Comparing Middletons A Chaste Maid in Cheapside and Beaumonts Knight

Upturning Social Tradition in Middleton's A Chaste Maid in Cheapside and Beaumont's Knight of the Burning Pestle Satirical dramatic works from early seventeenth-century England provide invaluable information about the society that spawned them through their comical and critical insights. Recurring themes from these works enhance one's knowledge of the culture in which they first appeared. The ascension of the lower and middle classes into social prestige and nobility emerges among the most prevalent dramatic themes of the time. Capitalizing upon the subsequent social confusion, seventeenth-century playwrights convey the uncertainty of whether to follow the dictum of flagging traditions or to purchase a higher place in society. To understand the nuances of how social change affected England, one needs only to glance at Thomas Middleton's 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 Cheapside's sister drama, Francis Beaumont's The Knight of the Burning Pestle, also depicts this situation in England despite its differing plot and structure. Moreover, both plays feature similar resolutions that subtly contribute to the aura of social confusion. To emphasize the prevalence of upward mobility, Middleton's A Chaste Maid in Cheapside and Beaumont's 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 inconspicuous ripple of the numerous social shock waves appears as women overcome their insolent suitors by feigning death: a figurative upheaval of 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 cultural certainties in their society. Works Cited Beaumont, Francis. The Knight of the Burning Pestle. Ed. John Doebler. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1967. Middleton, Thomas. A Chaste Maid in Cheapside. Ed. Alan Brissenden. New York: WW Norton & Company, Inc., 1997.