The Nice Valour

The court of the Duke of Genoa is populated with three unusual characters. One is Shamont, the Duke's favourite and the intended husband of the Duke's sister, the Lady. (Several significant characters in the play are not given personal names, but are known only by their roles-the Lady, the Soldier, etc.-a trait common in Middleton's work.) Shamont is abnormally touchy on points of honour; he has the "nice valour" (that is, finicky pride) of the title. (One unsympathetic courtier calls him a "vainglorious coxcomb"-though not to his face.) A second odd fellow is a kinsman of the Duke, who is subject to wild mood swings, from joy to love to melancholy to rage; he is the "passionate madman" of the subtitle. A modern psychotherapist might diagnose an extreme case of bipolar disorder, a case so severe that the man sometimes hallucinates, and courts, imaginary women. And the third odd duck is a courtier named Lapet, who is a coward; he endures physical abuse rather than fight back.