''Horestes'' is a late Tudor

morality play The morality play is a genre of medieval and early Tudor drama. The term is used by scholars of literary and dramatic history to refer to a genre of play texts from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries that feature personified concepts ( ...

by the English

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

John Pickering. It was first published in

1567 __NOTOC__ Year 1567 ( MDLXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January – A Spanish force under the command of Captain Juan Pardo estab ...

and was most likely performed by Lord Rich's men as part of the Christmas revels at court that year. The play's full title is ''A new interlude of Vice containing the history of Horestes with the cruel revengement of his father's death upon his one natural mother.'' It has been proposed that John Pickering (John Pickeryng) is likely to be the same person as lawyer and politician Sir John Puckering.

Source and text

The play dramatises the story of the ancient Greek

myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...

Orestes In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; grc-gre, Ὀρέστης ) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, and the brother of Electra. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness and ...

. Rather than

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...

' trilogy of

Athenian Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

tragedies Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy i ...

Oresteia The ''Oresteia'' ( grc, Ὀρέστεια) is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BCE, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end of t ...

'' (458 BCE), however, Pickering's

source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute ...

for his version of the story is William Caxton's translation of the French

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye ''Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye'' or ''Recueil des Histoires de Troye'' (1464) is a translation by William Caxton of a French courtly romance written by Raoul Lefèvre, chaplain to Philip III, Duke of Burgundy. It was the first book printed ...

'' (translated in 1475). Consequently, the play's

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

and

dramatic structure Dramatic structure (also known as dramaturgical structure) is the structure of a dramatic work such as a book, play, or film. There are different kinds of dramatic structures worldwide which have been hypothesized by critics, writers and scholar ...

are more

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

than classical. Only one copy of the play is

extant Extant is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extin ...

, which the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It documen ...

holds. It was published by William Griffith of

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was n ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

for sale at his shop in St. Dunstan's churchyard.

Structure and genre

Along with Thomas Preston's ''Cambises'' (c.1561), the play has been identified as a "hybrid morality", due to its articulation of classical themes, stories and characters with the medieval

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...

tradition. Within this

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other f ...

, the central allegorical figure of the

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tr ...

vies with a non-allegorical, classical

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

(Horestes); though their roles are about the same size, Horestes controls the important action. The play has an episodic structure, which alternates

comic a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such ...

scenes with serious,

tragic Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy i ...

ones, all unified by the theme of revenge. It is one of the earliest examples of an English

revenge play The revenge tragedy, or revenge play, is a dramatic genre in which the protagonist seeks revenge for an imagined or actual injury. The term ''revenge tragedy'' was first introduced in 1900 by A. H. Thorndike to label a class of plays written in ...

, a genre that includes Kyd's ''

The Spanish Tragedy ''The Spanish Tragedy, or Hieronimo is Mad Again'' is an Elizabethan tragedy written by Thomas Kyd between 1582 and 1592. Highly popular and influential in its time, ''The Spanish Tragedy'' established a new genre in English theatre, the reven ...

'' (1587), Marston's ''

The Malcontent ''The Malcontent'' is an early Jacobean stage play written by the dramatist and satirist John Marston ca. 1603. The play was one of Marston's most successful works. ''The Malcontent'' is widely regarded as one of the most significant plays o ...

'' (1603) and

Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Den ...

'' (1601). Unlike traditional moralities, ''Horestes'' presents an

ambiguous Ambiguity is the type of meaning in which a phrase, statement or resolution is not explicitly defined, making several interpretations plausible. A common aspect of ambiguity is uncertainty. It is thus an attribute of any idea or statement ...

ending.Potter (1975, 119–120). In line with both the ''Orestia'' and the ''Historyes of Troy'', Horestes is forgiven for the murder of his mother and her lover; despite its interrogation during the course of the play, however, the justification for the murders remains an unresolved issue at its conclusion. In a further departure from the conventions of the morality, the forgiveness of Horestes is not prompted by his

repentance Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In modern times, it is generally seen as involving a co ...

