The Splendid Spur · Chapter
The Bowling-Green of the Crown explained
The narrator, a scholar at Trinity College, Oxford, recounts how on November 29, 1642, he fell asleep in Mr.
What happens
The narrator, a scholar at Trinity College, Oxford, recounts how on November 29, 1642, he fell asleep in Mr. Robert Drury's fencing room and awoke to witness a mysterious man reading in the bowling-green behind the Crown Tavern. He observes the man secretly meeting with a bully from a gaming party, and overhears a plot involving a young gentleman named Anthony. The chapter ends with the narrator slipping away as Mr. Drury returns drunk.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Truth
The secret meeting and whispered plot between the older man and the bully highlight themes of hidden motives and deceit.
Identity and Disguise
The older man's stealthy behavior and the narrator's hidden observation underscore the theme of concealed identity.
Characters to notice
- Jack Marvel
The narrator and scholar at Trinity College, Oxford, who witnesses the secret meeting from Mr. Drury's window.
- Anthony Killigrew
The young gentleman of quality, about eighteen, with fair curls and a handsome amber satin cloak, playing dice with the revellers.
- Mr. Robert Drury
The fencing master whose lodgings the narrator uses; he returns drunk after celebrating the King's health.
- John Davenant
Keeper of the Crown Tavern, where the gaming and secret meeting take place.
- King Charles I
Mentioned as marching back to Oxford from Reading with the Prince of Wales and others on the day of the chapter.
- Prince Maurice
Mentioned as part of the King's company returning to Oxford.
- Prince Rupert
Mentioned as part of the King's company returning to Oxford.
Key passages
“He that has jilted the Muse, forsaking her gentle pipe to follow the drum and trumpet, shall fruitlessly besiege her again when the time comes to sit at home and write down his adventures.”
A writer who abandons poetry for war will find it hard to return to writing when he tries to record his experiences.
The narrator reflects on the difficulty of resuming a literary life after military involvement.
“I was a scholar of Trinity College in Oxford at that time, and may begin my history at three o'clock on the same afternoon, when going (as my custom was) to Mr. Rob. Drury for my fencing lesson, I found his lodgings empty.”
I was a student at Trinity College, Oxford, and my story starts at three in the afternoon when I went for my usual fencing lesson with Mr. Robert Drury, but he wasn't there.
Establishes the narrator's identity and the setting for the chapter's events.