Herod and Mariamne (1673 Pordage), play

Herod and Mariamne (1673) is a play by Samuel Pordage.

Abstract

By furnishing Mariamne with a noble lover (for whom there was no historical foundation), the author provided that four-cornered overlapping of triangles so beloved by the French. Herod, enamored of Mariamne, is jealous of Tyridates; while Salome, enamored of Tyridates, is jealous of Mariamme. The two noble, if illicit, lovers meet their gory death together with the villains, the male rivals swearing with their final breath to continue the duel in ghostly form.

Editions, performances

Written in 1661-62, premiered in London [England]: Dorset Garden, 28 October 1673. Published in London [England]: Cademan, 1673.