The Prophetess (play)
Encyclopedia
The Prophetess is a late Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy
written by John Fletcher
and Philip Massinger
. It was initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio
of 1647
.
, on May 14, 1622
. It was acted by the King's Men
; the cast included John Lowin
, Joseph Taylor
, Robert Benfield
, Nicholas Tooley
, John Shank
, George Birch
, Richard Sharpe
, and Thomas Holcombe
.
gave this breakdown of the two writers' relative shares:
E. H. C. Oliphant provided the same scheme, except for an assignment of V,2 to Fletcher. Massinger may have revised the original play in 1629
, for a revival in July of that year. One source of the play's plot is the History of Carinus of Flavius Vopiscus. (Massinger had previously dealt with the reign of Diocletian in The Virgin Martyr
, his collaboration with Dekker.)
in 1690
, in a musical adaptation "After the Manner of an Opera," with music by Henry Purcell
; that version is sometimes known by the title Dioclesian
. Betterton and Purcell's adaptation was performed in Dublin late in 1735
.
."
, legend, and fairy tale
. The story begins in 284 A.D., with the reputedly historical murder of Numerian
(the play calls him Numerianus) by Lucius Flavius Aper (in the play, Volutius Aper). In the opening scene, the emperor Charinus
and his sister Aurelia discuss their brother's reported murder. They decide to offer a munificent reward to the man who kills Aper — co-rulership of the Roman Empire and Aurelia's hand in marriage. (This is a classic fairy-tale element — "half my kingdom and the hand of my daughter" — and wholly ahistorical).
At this point, Diocles is a common soldier, who is spending his best efforts killing wild boars; the witch/sorceress Delphia has prophesied that Diocles will become emperor when his kills a certain boar. The prophecy comes with a condition: Diocles will also marry Delphia's niece Drusilla, who is deeply in love with him. When Diocles complains that he still is not emperor despite all the boars he's killed, Delphia merely tells him that he hasn't yet got the right one. Then Diocles learns of the bounty placed on Aper's head, and gets the point of the prophecy: aper is the Latin term for a wild boar. Diocles kills Aper, and receives his reward: upon ascending to the highest place in the empire, he amends his name to Dioclesianus.
But he has conveniently forgotten about Drusilla, and plans to marry Aurelia. Delphia doesn't like this. She reproves his faithlessness, but Dioclesian is recalcitrant; in the early scenes of the play he acts with the egomania and bombast of Marlowe's
Tamburlaine
. Delphia's magic is so powerful, however, that she can spoil the hero's good fortune. A sudden storm of thunder and lightning, caused by Delphia, forces the superstitious Romans to delay the wedding; then Delphia's spells make Aurelia fall in love with Dioclesian's nephew Maximinian. (Maximinian is based on the historical Maximian
, Diocletian's co-ruler but no familial relation.) Dioclesian rages at Delphia's interference, but events forestall any action on his part.
In their long-running conflict with the Persians
, the Romans have captured the Persian princess Cassana, sister of the king, Cosroe
. (The historical Khosrau I
ruled nearly three centuries after the historical period of the play, 531–579 A.D.; his presence here constitutes the drama's biggest departure from historical fact. "Cosroe" is a stereotypical Persian emperor of much Western literature; he appears in Tamburlaine and in other plays and operas.) Aurelia uses the captured princess as her servant. Persian ambassadors try to ransom Cassana, but the proud Aurelia dismisses even the highest offers. Desperate, the Persian ambassadors manage (with Delphia's magic help) to abduct Charinus, Aurelia, and Maximinian and take them into Persian custody. Dioclesian rushes with his army to rescue them; by this time, though, he has learned to moderate his egotism and ambition. He is victorious over the Persians on the battlefield, yet with uncharacteristic magnanimity he pardons and releases Cosroe and Cassana, and then surprises all by abdicating his position in favor of his nephew Maximinian. Dioclesian marries Drusilla and retires to a farm in Lombardy.
Maximinian is now co-ruler with Charinus, but the two come into conflict. Maximinian believes that his own rule will never be secure as long as Dioclesian lives: the soldiers admire the abdicated uncle more than the nephew in power. In the play's climax, Maximinian leads his troops against Dioclesian; but an apparent divine intervention (Delphia-inspired) — earthquake, thunder, lightning, and a godly hand in the clouds — turns Maximinian repentant. Dioclesian and Drusilla are left to enjoy their country retirement, unmolested.
The play's comic relief
is supplied by the clown character Geta, a servant and follower of Dioclesian who is promoted to an officer, without any of the qualities that would qualify him for the position.
