The Rover - Research

Alpha Behn

She was born 14th December 1640 and she lived until she was 48 (16th April 1689). She was a playwright, poet, translator and fictional writer form the restoration period. She broke cultural barriers as she was one of the first females to earn a living wage for her writing. She belonged to a coterie of poets and famous libertines like John Wilmot and Lord Rochester.

Theatres had been closed under the rule of Cromwell but we reopened under Charles 2nd.She wrote 3 plays but none of them thrived so she stopped writing for 3 years then when she returned, she decided to take a comedic course for her plays. One of her most popular plays was the Rover.

 She caused scandles due to some of the subject matters she wrote about often alluding to sexual desire. She knew that the works would not have caused a problem if they had been written by a man. She was ambitious, desiring fame and literary prestige, which for a woman is often regarded as suspect. She wrote the play the Rover in 1677. She was a royalist and her work frequently treated Puritans roughly.

The Rover or The Banish'd Cavaliers

The play was written in two parts and was first premiered 24th March 1677. The play is set during Carnival time in Naples Italy during the English Interregnum. The story has multiple plot line, which deal with the amorous adventure of a group of Englishmen in Naples at Carnival Time.

The Rover is a man called Willmore and he has fallen for the beautiful courtesan Angelica however he can not buy her as she is too expensive so instead he decides to steal her picture at the carnival. When Angelica knows this, she is drawn to Willmore and she gives herself freely to hi. But she falls in love with him. Also in Naples, a woman called Helena is robe sent to a convent but she wants to experience love before she goes to become a nun. So she goes to the carnival as well and she falls in love with Willmore. this makes Angelica swear revenge on Willmore for his betrayal.

Meanwhile Helena's older sister FLorinda attempts to marry her true love Colonel Belvile, rather than the man her father wishes her to marry (don VIncentio) or Don Antonio, the man her brother (Don Pedro) wants her to marry. both FLorinda and Belvile plan to run away with each other at the carnival. Elsewhere a wealthy gentleman called Blunt, is charmed into the arms of Lucetta. Believing that she is in love with him, Blunt is humiliated to discover she is a thief and prostitute.

English Cival War
During 1642 and 1651 there was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between parliament (Roundheads) and royalists (cavaliers) over the manner of England's government. The first (1642-1646) and second (1648-1649) was pitted the supporters of King Charles 1st against the supporters of the long parliament and the third (1649-1651) saw fighting between supporters of King Charles 2nd and supporters of the rump parliament.

The Overall Outcome To the War:
. The retail and execution of King Charles 1st (1648)
. The exile of his son, Charles 2nd (1651)
. The replacement of English monarchy at the first with commonwealth of England (1649-1653)
. And then the protectorate under the personal rules of Oliver Cromwell (1653-1658)

King Charles 1st had hoped to unite the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland into one single kingdom but many parliamentarians had suspicious regarding such a move because they feared that setting up a new kingdom might destroy the old English traditions which had bound the English monarchy.


Oliver Cromwell:
He was an English military and political leader and later Lord protector of the commonwealth of England. He was a Puritan and so he was on the Roundheads during the Cival war. He signedKing Charles 1st death warrant in 1649 and father that he dominated the commonwealth of England until 1658 when he died of natural causes and was buried in west Minster abbey. The royalists then returned to power in 1660 and they had Oliver's corpse dug up, hung in chains and then beheaded.

The Interregnum:
It was the period between the execution of Charles 1st in 1649 and the arrival of his son Charles 2nd in 1660 which marked the starts of the restoration. During the interregnum, England was under various forms of republican government like commonwealth of England, rump government, Oliver Cromwell and Barebone's parliament. After the parlimentarians victory in the Civil War, the puritans views of the majority of parliament and its supporter began to imposed on the rest of the country.

The puritans advocate an austere lifestyle nod restricted what they saw as the excesses of the previous regime. Holidays, like Christmas and Easter were suppressed. Pastimes  such as theatre and gambling were also banned. However, some forms of art that were thought to be virtuous such as opera, were encouraged.

Exile of Cavaliers:
A cavalier was described as a reckless nonchalant attitude, although still with a suggestion of stylishness. As consequence of their support for the royalist cause in the English civil war, several hundered Cavaliers, often accompanied by their families, went into exile in Europe for periods ranging from a few weeks to twenty years. These exiles lasted within the year 1640 and 1660. Cavaliers living in exile in Europe had to become familiar with a variety of different currency's and with 2 calendars (the Georgian or the new style) in use on the continent and the old style, which was ten day behind, still used in England.

Restoration:
It began in 1660 when Charles 2nd was restored to the throne after the interregnum from 1649-1660. During restoration Charles instated the cavalier parliament and it lasted from 1661 till 1679. Many royalists (cavaliers) who were exiled returned to England and they were rewarded. The men who signed Charles 1st death warrant were put onto trial due to the new law the indemnity and oblivion act instigated in 1660.

Theatres reopened after having been closed during the protectorship of Oliver Cromwell, purtitism lost its momentum and the bawdy restoration comedy became a recognised genre. In addition women were allowed to perform on the commercial stage as professional actresses for the first time ever.

Restoration Comedy:
Started in 1660, it was notorious for its sexual explicitness, a quality encouraged by Charles 2nd and by the rakish aristocratic ethos of his court. The socially divers audiences included both aristocrats, their servants and hangers-on and a substantial middle class segment. It also introduced the first female paid playwright Alpha Behn and female actresses like Elizabeth Barry.