autolycus's trumpery
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8/12/2019 Autolycus's Trumpery
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ice University
Autolycus' TrumperyAuthor(s): David KaulaSource: Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, Vol. 16, No. 2, Elizabethan and JacobeanDrama (Spring, 1976), pp. 287-303Published by: Rice UniversityStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/449769.
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Autolycus'Trumpery
DA VID
KA ULA
Autolycus, he
entertaining
ogue who
appears
as
part
of the
Bohemian scene
in The
Winter's
Tale,
is
a
character
with as
many
sides
as
the
"many
knavish
professions"
e
has runthrough incehe waswhippedout ofcourt ndlosthis ob as
servant o PrinceFlorizel.
n
the atter
art
of the
play
he wearsthree
differentisguises
nd
adroitlyctsout several
oles,
s
singing ester,
vagabond,peddler, utpurse,
nd courtier. rom one
standpoint
is
importance
o
the
play
s
minimal,
ince
his
only
contribution o the
plot is to get the old Shepherd
nd
his son
on
boardFlorizel's hip
with the "fardel"
containing the crucial
evidence
of
Perdita's
identity.
ut he
also serves he
more
general
dramaticfunction
f
ushering
n
thefestive
tmosphere
f
the
Bohemian
setting
withhis
songsofdaffodils, oxies,and thepleasuresofspringtime,nd of
providing
realistic
counterpoise
o
the yrical nd
mythological
pastoralism
of the
sheep-shearing
cene. The sources fromwhich
Shakespeare
reated
Autolycus
eem to be as
diverse
s
the roles he
makeshim
perform. s
Autolycus imselfxplains,he oweshis
name
and
his character
s a
"snapper-up
of
unconsidered
trifles"to
Autolycus heson
ofMercury,whomOvid in
the
Metamorphoses
describes s "such a
fellow s
in
theft nd
filchinghad no
peere."'
Among
his
other
possible progenitors re
the vice of theTudor
interludes,
uch
picaresque
heroes
as Lazarillo de
Tormes and
Nashe's Jack
Wilton, nd thepetty hieves
nd con-men f
the oney-
catchingpamphlets.2
What
wish to
considerhere s
yet nother lement n
Autolycus'
composition,
ne which has not
been identified efore
nd which
may
throw
urtheright
on
his
significance
n
the
play.
It
emerges
most
clearly
n his
soliloquy
n
the
heep-shearingcene fter
e has
sold all
his
peddler'swaresto
the
gullibleshepherds nd
"picked nd
cutmostof their estival urses":"I have soldall my rumpery:ot a
counterfeit
tone,
not a
ribbon,
lass,
pomander, rooch, able-book,
'Quoted in The Winter's
Tale, New Arden
edition by J.
H. P. PaffordLondon,
1963),p.
165. The
translation s Golding's.
2See
Winter's
Tale,
New Arden
edition,
pp. xxxiv-xxxv,xxix-lxxxi,
nd Kenneth
Muir,
Shakespeare's ources London,
1957),pp. 248-249.
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288
AUTOLYCUS' TRUMPERY
ballad, knife, ape,
glove, shoe-tie, racelet, orn-ring, o
keep my
packfrom asting. heythrongwhoshouldbuyfirst,s ifmy rinkets
had
been hallowed,
and
brought benediction o
the
buyer
. ."
(IV.iv.600-605).3 This
characterization f Autolycus'
wares as
"hallowed" trinketss anticipated n the ines of the servantwho
announces
his
arrival
t the
festival: He hathribbons f ll the olors
i'
th' rainbow . . inkles,
addises, ambrics,awns.Why,hesings m'
over,
s
if
they
were
gods
or
goddesses;youwould
think smock
were
a
she-angel,
he so
chants
to
the leevehand, nd the
work
bout the
square
on't"
(IV.iv.205-212). he sacred owerAutolycusnjectsnto
his wares ssuggestedswellbyhisOrpheus-like bility omesmerize
his
customers
withhis
songs
and
make them
partwiththeirmoney.
He
sings
his
ballads as
if
all men's
earsgrew
ohis
tunes" IV.iv.186);
the ballad he shows to the
Clown "so drewtherest
f
theherd o me
that all
their
other senses
stuck
in
ears"
(IV.iv.612-613).
Such
implications also appear
in the
word
"trumpery,"
which Shake-
speare
uses here
for hefirst ime n his
plays
and
employs
nly
once
again,
in
The
Tempest,where
he
applies
it
to theglittering
pparel
which
fatallydivertsTrinculo and Stephano from their
plot to
murderProspero IV.i.186). The OxfordEnglish Dictionarycites
Autolycus' ine,
"I
have sold
all mytrumpery,"
o llustrate ne of ts
definitions f the
term: "worthless
tuff, rash,
ubbish"
(2.a).
It
provides another
definiton, owever,which
in
the context eems
more
appropriate: Applied contemptuously
o
religious
practices,
ceremonies, maments,
tc.
regarded
s idle
or
superstitious"
2.c)-a
definition
supported by
examples
from three
sixteenth-century
Protestant
writers,
nd one from
Paradise
Lost
(III.475).
Another
termAutolycus pplies tohiswares,hishallowed"trinkets,"ould
have
the
same
connotations
n
Elizabethan
usage: "Applied
esp.
to
the
decorations
f
worship,
nd to
religious ites, eremonies,
eliefs,
etc. which the
speaker
thinksvain or trivial"
sb.'3)-a
definition
likewise llustrated
y
several
xamples
from
Protestantwriters.
In his
note on the word
"hallowed"
in
the New Arden
ditionof
The
Winter'sTale, J. H. P.
Pafford emarks hat t means
"made
sacred-as
bybeing
touched
gainst
ome
relic
or
blessed y church
dignitary.
r.
[Harold] Brooks
uggests hat his nd thereferenceo
'benediction' ssociates thecomic cheat Autolycuswith thatother
traditional
comic cheat on the
pre-Shakespearian
stage-the
Pardoner."
Pafford
hen istssome
Tudor moralities
n
which
this
type
s satirized.4What
Pafford's
ote
nd
thedefinitions
n
the
OED
3QuotationsfromThe Winter's
Tale are taken
from
he
Signet
edition by
Frank
Kermode New York, 1963).
4Winter's
ale, New
Arden
edition,p. 123.
