Thomas Otway, Titus and Berenice

Jennifer Brady (Rhodes College)

Ed. by Jennifer Brady, Rhodes College
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.04: English Writing and Culture of the Seventeenth Century, 1625-1688.
Vol. editors: Jennifer Brady (Rhodes College), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Neil Forsyth (Université de Lausanne), Claire Preston (Queen Mary, University of London), J A Roe (University of York), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1677

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play
Tragedy

Resources

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First Performance and Publication

Titus and Berenice, a heroic tragedy of three acts, was performed by the Duke of York’s Theatre at Dorset Garden in December, 1676. Otway’s play was published in one volume together with an engaging farce, The Cheats of Scapin, in February, 1677, and dedicated to his patron, the earl of Rochester. Both Titus and Berenice and The Cheats of Scapin were adaptations of popular French plays staged within the past half-decade. The first was a condensed adaptation and translation of Racine’s tragedy, Bérénice (1670), which Otway paired with a three-act farce based on Molière’s Les Fourberies de Scapin (1671). The pairing of the two plays was successful, in large part because of the talented actors in the Duke of York’s company. Mary Lee played the

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844 words

Citation: Brady, Jennifer. "Titus and Berenice". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 December 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=34227, accessed 18 April 2024.]

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