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shepherds (among them the suitors), the Lady of May herself, and a schoolmaster called Rombus. After a brief quarrel between Rombus and the May Lady, the two suitors, Therion and
Espilus, begin a singing competition. With this finished a second debate starts between Rixus, a forester (like Therion) and Dorcas, a shepherd (like Espilus). This is moderated by Rombus. The Queen judges Espilus to have won the contest and Espilus sings to celebrate. Finally, the characters take their leave of the queen and the play ends.
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A woman approaches the queen whilst walking in
Wanstead Garden as a supplicant, saying that her daughter - the Lady of May - has two suitors, and that she would like the queen to judge which of the two should win her hand. Having left, a crowd of people come into view. There are six foresters and six
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respectively. The etymologies of the names are used as evidence of this claim: Therion comes from the Greek meaning 'wild beast', which relates to
Leicester's badge of a bear, and Espilus comes from the Greek meaning 'felt presser', which is a description of a hatter (from which occupation the
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surname of Hatton originates). Sidney's recommendation of Hatton for
Elizabeth's hand would have been particularly edgy given that Wanstead, where the play is both set and presented, was owned by Leicester, who would presumably have been present at the performance.
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has suggested that the figures of
Therion and Espilus relate to two real life suitors of Queen Elizabeth, the
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Other interpretations of the allegory see the contest as relating to the French
Catholic Prince Alençon.
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45:, for whom the first production was performed at the Earl of Leicester's country estate at
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This masque was first published (though without a title) in Sidney's 1598 folio of the
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49:. Queen Elizabeth was asked to mediate the outcome of the masque itself.
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Cooper, H. (2004). Pastoral: Mediaeval into
Renaissance. D.S. Brewer
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The
Cambridge Companion to English Literature, 1500-1600
37:. The play, which draws upon the literary tradition of
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110:University of Oregon's etext and analysis
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129:'Poetry, patronage and the court' in
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148:English Renaissance plays
24:is a one-act play by the
158:Works by Philip Sidney
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16:Play by Philip Sidney
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62:Allegorical Content
163:16th-century plays
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43:Queen Elizabeth I
35:Sir Philip Sidney
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39:pastoral
153:Masques
92:Arcadia
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