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DA VID KA ULA
289
imply,but do not state,s that heterminology utolycus pplies to
his wares belongs to the verbal arsenal of anti-Catholicpolemical
writing n Reformation ngland. Again and again such words as
"trumpery"nd "trinkets" ppear n theProtestant iatribes gainst
what were considered the mercenary nd idolatrous practicesof
selling indulgences, rucifixes, osaries,medals,candles, and other
devotional objects.After he accessionof Elizabeth such practices
were illegal
in
England,
of
course, but they were
still
prevalent
enough
n
theCatholic underground
o
attract he pecial attention
of
the uthorities. hus
in
response
o
thepapal bull
of
xcommuni-
cation issuedagainst Queen Elizabeth n 1570,thegovernmenthe
following year enacted
a
statutewhich prohibited, mong
other
things, he mportationntoEngland of
any
token r
tokens, hing
r
things,alledby henameof n
Agnus
Dei,
or
any crosses, ictures, eads
or
suchlikevain
and
superstitious hings
rom he
bishop
or see of
Rome
...
which said Agnus
Dei is
used to be especiallyhallowed and
consecrated,
s it is
termed, y
the said
bishop
in his
own
person,and the said crosses,pictures,beads and suchlikesuperstitious hingsbe also hallowed either by the said
bishop
or
by
others
having power
or
pretending o have
power
for the
same....5
In
describinguch tems
he
Protestant riterseem o beespecially
addicted
to
the word
"trumpery," robably because, through
ts
derivationfrom
romperie,
t
suggestsdeception
or
trickery. hey
also
habitually roduceAutolycus-like
ists f
such
wares.
Thus in
A
declaration fegregious opish impostures, pamphlet hakespeare
consulted
n
writing ing Lear,6
amuel Harsnetdenounces
craftie
priests,
nd leacherousFriers"
who
"enritch
heir
urses,by selling
their
Pope-trumperyas Medals, agnus dei,
Blessed
beades, holy
water,
halowed Crosses,
periapts, mulets,
smocks
of proofe,
nd
such)
at a
good
rate."Harsnet lso uses
"trinkets"
n
this
ense
when
he
fulminates gainst "all the trinkets,oyes,& pedlarsware
n
the
Popes holy budget."7
In
attackingthe selling of pardons and
indulgences,William Tedder, recanted atholic priest, laims that
5"An Act against the bringing
n
and putting
n execution of bulls and other
instruments rom the
see of Rome" (13
Eliz. I, c.2), in G. R. Elton, The Tudor
Constitution Cambridge,
1965), p. 421. An Agnus Dei is a small
wax medallion
stampedwith
the
figure
f a lamb
bearing
cross.
6See KennethMuir,
"Samuel Harsnett nd King
Lear,"
Review
of
English Studies,
N.S., 2 (1951), 11-21, nd Shakespeare's
Sources,pp. 147-161.
7Adeclaration fegregiouspopish impostures
1603), pp. 137-138, 25.
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AUTOLYCUS'
TRUMPERY
"it is scant
possible to get thesegreat
ndulgences, ut bywearing
paire ofBeades,ora Chaine, Medall,Crucifixe, icture,AgnusDei,
or such like tromperie."8n his
sermons n theBook of
Revelation
GeorgeGifford
dentifies he "merchants"who
serve
he
Whore
of
Babylon
(Rev. 18:3) as Catholic
priests,who are "known bytheir
wares, uen
popish marchants, uen all
thatmade gaine of thetrash
and trumperies hich were olde
very
eere
n
the
poperie,bywhich
men
sought
helpe
for heir oules."9Yet
another xample appears
n
an
anti-papal atire ntitled he popes
parliament, hereJohn
Mayo
displays
"a whole
packe
of Romish
trumperies,
nd
Antichristian
illusions," and where he has the Pope declare: "Are all our
ornaments,
rders, nd ceremonies, uttoies, rash, nd trumperies?
all our Saints
and pictures,
ut dumbe
stockes nd foolerie?"10
As Autolycus s repeatedly poken
of as a "peddler" with his
"pack"
of
"wares,"
so another
Protestant
writer,
rancis
Bunny,
employs the same
terminology
n
condemning
the
traffic
n
devotionalobjects:
And besidessuch pedlaryware,
Agnus dei, blessedgraines,and such paltry tuffe,entabroad in greatpacks into all
places
to abuse theworld, rethought o haue many
vertues,
and to
be
of
great
fficacie or
many ood purposes:
But
pray
you myMasters
f
Rome,
when did
S.
Peter
bestowhis
time
making
uch
trifles,
r
n
packingvp such wares to sell vnto
Christians all Christendome
uer)
as
it were in
pedlers
packs?"I
Anotherpamphlet which uses such
language and seems
especially
appropriateto Autolycus s one written y theAnglicanminister
John
Rhodes and
published
n
1602underthe
title,
An answere
o
a
8The
recantations s theywere seuerallie
pronounced
by WylliamTedder and
Anthony yrrel
1588),p. 20.
n
theFolio textof he
Winter's ale the
word s likewise
spelled "tromperie,"which
makes ts derivation rom
romperie
more
obvious.
9Sermons pon the whole
booke of the
Revelation
1596), p. 352.
'0The popes
parliament
(1591), sig. Aiiii, p. 3. Some
other
writerswho use
'trumpery"n the
nti-Catholic
ense reSpenser,who
refers
o
"popishe
trumperie"
in
A
Viewof the
Present
tate
f
reland, d. W. L. Renwick
London,
1934), .
1
10;Jan
vander
Noot: "theirtoo too
muche knowne
trumperies,
nd lack an
Apes
plays" (A
theatre . . of voluptuousworldlings, r.T. Roest 1569],f.
44V);
John Racster: The
inuocationof Saints,
praier
for
he
dead,
or
any
such
trumpery"WWilliam
abasters
seven motives
[1598],
f.
8v);
and
George Downame: "innumerable
traditions,
superstitions,
rumperies
nd fooleries"
A
treatiseconcerningAntichrist1603], .97).
See also E. K.'s note to the
May
eclogue
of
Spenser'sShepheardes
Calender, nd
D.
Douglas Waters'
Spenser and
Symbolic Witchcraft
n
The
Shepheardes
Calender,"
SEL,
14
1974),
3-15.
"A
comparison
betweene he
auncient
fayth f
the
Romans,
and thenew Romish
religion
1595), p. 76.
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DA
VID KA ULA
291
Romish
rime.At
thebeginningRhodes
explainsthathe
tookpart n
a
search n which certainCatholicitemswerediscovered,ncluding
"Toy in Rime,
entituled,
A propernew Ballad,
wherein
re certaine
Catholike uestions
.. to
the
Protestant."
e then
ells
us his
reason
for
writing
he
pamphlet:
onely
f
zeale
to thetrueth,
nd of oue tosuchsimple oules,
as might
be snaredwith such
pretty
ayts s thisBallad
is,
haue taken little
paynes
n answering he ame
as well
as I
could....
