The Maid's Metamorphosis
Encyclopedia
The Maid's Metamorphosis is a late Elizabethan stage play, a pastoral
first published in 1600
. The play, "a comedy of considerable merit," was published anonymously, and its authorship has been a long-standing point of dispute among scholars.
on July 24, 1600, and published later that year in a quarto
printed by Thomas Creede
for the bookseller Richard Olive. The title page of the first edition states that the play was acted by the Children of Paul's
, one of the companies of boy actors
popular at the time. That company resumed dramatic performances in 1599
, and the play itself refers to a leap year and a year of drought, which was true only of 1600 in the relevant period — indicating that the play was performed in that year.
, which assigned the play to John Lyly
. The play is written in rhymed couplets, a rather dated style for 1600; and it bears obvious resemblances to Lyly's type of drama. Yet 1600 is very late, perhaps too late, for a play by Lyly; modern critics have suggested that Archer may have confused this play with Lyly's Love's Metamorphosis. Individual scholars have discussed Lyly, John Day
, Samuel Daniel
, and George Peele
as possible authors, though no conclusive argument has been made and no consensus has evolved in favor of any single candidate. "Anonymous imitator of Lyly" may be the most accurate assignment of authorship that can be made, based on the available evidence.
's 1567 English translation of Ovid
's Metamorphoses. The play also shows the influence of Edmund Spenser
's The Fairy Queen (1590
, 1596
).
The play has been noted for its abundant music and its use of fairies, and for a possible influence on John Fletcher's
pastoral tragicomedy The Faithful Shepherdess
(c. 1608).
(later Earl and Marquess of Worcester) and Anne Russell, which occurred on June 16, 1600.
In the forest, Eurymine meets a shepherd, Gemulo, and a forester, Silvio, both of whom are smitten with her and compete for her favors. Eurymine occupies a cottage supplied by Silvio, and maintains herself by herding some of Gemulo's sheep. Ascanio, accompanied by his fool Joculo, is meanwhile searching for Eurymine; tired and frustrated, Ascanio pauses to nap beneath a tree. As he sleeps, the goddesses Juno
and Iris
appear. Juno is irritated with Venus's
popularity among the gods, and is determined to frustrate Venus by confounding lovers — like the handy Ascanio and Eurymine. Iris summons Somnus
from his cave; Somnus and his son Morpheus
provide Acanio with a deceptive dream, which sends him searching for Eurymine in the wrong direction. A comedy scene that follows provides for an appearance of singing and dancing fairies, and for the type of bawdy humor typical of Elizabethan drama.
Apollo
, accompanied by the Charites
(Graces), is mourning the death of Hyacinth
— but he is distracted when he sees Eurymine and falls in love with her. Apollo pursues her, though Eurymine, loyal to Ascanio, spurns his advances. Questioning his claimed status as a god, she challenges him to prove his deity by transforming her into a boy — and Apollo obliges.
Joculo and other comic characters have an encounter with Aramanthus, a wise hermit (a figure common in pastorals) who can foretell the future and reveal hidden things. Ascanio and Joculo have an echo scene, in which the echo seems to supply commentary and guidance on their situation. (This is another common feature of the pastoral form, and seen in other plays of the era, like John Day's Law Tricks, Jonson's
Cynthia's Revels
, Peele's
The Old Wives' Tale
, and Webster's
The Duchess of Malfi
.) Ascanio meets Aramanthus, and learns that Eurymine has been transformed into a boy. Eurymine, meanwhile, is dealing with Silvio and Gemulo, trying to convince them that she is her own brother. Ascanio and the transformed Eurymine finally meet, and have a long conversation about their predicament. Aramanthus advises the couple to appeal to Apollo for mercy. With the aid of the Graces, the appeal is successful, and Eurymine is restored to her natural gender. Aramanthus, once prince of Lesbos, turns out to be Eurymine's father, making her of royal blood and a suitable match for Ascanio. News arrives that Telemachus has repented of his rash action in ordering Eurymine's death; happy ending.