The play's departures from historical fact are almost too many to list. The actual Maximian was Diocletian's co-ruler, not his heir; Carinus died in 285, before Maximian was elevated to Caesarship; Maximian retired at the same time as Diocletian; when he became emperor, Diocletian was not a common soldier but a consul
; Diocletian retired to Dalmatia
, not Lombardy
; etc. etc. The play contains surprisingly old-fashioned features for a work of the 1620s; its chorus, dumbshow
, and Marlovain bombast suggest a work of the previous generation of dramas. It is possible that The Prophetess is a reworking of the lost play Diocletian from 1594
.
The play contains spectacular elements; critics have wondered exactly how the entrance of Delphia and Drusilla in II,iii, "in a Throne drawn by Dragons," could have been staged.
Tragicomedy
Tragicomedy is fictional work that blends aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. In English literature, from Shakespeare's time to the nineteenth century, tragicomedy referred to a serious play with either a happy ending or enough jokes throughout the play to lighten the mood.-Classical...
written by John Fletcher
John Fletcher (playwright)
John Fletcher was a Jacobean playwright. Following William Shakespeare as house playwright for the King's Men, he was among the most prolific and influential dramatists of his day; both during his lifetime and in the early Restoration, his fame rivalled Shakespeare's...
and Philip Massinger
Philip Massinger
Philip Massinger was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including A New Way to Pay Old Debts, The City Madam and The Roman Actor, are noted for their satire and realism, and their political and social themes.-Early life:The son of Arthur Massinger or Messenger, he was baptized at St....
. It was initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio
Beaumont and Fletcher folios
The Beaumont and Fletcher folios were two large folio collections of the stage plays of John Fletcher and his collaborators. The first was issued in 1647, and the second in 1679. The two collections were important in preserving many works of English Renaissance drama.-The first folio, 1647:The 1647...
of 1647
1647 in literature
The year 1647 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* Thomas Hobbes becomes tutor to the future Charles II of England.* Plagiarist Robert Baron publishes his Deorum Dona, a masque, and Gripus and Hegio, a pastoral, which draw heavily on the poems of Edmund Waller and John Webster's...
.
Date and performance
The play was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the RevelsMaster of the Revels
The Master of the Revels was a position within the English, and later the British, royal household heading the "Revels Office" or "Office of the Revels" that originally had responsibilities for overseeing royal festivities, known as revels, and later also became responsible for stage censorship,...
, on May 14, 1622
1622 in literature
The year 1622 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*February 28 - Loiola, a Latin comedy mocking the Jesuits, is acted at Cambridge; the performance is repeated before King James I on March 12.*March 12 - Teresa of Ávila The year 1622 in literature involved some significant...
. It was acted by the King's Men
King's Men (playing company)
The King's Men was the company of actors to which William Shakespeare belonged through most of his career. Formerly known as The Lord Chamberlain's Men during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, it became The King's Men in 1603 when King James ascended the throne and became the company's patron.The...
; the cast included John Lowin
John Lowin
John Lowin was an English actor born in the St Giles-without-Cripplegate, London, the son of a tanner. Like Robert Armin, he was apprenticed to a goldsmith. While he is not recorded as a free citizen of this company, he did perform as a goldsmith, Leofstane, in a 1611 city pageant written by...
, Joseph Taylor
Joseph Taylor (17th-century actor)
Joseph Taylor was a 17th-century actor. As the successor of Richard Burbage with the King's Men, he was arguably the most important actor in the later Jacobean and the Caroline eras....
, Robert Benfield
Robert Benfield
Robert Benfield was a seventeenth-century actor, noted for his longtime membership in the King's Men in the years and decades after William Shakespeare's retirement and death.Nothing is known of Benfield's early life...
, Nicholas Tooley
Nicholas Tooley
Nicholas Tooley was a Renaissance actor in the King's Men, the acting company of William Shakespeare.Recent research has shown that Tooley was born in late 1582 or early 1583; his birth name was not Tooley but Wilkinson...
, John Shank
John Shank
John Shank was an actor in English Renaissance theatre, a leading comedian in the King's Men during the 1620s and 1630s.-Early career:...
, George Birch
King's Men personnel
King's Men personnel were the people who worked with and for the Lord Chamberlain's Men and the King's Men from 1594 to 1642...
, Richard Sharpe
Richard Sharpe (actor)
Richard Sharpe was an actor with the King's Men, the leading theatre troupe of its time and the company of William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage...
, and Thomas Holcombe
King's Men personnel
King's Men personnel were the people who worked with and for the Lord Chamberlain's Men and the King's Men from 1594 to 1642...
.
