''The Lady of May'' is a one-act play by the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

Sir Philip Sidney. The play, which draws upon the literary tradition of

pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depict ...

, is notable for its allegorical content relating to

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

, for whom the first production was performed at the Earl of Leicester's country estate at

Wanstead Wanstead () is a town in East London, England, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It borders South Woodford to the north, Redbridge to the east and Forest Gate to the south, with Leytonstone and Walthamstow to the west. It is located 8 mi ...

. Queen Elizabeth was asked to mediate the outcome of the masque itself.

Plot summary

A woman approaches the queen whilst walking in Wanstead Garden as a supplicant, saying that her daughter - the Lady of May - has two suitors, and that she would like the queen to judge which of the two should win her hand. Having left, a crowd of people come into view. There are six foresters and six shepherds (among them the suitors), the Lady of May herself, and a schoolmaster called Rombus. After a brief quarrel between Rombus and the May Lady, the two suitors, Therion and Espilus, begin a singing competition. With this finished a second debate starts between Rixus, a forester (like Therion) and Dorcas, a shepherd (like Espilus). This is moderated by Rombus. The Queen judges Espilus to have won the contest and Espilus sings to celebrate. Finally, the characters take their leave of the queen and the play ends.

Allegorical Content

The critic Helen Cooper has suggested that the figures of Therion and Espilus relate to two real life suitors of Queen Elizabeth, the

Earl of Leicester Earl of Leicester is a title that has been created seven times. The first title was granted during the 12th century in the Peerage of England. The current title is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and was created in 1837. Early creatio ...

and

Sir Christopher Hatton Sir Christopher Hatton KG (1540 – 20 November 1591) was an English politician, Lord Chancellor of England and a favourite of Elizabeth I of England. He was one of the judges who found Mary, Queen of Scots guilty of treason. Early years Si ...

respectively. The etymologies of the names are used as evidence of this claim: Therion comes from the Greek meaning 'wild beast', which relates to Leicester's badge of a bear, and Espilus comes from the Greek meaning 'felt presser', which is a description of a hatter (from which occupation the surname of Hatton originates). Sidney's recommendation of Hatton for Elizabeth's hand would have been particularly edgy given that Wanstead, where the play is both set and presented, was owned by Leicester, who would presumably have been present at the performance. Other interpretations of the allegory see the contest as relating to the French Catholic Prince Alençon.'Poetry, patronage and the court' in ''The Cambridge Companion to English Literature, 1500-1600''

Publication history

This masque was first published (though without a title) in Sidney's 1598 folio of the Arcadia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lady Of May Literature of England English plays Masques