Pastoral
The adjective pastoral refers to the lifestyle of pastoralists, such as shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasturage. It also refers to a genre in literature, art or music that depicts such shepherd life in an...
first published in 1600
1600 in literature
The year 1600 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*January 1 - The Admiral's Men perform Dekker's The Shoemaker's Holiday at Court....
. The play, "a comedy of considerable merit," was published anonymously, and its authorship has been a long-standing point of dispute among scholars.
Date, performance, publication
The Maid's Metamorphosis was entered into the Stationers' RegisterStationers' Register
The Stationers' Register was a record book maintained by the Stationers' Company of London. The company is a trade guild given a royal charter in 1557 to regulate the various professions associated with the publishing industry, including printers, bookbinders, booksellers, and publishers in England...
on July 24, 1600, and published later that year in a quarto
Book size
The size of a book is generally measured by the height against the width of a leaf, or sometimes the height and width of its cover. A series of terms is commonly used by libraries and publishers for the general sizes of modern books, ranging from "folio" , to "quarto" and "octavo"...
printed by Thomas Creede
Thomas Creede
Thomas Creede was a printer of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, rated as "one of the best of his time." Based in London, he conducted his business under the sign of the Catherine Wheel in Thames Street from 1593 to 1600, and under the sign of the Eagle and Child in the Old Exchange from 1600 to...
for the bookseller Richard Olive. The title page of the first edition states that the play was acted by the Children of Paul's
Children of Paul's
The Children of Paul's was the name of a troupe of boy actors in Elizabethan and Jacobean London. Along with the Children of the Chapel, the Children of Paul's were the most important of the companies of boy players that constituted a distinctive feature of English Renaissance theatre.St...
, one of the companies of boy actors
Boy player
Boy player is a common term for the adolescent males employed by Medieval and English Renaissance playing companies. Some boy players worked for the mainstream companies and performed the female roles, as women did not perform on the English stage in this period...
popular at the time. That company resumed dramatic performances in 1599
1599 in literature
-Events:* Undated - Opening of the Globe Theatre.*June 4 - Middleton's Microcynicon and Marston's Scourge of Villainy are publicly burned, as ecclesiastical authorities crack down on the craze for satire of the past year. The Bishop of London and the Archbishop of Canterbury tighten their...
, and the play itself refers to a leap year and a year of drought, which was true only of 1600 in the relevant period — indicating that the play was performed in that year.
Authorship
The earliest attribution of authorship was on Edward Archer's play list of 16561656 in literature
The year 1656 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*September - performance of The Siege of Rhodes, Part I by Sir William Davenant, the "first English opera"* November 12 - John Milton marries Katherine Woodcock....
, which assigned the play to John Lyly
John Lyly
John Lyly was an English writer, best known for his books Euphues,The Anatomy of Wit and Euphues and His England. Lyly's linguistic style, originating in his first books, is known as Euphuism.-Biography:John Lyly was born in Kent, England, in 1553/1554...
. The play is written in rhymed couplets, a rather dated style for 1600; and it bears obvious resemblances to Lyly's type of drama. Yet 1600 is very late, perhaps too late, for a play by Lyly; modern critics have suggested that Archer may have confused this play with Lyly's Love's Metamorphosis. Individual scholars have discussed Lyly, John Day
John Day (dramatist)
John Day was an English dramatist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods.-Life:He was born at Cawston, Norfolk, and educated at Ely. He became a sizar of Caius College, Cambridge, in 1592, but was expelled in the next year for stealing a book...
, Samuel Daniel
Samuel Daniel
Samuel Daniel was an English poet and historian.-Early life:Daniel was born near Taunton in Somerset, the son of a music-master. He was the brother of lutenist and composer John Danyel. Their sister Rosa was Edmund Spenser's model for Rosalind in his The Shepherd's Calendar; she eventually married...