I
am perswaded,
here re
many uch
Pamphlets,
together
ithother ike Romish
wares, hat re
sent broad
amongthecommonpeople,bothProtestantsnd Papists n
London
and
in
the countrey,
& that,
by certainwomen
Brokers
nd Pedlers as
of
ate
n Staffordshire
herewas)
who
with baskets
n their rmes,
hal come and offer
ou other
waresvnder colour,
nd so
sell you these,where
hey ee
and
know any likelyhood o vtter
hem....
vnder he habit
of
such,
many young
Iesuites, and
olde Masse-priests ange
abroad,and drawe disciples
after hem.'2
From this t would appear
that the "peddling
"
of such wares
was
carried n ina more hanmetaphorical ense.AsRhodes refersothe
ballad as
a
"pretty
ayt"
to
ensnare
"simple
soules,"
so
Autolycus
uses
his ballads
to
captivate
the
herd
of
simple shepherds.
n
the
central
portion
of
the
pamphlet
Rhodes
reproduces
he Catholic
ballad,
after ach
stanza
giving
his rebuttal
n
a
stanza
of his
own.
At
the nd hespeaks
of
t as an
example
of
"trumpery"
nd
produces
he
usual
Autolycus-like
atalogue:
"My
chiefest
urpose
herein
was,
that
the simple
and
ignorant
might
haue
benefit
hereby,
whom
Papistsabuse by sendingvntothem, uchliketrumpery,y Popish
pedlers....
Their
Popes
wares
call
these
things:
Pardons,Agnus
Deies,
Beades,holy
Candels, Paxes,
Crosses,Crucifixes,
ith
undrie
sorts fbookes.
One
other
amphlet
n
thisvein
worth
oticing
is
a translation
rom
he Frenchof Jean
Chassanion,published
n
1604under
he
itle:
The
merchandises
fpopish
priests. aying
open
to the
world,
how
cunningly hey
heate
and
abuse
poorepeople,
with
theyr
alse,
deceitfull,
nd
counterfeit
ares.
Adopting
the
metaphor
fCatholic
priests
s the merchants"who
serve heWhore
ofBabylon,Chassaniondwellsat length n the "cunningsleights"
and "queint
and dexterious"
methods
by
which
they
ure
their
customers
ntobuyingtheir
ounterfeit ares,whichhe inevitably
refers o as "trumpery":
Is it not
an extraordinarieptitude,
o sell
'2An answere
to a
Romish rime
1602), sig.
A2.
'3An answere
to a
Romish
rime, ig.
FlV.
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AUTOLYCUS' TRUMPERY
well, and
in
selling, obe well payd, nd that he
buyer finally) hall
haue nothing t all, but themeere ight f hiswares? . . thesemen,
like to uglers r Mummers,re deeply kild n
thiskindeofdealing,
and
know
very eadily,
o
sell,
&
resellthe ole
sight f their rump-
ery..'I Although
Autolycus oes not practise
heprecisekind of
fraud describedhere-that of selling the mere
sight of his wares
without the substance-he does suggest the
counterfeit ature of
some of them when he says:
"I
have sold all
my trumpery: ot a
counterfeit
tone,
not a ribbon, glass
.
to
keep my pack from
fasting."
All these nalogiesappear to ndicate hat neofAutolycus' everal
roles
s
thatof the cunning
merchant f popishwares.Shakespeare
may
be
alerting
is audiencethathe represents
ore han n ordinary
peddler when, ust beforehe first ppears singing
his
wares,
the
Clown and Perdita
make these
nigmatic
omments:
Clown.
You
have of these
peddlers
hat
have
more
n
them
than
you'd
think, ister.
Perdita.
Ay,
good brother, r go about
to think. IV.iv.216-
218)
As thiskind of merchant utolycuswould be a
vehiclefor atirizing
the
well-publicized
ctivities
f
the
missionary
riests
n
England,
or
those
who,
under the
habit of
peddlers, rangeabroad,
and drawe
disciples
fter hem."
Although
nusual
in
Shakespeare's lays, uch
anti-Catholic atire
would not be
entirely
nique
to The Winter's
Tale,
since
Shakespeare
had
already done something
ike this in
Macbeth,wherehe has thedrunkenPorter im some gibes at the
Jesuit echnique
f
equivocation.'5
n
thatplay
the atirehas a more
than
limited
topical
interest
ince
equivocationappears
in
various
guises throughout
the
play and
is
closely
linked to
the
moral
predicament f its hero. The question
to
ask
about
Autolycus
s
whether his
"popish"
associations likewise serve a
broader
function-whetherthey have
a
significant
elationshipto other
matters
resented
n the
heep-shearing
cene and other
parts
of
the
play.
One of themainpurposes f the heep-shearingcene s todisplay
Perdita
nd Florizel nd
their
rdent
ove for ach
other,
lovewhich
is to
play
such
an
important art
in
retrieving
eontes from he
wintry
ondition
of
penance
in which he
has existed
since
the
"The merchandises f popish
priests 1604), sig. C3v.
"See HenryN. Paul, The Royal Play ofMacbeth New
York,1950), p. 237-245, nd
Macbeth,New Arden ditionby KennethMuir (London, 1964),
pp. xvi-xix.
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DA
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supposed
death of Hermione and in
bringing
about the happy
reconciliations f the last twoscenes. Perdita s a special focusof
attention
n the
scene, as
her
beauty, nnocence, anid generosity
inspire the admiration
of nearly ll who see her, even the hostile
Polixenes.Fromone
standpoint,
utolycus eems o be a counterpart
to Perdita,
for
as
she dressesup
as
Flora,distributes lowers,nd
displays a spring-like itality, o he earlier ings
of
(laffodils,
he
coming
n
of
the
sweet
' th'
year,"
nd the
reviving
f
the
ed
blood
after
winter. n
examining
hetwocharactersmore losely,however,
we
can see that hedifferences
etween hem re moreplentiful nd
emphaticthan the similarities.Perditaherself hows that she is
dubious
of
Autolycus,
nd
therebymplies a potential ntagonism
between them,when she says shortly before he is to appear:
"Forewarn him that he use no scurrilous words
in's
tunes"
(IV.iv.215). Later Florizel ndicateswhat she thinks f the "'knacks"
his
fatherurges him
to
buy
for her from the "peddler's silken
treasury":
She
prizes
not
such
trifless these re"
(IV.iv.361).
