John Dryden, Don Sebastian

Lisanna Calvi (Università degli Studi di Verona)

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 1689

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play
Tragedy

Resources

First Performance and Publication

Don Sebastian, King of Portugal was written for the Theatre Royal, London, in 1689 by the playwright, former poet laureate, and Catholic convert John Dryden (1631-1701), after a seven-year absence from the stage [note 1]. It was first staged by the United Company in early December 1689. Despite his precarious political position after the overthrow of his patron King James II in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, Dryden’s new play was a success [note 2], but considering it too long to comply with the quality of “a publick entertainment on the Theatre […] confin’d to time” (Preface, 66: 27-29) [note 3], Dryden cut some 1200 lines from the play-text. However these …

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2910 words

Citation: Calvi, Lisanna. "Don Sebastian". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 March 2011 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5559, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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