Medieval Heroine with a Restoratoin Image : The Restoration Revival of "The Virgin Martyr"
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| Year of publication | 2018 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | Two playwrights Philip Massinger and Thomas Dekker introduced the subject of a Continental saint to the English Jacobean stage when their tragedy The Virgin Martyr (1618) became a successful theatre piece, which was later revived during the Restoration period. Massinger and Dekker’s rendering of the martyrdom of St Dorothy received a new treatment when the actor and playwright Benjamin Griffin adapted it and published as his play The Injured Virtue (1714). However, Renaissance and Restoration drama approached the medieval theme in a strikingly different way. While the Jacobean play with its numerous elaborations still adhered to the message of the Continental medieval tradition of St Dorothy plays, Griffin’s drama yielded to the taste of the Restoration theatre culture and corrupted both medieval and Renaissance legacies. This paper intends to demonstrate how the medieval ideal of female spirituality underwent profound alterations in the hands of English Renaissance and predominantly Restoration playwrights. |
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