Thomaso
Encyclopedia
Thomaso, or the Wanderer is mid-seventeenth-century stage play, a two-part comedy
written by Thomas Killigrew
, The work was composed in Madrid
, c. 1654. Thomaso is based on Killigrew's personal experiences as a Royalist exile during the era of the Commonwealth, when he was abroad continuously from 1647 to 1660.
Thomaso is now best known as the foundation upon which Aphra Behn
constructed her finest play, The Rover, or the Banished Cavaliers
(1677
).
's picaresque novel
Guzmán de Alfarache for source material, his Thomaso is generally considered strongly autobiographical; it is no accident that the title is the Spanish version of the playwright's given name. Like his earlier comedy The Parson's Wedding
(but unlike the tragicomedies
that make of most of his dramatic output), Thomaso features abundant bawdy humor and sexual frankness, to the discomfiture of generations of traditional critics. Killigrew's heroine Angellica speaks out for the emotional freedom of women, and Thomaso is an unblushing libertine.
Critical responses to autobiographical works often confuse the author and the work. Theatrical rival Richard Flecknoe
published a book titled The Life of Thomaso the Wanderer (1676
) that lambasted Killigrew with a sweeping personal attack. Flecknoe asserted that Killigrew was "born to discredit all the Professions he was of; Traveller, Courtier, Soldier, and Buffoon."
issued in 1664
. In the collected edition, Thomaso is dedicated to "the fair and kind friends to Prince Palatine Polixander."
The printed text divides the play into a Part 1 and Part 2 of five Acts each. Critics note, however, that Part 1 provides no dramatic denouement at its end, so that the work is, in effect, a single ten-Act work (a characteristic Thomaso shares with the author's other double dramas, Cicilia and Clorinda
and Bellamira Her Dream).
. Yet Killigrew once attempted to mount a production — and an extraordinary one. In October 1664, Killigrew's King's Company
gave an unprecedented all-female-cast production of his Parson's Wedding. At the same time, Killigrew prepared a similar all-women staging of Thomaso. A cast list for the intended production survives; the leading actress Anne Marshall
was intended for the role of Angelica, Mary Knep
was cast as Lucette, and beginner Nell Gwyn
was also in the cast. (The list assigns the 14-year-old "Nelly" the part of "Paulina, a courtesan of the first rank" — a role she would soon fill in real life.)
The production, meant for November 1664, never materialized, perhaps due to the inherent dramaturgic limitations of Killigrew's expansive text. (Gwyn's stage debut had to wait another four months.)
; he belongs to a set of other Royalist exiles, some of them serving in the Spanish army. The two plays deliver a very episodic picture of his life and adventures, through ten Acts and 73 scenes.
Thomaso impresses his compatriots with his wardrobe and his wit. He carries on a sexual liaison with the famous courtesan Angellica, and accepts gifts from her; she defends his conduct. Yet Thomaso also can maintain a more normal and morally and socially correct relationship with a woman when he chooses, and as he does with the virtuous (and wealthy) Serulina. (The play never reconciles the two erotic modes.)
A comic and farcical subplot centers on the character Edwardo, who is a foolish pretender to the gentility and honor that Thomaso genuinely possesses.
Critics and commentators have not hesitated to point out the obvious faults in Thomaso; verdicts like "rambling, long-winded" and "indulgent and inert" are common in the relevant literature.
"Aphra improved greatly on the original, and, in the first of the two plays she made from it, produced a masterpiece of light-hearted comedy, broad and outspoken, but not lacking in beauty of form and language. It was certainly one of the best plays of romantic intrigue written during the Restoration."
Behn's Willmore is her version of Killigrew/Thomaso.
The modern increase in critical attention to Behn and her works has meant an accompanying increase in attention to Behn's antecedents, including Killigrew's Thomaso.
Commentators deplore Killigrew's misogyny
— though some also note the curious streak of proto-feminism
in his work, as when Angellica protests the "slavery" that women suffer.
Modern productions of The Rover have occasionally supplemented Behn's text with material from Thomaso.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
written by Thomas Killigrew
Thomas Killigrew
Thomas Killigrew was an English dramatist and theatre manager. He was a witty, dissolute figure at the court of King Charles II of England.-Life and work:...
