Aphra Behn's 'Emperor of the Moon' and its French Source 'Arlequin, Empereur dans la lune'

by Judy A Hayden (Editor), Daniel J Worden (Editor)

Overview

Aphra Behn's spectacular farce, Emperor of the Moon (1687), so engaged audiences that it was restaged well into the eighteenth century. Her play was largely adapted from Anne Mauduit de Fatouville's Arlequin, Empereur dans la lune (1684), a commedia dell'arte production by the Comédie-Italienne troupe, a performance which also proved immensely popular with Parisian audiences. Within its witty and amusing three acts, Behn's play explores a number of contemporary concerns -- from commedia dell'arte, to gender and politics, to science and astronomy, including a plurality of worlds, for example -- all culminating in the third act's operatic spectacle. This volume offers a transcription of Behn's 1687 play with extensive annotations, a critical discussion of Behn's text, and the first English translation of Fatouville's eight French and Italian scenes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781781888858
Publisher:	Modern Humanities Research Association
Publication date:	05/31/2019
Series:	Mhra Critical Texts , #67
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.38(d)

Table of Contents

Illustrations vi

Acknowledgements vii

Permissions viii

The Authors/Editors ix

Introduction 1

1. The Early Modern European Tradition of Commedia dell’Arte 1

2. Italian Players in Paris 3

3. Commedia dell’Arte in England 4

4. The Politics of Commedia dell’Arte 7

5. The Comedy of Science 11

6. A Brief Historical Note on the Texts 13

The Emperor of the Moon: A Critical Discussion 19

1. Staging the Spectacle: The Dorset Garden Theatre 21

2. Adapting the French Text 24

3. Critical Analysis 27

4. Gender, Knowledge, and Free Hearts 31

5. Telescopes and this ‘Earthly Globe’ 34

6. Politics and the Art of Commedia 37

The Emperor of the Moon 45

Arlequin, Empereur dans la lune 115

Appendix A: Biography of Aphra Behn 146

Appendix B: Biography of Anne Mauduit de Fatouville 157

Bibliography 160