The play was published in 1631 under its subtitle, The School of Complement, in a quarto printed by Elizabeth Allde for the bookseller Francis Constable.
Critics have complained that drama in the Caroline era had become "conventionalized," with stronger debts to earlier plays than to actual life.
The main plot of the play, about the loves of Infortunio and Selina, derives from the tale of Phylotus and Emilia in the eighth novel of Barnabe Rich's Farewell to the Military Profession.
Meanwhile, in the forest, the disguised Selina is living with a household of shepherds – which includes her long-lost sister Felice, who likewise ran away to escape an unwanted marriage.
A group from the city that includes Cornelio, the father of Antonio and the sisters, and Rufaldo, comes to view the shepherds' rustic sports; discoveries and reconciliations follow.
Interspersed with this main plot are several comic episodes, most notably the "school of complement" material, and also the comedy of Jenkin, Jocarello, and Gorgon.
As the pupils are rehearsing en masse, the mad Infortunio stumbles upon the scene, and mistakes the students for the damned souls of Hell.