Staging demands

As with other experimental moralities from Elizabeth's reign, ''Horestes'' is longer than most of the older examples of the genre, running to 1,205 lines. The play was designed to be played by a company of six players, with each actor performing between three and seven roles each. The respective size of the roles of Horestes (521 lines) and the Vice (557 lines), as well as the play's frequent alternation of

and

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

scenes, suggest that the play demanded a

playing company Play is a range of Motivation#Incentive theories: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, intrinsically motivated activities done for recreational pleasure and enjoyment. Play is commonly associated with children and juvenile-level activities, but m ...

that included two leading actors who were adept at both serious and comic acting. The actor playing Horestes also played the Woman (who appears in a brief scene between lines 626–647), while a boy actor played

Clytemnestra Clytemnestra (; grc-gre, Κλυταιμνήστρα, ''Klytaimnḗstrā'', ), in Greek mythology, was the wife of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and the twin sister of Helen of Troy. In Aeschylus' ''Oresteia'', she murders Agamemnon – said by E ...

and

Hermione Hermione may refer to: People * Hermione (given name), a female given name * Hermione (mythology), only daughter of Menelaus and Helen in Greek mythology and original bearer of the name Arts and literature * ''Cadmus et Hermione'', an opera b ...

, as well as Hempstring and Provision. Unusually for

Elizabethan drama English Renaissance theatre, also known as Renaissance English theatre and Elizabethan theatre, refers to the theatre of England between 1558 and 1642. This is the style of the plays of William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonso ...

, the play shares a role ( Idumeus) between two different actors.Bevington (1962, 89–90).

Characters

* Horestes *

* Egistus * Idumeus *

Nestor Nestor may refer to: * Nestor (mythology), King of Pylos in Greek mythology Arts and entertainment * "Nestor" (''Ulysses'' episode) an episode in James Joyce's novel ''Ulysses'' * Nestor Studios, first-ever motion picture studio in Hollywood, L ...

Menelaus In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; grc-gre, Μενέλαος , 'wrath of the people', ) was a king of Mycenaean (pre- Dorian) Sparta. According to the ''Iliad'', Menelaus was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the Spartan contingent of th ...

*Rusticus *Hodge *Haltersack *Hempstring

*A Woman *First Soldier *Second Soldier *Herald *Messenger *Counsel *Nobles *Commons *Nature *Provision *Truth *Fame *Duty

Notes

Sources

* Axton, Marie, ed. 1982. ''Three Tudor Classical Interludes: "Thersites", "Jacke Jugeler", "Horestes".'' Tudor Interludes ser. Woodbridge, Suffolk: D.S. Brewer. . * Bevington, David. 1962. ''From ''Mankind'' to Marlowe: Growth of Structure in the Popular Drama of Tudor England.'' Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP. . * Farmer, John S, ed. 1910.
The History of Horestes
'' By John Pickering. Tudor facsimile texts ser. Amersham: John S. Farmer. * Farnham, Willard. 1936. ''The Medieval Heritage of Elizabethan Tragedy.'' Revised ed. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1956. * Hager, Alan, ed. 2005. ''Encyclopedia of British Writers: 16th and 17th Centuries.'' New York: Facts On File. . * Potter, Robert A. 1975. ''The English Morality Play: Origins, History, and Influence of a Dramatic Tradition.'' London: Routledge. . * Southern, Richard. 1973. ''The Staging of Plays Before Shakespeare.'' London: Faber. . * Spivack, Bernard. 1958. ''Shakespeare and the Allegory of Evil: The History of a Metaphor in Relation to his Major Villains.'' NY and London: Columbia UP. . * Weimann, Robert. 1978. ''Shakespeare and the Popular Tradition in the Theater: Studies in the Social Dimension of Dramatic Form and Function.'' Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press. .

External links

Online PDF of Tudor Facsimile text of the 1567 edition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horestes 1567 plays Plays by John Pickering Medieval drama English Renaissance plays