, The work was composed in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, c. 1654. Thomaso is based on Killigrew's personal experiences as a Royalist exile during the era of the Commonwealth, when he was abroad continuously from 1647 to 1660.
Thomaso is now best known as the foundation upon which Aphra Behn
Aphra Behn
Aphra Behn was a prolific dramatist of the English Restoration and was one of the first English professional female writers. Her writing contributed to the amatory fiction genre of British literature.-Early life:...
constructed her finest play, The Rover, or the Banished Cavaliers
The Rover (play)
The Rover or The Banish'd Cavaliers is a play in two parts written by the English author Aphra Behn.Having famously worked as a spy for Charles II against the Dutch, Behn's meager incomes was lost when the king refused to pay her expenses. She turned to writing for an income.The Rover premiered...
(1677
1677 in literature
The year 1677 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* Roger Morrice begins his Entring Book.* Francis North's A Philosophical Essay of Music published....
).
Autobiography
Though Killigrew drew upon Mateo AlemánMateo Alemán
Mateo Alemán y de Enero was a Spanish novelist and writer.He graduated at Seville University in 1564, studied later at Salamanca and Alcalá, and from 1571 to 1588 held a post in the treasury; in 1594 he was arrested on suspicion of malversation, but was speedily released...
's picaresque novel
Picaresque novel
The picaresque novel is a popular sub-genre of prose fiction which is usually satirical and depicts, in realistic and often humorous detail, the adventures of a roguish hero of low social class who lives by his wits in a corrupt society...
Guzmán de Alfarache for source material, his Thomaso is generally considered strongly autobiographical; it is no accident that the title is the Spanish version of the playwright's given name. Like his earlier comedy The Parson's Wedding
The Parson's Wedding
The Parson's Wedding is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by Thomas Killigrew. Often regarded as the author's best play, the drama has sometimes been considered an anticipation of Restoration comedy, written a generation before the Restoration; "its general tone foreshadows the comedy of...
(but unlike the tragicomedies
Tragicomedy
Tragicomedy is fictional work that blends aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. In English literature, from Shakespeare's time to the nineteenth century, tragicomedy referred to a serious play with either a happy ending or enough jokes throughout the play to lighten the mood.-Classical...
that make of most of his dramatic output), Thomaso features abundant bawdy humor and sexual frankness, to the discomfiture of generations of traditional critics. Killigrew's heroine Angellica speaks out for the emotional freedom of women, and Thomaso is an unblushing libertine.
Critical responses to autobiographical works often confuse the author and the work. Theatrical rival Richard Flecknoe
Richard Flecknoe
Richard Flecknoe , English dramatist and poet, the object of Dryden's satire, was probably of English birth, although there is no corroboration of the suggestion of Joseph Gillow, that he was a nephew of a Jesuit priest, William Flecknoe, or more properly Flexney, of Oxford.The few known facts of...
published a book titled The Life of Thomaso the Wanderer (1676
1676 in literature
The year 1676 in literature involved some significant events.-New books:*Robert Barclay - Theses Theologiae*Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery - English-Adventures by a Person of Honor...
) that lambasted Killigrew with a sweeping personal attack. Flecknoe asserted that Killigrew was "born to discredit all the Professions he was of; Traveller, Courtier, Soldier, and Buffoon."
Publication
Both parts of Thomaso were first published in Comedies and Tragedies, the collected edition of Killigrew's plays that Henry HerringmanHenry Herringman
Henry Herringman was a prominent London bookseller and publisher in the second half of the 17th century. He is especially noted for his publications in English Renaissance drama and English Restoration drama; he was the first publisher of the works of John Dryden...
issued in 1664
1664 in literature
The year 1664 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* Sir William Davenant's "dramatic opera" Macbeth, adapted from Shakespeare's play, premiers on November 5....
. In the collected edition, Thomaso is dedicated to "the fair and kind friends to Prince Palatine Polixander."
The printed text divides the play into a Part 1 and Part 2 of five Acts each. Critics note, however, that Part 1 provides no dramatic denouement at its end, so that the work is, in effect, a single ten-Act work (a characteristic Thomaso shares with the author's other double dramas, Cicilia and Clorinda
Cicilia and Clorinda
Cicilia and Clorinda, or Love in Arms is a 17th-century closet drama, a two-part, ten-Act tragicomedy by Thomas Killigrew. The work was composed in Italy c...
and Bellamira Her Dream).
