A gallant. He may appear in several early scenes, but his first lines occur in
scene 8, when he is the second man to arrive for the culminating scenes at
Verone's tavern. He invites Rowley to play cards, but Rowley declines; he plays
with others when they arrive. With Blanuel, Berger, Catalian, and Verone, he
plays a trick on Labesha that reveals that Labesha's melancholy is easily
diverted by food.
BLANUEL
A gallant. In an early scene, he is the source of mirth in others for his habit of repeating pleasantries. According to Berger's report at the tavern, he is jailed as part of a raid at a bawdy house, but he appears immediately after the remark is made. He participates, along with Berger, in the gulling of Labesha (q.q.v.)
CATALIAN
A gallant. He introduces Blanuel to Lemot and Colinet. In the guise of a
scholar, he sets up Lemot's encounter with Florilla. He arrives at the tavern
sweating from a tennis match, and kisses Jaquina when she fetches the coarse
napkin he requests. With Lemot, he challenges the tavern gallants to display
their wits. He participates, along with Berger, in the gulling of Labesha (q.q.v.)
COLINET
A gallant. He goes on Lemot's (as well as his own) behalf to request Foyes to allow his daughter Martia, with whom he is in love, to visit the Countess Moren. Foyes will not allow him to wait upon Martia, whom he puts under Labesha's care. When he appears at the Count and Countess Moren's home after Martia's arrival, he allows the Count to woo on his behalf, but does not seem unduly distressed when Lemot allows Labesha to take her home. He urges the others to go wait upon the King to see Dowsecer's humour. While he appears and has a single line in scene 7, no more is made of this plot element.
COUNT MOREN
Young husband of the Countess Moren, cousin to Colinet. He is set up to appear
in love with Martia (when he is in fact wooing her on behalf of his cousin), and
later is found with her, Florilla, and the King at Verone's tavern. When he
learns that the Countess will seek him at the tavern, he assumes the role of a
torchbearer in Verone's pageant, and when he is revealed at the end, he is
reconciled to his wife.
COUNTESS MOREN
Older, jealous wife to a young husband. She tries to prevent him from keeping
his engagement at Verone's tavern, but agrees to let him go when she's assured
no women will be present. When Lemot tells her that he is at the tavern with
Martia, she pursues him there. In the final scene, he is revealed as a
torchbearer, and Lemot insists he just wanted to bring them together again. The two are reconciled.
DOWSECER
Son on Count Labervele from an earlier marriage. Dowsecer is a model of
melancholy, observed in his humor by the King, his entourage, and Martia (all
apparently in hiding). He expresses reluctance to participate in typical
masculine pursuits, but when he sees Martia, he is immediately love-struck (as
is she). When he learns that Moren has (apparently) ravished her, he heads to
the tavern to rescue her and finds her with the king. The situation ends happily
when the King blesses the union of Dowsecer and Martia.
FLORILLA
The young Puritan wife of Count Labervele. Despite her beliefs, she is seduced
by Lemot's "testing" of her and arranges to meet him at Verone's tavern, while
telling her husband that she plans to fast in her garden. When Lemot reveals
that he has tricked her, she retreats to her home, then later returns to the
tavern to deny her husband's suspicions of her. He believes her and their happy
marriage resumes.
FOYES
Father of Martia. He plans her marriage to the fool Labesha. He accompanies
Labesha to the tavern, where good gentlemen are reputed to gather. He learns
from Labesha that Martia is also at the tavern, in the company of the King who
is in love with her. He soon learns, however, that the King has not seduced his
daughter and that Dowsecer is in love with her, and she with him. He then agrees
to their marriage.
JAQUES
Verone's servant in the tavern. He squabbles with Jaquina, the maidservant. At
Lemot's request, he reveals to Labesha that Martia is at the tavern in the
company of the King.
JAQUINA
Maidservant at Verone's tavern. She is also Verone's mistress. She portrays
Queen Fortune in the play's final scene and is revealed to be with child.
KING OF FRANCE
Dotes on Martia, and agrees to Lemot's plan to bring the two of them together
(along with Florilla and Count Moren) at Verone's tavern. He leads his entourage
to view Dowsecer's melancholy, then travels to the secret rendezvous at the
tavern. When he learns in the final scene that Dowsecer and Martia are in love,
he blesses their union. He is reconciled with the Queen, who had come to the tavern at Lemot's bidding mistakenly believing the king in need of rescue.
LABERVELE
A count. Father of Dowsecer and jealous husband of his young wife Florilla. He
tempts her with jewels that magically appear in her locked garden (to which he
has made himself a key). He learns that she intends to betray him in a rendezvous at Verone's tavern. He goes there with Labesha but does not find her. When she later chides him for his mistrust, he vows that he will never be suspicious again, and they are reconciled.
LABESHA
A vain gull according to Lemot. Foyes chooses him as suitor and chaperone for
his daughter, Martia. When he learns that she has arrived with Florilla at Verone's tavern, he reports her to her father, Foyes. The gallants, Berger Catalian, and Blanuel, gull him. They tempt him out of his apparent melancholy with a bowl of cream, which he devours, then denies eating. They then decide to tell him that Martia is dead, and he attempts suicide offstage but is stopped by Lemot.
LAVEL
Friend to Dowsecer. He attempts to dissuade him from his melancholy by urging more healthy pursuits. When Dowsecer falls in love with Martia, Lavel accompanies him as he pursues her to Verone's tavern.
LEMOT
An "imp of desolation and minion of the king" according to Labervele. Lemot is the center from whom the entire plot unfolds:
He persuades Florilla to test her virtue amid temptation,
persuades the Countess that her young husband is wooing Martia for himself (rather than on behalf of his cousin Colinet), and
sets up both
the scene in which everyone observes Dowsecer's melancholy, and
the massive denouement at Verone's tavern.
Despite his abuse of all the characters, including the King, the events he precipitates prove to be amusing enough to everyone that he is forgiven.
MARTIA
Daughter of Foyes, wooed by Labesha, apparent companion to the Countess. She visits the Count and Countess Moren, where the Count attempts to woo her on behalf of his cousin Colinet. She engages in witty banter with Lemot when he arrives with the other gallants (including Colinet), but leaves with Labesha after the Countess accuses her of flirting with the Count. She is part of the group that secretly observes Dowsecer's melancholy. From this observation, she falls in love with him. She then agrees to accompany Florilla (apparently to her garden to fast, but in fact to go to the tavern). In the final scene, the King and her father, Foyes, approve her marriage to Dowsecer.
QUEEN FORTUNE
A role assumed by Jaquina (q.v.) in the pageant in the final scene.
QUEEN OF FRANCE
The Queen makes her first appearance in scene 13 after Lemot has fetched her. He tells her that the King is in love with another. He then proceeds with a very confusing tale of the King's temptation. The royal couple is reunited by play's end.
ROWLEY
A gallant, cousin of Colinet. He is the first to arrive at Verone's tavern to view the jewels he has for sale.
SON OF VERONE
The tavern keeper's son. He assists his father and gives the opening speech in Verone's pageant in the final scene during which he complains of being interrupted.
VERONE
The tavern keeper. He is the host to the gallants and (unknowingly) to the secret party of the King, Florilla, Martia, and Moren. He assists the gallants in the gulling of Labesha, and presents the pageant at the end of the play.