AS IT WAS ACTED NINE DAYS TOGETHER BY THE KING’S MEN AT THE GLOBE ON THE BANKSIDE
This comic satirical play was first staged in August 1624 by the King’s Men at the Globe Theatre and is notable for its political content. On the surface, the drama appears to concern a chess match, containing a genuine chess opening: the Queen’s Gambit Declined. Instead of personal names, the characters are known as the White Knight, the Black King, etc. However, the play is an allegory for the stormy relationship between Spain (the black pieces) and England (the white pieces). King James I of England is the White King; King Philip IV of Spain is the Black King. In particular, the play dramatises the struggle of negotiations over the proposed marriage of Prince Charles with the Spanish princess, the Infanta Maria. A Game at Chess focuses on the journey by Prince Charles (the White Knight) and George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (the White Duke, or rook) to Madrid in 1623.
Among the secondary targets of the satire was the former Archbishop of Split, Marco Antonio de Dominis, who is caricatured as the Fat Bishop (played by William Rowley). De Dominis was a famous turncoat of his day, who had left the Roman Catholic Church to join the Anglican Church and then returned to Rome again. The traitorous White King’s Pawn is a composite of several figures, including Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex, a former Lord Treasurer who was impeached before the House of Lords in April 1624.
The former Spanish ambassador to London, Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, conde de Gondomar is blatantly caricatured in the play as the Machiavellian Black Knight. Reportedly, the King’s Men went so far as to buy discarded items of Gondomar’s wardrobe for the role. His successor recognised the satire and complained to King James. His description of the crowd’s reaction to the play yields a vivid picture of the scene: “There was such merriment, hubbub and applause that even if I had been many leagues away it would not have been possible for me not to have taken notice of it.”
The play was banned after nine performances, though not before it had become a huge commercial success. The Privy Council opened a prosecution against the actors and Middleton on 18 August, as at that time it was illegal to portray any modern Christian king on the stage. The Globe Theatre was shut down by the prosecution, though Middleton was able to acquit himself by showing that the play had been passed by the Master of the Revels, Sir Henry Herbert. Nevertheless, any further performance of the play was forbidden and Middleton and the actors were reprimanded and fined. After this, Middleton never wrote another play.
The Prologue explains that the forthcoming stage play will be based on a game of chess, with chess pieces representing men and states. In the end, he says, “checkmate will be given to virtue’s foes.” In the Induction, the Ghost of Ignatius Loyola (founder of the Jesuit Order) expresses surprise at finding a rare corner of the world (England) where his order (the Catholic Church) has not been established. His servant, Error (a personification of deviance), who has been sleeping at Ignatius’ feet, wakes up and declares that he has been dreaming of a game of chess where “our side” — the Blacks/Catholics — was set against the Whites/English. Ignatius says that he wants to see the dream so he can observe his side’s progress. The “pieces” (actors dressed as chess pieces) enter. Ignatius expresses contempt for his own followers and says that his true aim is to rule the entire world all by himself.
A Game at Chess survives in nine different texts, each of which has its own unique characteristics. The drama is unique in that it exists in more seventeenth century manuscripts than it does printed editions (six extant manuscripts compared to three printed editions). Of the manuscripts, one is an authorial holograph, and three are the work of Ralph Crane, the professional scribe that worked for the King’s Men.