James Shirley

The Lady of Pleasure

The Lady of Pleasure MCQs

Facts about James Shirley

➾ James Shirley was descended from the Shirleys of Warwick, the oldest knighted family in Warwickshire.

➾ Following his Master of Arts degree, Shirley was a minister of God’s word in or near St Albans.

➾ Shirley abandoned his post as minister, seemingly due to his conversion to the Roman Catholic faith.

➾ He served as master of St Albans School (1623–1625), writing his first play, Love Tricks, while teaching.

➾ Shirley served as house dramatist for Queen Henrietta’s Men, composing more than thirty regular plays.

➾ As a royal sympathiser, Shirley provided the text for the masque The Triumph of Peace in 1634.

➾ Between 1636 and 1640, he worked in Ireland, writing plays for Dublin’s new Werburgh Street Theatre.

➾ Absent in Dublin, his plays were sold off and published by stationers, causing him to leave the company.

➾ After London theatres closed in 1642, Shirley temporarily served with the Earl of Newcastle in the Civil War.

➾ To support himself during the Commonwealth period, Shirley taught and drudged on translations for John Ogilby.

➾ Shirley and his second wife died in 1666, reportedly from fright and exposure after the Great Fire of London.

James Shirley MCQs

1. When was the playwright James Shirley born?

A. Sept 1596
B. Oct 1666
C. Feb 1625
D. April 1642

A. Sept 1596.
James Shirley, the English poet and playwright, was born in the month of September in the year 1596.

2. Where was James Shirley born?

A. London, England
B. St Albans
C. Warwick
D. Ireland, Dublin

A. London, England.
James Shirley was born in London. He was descended from the Shirleys family of Warwickshire.

3. What was James Shirley’s primary profession?

A. Minister
B. Schoolmaster
C. Playwright
D. Soldier

C. Playwright.
Shirley is primarily known as an English poet and playwright, active during the Jacobean and Caroline periods.

4. What educational institution did Shirley attend first?

A. Oxford
B. Cambridge
C. Merchant Taylors’
D. St Albans

C. Merchant Taylors’.
Shirley received his early education at Merchant Taylors’ School located in London.

5. At which college did Shirley obtain his BA degree?

A. St John’s, Oxford
B. St Catharine’s
C. Merchant Taylors’
D. King’s College

B. St Catharine’s.
Shirley completed his BA degree at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, in or prior to 1618.

