play is a genre of medieval and early Tudor drama. The term is used by scholars of literary and dramatic history to refer to a genre of play texts from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries that feature personified concepts ( ...

written by

John Redford John Redford (c. 1500 - died October or November 1547) was a major English composer, organist, and dramatist of the Tudor period. From about 1525 he was organist at St Paul's Cathedral (succeeding Thomas Hickman). He was choirmaster there from ...

. It is notable as one of the earliest plays to develop a moral thesis as part of a nominally unrelated plot. Redford was best known as a composer of keyboard music, and the play was written to be performed by the children's choir of

St. Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Gr ...

. The play concerns itself with education rather than salvation, stemming from Redford's role as a teacher rather than as a preacher. The character Wit initially sets off with naive enthusiasm to learn by his own initiative, but eventually gains appreciation for the guidance of instruction in a narrative that contains elements of

chivalric romance As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalric k ...

. Elements of the play may also imply a reference to

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

's marriage to his fourth wife,

Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (german: Anna von Kleve; 1515 – 16 July 1557) was Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. Not much is known about Anne before 1527, when she became betrothed to Francis, Duke of ...

. The play is known from a manuscript in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

(Add MS 15233), which includes most of the play bound with pages of unrelated organ music. The manuscript omits the beginning few pages of the play, the music for the songs, and the lyrics of the final song. By one estimate, nearly half of the manuscript's pages may be missing. There is no evidence that the play was ever printed, but it inspired two rewrites, one of which was written by

Francis Marbury Francis Marbury (sometimes spelled Merbury) (1555–1611) was a Cambridge-educated English cleric, schoolmaster and playwright. He is best known for being the father of Anne Hutchinson, considered the most famous English woman in colonial Ame ...

, and the plot was familiar enough that a pastiche of it was included in the play ''Sir Thomas More''.

Synopsis

Wit, having fallen in love with Lady Science, sets off to defeat the monster Tediousness, who is Science's greatest enemy. Wit ignores advice to use the sword of Comfort against Tediousness and is killed, but resurrected by Honest Recreation. Wit is then seduced by Idleness, leading to a comic scene between Idleness and Ignorance. A song performed by Fame, Riches, Favour, and Worship is interrupted by Wit, whom they do not recognize because Idleness and Ignorance have disguised him. This angers Wit until he looks in the mirror of Reason and learns his appearance had been changed, and Reason and Shame whip Wit into shape and reunite him with his colleagues, who use teamwork and the sword of Comfort to defeat Tediousness. Wit and Science then meet and agree to be married.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Play Of Wyt And Science English Renaissance plays 16th-century plays