Hyde Park (play) - Synopsis

Synopsis

Hyde Park utilizes the triple-plot structure employed in many plays of the era — a structure that Shirley develops through a number of his plays, most notably in comedies like The Ball and The Lady of Pleasure. The main plot features the romance of Fairfield and Carol. Fairfield regards Carol as being "too cruel" in her attitude toward men; he maneuvers her into a commitment "never to desire my company "— as a paradoxical way of winning her. The two engage in a back-and-forth battle of wills and wits, a contest of mutual manipulation, each seeking the upper hand against each other in a series of encounters (Act I, scene ii; II,iv; III,ii; and V,i). In the end, they call their contest a tie and come to terms.

In the second-level plot, Trier engages in one of those all-too-foolish tests of love and faith that feature so often in plays of the English Renaissance: he has Julietta entertain Lord Bonville to try her loyalty...only to lose her instead. Bonville the rake and seducer is converted into a serious love partner by Julietta's honorable conduct (II,iii; III,i; and V,i).

And in the broad and farcical comic subplot, Mistress Bonavent made an agreement with her husband before he left for the sea: she would be free to marry again if he does not return in seven years. On the day the seven-year commitment expires, she marries a new love, Lacy — but on the same day Bonavent, with the good timing suggested by his name, returns, to reclaim his wife before her new marriage is consummated (II,ii; IV,iii). The play is rounded out with the usual (for Shirley) comic support, notably the clownish suitors Venture and Rider.