Aphra Behn's 'Emperor of the Moon' and its French Source 'Arlequin, Empereur dans la lune' (67) (Mhra Critical Texts)

Aphra Behn�s spectacular farce, Emperor of the Moon (1687), so engaged audiences that it was restaged well into the eighteenth century. Her play was largely adapted from Anne Mauduit de Fatouville�s Arlequin, Empereur dans la lune (1684), a commedia dell�arte production by the ComEdie-Italienne troupe, a performance which also proved immensely popular with Parisian audiences. Within its witty and amusing three acts, Behn�s play explores a number of contemporary concerns � from commedia dell�arte, to gender and politics, to science and astronomy, including a plurality of worlds, for example � all culminating in the third act�s operatic spectacle. This volume offers a transcription of Behn�s 1687 play with extensive annotations, a critical discussion of Behn�s text, and the first English translation of Fatouville�s eight French and Italian scenes.

• | Author: Judy A. Hayden, Daniel J. Worden, Judy A. Hayden
• | Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association
• | Publication Date: May 31, 2019
• | Number of Pages: 176 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 178188885X
• | ISBN-13: 9781781888858