The Masque of Motley Act III Scene I

by Grok&Owen

10 min read

Develop the following scene in which the tone shifts to become more farcical as the characters are detained in a barn full of hops and their perception is transformed from the vapors as their perception of colors is transmogrified.

To develop the next scene (Act III, Scene I) of The Masque of Motley, we shift to a farcical tone, setting the action in a barn full of hops where the characters are detained after the chaotic midnight tryst hinted at in the market scene. The intoxicating vapors from fermenting hops transmogrify their perceptions of colors, amplifying the subjective misreadings of objective hues (per the article, The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/colors-are-objective-according-to-two-philosophers-even-though-the-blue-you-see-doesnt-match-what-i-see-234467) and turning aposematic signals into absurd, hallucinatory misinterpretations. This creates a riotous comedy of errors, with the characters’ deceits—Lord Roderick’s swindle, Mistress Cicely’s ring theft, Master Bartholomew Brew’s rival scheme, Parson Pious’s indulgences, and Master Cornelius Hue’s manipulation—colliding in a haze of mistaken identities and exaggerated accusations. The barn’s confinement, induced by a bumbling constable, heightens the farce, as the characters’ altered perceptions make predators and prey indistinguishable, pushing the web of deceit to absurd heights.

Scene Development: Act III, Scene I – The Barn of Bedlam

Context and Setup
Following the market scene, the characters converged at St. Paul’s churchyard for their respective schemes: Cicely lured Roderick with a forged letter to steal his ring, Bartholomew sent a similar note to get Roderick drunk, Parson Pious sought to “exorcise” the ring, and Dickon arrived to deliver payment, trailed by Gadric and Shakespeare. The tryst turned chaotic when a constable, mistaking their nocturnal gathering for a thieves’ plot, chased them into a nearby brewer’s barn filled with fermenting hops. Locked inside, the characters are overcome by hop vapors, which distort their perception of colors—objective hues like crimson, sapphire, and gold become subjective nightmares (e.g., crimson as green, sapphire as purple), per the article’s distinction between color’s reality and perception. This fuels a farcical escalation of their deceits, with each character misreading the others’ aposematic signals in absurd ways, accusing one another of outlandish crimes (e.g., witchcraft, demonology, piracy).

Tone and Style
The tone shifts to high farce, evoking Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (with its magical confusion) and The Comedy of Errors (with its mistaken identities). The dialogue remains in blank verse but grows frenetic, with rapid-fire exchanges, exaggerated exclamations, and slapstick physicality (e.g., stumbling over hop sacks, colliding in the dark). The hop vapors act as a comedic device, like Puck’s love potion, transforming the characters’ perceptions into a kaleidoscope of errors, while their deceits unravel in ludicrous ways. The barn’s rustic setting—piles of hops, creaking beams, and a single flickering lantern—adds to the chaotic humor, with the characters’ colorful costumes now seen as monstrous or fantastical under the vapor’s spell.

Aposematic and Philosophical Ties

  • Aposematic Theory: The hop vapors exaggerate the subjective misreading of objective colors, turning aposematic signals (e.g., Cicely’s scarlet as danger, Bartholomew’s sapphire as trust) into absurd distortions (e.g., scarlet as ghostly white, sapphire as fiery orange). This blurs predator-prey lines: Cicely mistakes Bartholomew for a demon, Roderick sees Pious as a dragon, and Dickon fears all as specters, making it impossible to discern who hunts whom.
  • Philosophical Grounding: The article’s claim that colors are objective (e.g., blue’s fixed wavelength) but perceived subjectively is literalized by the vapors, which transmogrify hues in each character’s mind. Cornelius, less affected due to his scholarly restraint, observes the chaos as proof of his color philosophy, but his own black attire is misread as a wizard’s cloak, implicating him in the farce.
  • Deceits in Play:
    • Lord Roderick: Tries to secure Dickon’s payment but, in the vapor haze, mistakes Pious for Dickon and demands coin from him, accusing him of theft.
    • Mistress Cicely: Attempts to snatch Roderick’s ring but grabs Bartholomew’s tankard instead, mistaking his sapphire for a demonic glow.
    • Master Bartholomew Brew: Plans to get Roderick drunk but spills his ale on Pious, mistaking his gold for a dragon’s scales, accusing him of sorcery.
    • Parson Pious: Tries to sell indulgences to escape the barn but, seeing Roderick’s crimson as green, accuses him of being a forest sprite.
    • Master Cornelius Hue: Manipulates the chaos by whispering false clues (e.g., “the ring is cursed”), but his black is seen as purple, branding him a necromancer.
    • Dickon, Gadric, Shakespeare: Dickon panics, seeing all hues as ghostly; Gadric roars like a badger, mistaking colors for beasts; Shakespeare tries to restore order but is swept into the farce.

