SOURCE: “The Frailty of Human Judgment as the Unifying Theme of The Four PP,” in The University of Dayton Review, Vol. 21, No. 3, Spring 1992, pp. 67-71.

In the following essay, Reeves argues that the moralistic ending of Heywood's bawdy play The Four PP is not out of place, but rather works to underscore the drama's theme that virtue cannot be judged by individuals.

Despite its bawdy dialogue. trivial plot, and profane characters, The Four PP ends with an evidently straightfaced and seriously-intended moral. John Heywood, apparently wanting the best of both worlds, profane and sacred, seems intent on amusing his audience with a rowdy tale while at the same time inculcating piety with a final sermon.

The reader is tempted to conclude that the moral is merely tacked on to satisfy the conventions of a theater that had not yet freed itself of the medieval apologetic for drama—that...