Everything about Vortigern And Rowena totally explained
Vortigern and Rowena, or
Vortigern, an Historical Play is a
play that was touted as a newly-discovered work by
William Shakespeare when it first appeared in 1796. It was eventually revealed to be a piece of
Shakespeare Apocrypha, the product of prominent forger
William Henry Ireland. Its first and only performance was
April 2,
1796, when it was ridiculed by the audience. Its titular protagonists,
Vortigern and
Rowena, are figures from Britain's
traditional history.
History
Ireland had produced several
earlier documents he claimed represented the writings of Shakespeare, but
Vortigern and Rowena was the first and only play he attempted. Hearing of a newly recovered "lost" Shakespeare play, Irish playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan purchased the rights to the first production at Drury Lane Theatre in London for 300 pounds and the promise of half the revenues to Ireland's family. After reading the play, Sheridan noted its relative simplicity compared to Shakespeare's known works. Actor John Philip Kemble, the manager of Drury Lane, and who would play the title role in the play's only production, had serious doubts about Vortigern's authenticity. Irish Shakespearean scholar
Edmond Malone published
An Inquiry into the Authenticity of Certain Miscellaneous Papers and Legal Instruments on
March 21,
1796, about the authenticity of
Vortigern and the other documents "discovered" by Ireland.
When
Vortigern and Rowena opened on
April 2,
1796, Kemble used the chance to hint at his opinion by repeating Vortigern's line "and when this solemn mockery is o'er," and the play was derided by the audience. It was never performed again. Some early critics accused William Henry Ireland's father Samuel of the forgery, though William assumed responsibility in two printed confessions. Neither Irelands' reputation recovered from the fiasco, and William eventually moved to
France, where he lived for several decades. He tried to publish
Vortigern and Rowena as his own work when he returned to England in 1832, but met with little success.
Text
Like other apocryphal plays attributed to Shakespeare,
The Birth of Merlin and
Locrine,
Vortigern and Rowena takes as its subject the
Matter of Britain, drawing especially from
Geoffrey of Monmouth's
Historia Regum Britanniae. Shakespeare used Britain's mythical history in several of his plays, including
King Lear and
Cymbeline, based on the stories of
Leir of Britain and
Cunobelinus, respectively.
The story concerns Vortigern, who usurps the
throne of Britain from the rightful king
Constantius. He eventually falls in love with
Rowena, the daughter of the
Saxon king
Hengist. He finally receives his comeuppance from Constantius' brothers
Aurelius and
Uter (Uther Pendragon,
King Arthur's father).
Further Information
Get more info on 'Vortigern And Rowena'.
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