WVhat
she
does prize are
the less
material "gifts"
ocked
up
in Florizel's
heart.On the other
ide,
Autolycus
hows
how
littlehe
thinks f
Perdita nd her harms n theonly commenthemakesabouther n
the
play.
To him
she is
merely
the
"clog"
at
Florizel's heels
(IV.iv.684).
The contrasts etween he two
characters re indeed several nd
follow consistent
attern.
f
Autolycus eals
n
manufactured
ares
such as
silks, beads,
and
bugle-bracelets,
erdita
distributes
uch
natural hings s flowers nd sendsherbrother o market o buy
fruits
and
spices.
While he sells trinkets hichartificiallynhance female
beauty, he dislikes"painting" bothin the flowergardenand the
boudoir IV.iv.101).
While
he is forever
ontriving
ow to
get
money
through icking pockets, uttingpurses,
nd
selling
his
trumpery,
she
freely
ffers er
flowers,
nd thewealth he
is
associated
with
s
not ordinarymoneybut "fairy
old" (III.iii.122). While he proceeds
through
series f
disguises
o deceivehis
victims,
he
s
embarrassed
bybeing "prankedup"
as
a
goddess
nd wishes o appear only
n
her
true
guise
as a
"poor lowly
maid"
(IV.iv.9-10).
While he
sings
of
tumbling
withhis "aunts"
n
thehay nd peddlesbawdyballads
with
refrainsike"Jumpher, nd thumpher," heand Florizel re models
of chaste
though certainly
ot
tepid)
love.
If
we
were
ooking
for
Freudian
meanings
we
might
ind
hem n
Autolycus' rick f utting
the hepherds' urses.
As he
himself emarks, hey
were
o
entranced
with
his
songs "'twas
nothing
to
geld
a
codpiece
of a
purse"
(IV.iv.615).
Far from
hampering
heforces
f
generation,
erdita n
the
other
hand
is
given
the
spect
of a
fertilityoddess through
her
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294 AUTOLYCUS'
TRUMPERY
association
with Flora and Proserpina, and she also
shows her
willingness o "breed" with Florizel IV.iv.103).
The
general distinctionbetweenAutolycus and Perdita,
then,
seemsto be
one between he rtificial nd
the natural, he
predatory
and the
charitable, he icentious nd the haste.But there s
more o
the contrast han this.
Shortlybefore
Autolycus enters he scene
Perdita s
praisedby he ther
haracters or er inging, ancing, nd
other
ccomplishments, ordoing
everythingfeatly." lorizeltells
her nhis
"wave o'
th'
ea" speech: whenyou sing,/ 'd have
you buy
and sell so; so
give alms,/ Pray so
.
.
."
(IV.iv.137-139).After his,
Autolycus nd his particular alents re announced: his singingso
that all men'sears
grew
o
his tunes,"his
chanting
verhis wares s
if
"they were
gods and goddesses." Clearly, as the
religious
connotations of
these lines suggest,
Shakespeare
s
asking
us to
compare
the two characters
n
termsof their different
modes of
singing and praying, hetypes f
spirituality hey epresent.
t is
in
terms f this ontrast
hat
Autolycus' popish"
associations ssume
broader ignificance.
n
chanting ver
his
wares s if
they
were
gods
and
goddesses"
or
in
"hallowing"
his
trinketso that
hey ppear
to
convey "benediction,"Autolycus s turning hem ntoobjectsof
idolatry.
As he
himself bserves,what he
appeals
to
in
his
selling
techniques
s the enses f
his
customers,
heir
ullible eyes
nd
ears,
whichapprehend nly the xternal
ppearance
of
things,
n
contrast
to
genuinefaith,
which focuses
n
the
nvisible
piritual
eality,
he
"euidence of
things
which
are not sene"
(Heb.
1:
:1).16
In
the
anti-
Catholic
polemics
of the
Elizabethanperiod Catholicism"
s
treated
as
virtually ynonymous
with
"idolatry,"
ince it was
thought
o
dependfor ts ppeal on the glitteringhewofoutward hings,'
1
on
ceremonies,mages, elics, hanting,
r
everything
ummed
p
by
he
word
trumpery.
In
the
fficial
lizabethan
homilyAgainst erillof
idolatrie,
nd
superfluous eckingof
churches, n extended iatribe
against
the "lewde
paynting,gilding,
and
clothing
of Idoles and
Images," theCatholicChurch s
equated with heWhore f
Babylon,
who "doeth
after
he ustome
f ..
harlots) aint
her
elfe,
nd
decke
and
tyre
er selfewith
gold, pearle,
tone,
nd all kindeof
pretious
iewells, hat he
shiningwith
the
utwardbeauty nd glory f
them,
mayplease thefoolishfantasie f fonde ouers, ndso entise hem o
spirituall
fornication ith her."'8
As
a
purveryor
f
artificial ids
to
'6Biblicalquotations
here re
takenfrom he
Geneva-Tomson
Bible
(ed.
1599).
'7Gifford,
ermonsvpon
Revelation,p.
326.
18Certaine
ermons
or
homilies appointed
to be
read
in
churches,
d.
MaryEllen
Rickey nd Thomas
B. Stroup Gainesville,
Fla., 1968),
econd
Tome, p. 69.There
re
many ther uch
descriptions
f
he
bejewelled
nd "painted"
Whore fBabylon n
the
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DA VID KA ULA
295
femalebeauty,
Autolycus eals
in thiskind
ofexternal ecoration r
"painting"-the "painting"whichPerdita, n her argumentwith
Polixenes
over the cultivation
f flowers, igorously
ejects:
I'll not put
The dibble
in earth, o
set one slip of them;
No more thanwere painted,
would
wish
This youth
hould say
twerewell,and only therefore
Desire to breed
by me.
(IV.iv.99-103)
As thehomilypiouslyobserves hat vsuallyspirituallynd carnall
Fornication oe together,"'9
o
Autolycus'
onnectionwith spiritu-
all
fornication"
s
implied by
his
promiscuous
affairswith
his
"aunts"
and "drabs" and
his
bawdy
ballads.
