''The Maid's Revenge'' is an early Caroline era stage the play, the earliest extant

tragedy A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...

James Shirley James Shirley (or Sherley) (September 1596 – October 1666) was an English dramatist. He belonged to the great period of English dramatic literature, but, in Charles Lamb (writer), Charles Lamb's words, he "claims a place among the worthies of ...

. It was first published in

1639 Events January–March * January 19 – Hämeenlinna () is granted privileges, after it separates from the Vanaja parish, as its own city in Tavastia. *c. January – The first printing press in British North America is ...

. ''The Maid's Revenge'' 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 Chamberla ...

, on 9 February

1626 Events January–March * January 7 – Polish–Swedish War (1625–1629), Polish-Swedish War: Battle of Wallhof in Latvia – Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, defeats a Polish army. * January 9 – Peter Minuit sail ...

. It was the second of Shirley's plays to be produced (after ''

Love Tricks ''Love Tricks, or The School of Complement'' is a Caroline stage play by James Shirley, his earliest known work. Performance ''Love Tricks'' was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on 10 February 1625; it ...

'' in

1625 Events January–March * January 17 – Led by the Duke of Soubise, the Huguenots launch a second rebellion against King Louis XIII, with a surprise naval assault on a French fleet being prepared in Blavet. * February 3 &nda ...

). The play was acted by

Queen Henrietta's Men Queen Henrietta's Men was an important playing company or troupe of actors of the Caroline era in London, England. At their peak of popularity, Queen Henrietta's Men were the second leading troupe of the day, after only the King's Men. Beginnin ...

at the

Cockpit Theatre The Cockpit was a theatre in London, operating from 1616 to around 1665. It was the first theatre to be located near Drury Lane. After damage in 1617, it was named The Phoenix. History The original building was an actual cockpit; that is, a s ...

, as were most of Shirley's plays in this era. The 1639

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 ...

was issued by the bookseller William Cooke, and was dedicated by Shirley to Henry Osborne, esq. Shirley based his plot on the seventh story in the collection by John Reynolds called ''The Triumphs of God's Revenge Against the Crying and Execrable Sin of Murder.'' Critics have been divided on the merits of the play. Schelling, who judged it positively, described it as "a tragedy of much promise, full of swift action, capably plotted, and fluently and lucidly written."Schelling, Vol. 2, p. 322. The play was revived on the stage during the Restoration era.

Synopsis

The setting is Avero in Portugal; the story involves two noble families. An elderly lord, Gaspar de Vilarezo, has a son, Sebastiano, and two daughters, Catalina and Berinthia. Their contemporaries are Antonio and his sister Castabella; Sebastiano and Antonio are close friends. Antonio is in love with Berinthia; but old lord Gaspar believes that his elder daughter Catalina must be married before the younger can entertain a suitor. Antonio, therefore, pretends to be courting Catalina so that he can see Berinthia — and Catalina falls for her apparent suitor. Catalina discovers that she has been fooled and used; she locks up her sister and arranges for her to be kidnapped and poisoned. But Antonio discovers the plot and is able to forestall it; he rescues Berinthia and takes her to his castle. Sebastiano comes to demand satisfaction, but finds Antonio's explanation acceptable. His own motives are complicated: he stays to court Castabella. The vengeful Catalina demands revenge, though, and persuades her father: Gaspar orders his son Sebastiano to kill Antonio. Though the two young men remain friends and are engaged to each other's sisters, the demands of the aristocratic code of honor are inescapable. They duel, and Antonio is slain. Vengeance appears to run in Gaspar's family: Berinthia, mourning her lost love, embarks on revenge of her own. She stabs her brother Sebastiano, poisons her sister Catalina, and then stabs herself. Like most tragedies of the era, ''The Maid's Revenge'' leavens its tragic plot with some comic materials, including the Count de Montenegro, the type of comic suitor that is a staple of Shirley's drama.

Notes

Sources

* Forsythe, Robert Stanley. ''The Relations of Shirley's Plays to the Elizabethan Drama.'' New York, Columbia University Press, 1914. * Nason, Arthur Huntington. ''James Shirley, Dramatist: A Biographical and Critical Study.'' New York, 1915; reprinted New York, Benjamin Blom, 1967. * Schelling, Felix Emmanuel. ''Elizabethan Drama 1558–1642.'' 2 Volumes, Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1908. {{DEFAULTSORT:Maids Revenge, The English Renaissance plays Revenge plays 1626 plays Plays by James Shirley Tragedy plays