''Marriage à la Mode'' is a Restoration comedy by

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...

, first performed in London in 1673 by the

King's Company The King's Company was one of two enterprises granted the rights to mount theatrical productions in London, after the London theatre closure had been lifted at the start of the English Restoration. It existed from 1660 to 1682, when it merged wit ...

. It is written in a combination of

prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the ...

blank verse Blank verse is poetry written with regular metrical but unrhymed lines, almost always in iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the 16th century", and Pa ...

and

heroic couplets A heroic couplet is a traditional form for English poetry, commonly used in epic and narrative poetry, and consisting of a rhyming pair of lines in iambic pentameter. Use of the heroic couplet was pioneered by Geoffrey Chaucer in the ''Legend of ...

. It has often been praised as Dryden's best comedic endeavour, and James Sutherland accounts for this by observing that "the comic scenes are beautifully written, and Dryden has taken care to connect them with the serious plot by a number of effective links. He writes with ... one of the most thoughtful treatments of sex and marriage that Restoration comedy can show." The play contains two songs, "Why Should a Foolish Marriage Vow" by Robert Smith and "Whilst Alexis Lay Pressed" by Nicholas Staggins, both set to Dryden's lyrics and printed in the 1673 book ''Choice Songs and Ayres for One Voyce to Sing to the Theorbo-Lute or Bass-Viol''.

Characters

* Polydamas, Usurper of Sicily. * Leonidas, the rightful Prince, unknown. * Argaleon, favourite to Polydamas. * Hermogenes, foster-father to Leonidas. * Eubulus, his friend and companion. * Rhodphil, captain of the guards. * Palamede, a courtier. * Palmyra, daughter to the Usurper. * Amalthea, sister to Argaleon. * Doralice, wife to Rhodophil. * Melantha, an affected lady. * Philotis, woman to Melantha. * Beliza, woman to Doralice. * Artemis, a court lady.

Plot synopsis

The setting is in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. The plot concerns two separate storylines, one a romance between Palmyra and Leonidas, who were separated from their parents as babies and who were raised together by Hermogenes, who has kept their past a secret. When Hermogenes is recognized by the usurper-king Polydamas, he declares that Leonidas is Polydamas's son. However, as Leonidas's new position of prince then forbids him to marry Palmyra, much misery is brought to the couple. When the lovers refuse to stop seeing each other, Palmyra is sentenced to death. Hermogenes then steps forward and reveals that he was lying before: in fact Leonidas is his own son, he says, and he had lied in the hopes of bettering the boy by making him prince, whereas Palmyra is the real child of Polydamas. After offering proof of this new claim, Palmyra is established as princess, but again this prevents her and Leonidas from marrying. Hermogenes eventually admits that he once again was withholding information, and reveals the whole truth to Leonidas—Leonidas is the son of the rightful king, whose throne was usurped by Polydamas. As soon as he learns this, Leonidas forms a rebellion against Polydamas, wins, and establishes himself the new king, finally allowing himself and Palmyra to be married. The second storyline, which intertwines with the first, concerns Rhodophil and his friend Palamede. Palamede has fallen in love with Rhodophil's wife Doralice, and Rhodophil is in love with Palamede's fiancée Melantha. Each of the women seem to find their pursuers agreeable, and great care is taken by all parties to keep their meetings secret from each other, with disastrous results as the two couples seem to always choose the same locations and tactics for meeting. When finally the actions of everyone are discovered, Palamede and Rhodophil decide that since their tastes in women are so similar, each would be best sticking to his rightful claim. Palamede then manages to win the heart of Melantha, and amicably break off his relationship with Doralice.

Sources

Dryden borrowed from two plays by John Fletcher and his collaborators for ''Marriage À-la-Mode.'' He adapted its main plot from ''

Beggars' Bush ''Beggars' Bush'' is a Jacobean era stage play, a comedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators that is a focus of dispute among scholars and critics. Authorship The authorship and the date of the play have long been debated by ...

'' and its subplot from '' Rule a Wife and Have a Wife.''

Production history

The

first performed ''Marriage à la Mode'' in London in 1673.

William Wintershall William Wintershall (died July 1679), also Wintersall or Wintersell, was a noted seventeenth-century English actor. His career spanned the difficult years of mid-century, when English theatres were closed from 1642 to 1660, during the English Civi ...

played Polydamas,

Edward Kynaston Edward Kynaston may refer to: *Edward Kynaston (actor) (c. 1640–1712), English actor *Edward Kynaston (1709–1772) Edward Kynaston (6 October 1709–1772), of Garth and Bryngwyn, Montgomeryshire and Hardwick, Shropshire, was a British landow ...

was Leonidas,

Michael Mohun Michael Mohun (1616? – buried 11 October 1684) was a leading English actor both before and after the 1642–60 closing of the theatres. Mohun began his stage career as a boy player filling female roles; he was part of Christopher Beeston's the ...

was Rhodophil, Edward Lydall was Argaleon, Marmaduke Watson was Eubulus and Nicholas Burt was Palamede; the role of Hermogenes was taken by William Cartwright the younger. Elizabeth Cox played Palmyra, Rebecca Marshall played Doralice, Elizabeth James was Amalthea, and

Elizabeth Boutell Elizabeth Boutell (early 1650s?—1715), was a British actress. Life She joined, soon after its formation, the company at the Theatre Royal, subsequently known as Drury Lane, and was accordingly one of the first women to appear on the English s ...

was Melantha. John Downes, ''Roscius Anglicanus'', London 1708; Montague Summers, ed., Fortune Press

o date O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...

reprinted New York, Benjamin Blom, 1963; p. 13.

References

External links

Text of ''Marriage à-la-Mode'' at Online Literature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marriage a la mode (play) 1673 plays Plays by John Dryden Restoration comedy West End plays category:Plays set in the 17th century Cultural depictions of Leonidas I