One
effect
e has
on
his
customers
s to
stimulate
awdy
hatter
etween
heClown and
his
two girl
friends. onsistentwith
this
s
hismetaphorical elding
of
the
hepherds,
is
encouraging
licentiousness
mong
them
which
s
actually
form f
barrenness,
he ntithesis f Perdita'sfecundity.20
A
common practice
n
the Protestant olemics
s
to
compare
the
Whoreof Babylonwith her opposite, the Brideof Christor true
church,
represented
y
the
Bride of
the
Lamb in Revelation
19:7,
21:2)
and theBride n theSong of Solomon.2'
Thus after
escribing
the
glittering
Whore n the
passage
quoted
above,
the
homilyAgainst
idolatrie
delineates
he Bride:
anti-Catholicpolemics (Spenser's
Duessa comes to mind,
"Purfled with
gold
and
pearle
of richassay" [FQ Iii. 13]).Some other xamplesappear in Gifford,ermons
vpon
Revelation, pp.
325-326,
nd
Robert
Cawdrey,
A treasvrie
r store-hovse
f
similies 1600),
pp. 501-502.
19Certaine
ermons,
. 19.
The homily laborates
n the ocus classicus
of this
dea,
the attack n
idolaters
n
thefirst
hapter f
Romans.
20The onnection
between
dolatrynd barrenness
s indicated y
Samuel
Gardiner
in a passage
on
the Whore
ofBabylon:
"for
s
theopen strumpet,
ho without
ny
difference,
dmitteth
ll
companions
alike that ome
vntoher, s alwaies
barren,
nd
without
fruite fwombe:
So
theRomish strumpet
dmitting nto the lappe
and
bosome
of theChurch, confused
haos
of
very
ascall
rudiments
i.e.,
traditions
nd
ceremonies],
no
maruaile it is that
they
Catholics]
are
barrenof
grace,and
the
immortall eedeof Godsmostholyword annotregeneratendbetterheir ffections"
(A pearle of
price 1600],
pp. 8-9).
We notice
thatfruits nd
seeds, ncluding
"rice,"
figure rominently
n
the hopping
ist Perditagives
to her brotherIV.iii.37 ff.),
he
moneyforwhichAutolycus
ilches. hese together
ithherflowers re the hings
he
plans
to distribute
t the festival,
n
contrast o Autolycus'
fancy rinkets.
21John ale
refers
o the two figures
n the
title
f his commentary
n Revelation,
The Image of
Both
Churches
1545),
n
Selected
Works,
d.
Henry
Christmas
or
he
Parker ociety Cambridge,
1849).
Such
a
comparison
s
standard rocedure
n all
the
Elizabethan
commentaries
n Revelation.
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8/12/2019 Autolycus's Trumpery
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296 AUTOLYCUS'
TRUMPERY
Whereas
n
thecontrary art, he trueChurch
of
GOD,
as a
chaste matron, spoused (as the Scripture eacheth) oone
husband, our Sauiour lesus Christ,
whom
alone shee
is
content nely to please and serue, nd
lookethnot to
delight
the yes
r
phantasies f nyother trange ouers,
r
wooers
s
contentwithhernaturall dornments,
ot
doubtingby
uch
sincere
implicitie,
est
to
please him,
who
can
well
skillof
the
difference
etweene
painted visage,
and
truenaturall
beauty.22
Perdita is similarlydistinguishedby her fidelity, implicity, nd
unpainted natural beauty,and indeed the play affords everal
indications hat
her
betrothal
o
Florizel
s
meant
o
represent,n
one
level
of
symbolism, heunion between hrist nd
his
Bride.Lest
this
seema desperate xercise
n
allegory-hunting,
t
s well torecallthat
the
analogy
between human
matrimony nd
the
union between
Christ nd the
church
was an Elizabethan
commonplace,
nd that
one was often nterpreted
n
terms f theother. t s stated oth n the
Bible- 'Husbands, loue your
wiues, euen
as Christ loued the
Church"
(Eph. 5:25)-and
in
the
marriage ervice
f the
Booke of
Common Prayer,which beginswith thepronouncement hat holy
Matrimonie
. . is
an honorable state, nstituted f God in paradise,
in
the ime fmans nnocencie, ignifying ntovs themysticall nion
that
s
betwixt
hrist nd his Church." Shakespearefirstntimates
the
nalogy
when Perdita
nd Florizel ppear at thebeginning fthe
sheep-shearing cene,
when
she says:
Your high self,
The gracious marko' the and, you have obscuredWitha swain's wearing; nd me, poor lowly maid,
Most
goddesslike
prankedup.
(IV.iv.7-10)
Florizel
has descended rom is exalted evel to appear in theguiseof
a
shepherd,
notion he
further
ccentuates
when he
compares
himself
o the
gods
who
humbled "theirdeities o love," including
"Golden
Apollo," who, ikehimself, ecame "poor humble wain"
(IV.iv.25-31). Perdita and Florizel are stating n the language of
pastoralromance ndpagan mythology hatcanbesaid with qual
validity fChrist:his humbling his deity o love and adopting the
guise
of a
shepherd.
f
the nalogy between hrist nd the icentious
gods
seems
dubious,
Florizel
himselfmakes the crucial distinction
when
he claims thathis love is morechaste than theirs:
22Certaine
ermons,
. 69.
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DA
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KA
ULA
297
Their transformations
Wereneverfor piece ofbeautyrarer,
Nor in
a way so
chaste....
(IV.iv.31-33)
Later
in
the
scene,
whenPolixenes
reveals
himself nd disrupts
he
betrothal
eremony,
e
applies courtly
nd dynastic
values rather
than Christian nes when
he rebukes
lorizelforpresuming
oplay
the
hepherd, ndhe also
reverses od's
acknowledgement
fhis
son:
"This
is mybelouedSonne,
n whome
amwel pleased"
Matt.3:17):
Markyourdivorce,youngsir,
Whom son
I
dare
not
call;
thou
art
too
base
To be acknowledged.
hou,
a scepter's
heir,
That
thus affect'st
sheep-hook IV.iv.421-424)
Despite
the
paternal
ispleasure,
owever,
lorizel
emains rue ohis
devotion
nd
is "nothing ltered":
What I was, am" (IV.iv.468)-
again
like
Christ,
who is the "same
yesterday,
nd to
day,
and
for
euer" (Heb. 13:8).
As forPerdita,n herfirstinesshedescribes erself s following
courseopposite
to Florizel'sdescent
rom
igh
to
ow:
"and
me,
poor
lowly
maid,/Mostgoddesslike
ranked
p."
Perdita
s
a
"poorlowly
maid" exalted
to the
level of the divine
suggests
another
figure
traditionally
quated
with the
Bride of
Christ,
the
Virgin
Mary,
specifically
s
she
speaks
of
herself
n
the
Magnificat:
For he
hath
looked
on the owlinesse
f his handmaiden....
