High Stepping Speak from A Chase Maid in Cheapside

There is much fanciful talk echoed by the characters throughout the play. Gibberish, grandiose speeches, confused Latin, misunderstood Welsh and illogical proofs serve to make fools of nearly everyone. It seems that Middleton is matching this contrivance to a type of false and unnatural greed of a pretentious society that was preoccupied with social advancement and was particularly ripe to make fun of.

The preoccupation with procreation is certainly illustrated in abundance in the many and various puns throughout the play. It is almost a comic hail storm of provocative word jousting to one up the other. Perhaps the over-zealous Puritanical oversight is creating this fierce counter attack on the senses or perhaps the barrage of sexual remarks are there to show another example of society’s extreme search for indulgence.