The Fair PenitentNicholas Rowe

Lisa Reid and Laura Manuel

Nicholas Rowe

Born on June 20, 1674 in Little Barford, Bedfordshire, England.

Died on December 6, 1718

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Rowe Cont. Educated at Westminster School 1688- Became a Kings Scholar Inherited his father’s fortune at the age of

nineteen Had two children: John and Charlotte

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Rowe Cont.

1709- edited Shakespeare’s plays Rowe’s plays include: “Ambitious Stepmother,” (1700) “Tamerlane” (1701) “Fair Penitent” (1703) “Biter” (1705)

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She-Tragedy Definition

“A drama or literary work in which the main character, a woman, is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances.”

She-Tragedy Popular during the late 17th and early 18th

century These plays focused on innocent and virtuous

women who were treated unfairly and suffered because of this.

Nicholas Rowe coined the term.

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The Fair Penitent Male Characters in the play: Sciolto Altamont Horatio Lothario- A man who seduces a woman. Term stemmed from this play. Rossano

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The Fair Penitent cont.

Female characters in the play: Calista Lavinia Lucillia

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Relationships

Lavinia and Horatio: represent the ideal marriage. (Page 659).

Calista and Altamont: represent issues with arranged marriages. (Page 645).

Calista and Lothario: represent dysfunction and immorality. (Page 641).

Lucilla: represents fear of men and relationships. (Page 642).

Death Death enables a comic relief throughout the

play. Most characters in the play experience death

towards the end of the text. The characters depict death as ideal and

favorable.

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Discussion

1) This is the first play we have seen that contains a prologue at the beginning of the play. Why do you think this is and is it beneficial?

2) Unlike the other plays we have viewed, Nicholas Rowe sympathizes with women and illustrates their hardships. It is interesting that a male playwright of this particular time period would do this. Does he accurately portray women and how they may feel in these situations?

Discussion Cont.

3) Calista and Sciolto have an interesting father-daughter relationship. At times it appears that Sciolto’s relationship with Altamont is stronger than the relationship he has with his own daughter. What are your thoughts/opinions on this?

4) This play contains many different elements that we have not seen in previous plays. What are some of these differences?

Works Cited Encyclopedia Britannica. (2010). The Fair Penitent. Retrieved

October 29, 2010 from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1670993/The-Fair-Penitent.

Wikipedia. (2010). Nicholas Rowe. Retrieved October 26, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Rowe_(writer).

Wikisource. (2009). The Fair Penitent. Retrieved October 26, 2010 from http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Fair_Penitent.

Soylent Communications. (2010). Nicholas Rowe. Retrieved October 27, 2010 from http://www.nndb.com/people/169/000095881/.

Encyclopedia.com. (2010). Rowe, Nicholas. Retrieved October 27, 2010 from http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-RoweNicholas.html.

Dictionary.com. (2010). She-Tragedy. Retrieved October 27, 2010 from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/she-tragedy.