He hath
.. exalted
the
owly" Luke
1:48, 2).23
erdita
s called
a
"goddess" gain
when
she
appears
before
eontes
V.i.131),
and
is
thusdistinguished
rom
the sham "gods and goddesses" nto whichAutolycus onverts is
trinkets. everal other superlatives
are
applied
to her: Florizel
"prizes"
hermore
han
ll
worldly
onors nd
possessions
IV.iv.376-
380);
she
s
the fairest"
rincess,
he
most
peerless iece
of
arth,"
"woman/
Worthmorethan ny
man" and
the rarest
f
ll
women,"
a
"paragon"
(V.i.87,94,
111-112,
53).
This
terminology
uggests
he
various biblical
accounts
of
the Bride of Christ
as
a
creature f
incomparable eauty
nd
worth,
he
paragon
of
creation,
uch
as the
23Thisreading
s from
heBishops'
Bible,
which comes somewhat loser
to
"poor
lowlymaid"
than
heGeneva-Tomson,
Forhee hath
ooked
on thepoore
degree
fhis
seruant,"
hough
lements
f both
ppear
inPerdita's
hrase.
n traditional
conology
Mary nd
theBride
fChrist
re fused
n the
igure
f
theBride
n the ong
ofSolomon.
Perhaps
the
fruits,pices,
nd flowers
ssociated
withPerdita
re
meant o
suggest
he
same temswhich
figure
o prominently
n
theSong.
One of the mblems
fthe
Bride,
the "garden nclosed"
(Cant. 4:12),
would
be equivalent
to the"rural garden"
with
which
Perdita s
implicitlydentified
s itschoicest
flowerIV.iv.84).
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298
AUTOLYCUS'
TRUMPERY
Bride in theSong of Solomon: the
"fairest mong women" (Cant.
5:9); thepearlofgreat rice r heavenly ingdom,morevaluable than
all
worldly
reasure Matt. 13:45-46); nd the Bride of the Lamb or
NewJersusalemn Revelation,whose
"shiningwas like stone
most
precious" Rev.21:11). Leontes' servant, ho is
responsible
or
much
of this
eulogizing
of
Perdita,
lso
says
of her:
This is a creature,
Would she begin a sect,mightquench thezeal
Of
all
professors lse;
make
proselytes
Ofwho she but bid follow. V.i.106-109)
Again a
distinction
s
implied between
hekind of
worshipPerdita
inspires nd theenchantment utolycus
xercises
ver
the "herd"
who follow
him.
fPerdita nd Florizel
beget wonder" V.i. 133), nd
if
the
discovery
of
her
identityproduces "admiration"
in
the
beholders
V.ii.
12),
what
Autolycus
ures
his
customers
nto
dmiring
is
a
mere
llusion:
"No
hearing,
no
feeling, utmysir'ssong,and
admiring
the
nothing
of
it"
(IV.iv.616-618).24
FromtheProtestanttandpoint, heBrideof Christwas thought o
signify
the
true Christian
church,
recently
resurrected
y
the
Reformersftereveral enturies f
obscuritynd persecution uring
theperiod
of
papal
darkness. ewel
maintains hat
he
newChurch f
Englandisnot
actuallynew but restoration f theprimitive hurch
of
the
postles
nd
early athers, "pure
virgin, potted
s
yet
withno
idolatry
nor with
any foul
or
shameful
fault,"
n
contrast o the
corrupted
atholic
Church,
he
most
gorgeous
harlot
Babylon.
25
If
Perdita is intendedto shadow forth he Bride ofChrist, hen she
would
logicallyrepresent
his
rue
Protestant" hurch s opposed to
the dolatrous Catholic"
church
epresented
yAutolycus,muchas
Una and Duessa and her
accomplice
Archimago
re
contrasted
n
these cclesiastical erms
n
Book
I
of The
Faerie
Queene.26
ater
n
24A parallel to the sortof
"admiration"
Autolycus ngenders ppears
in
Harsnet's
Declaration. n
attacking group ofCatholic exorcists,
arsnet laims that
heir
im
was "by playing
ouer ll thetrinkets,
oyes, pedlarsware
of
thePopes holy
budget...
to
aduance
the
credit,
f the
Catholique
church,
nd to
bring
nto admiration
heyr
owne persons, nd priestly ower,that o theymight atch thepooreGudgins, they
fished o
industriously or" p. 125). t s while the hepherds
re "admiring"
the
ong
that
Autolycuspicks and cuts their
urses.
25John
ewel,
An
Apologyof theChurchofEngland,tr.Ann Bacon
(1564),
d.
J.
E.
Booty Ithaca, N.
Y., 1963),pp. 121,
127.
26For
penser's
use
of
this ymbolism ee JosephineWaters
ennett,
he
Evolution
of
"The
Faerie Queene" (Chicago,
1942),pp. 108-123;
.
Douglas Waters, uessa as
Theological Satire
Columbia, Mo., 1970); and John
Erskine
Hankins,
Source and
Meaning in
Spenser'sAllegory Oxford,1971),pp.
99-119.
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DA VID KA ULA 299
the sheep-shearing
cene something rather curious
happens
to
Perdita,however,whenPolixenes removeshis disguiseand tries o
prevent the betrothalfrom taking place. Reversing his earlier
adulation
of
Perdita s the
prettiest
ow-born ass
that ver/
Ran on
the greensward" IV.iv.156-157),
he
speaks
of
her
scornfully s
a
"fresh piece/
Of
excellent
witchcraft,"
this
knack," and
an
"enchantment,/Worthy nough
a herdsman"
IV.iv.426-427, 32,
438-439).
What Polixenes is
doing
is
implicitly
dentifying
erdita
with what he himself little arliercalled the cheap
"knacks" in
Autolycus' ack
IV.iv.353),
he
gaudy
trifles" he herself
ejects, he
trumpery ith whichAutolycus nchants he "herd."27 wo ofthe
terms
e applies
to
her, witchcraft"
nd
"enchantment,"
ften
ccur
in the nti-Catholic
olemics,theWhore
of
Babylonbeingone who
deceives ll nationswith her
"inchantements"Rev. 18:23).
William
Perkins accuses the
Catholic priesthoodof practising
"Magicke,
sorcerie,
r
witchcraft,'28
Cawdrey
ikewise alls
them
"Magicians,
Witches,
and
Sorcerers,"
9
and Gifford
employs
the
witchcraft
metaphor
when he writes hat heWhore
f
Babylon
hath
played he
witch, nd byherwitchcraftathbewitched ll nations, nd seduced
them o commit
whoredome
withher."30Like Leontes arlier,who n
his jealous fury ransformedhe chaste Hermione into
a spotted
"adult'ress" nd called
Paulina
a
"witch,"
Polixenes
n
his
paternal
rage sblindtoPerdita's
rue piritualworth nd converts er
nto
her
antithesis.31
After
his,
o
escape
thewrath f Polixenes the
two
overs
isguise
themselves
nd take to a
ship.
