Four Old Plays Author:Francis James Child Subtitle: Three Interludes: Thersytes, Jack Jugler and Heywood's Pardoner and Frere: and Jocasta, a Tragedy by Gascoigne and Kinwelmarsh, With an Introduction and Notes General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1848 Original Publisher: G. Nichols Subjects: Interludes, English Drama / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh ... more »Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: INTRODUCTION. JACK JUGLER. The term Interlude, once applied to dramatic compositions generally, because these amusements were employed to fill up the intervals of grand entertainments, was afterwards used in a restricted sense and appropriated to short pieces, having simple plots, free from the abstractions of the Moralities, and possessing the attractions of some incident, lively dialogue, and individuality of character. Several such pieces were written by John Hey- wood, for performance at court, and he may well enough be called their inventor. Between the Moralities and the Interludes, there is a class partaking of the nature of both, and mingling allegorical with individual impersonation. To this class Mr. Collier refers Jack Jugler, under the title of " Moral-Plays resembling tragedy and comedy." Thersytes, like the Pardoner and Frere, comes under the head of Interludes. It will be observed, however, that the Vice in Jack Jugler possesses few traits of resemblance to that notorious character in the genuine Moral. " Jack Jugler is one of the very oldest pieces in our language founded upon a classic original. From passages, both in the prologue and epilogue,"]" it is to be collected that the piece was written before the Reformation was completed. " We may infer, therefore, that this interlude was written either in the reign of Ed...« less