Plot Advancement
The barn scene marks the peak of the web of deceit, with the characters’ schemes foiling each other in the vapor-induced confusion. The constable’s interruption at the end forces a temporary truce, setting up Act IV’s masquerade ball, where the characters, chastened but still scheming, adopt new costumes to pursue their goals. The ring, briefly stolen by Cicely but dropped in the chaos, remains in play, fueling the next act’s intrigue. The farce plants clues for the unmasking: Pious’s indulgences are scattered, revealing their blankness; Roderick’s contract is torn, hinting at fraud; and Cornelius’s dropped notebook, found by Shakespeare, suggests his manipulation.

Scene: Act III, Scene I – The Barn of Bedlam

Setting: A dimly lit brewer’s barn near St. Paul’s, London, 1599. Sacks of fermenting hops spill across the floor, their pungent vapors clouding the air. A single lantern swings from a beam, casting wild shadows. Creaking timbers and distant thunder add an eerie note. The characters, locked inside by a constable, stumble amid the hops, their colorful costumes—crimson, scarlet, sapphire, gold, black—distorted by the intoxicating fumes.

Enter SHAKESPEARE, GADRIC BADGERLY, MASTER CORNELIUS HUE, MISTRESS CICELY, LORD RODERICK, PARSON PIOUS, DICKON WEAVE, and MASTER BARTHOLOMEW BREW, tumbling into the barn as the door slams shut. They cough, sway, and clutch their heads, overcome by hop vapors.

Mistress Cicely (in scarlet, now seen as ghostly white, reeling):
O heavens, what foul miasma chokes my breath?
This barn’s a cauldron, brewing madness dire!
(To BARTHOLOMEW, squinting.) Thou demon, clad in fiery orange flame,
Away, lest I, a specter, smite thy soul!

Master Bartholomew Brew (in sapphire, now seen as orange, clutching a tankard):
Fie, wench, I’m no fiend, but honest brewer!
Thy ghostly white doth freeze my marrow’s core!
(To RODERICK, spilling ale.) My lord, drink deep,
And let this ale uncloud thy verdant hue—
Nay, green thou art, a sprite from elfin woods!

Lord Roderick (in crimson, now seen as green, staggering):
Green? Thou sot, my crimson’s noble fire!
(To PIOUS, clutching his arm.) But thou, with scales of gold like dragon’s hide,
Yield up the coin thou ow’st for royal cloth!
Or art thou Dickon, turned to monstrous beast?

Parson Pious (in golden cope, now seen as dragon scales, waving a scroll):
Dragon? Blasphemy! My gold’s the Lord’s own light!
Thou green imp, Roderick, spawned of forest’s mire,
Begone, or I’ll exorcise thy pagan soul!
(To DICKON, thrusting an indulgence.) Good soul,
Buy Heaven’s grace, for all these hues are hell!

Dickon Weave (in drab brown, now seen as shimmering silver, trembling):
O mercy, all are ghosts! Thy gold’s a flame,
Thy crimson’s moss, thy scarlet’s deathly shroud!
I’m but a tailor, lost in Satan’s den!
(To GADRIC.) Good badger, save me from these spectral hues!

Gadric Badgerly (in russet, now seen as a badger’s stripes, roaring):
By Honey Badger’s claw, this barn’s a zoo!
Thou silver wraith, thou dragon, sprite, and flame—
I’ll tear these colors till the truth’s laid bare!
(To PIOUS.) Thy scales do hiss of witchcraft, golden fiend!
Yield, or I’ll maul thee like a lion’s prey!

Master Cornelius Hue (in black, now seen as purple, stepping calmly):
Hold, frantic souls, this vapor warps your sight!
Colors, though fixed as stars in science’s book,
Do dance in minds by hops’ bewitching spell.
The wasp’s true yellow, objective as the dawn,
Is here transmogrified to monstrous lies.
(To CICELY, whispering.) Seek yon ring, ’tis cursed,
And free us from this barn’s enchanted thrall.

Mistress Cicely (lurching toward RODERICK, grabbing BARTHOLOMEW’s tankard):
A curse? Then I’ll snatch that ring from demon’s hand!
(She stumbles, splashing ale on PIOUS.) Nay, ’tis a cup!
Thou orange fiend, thou mock’st my scarlet wrath!
(To BARTHOLOMEW.) Confess, art thou the lord, or hell’s own imp?