Florizel
changes garments
with
his
former ervant
Autolycus,
nd Perdita
s
told to
"muffle
our
face"
and"disliken/ he truth fyour wnseeming" IV.iv.655-657). ince
Perdita's disguise
seems rather
uperfluous,
t
may
be intended o
have
a
symbolic
function.
Perhaps
its
significance
s
that,
ike
the
27Theword "trifle" s associatedwith Polixenes' view
of
Perdita
n Leontes' later
remark o Florizel: "I'd beg your
precious mistress,/Whichhe counts but a trifle"
(V.i.222).
28A eformed atholike 1598),
p. 345.
29Treasvrie f similies,p. 538.
30Sermons pon Revelation, p. 363. Harsnet also uses the
metaphor in the
Declaration,pp. 150-151.
5'A similar onversion ppears n Othello,
where
ago functions
s the vil magician
or Archimagowho destroys thello's
faithnDesdemonaby ransforminger rom he
chastebride nto the
cunning
whore," he
fairdevil" who
bewitched im.
Hamlet's
mother s another
emale
igure
who is
transformed,hough
n her
ase
the
onversion
is more than
an
illusion.
Clearly, he
theme
f
the
"two
images"
of
the
Bride
nd the
Whore is
one to which
Shakespeare
attached
considerable
significance.
For
his
handling
of
t n another
lay
see
my rticle,
'Mad
Idolatry'
n
Shakespeare's
Troilus
and Cressida,"
Texas Studies n Literature nd
Language,
15
1973),
25-38.
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300
AUTOLYCUS'
TRUMPERY
wanderingUna, Perditamust
conceal her beautybeneath veil and
journey n thewilderness, hisbeing thefate f the true hurch n a
time of spiritual darkness nd
persecution, r, as the prospering
Autolycus says,
a
"time when
the unjust man doth thrive"
(IV.iv.678).32 imilarly, s Una's
finalreunionwithher parents nd
betrothal to Redcrosse are
accompanied by allusions to the
presentationftheBride nd
her marriage o Christnear the nd of
Revelation,33
o
thediscovery fPerdita's dentitys surrounded ith
apocalyptic
vertones. ne
of
the
gentlemen
who
describe he
happy
scene ays: they
ooked
s
they
ad heard
f
world
ransomed,
r
one
destroyed"V.ii. 15-17)-wordswhich uggest he reation f"a newe
heauen, and a new earth"
nd
thepassing away
of
"the first eauen
and
the
first
arth"
Rev. 21:1).
A little ater he
ther
Gentleman
ays:
"The oracle
s
fulfilled; heKing's
daughter
s
found;
uch
a
deal of
wonder s broken ut within his
hour thatballad-makers annotbe
able
to
express
t....
This
news,
which
s
called
true,
s so like
an
old
tale that heverity
f
t s in
strong uspicion" V.ii.24-3 ).
We notice
several
choeshere
f
the arlier
inesof
FatherTime
when, overing
the ixteen-yearap
in
themiddle
of
the
play,
he
speaks
of
Perdita s
now
grown
n
grace
Equal
with
wondering.
What
of her
ensues
I
list
not
prophesy;but let Time's news
Be
known
when tis
brought
orth.
IV.i.24-27)
The
news Time chooses not
to
prophesy
s
finally rought
orthn
the fullness
of
time, ust
as the
unlikely promises
of the
Old
Testament,
hat
"old tale," are
fulfilled y the "good
news"
of
the
comingof theredeemer-newswhich,howevermuch "wonder" t
causes,
s
neverthelessMost
true"V.ii.35).The referenceo "ballad-
makers"recalls
he
mock
wonderswith
which
Autolycus
mazed the
shepherds
n
his
ballads-wonders he
insisted were
"Very
true"
(IV.iv.268).
321n
Una's case,
this symbolism
s
based on the
Bride's
veil
in Cant. 5:7 and the
woman's flight nto the wilderness
n
Rev. 12:6.
Perdita and Florizel'scomparable
flight nto a
wildernesss suggested yhis lines: "as th'unthought-onccident s guil-
ty/
o
what
we
wildlydo,
so we
profess/
urselves o
be
the laves f
hance,
nd
flies/
Of everywind thatblows"; and Camillo's: "a wild dedicationofyourselves To
unpathed
waters"
IV.iv.542-545, 70-571).
Una is
likewise
Long
tost
with tormes,
and bet
with
bitter
ind,"
nd
forced To
wander,
where
wilde
fortune ould
me
ead"
(FQ,
I.vii.28,50).
Implicit
n
the magery
f
bothpassages s the amiliar mblem fthe
church s
a
ship "ofte
ossed nd tourmoyled ith
outragious tormes nd tempestes"
(John Day, in
preface o Henry Bullinger,
A
hzndred
ermonsvpon the Apocalips
[1561], sig. Aiii).
"See
especially
Q, I.xii.22-23,where,with
the
removal fherveil,Una's "heavenly
beautie" shines
forth.
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DA VID KA ULA 301
After isplaying
is
virtuosity
s peddler
nd
cutpurse
n the heep-
shearing cene,Autolycus ecomes less interestingnd significant
character.Having
sold all
his
wares,
he
nextadoptsthedisguise
of
supercilious ourtier, arodying
he nfuriated olixenesby telling
the
old
Shepherd
nd
his
son what terrible
unishments
re
n
store
for hem.At thispoint
he
unintentionally
ontributeso theworking
out
of
the
nvisible
providential
esign,
or
the "secret urposes"
of
thegods, by getting
he two
shepherds
n
board Florizel's
hip
with
theprecious"fardel." Although
he
ridicules them s "two moles,
theseblind
ones"
(IV.iv.843),
he
is
actually ust
as blindhimself, nd
endsup "doing good" despitehimselfV.ii.132).Then in Sicilyhe
finally ppears as their ocial
inferior, he recipient f their imple
charity
nd
"gentle"
courtesy. aving
revertedo
his
original
role as
Florizel's ervant, e resumes is properplace
within
he ocial
order
after
is
period
of
vagabondage
and
trumpery-peddling.
