Comparing Middletons A Chaste Maid in Cheapside and Beaumonts Knight

Upturning Social Tradition in Middletons A immaculate Maid in Cheapside and Beaumonts Knight of the Burning Pestle Satirical dramatic works from early seventeenth-century England provide invaluable information about the society that spawned them through their shady and critical insights. Recurring themes from these works enhance is knowledge of the culture in which they first appeared. The ascension of the lower and middle classes into companionable prestige and gentry emerges among the most prevalent dramatic themes of the time. Capitalizing upon the subsequent social confusion, seventeenth-century playwrights convey the perplexity of whether to follow the dictum of flagging traditions or to purchase a higher(prenominal) place in society. To understand the nuances of how social change affected England, one needs only to glance at Thomas Middletons A Chaste Maid in Cheapside, which illustrates the struggle of the English aristocracy to survive as lower-born citizens triumphantly rise into its ranks. A Chaste Maid in Cheapsides child drama, Francis Beaumonts The Knight of the Burning Pestle, also depicts this situation in England despite its differing mend and structure. Moreover, both plays feature similar resolutions that subtly contribute to the aura of social confusion. To emphasize the prevalence of upward mobility, Middletons A Chaste Maid in Cheapside and Beaumonts The Knight of the Burning Pestle feature women who overcome sexually-motivated male suitors by feigning death, an action that symbolically exemplifies the quavering social boundaries and the diminishing... ...h works. One invisible ripple of the numerous social shock waves appears as women overcome their brazen-faced suitors by feigning death a figurative upheaval of Jewish-Orthodox social values. In addition, the unfulfilled eroticism of the suitors suggests the future deterioration of their belief that they must marry a woman for propagation and not for love. after the women escape subjection to this lifestyle by faking their deaths, the consequences of their resurrection demonstrate the inconstancy of pagan certainties in their society. Works Cited Beaumont, Francis. The Knight of the Burning Pestle. Ed. John Doebler. Lincoln University of nor-east Press, 1967. Middleton, Thomas. A Chaste Maid in Cheapside. Ed. Alan Brissenden. New York WW Norton & Company, Inc., 1997.