, and George Peele
George Peele
George Peele , was an English dramatist.-Life:Peele was christened on 25 July 1556. His father, who appears to have belonged to a Devonshire family, was clerk of Christ's Hospital, and wrote two treatises on bookkeeping...
as possible authors, though no conclusive argument has been made and no consensus has evolved in favor of any single candidate. "Anonymous imitator of Lyly" may be the most accurate assignment of authorship that can be made, based on the available evidence.
Sources and influences
The author of The Maid's Metamorphosis "borrowed incidents, characters, speeches, words, phrases and rhymes" from Arthur GoldingArthur Golding
Arthur Golding was an English translator of more than 30 works from Latin into English. While primarily remembered today for his translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses because of its influence on Shakespeare's works, in his own time he was most famous for his translation of Caesar's Commentaries, and...
's 1567 English translation of Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
's Metamorphoses. The play also shows the influence of Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognised as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy, and one of the greatest poets in the English...
's The Fairy Queen (1590
1590 in literature
-Events:*The Children of Paul's perform at Court twice in the first week of January; one of the plays they acted may have been John Lyly's Midas. Later in the year, however, they are banned from performing because of the involvement of their chief script-writer, Lyly, in the Marprelate...
, 1596
1596 in literature
-Events:*The first complete edition of The Faerie Queene in six books is published.*James Burbage buys the disused Blackfriars Theatre from Sir William More for £600; yet he is prevented from using it for theatrical productions by the opposition of wealthy and influential neighbors.* Lord Hunsdon...
).
The play has been noted for its abundant music and its use of fairies, and for a possible influence on John Fletcher's
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...
pastoral tragicomedy The Faithful Shepherdess
The Faithful Shepherdess
The Faithful Shepherdess is a Jacobean era stage play, the work that inaugurated the playwriting career of John Fletcher. Though the initial production was a failure with its audience, the printed text that followed proved significant, in that it contained Fletcher's influential definition of...
(c. 1608).
An occasional play?
Several commentators (William J. Lawrence, Harold N. Hillebrand, Peter Saccio) have argued that The Maid's Metamorphosis was an "occasional play," meaning that it was composed for a specific occasion — in this case a noble wedding, most likely the wedding of Henry Somerset, Lord HerbertHenry Somerset, 1st Marquess of Worcester
Henry Somerset, 1st Marquess of Worcester was an English aristocrat, inheriting the title Earl of Worcester from his father Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester, in 1628. He was a prominent and financially important royalist....
(later Earl and Marquess of Worcester) and Anne Russell, which occurred on June 16, 1600.
Synopsis
The play's opening scene immediately places the audience in the realm of legend and fairy tale. The heroine, Eurymine, is accompanied into the forest by two courtiers. Their conversation reveals that the courtiers have been ordered to murder her. The local Duke, Telemachus, is incensed at his son Ascanio's devotion to the low-born Eurymine and his refusal of all the advantageous matches the father has tried to arrange. Telemachus had decided on the radical solution to the problem. The courtiers, however, take pity on Eurymine's youth, beauty, and innocence; they allow her to escape into the forest, if she agrees never to return to Telemachus's domain. They plan to fool their lord with the heart of a young goat and Eurymine's bloodstained veil.In the forest, Eurymine meets a shepherd, Gemulo, and a forester, Silvio, both of whom are smitten with her and compete for her favors. Eurymine occupies a cottage supplied by Silvio, and maintains herself by herding some of Gemulo's sheep. Ascanio, accompanied by his fool Joculo, is meanwhile searching for Eurymine; tired and frustrated, Ascanio pauses to nap beneath a tree. As he sleeps, the goddesses Juno
Juno (mythology)
Juno is an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counselor of the state. She is a daughter of Saturn and sister of the chief god Jupiter and the mother of Mars and Vulcan. Juno also looked after the women of Rome. Her Greek equivalent is Hera...
and Iris
Iris (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Iris is the personification of the rainbow and messenger of the gods. As the sun unites Earth and heaven, Iris links the gods to humanity...
appear. Juno is irritated with Venus's
Venus (mythology)
Venus is a Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty, sex,sexual seduction and fertility, who played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths...