Master Bartholomew Brew (dodging, tripping over a hop sack):
No imp, but brewer! Thy white veil’s a trick!
(To PIOUS, pointing at spilled ale.) See, dragon, how thy scales do drown in brew!
I meant that ale for crimson—nay, green lord!
Where’s Roderick’s ring, to crown my honest trade?

Lord Roderick (swinging at PIOUS, missing):
My ring? Thou dragon thief, thou stole my gold!
(To DICKON, mistaking him.) Or thou, silver knave,
Where’s my two pounds? The contract’s signed, I swear!
(He tears the parchment, scattering scraps.) O cursed hops,
That paint my foes in hues of elvish green!

Parson Pious (slipping on ale, dropping indulgences):
My scrolls! Thou green sprite, thou hast damned my flock!
(To CORNELIUS, aghast.) And thou, in purple robes of necromancer,
Dost conjure this bedlam with thy devil’s art!
I’ll banish thee with prayers, thou wizard vile!

Shakespeare (in russet, now seen as blue, climbing a hop pile):
Enough, ye motley fools! These vapors blind
The eye, but not the heart’s discerning truth.
Aposematy’s law, in nature clear,
Is here a jest, where crimson turns to moss,
And sapphire glows as flame, and gold as scales!
(To CORNELIUS.) Thy purple—nay, thy black—betrays a plot,
Yet all are lost in this hop-haunted haze!

Enter CONSTABLE, banging on the door, with a lantern.

Constable (shouting):
Ho, knaves within! Ye thieves, unbar this gate!
The watch hath caught ye plotting in the night!
Speak, or I’ll burn this barn to smoke ye out!

Gadric Badgerly (bellowing, charging the door):
No fire shall fright the badger’s fearless heart!
(To ALL.) Cease this madness, lest we all be chained!
Thy dragon, sprite, and demon are but men,
Their hues a lie, their hearts the truer sin!

Mistress Cicely (finding the ring, then dropping it in panic):
The ring! ’Tis mine—nay, cursed! It burns like frost!
(To BARTHOLOMEW.) Thou orange fiend, take back thy devil’s prize!

Master Bartholomew Brew (grabbing the ring, then tossing it to RODERICK):
No fiend, but brewer! Take it, green-faced lord!
I’ll brew no more for such a cursed crew!

Lord Roderick (catching the ring, falling into hops):
My ring, my honor! Yet this green’s a plague!
(To PIOUS.) Dragon, repay my coin, or face my wrath!

Parson Pious (scrambling, clutching blank scrolls):
No coin, no dragon! All’s a vapor’s jest!
(To CORNELIUS.) Wizard, undo this spell, or burn in hell!

Master Cornelius Hue (picking up a dropped notebook, smiling):
No spell, but nature’s truth, misread by fools.
These hues, though real, are warped by mortal minds.
(To SHAKESPEARE, aside.) Poet, mark this chaos—
My treatise grows with every hop-born lie.

Shakespeare (seizing the notebook, to ALL):
Peace, Bedlam’s brood! The constable’s at hand!
Stow your deceits, or irons shall bind us all.
(To GADRIC.) Good badger, lead us to a truce, till morn
Reveals the hues that vapors now distort.

The CONSTABLE kicks the door, and the characters, still swaying, gather the scattered scrolls and ring, stumbling into a huddle. The lantern flickers, casting their distorted hues—green, orange, scales, silver—into a final, farcical tableau.

Exeunt, as the CONSTABLE bursts in, shouting, and the barn’s vapors swirl.

