The Old Law

by Thomas Middleton, William Rowley, Catherine M. Shaw

A comedy about euthanasia that questioned and satirized the values of early modern England.

ANTIGONA
To what end, sir? The bell of this sharp edict tolls for me
As it rings out for you. I'll be as ready,
With one hour's stay, to go along with you.

Genres: Plays, Drama

135 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2005

About the author

Thomas Middleton (1580 – 1627) was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. Middleton stands with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson as among the most successful and prolific of playwrights who wrote their best plays during the Jacobean period. He was one of the few Renaissance dramatists to achieve equal success in comedy and tragedy. Also a prolific writer of masques and pageants, he remains one of the most noteworthy and distinctive of Jacobean dramatists.

Reviews

[Hessam Ghaeminejad · Rating 3 out of 5]

قانون پیران همانطور که از نامش مشخص است در مورد قانون می باشد ، اما نه قانون خوب و عادلانه بلکه قانونی سخت ظالمانه و بد. میدلتون در این اثر به خوبی خطرات ناشی از قانون بد را به نمایش در آورده است، همیچنین رذایل اخلاقی که در زیر لوای قانون رخ می دهد نیز صراحتا بیان می کند. گفتگوی دلقک و کشیش یکی از بهترین گفتگوهای نمایش در راستای نشان دادن این رذایل است و آخرین تک گویی پادشاه فضایل انسانی را به یاد می آورد
میدلتون به حق بهترین نمایشنامه نویس پس از شکسپیر در انگلستان عصر جیمز است

"خیر از قانون نترسد که قانون
امن او را ضمان است،لیک، شر را
همه زیان است و خسران."

[Atena | آتنا · Rating 3 out of 5]

هشیار و آگاه می باید بود، لیک این کار، بیش از آن که راحتی زاید، آزردگی به بار آرد، مگر احتیاط ما را چه نیرویی است، که در برابر آنانی کز بهر ربودن شادی مان آمده اند ایستادن تواند؟

[Shabnam_wr · Rating 4 out of 5]

یکی از نمایشنامه هایی که باید برای این ترم دانشگاه می خوندیم.
یه چند تا شخصیت اصلی داره و بقیه شخصیت هافرعی به حساب میان.
در سال ۱۶۱۸ نوشته شده .
مکان نمایشنامه اپیروس هستش و دوک اونجا فردی هستش به اسم اواندر که یک قانونی میذاره برای پیران( افراد مسن ) و طبق قانون مردان بالای ۸۰ و زنان بالای ۶۰ باید از بین برده بشوند ،حالا یه شخصیتی به اسم کلنتس نقشه ای میکشه تا پدرش رو از این قانون نجات بده.
پایان جذابی داشت .
نمایش ساختار ۵ پرده ای دارد.
یه جورایی بعضی از ارزش های نمایشنامه های یونانی رو برعکس کرده . مثلا در نمایشنامه انتیگونه ، آنتیگونه و کرئون مخالف همدیگر هستن ولی اینجا عاشق هم هستن...

[Mehrdad · Rating 3 out of 5]

قانون پیران، قانونیه در دنیایی فرضی که بر اساسش مردها و زن ها پس از یک سن مشخص باید اعدام شن چون دیگه فایده ای ندارن و بهتره زودتر دارایی هاشون به وارثینشون برسه تا اونا بهره ببرن ازش.
ایده نمایشنامه خیلی جالب بود. صحبت در مورد مفهوم قانون و پروسه ای که مردم‌ طی اون خودشون رو با قانون وفق میدن و سعی میکنن ازش بهره مند شن!
تنها ایرادش به نظرم این بود که برای مفهومی که می‌خواست منتقل کنه زیادی طولانی بود.
در کل از اون کتاباس که نخوندین چیزیو از دست ندادین ولی اگه خوندین هم ضرر نکردین😁

[Wesley Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this play. I read it for a class that focuses on Law in Shakespeare. At the end of the course, we focus on some other playwrights of the time. The Old Law is one of my favourite plays I’ve read this semester. The basic premise of the play is that men are euthanized when they turn 80, and women are euthanized when they turn 60. At these ages, they are not useful to the state. I think this concept could bring in a lot of fascinating topics about inheritance.

The characters Simonides and Cleanthes both show opposite sides of this issue. Simonides wants to kill his father off to collect his inheritance, while Cleanthes wants to hide his father, so he doesn’t have to die. Both are breaking different laws. Should Cleanthes and Hippolita be punished for breaking the law? The author believes they should not. Instead, they exemplify the perfect household. But using them as judges for Simonides is unfair, in my opinion. They put him on trial, and it is completely biased.

Another valuable inquiry is: why do women live shorter lives than men? I’m assuming the state sees a woman’s use as childbirth and raising the children. But is it fair to allow men to live an additional twenty years? This could also bias women marrying older men so that they can live longer with more money. This idea of remarrying after your partner dies up the discussion of GNothos. He wants to kill off his wife so that he can marry anew. If you receive your money from your loved one, then why remarry and risk losing your wealth? The story seems to suggest it’s for sex rather than love. Either way, Gnothos is punished at the end of the play.

I feel like I could discuss this work for a long time. I loved it. Fantastic.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the main weaknesses of The Old Law* is that it is hard to appreciate the extent of Middleton's** satire from a reading of the play. Conversely, one of the main strengths of The Old Law is that it is hard to appreciate the extent of Middleton's satire from a reading of the play. Does it encompass the role of Duke Evander himself? In other words, are we meant to look critically at the role of the promulgator of the "old law" (legally-mandated senicide) or simply to stand with him in looking at the actions and attitudes of its targets/victims? This is a question that can only be answered, I suspect, in performance. The set-up of the play is very interesting, with the efficacy of its working-out lessened somewhat by the relative dullness of its hero and heroine, and by a messy and underwhelming exposure of their plot in the fourth act by the villains, Simonides and Eugenia: keeping these strands separate would have made for a tauter play, I think. But the original concept asks a lot of questions, and there's plenty of scope for amusing stage business in the mid-section. It's easy to see why the RSC thought this play worth reviving, back in 2005. Wish I could have seen it.

*Published here under its subtitle, A New Way to Please You.
** Or Middleton and Rowley's. Or perhaps Middleton, Rowley, and Massinger's.

[Michael P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite early modern comedies is a satire on euthanasia and English values. Roger Corman revisited the theme in the sixties, but with nothing like the wit and depth.