Respublica is a morality drama written for performance at the court of the Catholic monarch Mary I in 1553. It is commonly attributed to Nicholas Udall, a humanist scholar noted for his translation of Erasmus’ Paraphrases of the New Testament (1548). Udall also wrote a treatise entitled the Floures of Latin Speaking (1533), as well as the comedy Ralph Roister Doister, composed around 1553 but not published until 1567.
The drama presents the decline and later restoration of the Lady Respublica. While she laments her diminishing estate, she is approached by the Vice figures Avarice, Insolence, Oppression and Adulation, who are disguised as Policy, Authority, Reformation and Honesty. Respublica …
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Citation: Markey, Charlotte. "Respublica". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 October 2013 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2356, accessed 18 April 2024.]
