Book Cover of Mucedorus

Mucedorus

by William Shakespeare

The play opens with an induction that consists of a meta-theatrical flyting between the allegorical personifications Comedy and Envy. Envy declares that he will turn this pleasant comedy into a tragedy. Comedy challenges Envy to do so and claims that mirth will triumph in the end. The scenes usually labelled as act one, scenes one and two were new additions to the text with its Jacobean revision. In these scenes, the Prince of Valencia, Mucedorus, having heard that Amadine, the daughter of the king of Aragon, is extraordinarily beautiful, bids farewell to his friend Anselmo, revealing to him his plan to disguise himself in order to pursue her. Anselmo offers him the costume of a shepherd in which he has previously performed in a masque. Mucedorus disguises himself, swears Amselmo to secrecy, and departs. The second additional scene introduces the clown of the play, Mouse. He enters having fled from feeding his master's horse, frightened by a bear, or "some devil in a bear's doublet" (1.2.3). In his attempt to escape it, he advances backwards, only to trip over the bear and flee in terror.

Book Details

Language

English

Original Language

English

Published In

1610

Author

William Shakespeare image

William Shakespeare

United Kingdom

William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon. The son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, he was probably educated at the King Edward VI Grammar School in Stratford, where he...

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