Authorship
Due to Fletcher's distinctive stylistic profile, the division of authorship in the play is largely clear and unambiguous. Cyrus HoyCyrus Hoy
Cyrus Hoy was a literary scholar of the English Renaissance stage who taught at the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University, and was the John B. Trevor Professor of English at the University of Rochester...
gave this breakdown of the two writers' relative shares:
- Fletcher — Act I; Act III, Act V, scene 3;
- Massinger — Act II; Act IV; Act V, scenes 1 and 2.
E. H. C. Oliphant provided the same scheme, except for an assignment of V,2 to Fletcher. Massinger may have revised the original play in 1629
1629 in literature
The year 1629 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*April 6 - Tommaso Campanella is released from custody in Rome, and gains the confidence of Pope Urban IV....
, for a revival in July of that year. One source of the play's plot is the History of Carinus of Flavius Vopiscus. (Massinger had previously dealt with the reign of Diocletian in The Virgin Martyr
The Virgin Martyr
The Virgin Martyr is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragedy written by Thomas Dekker and Philip Massinger, and first published in 1622. It constitutes a rare instance in Masssinger's canon in which he collaborated with a member of the previous generation of English Renaissance dramatists —...
, his collaboration with Dekker.)
Adaptation
The Prophetess was revived by Thomas BettertonThomas Betterton
Thomas Patrick Betterton , English actor, son of an under-cook to King Charles I, was born in London.-Apprentice and actor:...
in 1690
1690 in literature
The year 1690 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*December 10 - Playwright Henry Nevil Payne is tortured for his role in the "Montgomery Plot" to restore James II to the throne — the last time a political prisoner is subjected to torture in Britain.* Colley Cibber becomes...
, in a musical adaptation "After the Manner of an Opera," with music by Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
; that version is sometimes known by the title Dioclesian
Dioclesian
Dioclesian is a tragicomic semi-opera in five acts by Henry Purcell to a libretto by Thomas Betterton based on the play The Prophetess, by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger, which in turn was based very loosely on the life of the Emperor Diocletian. It was premiered in late May 1690 at the...
. Betterton and Purcell's adaptation was performed in Dublin late in 1735
1735 in literature
The year 1735 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Samuel Johnson marries Elizabeth "Tetty" Porter, twenty years his senior....
.
Critical response
The Prophetess has been called "a strange and difficult play," noteworthy as almost the only work in Fletcher's canon that treats magic and thaumaturgy as a serious element, with Delphia "as a kind of a curiously feminized ProsperoProspero
Prospero is the protagonist in The Tempest, a play by William Shakespeare.- The Tempest :Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan, who was put to sea on "a rotten carcass of a butt [boat]" to die by his usurping brother, Antonio, twelve years before the play begins. Prospero and Miranda survived,...
."
Synopsis
In the 1647 folio, The Prophetess is called a "Tragical History." At one point in the drama, the Chorus states that the play provides "Historie, / yet mixt...with sweet varietie" (IV,i). The plot certainly does offer historical information (some fairly accurate, some wildly not), intermingled with borrowings from folkloreFolklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
, legend, and fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
. The story begins in 284 A.D., with the reputedly historical murder of Numerian
Numerian
Numerian , was a Roman Emperor from 282 to 284 with his older brother Carinus. They were sons of Carus, a general raised to the office of praetorian prefect under Emperor Probus in 282.-Reign:...
(the play calls him Numerianus) by Lucius Flavius Aper (in the play, Volutius Aper). In the opening scene, the emperor Charinus
Carinus
Carinus , was Roman Emperor 282 to 285. The elder son of emperor Carus, he was appointed Caesar and co-emperor of the western portion of the empire upon his father's accession...
and his sister Aurelia discuss their brother's reported murder. They decide to offer a munificent reward to the man who kills Aper — co-rulership of the Roman Empire and Aurelia's hand in marriage. (This is a classic fairy-tale element — "half my kingdom and the hand of my daughter" — and wholly ahistorical).
At this point, Diocles is a common soldier, who is spending his best efforts killing wild boars; the witch/sorceress Delphia has prophesied that Diocles will become emperor when his kills a certain boar. The prophecy comes with a condition: Diocles will also marry Delphia's niece Drusilla, who is deeply in love with him. When Diocles complains that he still is not emperor despite all the boars he's killed, Delphia merely tells him that he hasn't yet got the right one. Then Diocles learns of the bounty placed on Aper's head, and gets the point of the prophecy: aper is the Latin term for a wild boar. Diocles kills Aper, and receives his reward: upon ascending to the highest place in the empire, he amends his name to Dioclesianus.
