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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.

    Accessed: 14/04/2014 10:10

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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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    290

    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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    292

    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

    VID

    KA ULA 293

    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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  • 8/12/2019 Autolycus's Trumpery

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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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    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

    VID

    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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  • 8/12/2019 Autolycus's Trumpery

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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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  • 8/12/2019 Autolycus's Trumpery

    18/18

    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.