6. Around what year did Shirley receive his BA?

A. 1618
B. 1625
C. 1642
D. 1666

A. 1618.
He took his Bachelor of Arts degree at Cambridge in or before the year 1618, according to the sources.

7. What was the title of Shirley’s first poem?

A. Narcissus
B. Love Tricks
C. Echo
D. The Sisters

C. Echo.
His initial known poem was Echo, or the Unfortunate Lovers, which was published in 1618.

8. What work from 1646 is Shirley’s first poem thought to be?

A. Love Tricks
B. The Cardinal
C. Narcissus
D. The Traitor

C. Narcissus.
The sources suggest that the 1618 poem, Echo, is likely the same work as Narcissus, published in 1646.

9. What role did Shirley hold immediately after earning his MA?

A. Playwright
B. Minister
C. Schoolmaster
D. Attorney

B. Minister.
After achieving his MA, he became a minister of God’s word in the vicinity of St Albans.

10. Why did Shirley resign from his ministry role?

A. London beckoned
B. Civil war
C. Catholic conversion
D. Poor salary

C. Catholic conversion.
Shirley left the ministry post apparently because of his conversion to the Roman Catholic faith.

11. What school did Shirley become master of in 1623?

A. London School
B. Warwick School
C. St Albans School
D. Taylor’s School

C. St Albans School.
He served as the master of St Albans School for two years, from 1623 until 1625.

12. When did Shirley’s playwriting career commence?

A. 1618
B. 1625
C. 1642
D. 1666

B. 1625.
His career as a London playwright began in 1625 when he returned to the city from St Albans.

13. What was Shirley’s first play?

A. The Sisters
B. Love Tricks
C. The Maid’s Revenge
D. The Cardinal

B. Love Tricks.
Shirley’s first known play, Love Tricks, was licensed on February 10, 1625.

14. Where was Shirley living when he returned to London in 1625?

A. St Albans
B. Warwick
C. Grey’s Inn
D. Whitehall

C. Gray’s Inn.
Upon returning to London in 1625 to begin his playwriting career, he resided in Gray’s Inn.

15. Approximately how many regular plays did Shirley write in London?

A. Under ten
B. More than thirty
C. Exactly fifty
D. Only three

B. More than thirty.
During his 18 years in London, from 1625 to 1642, Shirley wrote more than 30 regular plays.

16. What types of plays did Shirley write during his London career?

A. Histories, Masques
B. Tragedies, Comedies
C. Tragicomedies
D. All listed

D. All listed.
Shirley wrote tragedies, comedies, and tragicomedies, alongside masques and entertainments.

17. For which company was Shirley house dramatist?

A. King’s Men
B. Parliament’s Men
C. Queen Henrietta’s
D. Lord Chamberlain’s

C. Queen Henrietta’s.
Shirley functioned as the house dramatist for the playing company known as Queen Henrietta’s Men.

18. With whom did Shirley side during the disputes with Parliament?

A. Oliver Cromwell
B. William Prynne
C. The King
D. The Gentlemen

C. The King.
Shirley maintained sympathies with the King in the political disputes against the English Parliament.

19. Who attacked the stage in the book Histriomastix?

A. William Prynne
B. John Ogilby
C. Charles Lamb
D. Thomas Stanley

A. William Prynne.
Shirley made a bitter attack on William Prynne, who had previously attacked the stage in his work Histriomastix.

20. What masque text did Shirley supply in 1634?

A. The Triumph of Beauty
B. The Triumph of Peace
C. Cupid and Death
D. Honoria and Mammon

B. The Triumph of Peace.
In 1634, he supplied the text for The Triumph of Peace, a masque presented at Whitehall.

21. What social group presented The Triumph of Peace?

A. The King’s servants
B. Inns of Court gentlemen
C. Queen Henrietta’s
D. The Earl’s soldiers

B. Inns of Court gentlemen.
This masque was presented at Whitehall by the gentlemen of the Inns of Court.

22. When did Shirley travel to Ireland?

A. 1625–1630
B. 1636–1640
C. 1642–1650
D. 1655–1660

B. 1636–1640.
Shirley went to Ireland, seemingly under patronage, sometime between the years 1636 and 1640.

23. Who was Shirley’s patron during his time in Ireland?

A. John Ogilby
B. Earl of Kildare
C. James II
D. Thomas Stanley

B. Earl of Kildare.
Shirley went to Ireland, apparently under the patronage of the Earl of Kildare, while in Dublin.

24. Where in Dublin were Shirley’s plays produced?

A. St Albans
B. Whitehall
C. Lincoln’s Inn
D. Werburgh Street

D. Werburgh Street.
His friend John Ogilby produced three or four of his plays at Dublin’s Werburgh Street Theatre.

25. What was significant about the Werburgh Street Theatre?

A. Oldest in London
B. Largest in Dublin
C. First in Ireland
D. Owned by Ogilby

C. First in Ireland.
The Werburgh Street Theatre was noted for being the first theatre ever built in the entire country of Ireland.

26. Which play was written by Shirley during his Dublin stay?

A. The Maid’s Revenge
B. The Royal Master
C. The Lady of Pleasure
D. Love Tricks

B. The Royal Master.
Shirley wrote several plays in Dublin, including The Royal Master, The Doubtful Heir, and The Constant Maid.

27. When did Shirley return to London from Ireland?

A. 1636
B. 1640
C. 1642
D. 1666

B. 1640.
Shirley returned to the city of London from his stay in Ireland in the year 1640.

28. Why did Shirley change acting companies after returning in 1640?

A. Low pay
B. Lack of roles
C. Plays were published
D. Artistic dispute

C. Plays were published.
Queen Henrietta’s Men sold off a dozen of Shirley’s plays, causing him to no longer work for them.