popularity among the gods, and is determined to frustrate Venus by confounding lovers — like the handy Ascanio and Eurymine. Iris summons Somnus
Hypnos
In Greek mythology, Hypnos was the personification of sleep; the Roman equivalent was known as Somnus. His twin was Thánatos ; their mother was the primordial goddess Nyx . His palace was a dark cave where the sun never shines. At the entrance were a number of poppies and other hypnogogic plants...
from his cave; Somnus and his son Morpheus
Morpheus (mythology)
Morpheus in Greek mythology is the god of dreams, leader of the Oneiroi. Morpheus has the ability to take any human form and appear in dreams...
provide Acanio with a deceptive dream, which sends him searching for Eurymine in the wrong direction. A comedy scene that follows provides for an appearance of singing and dancing fairies, and for the type of bawdy humor typical of Elizabethan drama.
Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
, accompanied by the Charites
Charites
In Greek mythology, a Charis is one of several Charites , goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility. They ordinarily numbered three, from youngest to oldest: Aglaea , Euphrosyne , and Thalia . In Roman mythology they were known as the Gratiae, the "Graces"...
(Graces), is mourning the death of Hyacinth
Hyacinth (mythology)
Hyacinth or Hyacinthus is a divine hero from Greek mythology. His cult at Amyclae, southwest of Sparta, where his tumulus was located— in classical times at the feet of Apollo's statue in the sanctuary that had been built round the burial mound— dates from the Mycenaean era...
— but he is distracted when he sees Eurymine and falls in love with her. Apollo pursues her, though Eurymine, loyal to Ascanio, spurns his advances. Questioning his claimed status as a god, she challenges him to prove his deity by transforming her into a boy — and Apollo obliges.
Joculo and other comic characters have an encounter with Aramanthus, a wise hermit (a figure common in pastorals) who can foretell the future and reveal hidden things. Ascanio and Joculo have an echo scene, in which the echo seems to supply commentary and guidance on their situation. (This is another common feature of the pastoral form, and seen in other plays of the era, like John Day's Law Tricks, Jonson's
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
Cynthia's Revels
Cynthia's Revels
Cynthia's Revels, or The Fountain of Self-Love is a late Elizabethan stage play, a satire written by Ben Jonson, The play was one element in the so-called Poetomachia or War of the Theatres between Jonson and rival playrwights John Marston and Thomas Dekker.-Performance:The play was first performed...
, Peele's
George Peele
George Peele , was an English dramatist.-Life:Peele was christened on 25 July 1556. His father, who appears to have belonged to a Devonshire family, was clerk of Christ's Hospital, and wrote two treatises on bookkeeping...
The Old Wives' Tale
The Old Wives' Tale
The Old Wives' Tale is a novel by Arnold Bennett, first published in 1908. It deals with the lives of two very different sisters, Constance and Sophia Baines, following their stories from their youth, working in their mother's draper's shop, into old age. It is generally regarded as one of...
, and Webster's
John Webster
John Webster was an English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi, which are often regarded as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. He was a contemporary of William Shakespeare.- Biography :Webster's life is obscure, and the dates...
The Duchess of Malfi
The Duchess of Malfi
The Duchess of Malfi is a macabre, tragic play written by the English dramatist John Webster in 1612–13. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theatre, then before a more general audience at The Globe, in 1613-14...
.) Ascanio meets Aramanthus, and learns that Eurymine has been transformed into a boy. Eurymine, meanwhile, is dealing with Silvio and Gemulo, trying to convince them that she is her own brother. Ascanio and the transformed Eurymine finally meet, and have a long conversation about their predicament. Aramanthus advises the couple to appeal to Apollo for mercy. With the aid of the Graces, the appeal is successful, and Eurymine is restored to her natural gender. Aramanthus, once prince of Lesbos, turns out to be Eurymine's father, making her of royal blood and a suitable match for Ascanio. News arrives that Telemachus has repented of his rash action in ordering Eurymine's death; happy ending.