The Merry Devil of Edmonton
The Merry Devil of Edmonton | |
---|---|
Date premiered | 1600–1604 |
Original language | English |
Genre | Comedy |
The Merry Devil of Edmonton is an
Date and text
Scholars have conjectured dates of authorship for the play as early as 1592, though most favor a date in the 1600–4 period.[1] The Merry Devil enters the historical record in 1604, when it is mentioned in a contemporary work called the Black Booke. The play was entered into the Stationers' Register on 22 October 1607, and published the next year, in a quarto printed by Henry Ballard for the bookseller Arthur Johnson (Q1 – 1608). Five more quartos appeared through the remainder of the century: Q2 – 1612; Q3 – 1617; Q4 – 1626; Q5 – 1631; and Q6 – 1655. All of these quartos were anonymous.
Shakespearean authorship
Publisher Humphrey Moseley obtained the rights to the play and re-registered it on 9 September 1653 as a work by William Shakespeare. Moseley's attribution to Shakespeare was repeated by Edward Archer in his 1656 play list [see: The Old Law], and by Francis Kirkman in his list of 1661.[2] The play was bound with Fair Em and Mucedorus in a book titled "Shakespeare. Vol. I" in the library of Charles II.
As its publishing history indicates, the play was popular with audiences; it is mentioned by
Synopsis
Sir Arthur Clare wants to break off his daughter Milliscent's arranged marriage. He plans to temporarily send her to a nunnery, but she resists as she doesn't want to leave her family or potential love for another potential suitor, Frank Jerningham. Raymond, the heir of Sir Richard Mounchensey, is in love with Milliscent and Clare agrees to let him pursue her, but Milliscent must wait a year to marry. Raymond disguises himself as a friar and plots with his friends to court and potentially kidnap Milliscent. They enlist the help of Fabell, who agrees to use magic to help them. In a separate storyline, a group of thieves plans to serve the Duke of Norfolk while hiding from keepers. The two storylines converge and end with Milliscent confessing to marrying Raymond.
Performance history
The play was performed at Court on 8 May 1608; it was also one of the twenty plays that the King's Men acted at Court in the Christmas season of 1612–13 during the festivities
References
- ^ Logan and Smith, pp. 209–10.
- ^ Chambers, Vol. 4, p. 30.
- ^ Logan and Smith, pp. 36–37, 208–09.
- ^ Chambers, Vol. 4, p. 127.
- ^ "Merry Devil of Edmonton, The British Universities Film & Video Council". bufvc.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
- ^ "Bad Quarto Productions and Mary Balwin College Present The Merry Devil of Edmonton" (PDF). Philadelphia Weekly. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
- ^ "Tony Tambasco – Director – The Merry Devil of Edmonton". Retrieved 4 March 2013.
- ^ "Philly Fringe for the Twihard". Fringearts. 29 June 2010. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
- ^ "Maybe Shakespeare's The Merry Devil of Edmonton". Red Bull Theater. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- ^ "Carson Elrod and More Tapped for THE MERRY DEVIL OF EDMONTON at Red Bull Theater". Broadwayworld. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
Sources
- Chambers, E. K.The Elizabethan Stage. 4 Volumes, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1923.
- Kozlenko, William, ed. Disputed Plays of William Shakespeare. Hawthorn Books, 1974.
- Logan, Terence P., and Denzell S. Smith, eds. The Popular School: A Survey and Bibliography of Recent Studies in English Renaissance Drama. Lincoln, NE, University of Nebraska Press, 1975.
- Tucker Brooke, C. F., ed. The Shakespeare Apocrypha. Oxford, the Clarendon Press, 1908.
External links
- The Merry Devil of Edmonton at Project Gutenberg
- The Merry Devil of Edmonton public domain audiobook at LibriVox