The Second Maiden's Tragedy
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The Second Maiden's Tragedy is a Jacobean play that survives only in manuscript. It was written in 1611, and performed in the same year by the King's Men. The manuscript that survives is the copy that was sent to the censor, and therefore includes his notes and deletions. The manuscript was acquired, but never printed, by the publisher Humphrey Moseley after the closure of the theatres in 1642. In 1807, the manuscript was bought by the British Museum.
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[edit] Title
The play's real title is unknown. On the manuscript, the censor, George Buc, has added a note that calls the play 'This second Maiden's Tragedy (for it hath no name inscribed)...'. Buc is comparing the play to Beaumont and Fletcher's The Maid's Tragedy. This name has stuck. However, recent editors of the play have preferred to call it by another name, such as The Maiden's Tragedy, or The Lady's Tragedy.
[edit] Authorship
The play's authorship is also complex. On the manuscript, three crossed-out attributions in seventeenth century hands attribute it to Thomas Goffe, William Shakespeare, and George Chapman. However, some believe that stylistic analysis indicates the true author was Thomas Middleton, as the play fits very well with Middleton's other work.
In a further complication, a professional handwriting expert Charles Hamilton has claimed in a recent book that The Second Maiden's Tragedy play is in fact Shakespeare's manuscript of the lost play Cardenio,[1] but some literary scholars reject his argument. [citation needed] The position of mainstream literary scholarship is that the play is by Middleton; however, on the rare occasions when the play has been revived on the stage, producers often name it Cardenio, reflecting the widespread belief among theatre professionals that the play is indeed Shakespeare's.
[edit] Plot
This wildly bizarre play has two storylines: one is the tale of a sadistic and necrophiliac tyrant's love for the lover of his ousted rival. The subplot is based on a tale by Cervantes ("El Curioso Impertinente", included in Quixote, part I), and depicts a jealous husband's tragic attempt to test his wife's virtue by persuading his best friend to seduce her.
[edit] References
- Martin Wiggins, ed. Four Jacobean Sex Tragedies. Oxford University Press, 1998.