Autolycus' "popish"
associations seem
to
be
limited
to
his
peddler's ole,
nd to
try
o
extend
hem o
his
other
ctivities
would
be
to commit ne
of
the ardinal
insof
Shakespeare
riticism,
he in
of
over-allegorizing.
ome
of
the
motifs
onnected
with
thatrole
do
come into play again, however, n the final scene, n the events
surrounding
the resurrection
f
Hermione. After
eading
the
spectators
nto
chapel,
Paulina draws side a curtain nd reveals
he
supposedly
ifeless tatue.
She calls it
"my poor image,"
and warns
the
nraptured
eontes
not
to kiss
t
esthe
stain
himself
with
oily
painting" (V.iii.57, 82).
"Image"
and
"painting"
are
suggestive
words, both because
one of
them echoes the "painting"
Perdita
rejected
n
her rgumentwithPolixenes,
nd
because
n
Elizabethan
usage they
re redolentwith connotations
f
idolatry.
he
homily
Against dolatrie ombines hetwowordswhen t condemns
"gylte
or
painted
Idole
or
Image"
and
the "lewde
paynting, ilding,
nd
clothing
of Idoles and Images.
34
In
the Protestant olemics the
biblical
injunctions gainst
the
making
nd
worshipping
f
mages
are
repeatedly
irected
gainst
Catholic devotional
practices,uch
as
the
etting p
of
saints'
tatues
n
churches.
n
comparing
he
ways
f
Christ and
Antichrist,
or
instance,
Thomas Becon writes
that
"Christe n his holie
lawe
...
forbiddethomake, ette orthe,
r kepe
any mageto beworshipped,"whereas Antichristaieth,t s awful
not onely to haue images
to sette them vp in Temples,
Chapels,
Oratories,
c.
butalso to
worshippe heim,
o
kneelebeforeheim, o
kisse them, o praie before hem,yea,
8c
o them."35 hus
Leontes,
34Certaineermons, p. 61, 66.
"The actes of Christe nd Antichriste1577), sigs.
Ei-EiV. For
an attack n saints'
images in particular ee Certain ermons, . 54.
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302 AUTOLYCUS' TRUMPERY
who has come to think f Hermioneas "sainted" V.i.57), must be
warned gainstkissingher mage esthe "stain" himself,nd Perdita,
when shekneelsbefore he tatue, rays o t, nd makes moveto kiss
it,
is
aware
of
performing hat might be seen as
"superstitious"
actions:
And
give me leave,
And do not say tis superstition hat
I kneel, nd then mplore her blessing.Lady,
Dear queen, that nded when I but began,
Giveme thathand ofyoursto kiss. V.iii.42-46)
Like
Leontes, Perdita must be warned against
kissing the statue
because
it s
freshly ainted,
he
"color's/
Not
dry"
V.iii.47). Their
attitude
f
gazing
wonder
t the
sight
of the
statue,
while
certainly
understandablend dramatically ffective,ears
resemblance o the
mindless "admiration" of Autolycus' ustomers
n
listening o his
tunes.
As Autolycus ays
f
the atter,
No
hearing,
o
feeling, utmy
sir's
song,
and
admiring
the
nothing
of
it,"
so Leontes observes f
himself nd Perdita:
I
am asham'd;
does not
the stone rebuke
me
For being more stone than t?
0
royal piece
There's magic
in
thymajesty,which has
My
evils
conjured
to
remembrance,
nd
From
my admiringdaughter ook the spirits,
Standing
ike stone with thee.
V.iii.37-42)
The implication s thatboth setsof admirershave through heir
ecstasy
ecome
ike
dumb dols themselves- idoles
..
of
stone,
nd
of
wood,
which neither
an see,
neither
eare,
nor
goe" (Rev. 9:20).
The important ifferences,
of
course, hat
Leontes and
Perdita re
fully
ware
of
what
they
re
doing
and comment
n their
ttitudes,
and
what
they
re
admiring
s much more han n
illusory mage
or
'"nothing."w36
36Leontes nd Perdita's adoration
of
Hermione's painted
image may provide
the
explanation
for
hakespeare'smuch-debated hoice
of
"thatrare talianmaster, ulioRomano" as itsfictitious aker V.ii. 104). Romano" is close to"Roman." The Third
Gentleman escribes im s having n almostgod-like reative ower: had he himself
eternitynd could put breath ntohis work, he] would beguile Nature
f her
ustom,
so perfectly
e
is
her
ape"; and Paulina: "her dead likeness do
well
believe/ xcels
whatever etyou ooked upon,/Or hand ofman hathdone"
V.iii. 15-17).According o
the Reformers,his s thekindofpowerthePope
blasphemously laimed
forhimself:
"the Pope is said to haue an heauenly power and
authority, nd thereforelso to
chaunge
the
nature
f
thinges, y turning he ubstance
f
ne
thing
nto
nother.And
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DA VID KA ULA
303
To move them
from otentially dolatrous o
genuine adoration,
Paulina proceeds o convert mage ntoreality, ead stone nto iving
flesh.To
accomplish this pparentmiracle he must
depend
not on
illicit spells ormagical deceptionbut
on
the
spiritualdedication
f
thebeholders:
It
is
required/
ou
do
awake your
aith"
V.iii.94-95).
As theReformers ould say, t snot the
doration
f
magesor other
outward ceremonies
but
the
strengthening f
faith which makes
spiritualregeneration ossible.AfterHermione
descendsfromher
pedestal, aulina
is
then ble to tellPerdita o
"kneel,/
And
prayyour
mother'sblessing" (V.iii.119-120). Such
kneeling and praying no
longer mackof dolatry. he blessingHermione hen sks thegods
to bestow
n
her
daughter
s
a last reminder
f
the
differenceetween
thiskind of
spirituality
nd the
sham "benediction"
Autolycus
old
with his
hallowed
trumpery.
University fWestern ntario
of nothinghe can make something" HenryBullinger,Of theend oftheworld,tr.
Thomas Potter?
1575],
ig.
HiV;Thomas
Bell repeats his ccusation n
The hvnting f
theRomish
foxe 1598], p.
3-5).The point
the
Reformers
ade about the
Pope is the
one implied
bout Romano,who did not
reallymake
Hermione. uch powerproperly
belongsonly to a higher
Maker.Shakespeare
may haveselectedRomano
because his
first amewould also give
him "papal"
associations, inkinghim both
withJulius
Caesar,
whom theReformersaw as
the
progenitor
f thepopes (see Junius'
marginal
note to Rev.
7:18
in
theGeneva-Tomson
Bible), and with one of the more
notorious
Renaissance popes, Julius
I.