''Jack Juggler'' (full title: ''A new Enterlued for Chyldren to playe, named Jacke Jugeler, both wytte, and very pleysent'') is an anonymous sixteenth-century comic interlude, considered to be one of the earliest examples of comedy in English alongside

Ralph Roister Doister ''Ralph Roister Doister'' is a sixteenth-century play by Nicholas Udall, which was once regarded as the first comedy to be written in the English language. The date of its composition is disputed, but the balance of opinion suggests that it w ...

and

Gammer Gurton's Needle John Still (c. 1543 – 26 February 1607/1608) was Master of two Cambridge colleges and then, from 1593, Bishop of Bath and Wells. He enjoyed considerable fame as an English preacher and disputant. He was formerly reputed to be the author of an ...

. The play is believed to have been written sometime between 1553 and 1561 and was first published in 1562. The author of the play is uncertain, however it has been proposed to be the work of the London schoolmaster,

Nicholas Udall Nicholas Udall (or Uvedale Udal, Woodall, or other variations) (1504 – 23 December 1556) was an English playwright, cleric, schoolmaster, the author of '' Ralph Roister Doister'', generally regarded as the first comedy written in the English ...

. As the full title indicates, the play was most likely performed by a troupe of child-actors possibly at court during the Christmas season. The plot is an adaptation of a section of the play ''

Amphitryon Amphitryon (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφιτρύων, ''gen''.: Ἀμφιτρύωνος; usually interpreted as "harassing either side", Latin: Amphitruo), in Greek mythology, was a son of Alcaeus, king of Tiryns in Argolis. His mother was named ...

'' by the Roman comic playwright

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus ( ; 254 – 184 BC) was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by Livius Andro ...

Characters

* Jack Juggler - A vice * Jenkin Careaway - A lackey to Jack Juggler * Master Bongrace - A gallant. * Dame Coy - A gentlewoman * Alice Trip and Go - A maid. Note that ''Juggler'', at this time, meant ''trickster''.

Summary

Prologue

The

prologue A prologue or prolog (from Ancient Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier st ...

begins with a Latin quotation from the

Distichs of Cato The ''Distichs of Cato'' (Latin: ''Catonis Disticha'', most famously known simply as ''Cato'') is a Latin collection of proverbial wisdom and morality by an unknown author from the 3rd or 4th century AD. The ''Cato'' was the most popular medieva ...

which it translates as, "Among thy careful business, use sometimes mirth and joy othat no bodily work, thy wits break or annoy." In a comically elevated register, the speaker of the prologue explains the importance of recreation and mirth as being restorative to the mind and introduces the work as being based on a comedy of Plautus which will not present any serious matter, but rather be light-hearted and humorous.

Play

Jenkin Careaway is a lazy servant who likes to gamble, drink, and steal, and often lies to his master (Bongrace) and mistress (Dame Coy) to get out of trouble. Jack Juggler decides to prank Careaway by dressing in Careaway's clothes and pretending to be him. The two confront one another, but Jack beats Careaway into submission. When Careaway tries to complain about the prank to his master and mistress, they do not believe him, and Careaway gets himself into more trouble in trying to explain what has happened, and, in the end, is beaten by both his master and master's wife.

Epilogue

The play is concluded by a moralizing epilogue, but many editors regard this as a later interpolation.

Date and text

''Jack Juggler'' was entered into the Register of the

Stationers' Company The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers (until 1937 the Worshipful Company of Stationers), usually known as the Stationers' Company, is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was formed in 1 ...

ca. Nov. 1562 by the printer William Coplande. The play survives in three editions: ca. 1562, ca. 1565, and 1570, the final edition was printed by

John Allde John Allde, also Aldaye, Alde or Aldye (floruit, fl. 1555–1592) was a Scottish stationer and printer. He was the first person on the registers to take up the freedom of the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers, Stationers' Comp ...

after Coplande's death in 1569.

References

External links

* {{Internet Archive, cu31924013324466 1562 plays Comedy plays English-language plays