The Humorous Courtier, also called The Duke, is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by James Shirley, first published in 1640.
The 1640 quarto, printed by Thomas Cotes for the bookseller William Cooke, contains an interesting bibliographic feature in its prefatory material: a catalogue of 20 plays by Shirley published to that date.
Contarini, a married man, actually tries to convince his wife to kill herself to leave him single again; when she naturally declines, he attempts to bribe Giotto into committing adultery with her so that a divorce can result.
The misogynistic Orseolo portrays himself as a great lover; the elderly Comachio joins his compatriots in making a fool of himself.
In the end, the Duchess gently mocks and reproves her eccentric courtiers, and announces that she will marry Giotto—who turns out to be the Duke of Parma in disguise.