Tragedy of Mariam, the Fair Queen of Jewry

by Cary, Elizabeth; Hodgson-Wright, Stephanie

• ISBN13: 9781551110431
• ISBN10: 1551110431
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-02-01
• Publisher: Broadview Pr

Summary

First published in 1613, The Tragedy of Mariam, the Fair Queen of Jewry is probably the first play in English known to have been authored by a woman, and it has become increasingly popular in the study of early modern women's writing. The play, which Cary based on the story of Herod and Mariam, turns on a rumour of Herod's death, and unfolds around the actions taken by the patriarch's family and servants in his absence. In part a critique of male power, the play sets gender politics in sharp relief against a background of dynastic conflict and Roman imperialism.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	7	(2)
Abbreviations	9	(2)
Introduction	11	(28)
A Brief Chronology	39	(4)
Elizabeth Cary
A Note on the Text	43	(2)
The Tragedy of Mariam	45	(139)
Emendations and Variant Readings	129	(16)
Appendix A: Main Sources
1. The Antiquities of the Jews	145	(14)
2. The Wars of the Jews	159	(4)
Appendix B: Extracts from Selected Didactic and Polemical Texts
1. Instruction of a Christian Woman	163	(1)
2. The Second tome of homilies	164	(3)
3. A godly form of household government	167	(2)
4. The Book of Common Prayer	169	(2)
5. Basilikon Doron	171	(1)
6. The true law of the monarchies	172	(1)
7. The Mothers Blessing	173	(3)
8. A Muzzle for Melastomus	176	(2)
9. Ester Hath Hang'd Haman	178	(1)
10. A Bride-Bush, or A Wedding Sermon	179	(2)
11. The Mother's Legacy to her Unborn Child	181	(3)
Appendix C: Photographs from the Tinderbox Theatre Company Production of The Tragedy of Mariam	184	(4)
Bibliography and Works Cited	188