''The Platonick Lovers'' is a Caroline era stage play which blends the genres of

tragicomedy Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragedy, tragic and comedy, comic forms. Most often seen in drama, dramatic literature, the term can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the ov ...

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

, and

comedy of manners In English literature, the term comedy of manners (also anti-sentimental comedy) describes a genre of realistic, satirical comedy of the Restoration period (1660–1710) that questions and comments upon the manners and social conventions of a gre ...

. It was written by Sir

William Davenant Sir William Davenant (baptised 3 March 1606 – 7 April 1668), also spelled D'Avenant, was an English poet and playwright. Along with Thomas Killigrew, Davenant was one of the rare figures in English Renaissance theatre whose career spanned bot ...

and first printed in 1636. The play can be regarded as one of the more subtle and successful satires in the English language: Davenant managed to ridicule the obsession of his employer without losing his job. The play was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the

Master of the Revels The Master of the Revels was the holder of a position within the English, and later the British, royal household, heading the "Revels Office" or "Office of the Revels". The Master of the Revels was an executive officer under the Lord Chamberlain. ...

, on Nov. 16, 1635, and was acted by the King's Men at the

Blackfriars Theatre Blackfriars Theatre was the name given to two separate theatres located in the former Blackfriars Dominican priory in the City of London during the Renaissance. The first theatre began as a venue for the Children of the Chapel Royal, child acto ...

. It was first published in

quarto Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...

in 1636 by the bookseller

Richard Meighen Richard Meighen (died 1641) was a London publisher of the Jacobean and Caroline eras. He is noted for his publications of plays of English Renaissance drama; he published the second Ben Jonson folio of 1640/41, and was a member of the syndicat ...

. Davenant dedicated the play to his patron Henry Jermyn. A second edition followed in 1665, in which ''The Platonick Lovers'' is paired with Davenant's comedy ''The Wits.'' The play contains the first instance of the phrase "

Platonic love Platonic love (often lowercased as platonic love) is a type of love in which sexual desire or romantic features are nonexistent or has been suppressed or sublimated, but it means more than simple friendship. The term is derived from the nam ...

" recorded in written English (in the 1636 first edition), although the concept itself had existed in English society for some time. ''The Platonick Lovers'' has been called a "minor masterpiece" of satire. Davenant sought and attained the patronage of

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She wa ...

, the queen consort of King

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

. Henrietta Maria had revived the medieval tradition of courtly love which had been popular at the French court, where she had grown up

Davenant wrote several works in honor of the Queen, most notably the final masques staged at the House of Stuart, Stuart Court, from ''The Temple of Love'' (1635) through ''

Luminalia ''Luminalia or The Festival of Light'' was a late Caroline era masque or " operatic show", with an English libretto by Sir William Davenant, designs by Inigo Jones, and music by composer Nicholas Lanier. Performed by Queen Henrietta Maria and her ...

'' (1638) and ''

Salmacida Spolia {{italic title ''Salmacida Spolia'' was the last masque performed at the English Court before the outbreak of the English Civil War. Written by Sir William Davenant, with costumes, sets, and stage effects designed by Inigo Jones and with music by ...

'' (1640). ''The Platonick Lovers'' is thought to have been written either at her orders or on her request. In his prologue, Davenant wrote that the title of his play might be above the heads of the common people, but that the Court would appreciate it. ::...the Title needs must cause ::From the indulgent Court, a kind applause, ::Since there hee learn't it first, and had command ::T'interpret what hee scarce doth understand. Yet Davenant subtly manages "to expose the snobbery of Platonic love" and to poke fun at its pretensions

Theander and Eurithea, the title characters, originally feel only courtly, intellectual love for each other. It is not until Theander is given medicine to "cure" him of his chastity that he sees women as existing primarily as objects meant solely for men's desire. At that point, the "unnatural" courtly and intellectual love between equals turns to "natural" physical love between a controlling man and his submissive wife. ::This bounty had been excellent, when you ::Had privilege to give, or to deny; but now ::Your charter's out of date, and mine ::Begins to rule: the Priest attends below ::To celebrate our Nuptiall rites, which is ::The happy houre that doth advance ::The husband's government; come, to the Chappell, Love. Theander and Eurithea's high-flown love is also contrasted with the physical love between Phylomont and Ariola, brother to Eurithea and sister to Theander respectively. Davenant shows how (at least at the beginning of the play) Theander and Eurithea are free to kiss and to touch, as their idealized love does not tempt them, but that Phylomont and Ariola, whose love is more physical, must remain physically chaste before their wedding. The play was one of Davenant's major successes, and was frequently revived. Its satire appears never to have registered on the author's patron: ''The Platonick Lovers'' was one of Henrietta Maria's favorite plays as late as the 1660s.MacGuire, p. 63.

Notes

Sources

* Broom, Wendell W. ''An old-spelling critical edition of William Davenant's The platonic lovers by Sir William D'Avenant.'' New York: Garland Press, 1987. . * Logan, Terence P., and Denzell S. Smith, eds. ''The Later Jacobean and Caroline Dramatists: A Survey and Bibliography of Recent Studies in English Renaissance Drama.'' Lincoln, NE, University of Nebraska Press, 1978. * MacGuire, Nancy Klein. ''Regicide and Restoration: English Tragicomedy 1660–1671.'' Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1992.

External links

Platonism in English Poetry
- discusses ''The Platonick Lovers''

by Lesel Dawson of the University of Bristol {{DEFAULTSORT:Platonick Lovers, The English Renaissance plays 1635 plays Plays by William Davenant