Abortive performance
Thomaso was never performed in the seventeenth century, and certainly not since; many critics regard it as unactable, and place it securely in the category of closet dramaCloset drama
A closet drama is a play that is not intended to be performed onstage, but read by a solitary reader or, sometimes, out loud in a small group. A related form, the "closet screenplay," developed during the 20th century.-Form:...
. Yet Killigrew once attempted to mount a production — and an extraordinary one. In October 1664, Killigrew's King's Company
King's Company
The King's Company was one of two enterprises granted the rights to mount theatrical productions in London at the start of the English Restoration. It existed from 1660 to 1682.-History:...
gave an unprecedented all-female-cast production of his Parson's Wedding. At the same time, Killigrew prepared a similar all-women staging of Thomaso. A cast list for the intended production survives; the leading actress Anne Marshall
Anne Marshall
Anne Marshall , also Mrs. Anne Quin, was a leading English actress of the Restoration era, one of the first generation of women performers to appear on the public stage in England....
was intended for the role of Angelica, Mary Knep
Mary Knep
Mary Knep , also Knepp, Nepp, Knip, or Knipp, was an English actress, one of the first generation of female performers to appear on the public stage during the Restoration era....
was cast as Lucette, and beginner Nell Gwyn
Nell Gwyn
Eleanor "Nell" Gwyn was a long-time mistress of King Charles II of England. Called "pretty, witty Nell" by Samuel Pepys, she has been regarded as a living embodiment of the spirit of Restoration England and has come to be considered a folk heroine, with a story echoing the rags-to-royalty tale of...
was also in the cast. (The list assigns the 14-year-old "Nelly" the part of "Paulina, a courtesan of the first rank" — a role she would soon fill in real life.)
The production, meant for November 1664, never materialized, perhaps due to the inherent dramaturgic limitations of Killigrew's expansive text. (Gwyn's stage debut had to wait another four months.)
Plot
Thomaso is a young English gentleman living in Spain during the English InterregnumEnglish Interregnum
The English Interregnum was the period of parliamentary and military rule by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the Commonwealth of England after the English Civil War...
; he belongs to a set of other Royalist exiles, some of them serving in the Spanish army. The two plays deliver a very episodic picture of his life and adventures, through ten Acts and 73 scenes.
Thomaso impresses his compatriots with his wardrobe and his wit. He carries on a sexual liaison with the famous courtesan Angellica, and accepts gifts from her; she defends his conduct. Yet Thomaso also can maintain a more normal and morally and socially correct relationship with a woman when he chooses, and as he does with the virtuous (and wealthy) Serulina. (The play never reconciles the two erotic modes.)
A comic and farcical subplot centers on the character Edwardo, who is a foolish pretender to the gentility and honor that Thomaso genuinely possesses.
Critics and commentators have not hesitated to point out the obvious faults in Thomaso; verdicts like "rambling, long-winded" and "indulgent and inert" are common in the relevant literature.
The Rover
Aphra Behn was a friend and colleague of Killigrew; her use of Thomaso for The Rover should not be misunderstood as any sort of artistic abuse or plagiarism."Aphra improved greatly on the original, and, in the first of the two plays she made from it, produced a masterpiece of light-hearted comedy, broad and outspoken, but not lacking in beauty of form and language. It was certainly one of the best plays of romantic intrigue written during the Restoration."
Behn's Willmore is her version of Killigrew/Thomaso.
The modern increase in critical attention to Behn and her works has meant an accompanying increase in attention to Behn's antecedents, including Killigrew's Thomaso.
Commentators deplore Killigrew's misogyny
Misogyny
Misogyny is the hatred or dislike of women or girls. Philogyny, meaning fondness, love or admiration towards women, is the antonym of misogyny. The term misandry is the term for men that is parallel to misogyny...
— though some also note the curious streak of proto-feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
in his work, as when Angellica protests the "slavery" that women suffer.
Modern productions of The Rover have occasionally supplemented Behn's text with material from Thomaso.