The play is generally dated to 1637–38 on the basis of internal evidence, especially the Prologue's reference to poets who want to be called "Sir Laureate."
After the death of Ben Jonson in 1637, there was competition among literary men (Sir William Davenant and Thomas May were prime candidates) for the honour of poet laureate.
[3] Brome exploits the legal atmosphere of the Walks to make points of satire and social criticism, and shows familiarity with the peculiarities of the place.
In the sense that the word is used in The Damoiselle and in English Renaissance drama generally, an "ordinary" is a public eating establishment, comparable to modern restaurants and cafeterias.
The play's opening scene shows Sir Humphrey Dryground, a member of the landed gentry, mortgaging his last estate to an old usurer called Vermine.
The exchanges between the two are far from cordial: Sir Humphrey reproaches Vermine for his greed and ruthlessness, especially for his role in bankrupting a gentleman named Brookall.
Vermine in turn notes that Sir Humphrey himself wronged Brookall in a more personal way, seducing, impregnating, and then abandoning the man's sister.
(Cornishmen appear as figures of fun in other plays of the era; Chough in Middleton and Rowley's A Fair Quarrel is one obvious example.)
Alice's deliverance from this unwanted match suddenly appears: Sir Amphilus's servant reveals himself to be her brother Wat in a false beard.
Sir Humphrey's son, Valentine Dryground, had just married Jane, the daughter of a successful London tradesman named Bumpsey and his wife Magdalen.
The Cornish knight appears after Alice has absconded – but he is more concerned about the death of his mare and the theft of his dog than the loss of his intended spouse.
And "Osbright's" daughter "Frances" is revealed to be Brookall's son Frank is drag disguise; he and Alice have fallen in love and are to be married.