The Second Maiden's Tragedy
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The Second Maiden's Tragedy is a Jacobean play that survives only in manuscript. It was written in 1611, and the manuscript that survives is the copy that was sent to the censor, and therefore includes his notes and deletions. The manuscript was acquired, but never printed, by the publisher Humphrey Moseley after the closure of the theatres in 1642. In 1807, the manuscript was bought by the British Museum. '
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Title
The play's real title is unknown. On the manuscript, the censor, George Buc, has added a note that calls the play 'This second Maiden's Tragedy (for it hath no name inscribed)...'. Buc is comparing the play to Beaumont and Fletcher's The Maid's Tragedy. This name has stuck. However, recent editors of the play have preferred to call it by another name, such as The Maiden's Tragedy, or The Lady's Tragedy.
Authorship
The play's authorship is also complex. On the manuscript, three crossed-out attributions in seventeenth century hands attribute it to Thomas Goffe, William Shakespeare, and George Chapman. However, stylistic analysis indicates very strongly that the true author was Thomas Middleton, and the play fits very well with Middleton's other work.
In a further complication, a professional handwriting expert has claimed in a recent book that The Second Maiden's Tragedy play is in fact Shakespeare's manuscript of the lost play Cardenio, but his argument has many logical flaws. The position of mainstream scholarship is that the play is by Middleton; however, on the rare occasions when the play has been revived on the stage, producers often name it Cardenio in order to trade on the supposed Shakespeare connection.
Plot
This wildly bizarre play has two storylines: one is the tale of a sadistic and necrophiliac tyrant's love for the lover of his ousted rival. The subplot is based on a tale by Cervantes, and depicts a jealous husband's tragic attempt to test his wife's virtue by persuading his best friend to seduce her.
References
- Martin Wiggins, ed. Four Jacobean Sex Tragedies. Oxford University Press, 1998.Template:Theat-stub