29. Which company acted in Shirley’s final London plays?

A. Queen Henrietta’s
B. The King’s Men
C. The Diet
D. The Inns of Court

B. The King’s Men.
The final plays Shirley wrote in London were performed by the prestigious company known as the King’s Men.

30. What event stopped Shirley’s playwriting career?

A. Great Fire
B. Theatre closure
C. Catholic conversion
D. Death of the King

B. Theatre closure.
His career as a playwright was definitively halted by the London theatre closure that occurred in 1642.

31. What action closed the London theatres in 1642?

A. Royal decree
B. Parliament suppression
C. Great Fire
D. Audience protest

B. Parliament suppression.
Playwriting was stopped by the suppression of stage plays enacted by the Parliament of England in 1642.

32. With whom did Shirley serve during the Civil War?

A. James II
B. Thomas Stanley
C. Earl of Newcastle
D. John Ogilby

C. Earl of Newcastle.
On the outbreak of the English Civil War, Shirley appeared to have served with the Earl of Newcastle.

33. Who kindly supported Shirley when the King’s fortunes declined?

A. William Gifford
B. Charles Lamb
C. Thomas Stanley
D. Alexander Dyce

C. Thomas Stanley.
He received some assistance from the kindness of Thomas Stanley when the King’s political fortunes began declining.

34. How did Shirley support himself during the Commonwealth period?

A. Playwriting
B. Acting
C. Teaching
D. Diplomacy

C. Teaching.
During the Commonwealth, he supported himself mainly by teaching and also publishing educational works.

35. What educational works did Shirley publish?

A. History books
B. Grammar rules
C. Plays
D. Tragedies

B. Grammar rules.
He published Rudiments of Grammar: The Rules Composed in English Verse during this pedagogical phase.

36. For whom was Shirley a literary “drudge” during the Commonwealth?

A. Thomas Stanley
B. John Ogilby
C. Charles II
D. William Gifford

B. John Ogilby.
Shirley was a “drudge” assisting John Ogilby with his large scale translation projects.

37. What translations did Shirley help Ogilby with?

A. Latin poetry
B. Iliad and Odyssey
C. Grammar rules
D. French history

B. Iliad and Odyssey.
Shirley assisted Ogilby in his comprehensive translations of Homer’s epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey.

38. Did Shirley write for the stage again under Charles II?

A. Yes
B. No
C. Unknown
D. Sometimes

B. No.
Although some of his comedies were revived, Shirley did not attempt to write for the stage again.

39. When did James Shirley die?

A. Sept 1596
B. Oct 1666
C. May 1692
D. 1688

B. Oct 1666.
James Shirley and his second wife died in October 1666, shortly after the Great Fire of London.

40. What event caused Shirley’s death according to Anthony Wood?

A. The Civil War
B. Great Fire fright
C. Old age
D. Illness

B. Great Fire fright.
Oxford biographer Anthony Wood reports that Shirley died from fright and exposure after the Great Fire of London.

41. Where was James Shirley buried?

A. St Albans
B. Gray’s Inn
C. St Giles in the Fields
D. Whitehall

C. St Giles in the Fields.
Shirley and his wife were buried at the church of St Giles in the Fields on October 29, 1666.

42. What genre is Shirley celebrated for?

A. Masques
B. City Comedies
C. Tragicomedies
D. All listed

D. All listed.
Shirley wrote prolifically across multiple genres, including tragedies, city comedies, and tragicomedies.

43. Which critic provided a major assessment of Shirley’s standing?

A. William Gifford
B. John Ogilby
C. Charles Lamb
D. Anthony Wood

C. Charles Lamb.
Charles Lamb provided the critical assessment that Shirley was the “last of a great race” of dramatists.

44. Why is Shirley known, according to Charles Lamb?

A. Transcendent genius
B. Grand style
C. Last of a race
D. Plot construction

C. Last of a race.
Lamb felt Shirley claimed a place among worthies because he was the last of a great race of playwrights.

45. What key element did Shirley share with his predecessors?

A. Same language
B. Genius
C. Original plots
D. Political views

A. Same language.
Shirley shared “nearly the same language and a set of moral feelings” with the great dramatists before him.

