The Old Wives' Tale (play): Difference between revisions
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{{about|the play|the novel|The Old Wives' Tale|the film|The Old Wives' Tale (film)}} |
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'''''[[The Old Wives, Tale (play)|The old Wives Tale]]''''', a dramatization by [[George Peele]] and printed in 1595, is an exaggerated version of the popular romantic plays favored at the time. Although only the titles of these works have survived, they seem to be unrelated composites of popular romantic motifs of the era. They were full of romantic inventions but devoid of moral content.<ref>{{cite book|last=Fowler|first=Alastair|title=A History of English Literature|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, MA|date=1991|page=71|isbn=0-674-39664-2}}</ref> |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} |
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'''''The Old Wives' Tale''''' is a play by [[George Peele]] first printed in England in 1595.<ref>{{cite book |chapter= George Peele |title= Elizabethan and Stuart Plays |url=https://archive.org/details/elizabethanstuar00bask|url-access=registration|editor= Baskervill, Charles Read |location= New York |publisher= Henry Holt and Company |year= 1934 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/elizabethanstuar00bask/page/n218 205]–206 |quote= ''The Old Wives' Tale'' was entered in the Stationer's Register, April 16, 1595, and printed by John Danter the same year. The identification of the initials "G.P." on the title page as those of George Peele, which was made by Herbert in ''Typographical Antiquities'', has never been challenged. The date of composition is usually thought to lie between 1590 and 1593, but recently Larson has argued for a date between January, 1593, and May, 1594. The play is essentially a medley of motives and incidents drawn from folk tales.}}</ref> The play has been identified as the first English work to [[satire|satirize]] the [[Romance (love)|romantic]] [[drama]]s popular at the time. Although only the titles of most of these popular works have survived, they seem to be unrelated composites of popular romantic and fairy-tale motifs of the era. They were full of romantic inventions but devoid of moral content.<ref name="fowler">{{cite book|last=Fowler|first=Alastair |author-link= Alastair Fowler |title=A History of English Literature |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, MA |year=1991|page=71|isbn=0-674-39664-2}}</ref> Peele here presents an amiably ironic and exaggerated version of such a play.<ref name="drabble"/> |
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{{reflist}} |
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''The Old Wives' Tale'' uses the device of a [[play within a play]] to add to the confusion.<ref name=justor/> Peele's version, however, was more carefully composed than similar works of the period. He distilled the romantic and fairy-tale, but he was also able to create detachment; the audience became aware of its taste for the pure romance of the fairy-tale. Some critics regard the play as intentional satire constructed to highlight generic absurdities.<ref name="fowler"/> Peele's [[George Peele#Plays|other plays]] employed a similar structure. |
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The play has been criticized as a "confusing jumble of theatrical nonsense" and for being a [[burlesque]].<ref name=justor> |
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{{cite journal |
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|jstor=3205533 |
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|journal=Educational Theatre Journal, Vol. 22, No. 3 (Oct., 1970), pp. 268-275 |
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|title="The Old Wives Tale" as Dramatic Satire |
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|last=Rockey |
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|first=Laurlilyn |
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|volume=22 |
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|pages=268–275 |
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}} |
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</ref> However, some praised it as a charming fantasy, an innocent sentimental comedy.<ref name=justor/> Others have called it a "fantastical comic romance".<ref> |
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{{cite web |
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|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/448695/George-Peele |
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|title=George Peele (English dramatist) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia |
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|publisher=britannica.com |
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|access-date=2009-12-15}} |
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</ref> |
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The plot centers around three young men who become lost in the woods, but are given shelter for the night by Clunch, a blacksmith, and his wife Madge (the eponymous 'old wife'). During their stay, one retires to bed with Clunch, while the other two are entertained by their hostess, who tells them a fairy-tale, which, to her surprise, comes to life: her characters appearing and telling it for her (the 'play-within-the play').{{cn|date=August 2022}} |
