She had
appeared
in the mask of Beauty, 1608, Jan.
Ben Jonson - The Devil's Association
(2)
Charis and Mrs. Fitzdottrel are identical. The song (2. 6. 94 f. ) is
found complete in the _Celebration of Charis_. In Wittipol's preceding
speech we find the phrases 'milk and roses' and 'bank of kisses', which
occur in _Charis_ and in _U. 36_, and a reference to the husband who
is the 'just excuse' for the wife's infidelity, which occurs in _U.
36_. (3) Charis is Lady Hatton. Fleay believes that _Charis_, part
1, in which the poet speaks of himself as writing 'fifty years', was
written c 1622-3; but that parts 2-10 were written c 1608. In reference
to these parts he says: 'Written in reference to a mask in which
Charis represented Venus riding in a chariot drawn by swans and doves
(_Charis_, part 4), at a marriage, and leading the Graces in a dance
at Whitehall, worthy to be envied of the Queen (6), in which Cupid had
a part (2, 3, 5), at which Charis kissed him (6, 7), and afterwards
kept up a close intimacy with him (8, 9, 10). The mask of 1608, Feb.
9, exactly fulfils these conditions, and the Venus of that mask was
probably L. Elizabeth Hatton, the most beautiful of the then court
ladies.
She had appeared in the mask of Beauty, 1608, Jan. 10, but
in no other year traceable by me. From the Elegy, G. 36, manifestly
written to the same lady (compare it with the lines in 5 as to "the
bank of kisses" and "the bath of milk and roses"), we learn that Charis
had "a husband that is the just excuse of all that can be done him".
This was her second husband, Sir Edward Coke, to whom she was married
in 1593'.
Fleay's theory rests chiefly upon (1) his interpretation of _The
Celebration of Claris_; (2) the identity of Charis and Mrs.
Fitzdottrel. A study of the poem has led me to conclusions of a very
different nature from those of Fleay. They may be stated as follows:
_Charis_ 1. This was evidently written in 1622-3. Jonson plainly says:
'Though I now write fifty years'. Charis is here seemingly identified
with Lady Purbeck, daughter of Lady Hatton. Compare the last two lines
with the passage from _The Gipsies_. Fleay believes the compliments
were transferred in the masque at Lady Hatton's request.
_Charis_ 4 and 7 have every mark of being insertions. (1) They are in
different metres from each other and from the other sections, which in
this respect are uniform.
Charis and Mrs. Fitzdottrel are identical. The song (2. 6. 94 f. ) is
found complete in the _Celebration of Charis_. In Wittipol's preceding
speech we find the phrases 'milk and roses' and 'bank of kisses', which
occur in _Charis_ and in _U. 36_, and a reference to the husband who
is the 'just excuse' for the wife's infidelity, which occurs in _U.
36_. (3) Charis is Lady Hatton. Fleay believes that _Charis_, part
1, in which the poet speaks of himself as writing 'fifty years', was
written c 1622-3; but that parts 2-10 were written c 1608. In reference
to these parts he says: 'Written in reference to a mask in which
Charis represented Venus riding in a chariot drawn by swans and doves
(_Charis_, part 4), at a marriage, and leading the Graces in a dance
at Whitehall, worthy to be envied of the Queen (6), in which Cupid had
a part (2, 3, 5), at which Charis kissed him (6, 7), and afterwards
kept up a close intimacy with him (8, 9, 10). The mask of 1608, Feb.
9, exactly fulfils these conditions, and the Venus of that mask was
probably L. Elizabeth Hatton, the most beautiful of the then court
ladies.
She had appeared in the mask of Beauty, 1608, Jan. 10, but
in no other year traceable by me. From the Elegy, G. 36, manifestly
written to the same lady (compare it with the lines in 5 as to "the
bank of kisses" and "the bath of milk and roses"), we learn that Charis
had "a husband that is the just excuse of all that can be done him".
This was her second husband, Sir Edward Coke, to whom she was married
in 1593'.
Fleay's theory rests chiefly upon (1) his interpretation of _The
Celebration of Claris_; (2) the identity of Charis and Mrs.
Fitzdottrel. A study of the poem has led me to conclusions of a very
different nature from those of Fleay. They may be stated as follows:
_Charis_ 1. This was evidently written in 1622-3. Jonson plainly says:
'Though I now write fifty years'. Charis is here seemingly identified
with Lady Purbeck, daughter of Lady Hatton. Compare the last two lines
with the passage from _The Gipsies_. Fleay believes the compliments
were transferred in the masque at Lady Hatton's request.
_Charis_ 4 and 7 have every mark of being insertions. (1) They are in
different metres from each other and from the other sections, which in
this respect are uniform.
