'Politics, Satire and Caroline Manuscript Drama: The Example of "The Twice Chang’d Friar" (Arbury Hall MS A414)'

Date

2017-08-03

Advisors

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

ISSN

0029-3970

Volume Title

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Type

Article

Peer reviewed

Yes

Abstract

Recent years have seen important work on political and topical satire in early Stuart England, with special attention being paid to manuscript culture and genres such as the verse libel.There has also been significant research on the importance of political drama and satire on the Caroline stage. However, despite the case made by scholars such as Andrew McRae for the pervasiveness of political satire in early Stuart culture, less attention has been paid to the politics of manuscript plays of this era. "The Twice Chang’d Friar" (Arbury Hall MS A414) – a little known manuscript comedy (written c. 1627-30), soon to be published for the first time – suggests that political satire was similarly important in the world of Caroline manuscript drama and that at least some amateur playwrights, followed the example of their professional peers, and used their plays to reflect on the contemporary political scene and topical issues. This essay explores how, in the case of "The Twice Chang'd Friar", this includes satirising Caroline court corruption, the career of controversial court favourite the Duke of Buckingham and the behaviour of one-time Spanish ambassador Count Gondomar, and highlighting the perceived threat posed to the English by Catholicism and the French.

Description

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.

Keywords

Caroline Drama, Manuscript Drama, Textual Studies, early Stuart Satire

Citation

Keenan, S. (2017) Politics, Satire and Caroline Manuscript Drama: The Example of "The Twice Chang’d Friar" (Arbury Hall MS A414). Notes & Queries

Rights

Research Institute