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One strand of the plot involves two brothers who are on an adventure searching for their sister, Delia, who is being held captive by the magician Sacrapant (compare [[John Milton|Milton]]'s ''[[Comus (John Milton)|Comus]]''). The magician also captures the brothers. Eventually they are all rescued by a knight aided by a ghost who is motivated by gratitude for past acts of kindness by the knight. Songs and magical invocations are interwoven into the play, imbuing it with a magical atmosphere.<ref name="drabble"> |
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{{cite web |
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|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-OldWivesTaleThe.html |
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|title=Old Wives' Tale, The - Guide to Old Wives' Tale, The |
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|publisher=www.encyclopedia.com |
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|access-date=2009-12-15 |
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|last=Jenny Stringer |
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|first=Margaret Drabble |
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|author-link=Margaret Drabble |
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}} |
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</ref> |
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==See also== |
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* [[Old wives' tale]] |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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{{Italic title}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Wives Tale}} |
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[[Category:English Renaissance plays]] |
[[Category:English Renaissance plays]] |
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[[Category:Plays by George Peele]] |
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[[Category:1595 plays]] |
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Latest revision as of 21:01, 8 July 2024
The Old Wives' Tale is a play by George Peele first printed in England in 1595.[1] The play has been identified as the first English work to satirize the romantic dramas popular at the time. Although only the titles of most of these popular works have survived, they seem to be unrelated composites of popular romantic and fairy-tale motifs of the era. They were full of romantic inventions but devoid of moral content.[2] Peele here presents an amiably ironic and exaggerated version of such a play.[3]
The Old Wives' Tale uses the device of a play within a play to add to the confusion.[4] Peele's version, however, was more carefully composed than similar works of the period. He distilled the romantic and fairy-tale, but he was also able to create detachment; the audience became aware of its taste for the pure romance of the fairy-tale. Some critics regard the play as intentional satire constructed to highlight generic absurdities.[2] Peele's other plays employed a similar structure.
The play has been criticized as a "confusing jumble of theatrical nonsense" and for being a burlesque.[4] However, some praised it as a charming fantasy, an innocent sentimental comedy.[4] Others have called it a "fantastical comic romance".[5]
Plot
[edit]The plot centers around three young men who become lost in the woods, but are given shelter for the night by Clunch, a blacksmith, and his wife Madge (the eponymous 'old wife'). During their stay, one retires to bed with Clunch, while the other two are entertained by their hostess, who tells them a fairy-tale, which, to her surprise, comes to life: her characters appearing and telling it for her (the 'play-within-the play').[citation needed] One strand of the plot involves two brothers who are on an adventure searching for their sister, Delia, who is being held captive by the magician Sacrapant (compare Milton's Comus). The magician also captures the brothers. Eventually they are all rescued by a knight aided by a ghost who is motivated by gratitude for past acts of kindness by the knight. Songs and magical invocations are interwoven into the play, imbuing it with a magical atmosphere.[3]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Baskervill, Charles Read, ed. (1934). "George Peele". Elizabethan and Stuart Plays. New York: Henry Holt and Company. pp. 205–206.
The Old Wives' Tale was entered in the Stationer's Register, April 16, 1595, and printed by John Danter the same year. The identification of the initials "G.P." on the title page as those of George Peele, which was made by Herbert in Typographical Antiquities, has never been challenged. The date of composition is usually thought to lie between 1590 and 1593, but recently Larson has argued for a date between January, 1593, and May, 1594. The play is essentially a medley of motives and incidents drawn from folk tales.
- ^ a b Fowler, Alastair (1991). A History of English Literature. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. p. 71. ISBN 0-674-39664-2.
- ^ a b Jenny Stringer, Margaret Drabble. "Old Wives' Tale, The - Guide to Old Wives' Tale, The". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ a b c Rockey, Laurlilyn. ""The Old Wives Tale" as Dramatic Satire". Educational Theatre Journal, Vol. 22, No. 3 (Oct., 1970), pp. 268-275. 22: 268–275. JSTOR 3205533.
- ^ "George Peele (English dramatist) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia". britannica.com. Retrieved 15 December 2009.