46. What dramatic characteristic did Shirley avoid?

A. High stage effect
B. Clever plots
C. Exaggeration
D. Commonplace thought

C. Exaggeration.
The sources state that the violence and exaggeration of many of Shirley’s contemporaries left him untouched.

47. What were Shirley’s scenes noted for being?

A. Complex
B. Ingeniously conceived
C. Artificial
D. Melodramatic

B. Ingeniously conceived.
Shirley’s scenes are described as being ingeniously conceived, contributing to a high level of stage effect.

48. What is the assessment of Shirley’s character?

A. Simple
B. Boldly drawn
C. Artificial
D. Unclear

B. Boldly drawn.
His characters were considered to be boldly and clearly drawn throughout his plays.

49. What phrase was derived from The Contention of Ajax and Ulysses?

A. The Traitor
B. Love Tricks
C. The Glories of our Blood
D. Narcissus

C. The Glories of our Blood.
The play closes with the famous lyric, The Glories of our Blood and State, often set to music.

50. What is the alternate title for “The Glories of Our Blood and State”?

A. Red Snake
B. Death The Leveller
C. The Triumph of Peace
D. Honoria and Mammon

B. Death The Leveller.
The lyric “The Glories of Our Blood and State” is also known under the later title Death The Leveller.

The Lady of Pleasure MCQs

1. Aretina dislikes the countrymen because they retain a sense of nothing but what?

A. The Earth
B. Wild women
C. Their money
D. Old customs

A. The earth.
Aretina believes country gentlemen are intellectually barren, focusing only on their ground and its crude realities.

2. What specific dance does the Steward mention when describing country Wakes?

A. Spanish jig
B. The Morris
C. Sellingers round
D. Old time

C. Sellingers round.
The Steward mentions this traditional country dance while describing the solemn ceremonies of the rustic people.

3. Sir Thomas Bornwell gave up their country home by performing what specific action?

A. Selling the Lordship
B. Gifting it away
C. Burned the lease
D. Trading it

A. Selling the Lordship.
Bornwell says he sold their country estate, ending any hope of returning to their quiet, rural life.

4. Bornwell accuses Aretina of employing her wit to serve her what?

A. Vast expenses
B. Vicious pride
C. Lustful desires
D. Friends’ needs

A. Vast expenses.
He criticises her huge spending, saying his wit is now dedicated to funding her outrageous luxury.

5. Aretina’s mighty looking-glasses are compared by Bornwell to what military item?

A. Artillery
B. Drawn swords
C. Old cannons
D. War engines

A. Artillery.
Bornwell uses this exaggerated metaphor to describe the immense size and conspicuous display of her mirrors.

6. Bornwell criticises Aretina’s clothing because the rich embroidery hides what is underneath?

A. Jewels fine
B. Rich Sattens
C. Bare skin
D. French silks

B. Rich Sattens.
Her excessive ornamentation prevents the rich cloth, like satin and plush, from displaying their own textures.

7. Bornwell observes that Aretina’s play is not a Pastime but what?

A. A tyranny
B. A great sin
C. A huge cost
D. A family curse

A. A tyranny.
She is obsessed with gambling, making it a violent, destructive, and controlling behaviour instead of a leisure activity.

8. Aretina’s night-time “revells” are referred to as meetings called what?

A. The Court of Pleasure
B. The Mask
C. The Ball
D. Love’s family

C. The Ball.
These expensive night gatherings are where gallants and ladies meet, translating “family of love” into costly sin.

9. Aretina tells Bornwell that a narrow-minded husband is a thief to his own what?

A. Good manners
B. Own fame
C. High birth
D. Estate value

B. Own fame.
She argues that frugality limits his reputation and prevents him from gaining state employment through popular vote.