But he has conveniently forgotten about Drusilla, and plans to marry Aurelia. Delphia doesn't like this. She reproves his faithlessness, but Dioclesian is recalcitrant; in the early scenes of the play he acts with the egomania and bombast of Marlowe's
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
Tamburlaine
Tamburlaine (play)
Tamburlaine the Great is the name of a play in two parts by Christopher Marlowe. It is loosely based on the life of the Central Asian emperor, Timur 'the lame'...
. Delphia's magic is so powerful, however, that she can spoil the hero's good fortune. A sudden storm of thunder and lightning, caused by Delphia, forces the superstitious Romans to delay the wedding; then Delphia's spells make Aurelia fall in love with Dioclesian's nephew Maximinian. (Maximinian is based on the historical Maximian
Maximian
Maximian was Roman Emperor from 286 to 305. He was Caesar from 285 to 286, then Augustus from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocletian, whose political brain complemented Maximian's military brawn. Maximian established his residence at Trier but spent...
, Diocletian's co-ruler but no familial relation.) Dioclesian rages at Delphia's interference, but events forestall any action on his part.
In their long-running conflict with the Persians
Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
, the Romans have captured the Persian princess Cassana, sister of the king, Cosroe
Khosrau I
Khosrau I , also known as Anushiravan the Just or Anushirawan the Just Khosrau I (also called Chosroes I in classical sources, most commonly known in Persian as Anushirvan or Anushirwan, Persian: انوشيروان meaning the immortal soul), also known as Anushiravan the Just or Anushirawan the Just...
. (The historical Khosrau I
Khosrau I
Khosrau I , also known as Anushiravan the Just or Anushirawan the Just Khosrau I (also called Chosroes I in classical sources, most commonly known in Persian as Anushirvan or Anushirwan, Persian: انوشيروان meaning the immortal soul), also known as Anushiravan the Just or Anushirawan the Just...
ruled nearly three centuries after the historical period of the play, 531–579 A.D.; his presence here constitutes the drama's biggest departure from historical fact. "Cosroe" is a stereotypical Persian emperor of much Western literature; he appears in Tamburlaine and in other plays and operas.) Aurelia uses the captured princess as her servant. Persian ambassadors try to ransom Cassana, but the proud Aurelia dismisses even the highest offers. Desperate, the Persian ambassadors manage (with Delphia's magic help) to abduct Charinus, Aurelia, and Maximinian and take them into Persian custody. Dioclesian rushes with his army to rescue them; by this time, though, he has learned to moderate his egotism and ambition. He is victorious over the Persians on the battlefield, yet with uncharacteristic magnanimity he pardons and releases Cosroe and Cassana, and then surprises all by abdicating his position in favor of his nephew Maximinian. Dioclesian marries Drusilla and retires to a farm in Lombardy.
Maximinian is now co-ruler with Charinus, but the two come into conflict. Maximinian believes that his own rule will never be secure as long as Dioclesian lives: the soldiers admire the abdicated uncle more than the nephew in power. In the play's climax, Maximinian leads his troops against Dioclesian; but an apparent divine intervention (Delphia-inspired) — earthquake, thunder, lightning, and a godly hand in the clouds — turns Maximinian repentant. Dioclesian and Drusilla are left to enjoy their country retirement, unmolested.
The play's comic relief
Comic relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
is supplied by the clown character Geta, a servant and follower of Dioclesian who is promoted to an officer, without any of the qualities that would qualify him for the position.
The play's departures from historical fact are almost too many to list. The actual Maximian was Diocletian's co-ruler, not his heir; Carinus died in 285, before Maximian was elevated to Caesarship; Maximian retired at the same time as Diocletian; when he became emperor, Diocletian was not a common soldier but a consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
; Diocletian retired to Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
, not Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
; etc. etc. The play contains surprisingly old-fashioned features for a work of the 1620s; its chorus, dumbshow
Dumbshow
Dumbshow, also dumb show or dumb-show, is a traditional term for pantomime in drama, actions presented by actors onstage without spoken dialogue. It is similar to the masque...
, and Marlovain bombast suggest a work of the previous generation of dramas. It is possible that The Prophetess is a reworking of the lost play Diocletian from 1594
1594 in literature
-Events:*The London theatres re-open in the spring, after two years of general inactivity due to the bubonic plague epidemic of 1592–94. Many of the actors who used to be Lord Strange's Men form a new organization, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, under the patronage of Henry Carey, 1st Baron...
.
The play contains spectacular elements; critics have wondered exactly how the entrance of Delphia and Drusilla in II,iii, "in a Throne drawn by Dragons," could have been staged.