ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the ways in which Margaret Cavendish and her husband, drew from a world in which amateur singing was plentiful. The two of them used lyrics from songs along with cultural associations attached to the songs to make points in their drama about individual characters. Some effort has been made to separate traditional oral ballads from their printed counterparts, as Sandra Clark writes, it would be a mistake to regard the two as strictly distinct types. Clearly there was a good deal of overlap, and traditional oral ballads were often printed, while printed ballads were sometimes subsumed into the oral culture of musical performance. The initial song sung during Newman's antics in the tavern contains a clear reminder of his irrational fears, for the performance involves an unsuccessful piece of comic sorcery. Manley goes on to win the admiration of the other characters in the play by singing snatches of old and well-loved ballads.
