Venice Preserv'd
by Thomas Otway
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The Regents Restoration Drama series provides soundly edited texts, in modern spelling, of the significant plays of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Each text is based on a fresh collation of the early authoritative editions. The textual notes record all substantive departures from the edition used as the copy-text. Variant substantive readings among contemporary editions are listed. Historical background, stage history, and literary and cultural information are included.Tags
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Oddly enough, one of my favourite plays from the time period. It's so typical that it's a delight.
Wikipedia: Venice Preserv'd was one of the first of the she-tragedy plays, and the most significant tragedy of the English stage in the 1680s.
Contemporary audiences responded to the pathos of the character of Belvidera, which was written for the tragedienne Elizabeth Barry and capitalised on Barry's phenomenal success in the role of the similarly helpless Monimia in Otway's The Orphan (1680). Of all of the characters, Belvidera is the most powerless in the face of overwhelming social and political turmoil. Each of the characters has a conflict between the social and personal laws of class and self. Belvidera has to struggle against duty to father and to love. Jaffeir has to struggle against "honour" and love, as well as friendship and show more ideals. Priuli must decide between love of daughter and personal pride. Belvidera remained a starring role for actresses because her tragic situation was most affecting for audiences. show less
Contemporary audiences responded to the pathos of the character of Belvidera, which was written for the tragedienne Elizabeth Barry and capitalised on Barry's phenomenal success in the role of the similarly helpless Monimia in Otway's The Orphan (1680). Of all of the characters, Belvidera is the most powerless in the face of overwhelming social and political turmoil. Each of the characters has a conflict between the social and personal laws of class and self. Belvidera has to struggle against duty to father and to love. Jaffeir has to struggle against "honour" and love, as well as friendship and show more ideals. Priuli must decide between love of daughter and personal pride. Belvidera remained a starring role for actresses because her tragic situation was most affecting for audiences. show less
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Otway was probably the best writer of tragedies during the Restoration period. His Venice Preserved (1682) is rivaled only by Dryden's All for Love. As the Royal Shakespeare Company's production so well demonstrated, Venice Preserved is still a dark and passionate play. The love versus honor conflict echoes the heroic drama, but Jaffier's show more vacillation between the demands of a friend and a wife reflects the somberness of a world in chaos, a Jacobean tragic theme. Otway's The Orphan (1680) set the fashion for a serious play based on pathos, if not actual tears. Otway had an unrequited passion for Mrs. Elizabeth Barry, the actress who appeared in most of his dramas. Penniless at the end of his life, he died while in a London tavern (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Venice Preserv'd
- Alternate titles
- Venice Preserved
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Statistics
- Members
- 65
- Popularity
- 471,142
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.22)
- Languages
- English, Portuguese
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 22
- ASINs
- 5