10. Decoy claims she could not pass by Aretina’s door without rendering her what?

A. Due respect
B. Good wishes
C. New gossip
D. A quick kiss

A. Due respect.
Decoy uses polite, formal language to establish her presence, although she is secretly a bawd.

11. What specific item did Mr. Alexander Kickshaw borrow from Aretina?

A. A jewelled locket
B. Her pearl chain
C. A new hat
D. A fine jewel

B. Her pearl chain.
He claimed he needed to borrow the chain so his jeweller could take an exact copy of its design.

12. Mr. John Littleworth always carries what sticky sweetmeat in his pocket?

A. Orange drops
B. Oringado
C. French cake
D. White candies

B. Oringado.
He carries this sweet orange confection and sugar-plums to “sweeten his discourse” with ladies.

13. Bornwell enters the scene, asking Kickshaw and Littleworth what specific day it is abroad?

A. What houre ist
B. What day is it abroad
C. Any newes
D. Has it rained

B. What day is it abroad.
Bornwell greets the gallants with this seemingly polite question, showing his engagement in their idle conversation.

14. What event does Kickshaw say currently has all the noise in the town?

A. The cocking
B. The new play
C. New fashions
D. Great horse race

A. The cocking.
This refers to cockfighting, which Kickshaw says is currently drawing everyone’s attention and money.

15. What does Kickshaw say he will wager on one “battle” in the current event?

A. Six pence
B. A hundred pieces
C. His entire estate
D. All his jewels

B. A hundred pieces.
Kickshaw is boasting about the large sum of money he is willing to bet on a single cockfight.

16. Celestina’s beauty and elegance are compared to the grace and ornament of what?

A. Her garments
B. Her mind
C. Her jewels
D. Venus herself

A. Her garments.
Kickshaw is most taken with her mind, even though her rich clothing and jewels are graceful.

17. Bornwell decides to change his thrifty opinion and pursue pleasure, repenting in “Sacke and” what?

A. Prodigalitie
B. High spending
C. Fine clothes
D. Good wine

A. Prodigalitie.
Bornwell chooses to join Aretina’s extravagance, regretting his former thrift and vowing total dissipation.

18. Bornwell vows to enlarge his dining room to invite what kind of important visitors?

A. All the lords
B. Embassadors
C. The nobility
D. Foreign spies

B. Embassadors.
This boast shows his quick adoption of Aretina’s desire for extravagant, public shows of wealth and status.

19. Celestina criticises the Steward’s choice of hangings because they are wrought with what kind of historical stories?

A. Jewish stories
B. French War
C. Greek myths
D. Roman tales

A. Jewish stories.
She finds these Biblical scenes, stuffed with camels and corn, inappropriate and possibly scandalous for her house.

20. Celestina wants her hangings to fit and change with what specific timing?

A. With the fashions
B. The seasons of the year
C. Her feelings
D. Her mood

B. The seasons of the year.
She wants to change her rich silk and silver tapestries four times annually to match the current season.

21. Celestina is disgusted that her coach’s nails are not adorned with what?

A. Gold and jewels
B. Double guilt
C. Fine silver
D. Fresh lacquer

B. Double guilt.
She believes her single-guilt coach nails look cheap and are only fit for a common city merchant’s wife.

22. Celestina is insulted that her coach would have to “hackney out to Mile-end” and convey what passengers?

A. City tumblers
B. Pòor beggars
C. Common lawyers
D. Fat aldermen

A. City tumblers.
This suggests the cheap quality is only suitable for low-class acrobats going to drink cream and prunes in the suburbs.

23. Celestina boasts that her house will become the “Academy of wits,” who will write what in exchange for sack and sturgeon?

A. Grand tragedies
B. Panegyricks
C. Love poems
D. Great histories

B. Panegyricks.
She plans to feed wits richly so they will write elaborate, flattering formal tributes praising her extravagance.

24. Celestina boasts that her balcony will be the “Courtiers Idoll” and more gazed at than what public spectacle?

A. Royal palace
B. Temple Barre
C. Whitehall
D. Tower of London

B. Temple barre.
She aims for extreme visibility, surpassing the sight of public pageants seen by country lawyers.

25. When Celestina’s Steward offers counsel, she strikes him, and he notes there is too much “quicksilver” in her what?

A. Wicked brain
B. Quick fingers
C. Angry heart
D. Feet moving

B. Quick fingers.
The Steward sarcastically suggests she is overly reactive and volatile because she quickly slapped him for his advice.

