Essay Questions

What crime is Jennet accused of?

At the beginning of the play, Jennet is accused of witchcraft. Her crimes involve allegedly turning old Skipps into a dog, which is humorous. Nonetheless, she will be burned at the stake if found guilty. We discover that the mayor only accuses Jennet because she is a wealthy woman and the city will inherit her property. As such, there is certainly some corruption here, and even when Thomas confesses to Jennet's crimes himself, nobody listens. At the end of the text, old Skipps is found in his human form and so the mayor's attempt to steal from Jennet has failed.

Why does Thomas want to be hanged?

At the beginning of the text, Thomas tells Richard that he would like to be hanged. Richard is shocked by this statement and believes that Thomas is drunk and would otherwise not say such a thing. However, we learn that Thomas is deadly serious about his claim, and even confesses to a murder he didn't commit in order to get his wish. When Jennet is speaking to Thomas, we learn that Thomas wants to be hanged due to the grim, mundane reality of his life.