The Rover (play)
| The Rover or The Banish'd Cavaliers | |
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Masked Revellers by Giuseppe Bonito
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| Written by | Aphra Behn |
| Date premiered | 24 March 1677 |
| Place premiered | Duke's Theatre, Dorset Gardens, London |
| Genre | Restoration Comedy |
| Setting | Carnival time in Naples, Italy during the English Interregnum |
The Rover or The Banish'd Cavaliers is a play in two parts written by the English author Aphra Behn. It is a revision of Thomas Killigrew's play Thomaso, or The Wanderer (1664); according to Restoration poet John Dryden it "lacks the manly vitality of Killigrew's play, but shows greater refinement of expression." The Rover features multiple plot lines, dealing with the amorous adventures of a group of Englishmen in Naples at Carnival time.
Having famously worked as a spy for Charles II against the Dutch, Behn lost her meagre income when the king refused to pay her expenses. She turned to writing for an income.
Behn's work should always be read with an eye toward her contemporary political world. She was a Royalist, and her works frequently treat Puritans roughly. The subtitle "Banish'd Cavaliers" is a reference to the exile that the Cavalier forces experienced during the English Interregnum.
Based on Thomas Killigrew's play Thomaso, or The Wanderer (1664), The Rover features multiple plot lines, dealing with the amorous adventures of a group of Englishmen in Naples at Carnival time.
The "rover" of the play's title is Willmore, a rakish naval captain, who falls in love with a young woman named Hellena, who has set out to experience love before her brother sends her to a convent. Complications arise when Angellica Bianca, a famous courtesan, falls in love with Willmore and swears revenge on him for his betrayal.
Meanwhile, Hellena's sister Florinda attempts to marry her true love, Colonel Belvile, rather than the man her brother has selected. The third major plot of the play deals with the provincial Blunt, who becomes convinced that a girl has fallen in love with him but is humiliated when she turns out to be a prostitute and a thief.
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