Book Description
Galatea and Midas are two of John Lyly's most engaging plays. Lyly took up the story of two young women, Galatea (or Gallathea) and Phillida who are dressed up in male clothes by their fathers so that they can avoid the requirement of the god Neptune that every year “the fairest and chastest virgin in all the country be sacrificed to a sea-monster.” Hiding together in the forest, the two maidens fall in love, each supposing the other to be a young man. Galatea has become the subject of considerable feminist critical study in recent years. Midas (1590) uses mythology in quite a different way, dramatizing two stories about King Midas in such a way as to fashion a satire of King Philip of Spain (and of any tyrant like him) for colossal greediness and folly. In the wake of the defeat of Philip's Armada fleet and its attempted invasion of England in 1588, this satire was calculated to win the approval of Queen Elizabeth and her court.
About the Author
George Hunter is Professor of English and Renaissance Studies at Yale University.
David Bevington is Phyllis Fay Horton Professor in the Humanities at the University of Chicago.
Galatea and Midas FROM THE PUBLISHER
Galatea and Midas are two of John Lyly's most engaging plays. Galatea (or Gallathea) and Phillida are dressed up in male clothes by their fathers so that they can avoid the requirement of the god Neptune that every year 'the fairest and chastest virgin in all the country' be sacrificed to a sea-monster. Hiding together in the forest, the two maidens fall in love, each supposing the other to be a young man. This leads to delightful complications that remind us of the mix-ups in Shakespeare's romantic comedies. Galatea has become the subject of considerable feminist critical study in recent years." "Midas (1590) uses mythology in quite a different way, dramatising two stories about King Midas (the golden touch and the ass's ears) in such a way as to fashion a satire of King Philip of Spain (and of any tyrant like him) for colossal greediness and folly. In the wake of the defeat of Philip's Armada fleet and its attempted invasion of England in 1588, this satire was calculated to win the approval of Queen Elizabeth and her court.
FROM THE CRITICS
Booknews
In the 1585 , two young women are disguised as men to avoid being sacrificed to Neptune; while hiding in the forest they fall in love, each fooled by the other's disguise. The 1590 dramatizes both the golden touch and the ass's ears so as to satirize King Philip of Spain for colossal greed and folly in the wake of the 1588 destruction of the Spanish Armada. Bevington (humanities, U. of Chicago) and Hunter (English, Yale U.) annotate profusely; they have recently edited other Lyly plays as well. Distributed in the US by Palgrave. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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