26. Hairecut reveals he is a Courtier and confirms his title is what?

A. Sir Thomas Hairecut
B. Mr. Hairecut
C. Lord Hairecut
D. Squire Hairecut

B. Mr. Hairecut.
Celestina is likely disappointed, as she hoped he might be a Lord due to his confident approach.

27. Celestina asks Hairecut if his love is a Quotidian or if it holds for how long?

A. Every other day
B. A full month
C. Only weekends
D. Just the evening

A. Every other day.
She questions the constancy of his affection, comparing it to a daily or alternating illness.

28. Sir Thomas Bornwell plans to attempt to make Aretina jealous to help “Allay her” what?

A. High temper
B. Gamboling
C. Great pride
D. Costly sin

B. Gamboling.
He hopes that making her jealous will stop her expensive, playful, and reckless extravagance.

29. Fredericke’s tutor is sorry that what forced the young man to leave his studies?

A. His Aunt’s pleasure
B. His lack of money
C. A bad illness
D. The war

A. His Aunt’s pleasure.
Bornwell reads the letter, confirming that Aretina’s desire for Fredericke’s presence caused his abrupt departure.

30. When Fredericke appears in black satin, Aretina cries out that the boy is what?

A. Undone
B. A chaplain
C. Too learned
D. A simple man

A. Undone.
Aretina equates his scholarly black clothes with ruin, preferring the gaudy attire of the French mode.

31. Aretina wishes she had sent Fredericke to France, where they would have taught him to “wagge his” what “ala mode”?

A. New sword
B. Feather
C. Long hair
D. Right hand

B. Feather.
She regrets that he was not taught the French fashionable way of wearing his clothes and plume.

32. Aretina suggests that Fredericke’s learning might be so bad that he understands what difficult subject?

A. Logicke
B. Latin
C. Greek
D. Philosophy

A. Logicke.
She fears he understands Logic, thinking his academic knowledge will corrupt his social graces.

33. Aretina suggests that Latin is not a fit language to do what romantic action?

A. Make love
B. Court a mistress
C. Praise God
D. Write verses

B. Court a mistress.
She suggests that bookish language is useless for the fashionable social pursuits of London gentlemen.

34. The Steward says they no longer invite the pòor to dinner or keep a table for whom?

A. The tenants
B. The servants
C. Their friends
D. The needy

A. The tenants.
The Steward contrasts their new luxury with their former hospitality to their tenants in the country.

35. The Steward says they now feed only “princes” and feast on nothing but whom?

A. Court ladies
B. Princes
C. Fine courtiers
D. Clever wits

B. Princes.
This hyperbole illustrates the incredibly high cost and exclusivity of their new urban entertainment.

36. Fredericke is advised to forget his learning with all convenient speed for the credit of his what?

A. Noble family
B. Own fortune
C. Good name
D. New friends

A. Noble family.
His family’s reputation requires him to abandon academic pursuits and embrace fashionable ignorance.

37. Fredericke vows to start his education in the “arts of London” by first trying to do what?

A. Drink a health
B. Gamble money
C. Fight a man
D. Court a lady

A. Drink healthily.
He plans to test his ability to drink alcohol as his initial venture into London’s vices and learning.

38. Celestina claims her chief principle is to keep her heart under what?

A. Her own obedience
B. God’s grace
C. Her father
D. Strong control

A. Her own obedience.
This means she maintains emotional distance, choosing to “jeer, but love not,” to protect her freedom.

39. Celestina notes that a wealthy widow cannot be “thoroughly warm in mourning” before what happens?

A. A noble claps in
B. The jewels fade
C. Her beauty fades
D. The grief ends

A. A noble claps in.
She means rich, titled men quickly pursue wealthy widows before the official mourning period is even over.

40. Decoy tells the Lord she traffics in what specific kind of merchandise?

A. French goods
B. Flesh merchandise
C. Rare jewels
D. Fine silks

B. Flesh merchandise.
Decoy openly admits to pimping high-class women to “men of honour like yourself” for profit.

41. Decoy tries to tempt the Lord by offering him Aretina’s “very applicable” what?

A. Disposition
B. Fine wit
C. Great wealth
D. Soft heart

A. Disposition.
Decoy claims Aretina’s nature is easy to manipulate and ready to conform to the Lord’s desires.

42. The Lord reacts to Decoy’s offer by threatening to have her what?

A. Whipped, carted
B. Imprisoned
C. Publicly shamed
D. Sent away

A. Whipped, carted.
He threatens her with public disgrace, demonstrating his moral outrage at her suggestion involving his kinswoman.

