The Knight of the Burning Pestle, by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. Edited by Guy N. Pocock
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The Knight of the Burning Pestle is a play in five acts by Francis Beaumont (1584 – 1616), first performed at Blackfriars Theatre in 1607. The play is a satire on chivalric romances and breaks the fourth wall from its outset.
The Knight of the Burning Pestle takes the format of a ‘play within a play’ as a play called The London Merchant is interrupted by members of the audience.
The ‘Citizen' insists that his apprentice, Rafe, should be written into the play. Given the role of ‘knight errant’, Rafe refers to himself as a 'Grocer Errant' with a burning pestle on his shield as a heraldic device.
The original play continues, with the Citizen coming onstage from time to time to demand more chivalric and exotic adventures for Rafe.
The play may have been the joint work of Beaumont and John Fletcher (1579–1625).
Published by J.M. Dent and E.P. Dutton in 1931.
Good condition. No dust jacket. Binding intact. Some interesting pencil notes in the margins. Some water staining on front and back boards, long since dried.
