Hearts of Oak is an 1879 play by Americans James Herne

James Herne

James A. Herne , was an American playwright, born James Ahearn. Considered by some critics to be the "American Ibsen," his controversial play Margaret Fleming is often credited with having begun modern drama in America....

 and David Belasco

David Belasco

David Belasco was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director and playwright.-Biography:Born in San Francisco, California, where his Sephardic Jewish parents had moved from London, England, during the Gold Rush, he began working in a San Francisco theatre doing a variety of routine jobs,...

. The play is a melodrama

Melodrama

The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...

 concerning a woman who marries her guardian out of gratitude, even though she loves another man. It was extraordinarily successful on tour, starring Belasco, and earning a fortune for him. The title is a quotation from a line spoken by Circe to Odysseus

Odysseus

Odysseus or Ulysses was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....

after his return from the underworld in the Odyssey.