43. Sentlove and Kickshaw joke that Lord Lovell’s faithful memory of his dead mistress is causing what?

A. A consumption
B. Sad poetry
C. Great shame
D. A lack of friends

A. A consumption.
They mock his fidelity, saying he is wasting his body on a ghost when living women could give him an “honourable consumption”.

44. Kickshaw boasts he has seen and tried as many women as another man with a what?

A. Good fortune
B. Mortal backe
C. Strong stomach
D. Braveheart

B. Mortal back.
He uses this phrase to suggest his sexual experience is limited only by his human frailty and physical ability.

45. Aretina’s jealousy of Celestina is primarily driven by what reason?

A. Her beauty shines above my own
B. Bornwell loves her
C. She is wealthy
D. She is virtuous

A. Her beauty shines above my own.
She admits she envies Celestina not for stealing her husband, but because her looks surpass Aretina’s.

46. Aretina directs Kickshaw and Littleworth to talk Celestina into either of what two states?

A. Shame or anger
B. Humbleness or anger
C. Love or fear
D. Silence or tears

B. Humbleness or anger.
Either result satisfies Aretina’s desire for revenge against the superior beauty who threatens to eclipse her.

47. Kickshaw promises to defame Celestina by having Littleworth call her a whore, and no man will fight him because Littleworth can endure what?

A. A cudgelling
B. Great shame
C. The stocks
D. Public lies

A. A cudgelling.
Since he is willing to accept a public beating, Kickshaw says no gentleman will fight him afterwards.

48. Kickshaw is worried that the two men who blindfolded him might secretly have been what?

A. Spirits
B. Bailiffs
C. Watchmen
D. Strong thieves

B. Bailiffs.
He fears this sudden blindfolding means he has been taken to a debtor’s prison, and he smells his debts.

49. Decoy, disguised, tells Kickshaw she is the Mistress of the house and has a fortune that will tire even what?

A. Prodigality
B. Great kings
C. Foolish sons
D. All spending

A. Prodigality.
She promises him limitless wealth if he is “wise” and accepts her as his mistress for the night.

50. Kickshaw, horrified, fears that one well-meant “strong sneeze upon her” would do what to Decoy?

A. Make her deaf
B. Fall away
C. Kill her
D. Make her cough

B. Fall away.
He fears her old body is so fragile that a violent sneeze would cause her to decompose completely.

Brief Overview

The Lady of Pleasure is a play by James Shirley, first published in 1637. The play is a Caroline-era comedy that addresses themes of social status, marital dynamics, and the pursuit of excessive pleasure in 17th-century England.

The story centers on Sir Thomas Bornwell and his wife, Aretina. They left their calm country life after selling their estate for a life in the luxurious, wild town. Aretina is proud and loves excessive spending and costly ceremonies, such as her expensive night revells called the Ball. She despises the country conversation of men who only talk of the earth.

Bornwell criticizes her vast expenses, such as her mighty-looking glasses and her expensive parties. Bornwell decides to cure his wife’s vanity by joining her in her extravagance. He repents his thrift and plans to make her jealous. He makes grand plans to enlarge his dining room for ambassadors and sell his running horses.

Meanwhile, two gallants, Kickshaw and Littleworth, flatter Aretina. Kickshaw tells her about Celestina, a rich, beautiful widow. Aretina becomes jealous because Celestina’s beauty “shines above my own.” Aretina hires Decoy to trick Kickshaw, but he is instead taken to a devil (Decoy in disguise), who gives him money.

Bornwell uses Celestina to make Aretina jealous, but Celestina is a virtuous woman who resists all suitors. Celestina’s virtue also convinces Lord Lovell to be chaste. Aretina sees her shame and is cured of her pride and jealousy. Bornwell reveals that his excessive spending was a trick, and their money is safe. Both couples are set to live nobly.