Notes on the Scene

  1. Farcical Tone: The scene embraces high farce through rapid, exaggerated dialogue, physical comedy (stumbling, spilling ale, dropping props), and absurd accusations (sprites, dragons, necromancers). The hop vapors, like a magical potion, push the comedy into surreal territory, with characters’ distorted perceptions driving the humor.
  2. Hop Vapors and Color Transmogrification: The vapors literalize the article’s objective-subjective color divide, transforming objective hues (crimson, sapphire, gold) into subjective hallucinations (green, orange, scales). This amplifies aposematic misreadings: Cicely’s scarlet (danger) becomes ghostly white (fear), Bartholomew’s sapphire (trust) becomes fiery orange (demonic), and Pious’s gold (divinity) becomes dragon scales (monstrous), making predators (Cicely, Bartholomew) and prey (Dickon) indistinguishable.
  3. Aposematic Chaos: The distorted signals create a farcical predator-prey blur. Cicely mistakes Bartholomew for a demon, not a rival; Roderick sees Pious as a dragon, not a cleric; Dickon fears all as ghosts. This reflects the article’s point that objective colors (e.g., yellow’s warning in wasps) are misread subjectively, especially under altered perception, thwarting the characters’ deceits.
  4. Deceits in Play:
    • Cicely: Grabs the ring but drops it, mistaking Bartholomew’s “orange” for a demon’s trap, foiling her theft.
    • Bartholomew: Spills his ale on Pious, mistaking his “scales” for a dragon, ruining his plan to intoxicate Roderick.
    • Roderick: Demands coin from Pious, mistaking him for Dickon, tearing his own fake contract in the chaos.
    • Pious: Loses his indulgences, revealed as blank, while accusing Cornelius of witchcraft.
    • Cornelius: Whispers about a “cursed ring” to spur chaos, but his “purple” brands him a wizard, risking exposure.
    • Dickon, Gadric, Shakespeare: Dickon’s panic, Gadric’s roars, and Shakespeare’s failed mediation add to the farce, though Shakespeare’s seizure of Cornelius’s notebook plants a clue for Act IV.
  5. Bartholomew’s Role: The rival brewer’s sapphire, now “orange,” makes him a central figure in the farce, as Cicely’s rivalry peaks in her mistaken grab for his tankard. His attempt to toss the ring back to Roderick fails comically, keeping the ring in play for the masquerade.
  6. Philosophical Tie: Cornelius’s speech grounds the farce in the article’s philosophy: colors are objective (wasp’s yellow), but the hop vapors exaggerate subjective perception, proving human folly in misreading signals. His notebook, glimpsed by Shakespeare, hints at his manipulative experiment.
  7. Plot Advancement: The barn’s chaos scatters the deceits’ props (ring, scrolls, contract), setting up Act IV’s masquerade, where characters adopt new costumes (e.g., Cicely in emerald, Bartholomew in dolphin blue) to recover their schemes. The constable’s interruption forces a pause, but the ring’s loss and notebook’s discovery foreshadow the unmasking in Act V.
  8. Shakespearean Farce: The scene’s slapstick, mistaken identities, and hallucinatory chaos echo A Midsummer Night’s Dream (with its fairy-induced confusion) and The Merry Wives of Windsor (with its physical comedy), while retaining the aposematic and philosophical themes.

Plot Extension for Act IV and Beyond

Act IV: Masquerade Prep

  • Setting: The Mermaid Tavern, preparing for Lord Roderick’s masquerade ball.
  • Development: The characters, released by the constable, regroup to salvage their schemes, adopting new costumes to hide their barn fiasco: Cicely in emerald (signaling innocence), Bartholomew in dolphin blue (trust), Pious in monk’s brown (humility), Roderick in lion’s gold (dominance), Cornelius in jester’s motley (jest). Shakespeare (russet) and Gadric (badger mask) plan to infiltrate the ball, using the notebook to expose Cornelius. The new hues reignite aposematic misreadings, as Cicely and Bartholomew vie for the ring, Pious targets Dickon, and Roderick demands payment.
  • Farcical Elements: Lingering hop effects cause minor color slips (e.g., Cicely sees emerald as pink), adding comic confusion, while a bumbling servant mixes up mask deliveries, hinting at further errors.

Act V: The Masquerade Unmasking

  • Setting: A torchlit hall, with masked dancers and music.
  • Resolution: The deceits collapse in a final farce: Cicely steals the ring but finds it fake; Bartholomew spikes the wine but drinks it himself; Pious’s “monk” disguise is exposed by blank scrolls; Roderick’s fraud is revealed by Shakespeare’s reading of the torn contract. Cornelius confesses his experiment, citing the barn’s chaos as proof of color’s subjective folly. The characters reconcile: Dickon keeps his coin, Cicely and Bartholomew share ale, Pious donates to charity, and Roderick vows honesty. Gadric toasts “badgerly truth,” and the ball ends in laughter.
  • Aposematic Tie: The objective hues of the masks (gold, blue, brown) are unmasked as false signals, proving nature’s warnings (e.g., wasp’s stripes) outshine human deceit.

This barn scene, with its farcical tone and vapor-induced color transmogrification, pushes the comedy to a hilarious peak, setting up a vibrant resolution. If you’d like to develop Act IV, add more slapstick, or introduce another character, let me know!