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'Philostrate' is the Master of Revels at Theseus' court in William Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. He is in charge of his lord's entertainments, making recommendations to Theseus, as well as altering the text of some of the plays performed in his court. Shakespeare may have used this character to poke fun at play censorship in London at the time. In early performances of the play, the actor who played his character probably also played the part of Egeus, causing textual confusion in one scene in Act V where both characters are present.
As master of revels at Theseus' court, Philostrate is asked to recommend plays to his Lord to help while away the time. Theseus rejects all of the plays except ''Pyramus and Thisbe'', which Philostrate has given a particularly bad review. He advises the betrothed king not to choose "The Mechanicals'" (the workers') play because it is badly rehearsed. Philostrate: "I have heard it over, / And it is nothing, nothing in the world, / Unless you can find sport in their (The Mechanical's) intents, / Extremely stretched, & conned (learnt) with cruel pain, / To do you service."[1]
The name Philostrate is the pseudonym adopted by Arcite upon covertly returning to Athens in Chaucer's ''The Knight's Tale'' (dramatized by Shakespeare and Fletcher as ''The Two Noble Kinsmen''). Chaucer got the name from Boccaccio's poem ''Filostrato'', a story about Troilus and Criseyde.[2] As Arcite adopts this identity to become a servant at Theseus' court, it is possible that the Midsummer Night's Dream character is meant to be the same person. However, the two characters have little else in common. Other candidates include Philostratus, the author of ''Comus'', a play which has been compared to Shakespeare's.[3]
During the play within a play, when the actors are performing ''Pyramus and Thisbe'', Philostrate fulfills a role that would have been well-known to playwrights in Shakespeare's day—that of the Master of Revels. After 1581, all plays in England had to be approved by the Master of Revels before being performed. This man would check the play for any inappropriate content (as he judged it), and would make suggestions for changes. From 1581 to 1603, Edmund Tilney was the Master of Revels in England. In 1603, the role shifted to Sir George Buc.[4] In ''Midsummer Night's Dream'', Philostrate looks over the play that Nick Bottom and the others are about to perform in the same way as one of this office would have in Shakespeare's day. Theseus calls him, "our usual manager of mirth",[5] also pointing to this connection.[6]
When Theseus asks Philostrate to recommend a play to help pass the time, he lists several which sound ridiculous, such as "the battle with the centaurs to be sung by an Athenian eunuch to the harp." Shakespeare may have used Philostrate in this way to make fun not only of the Master of Revels, but the plays that most people watched in his day. Kernan calls it "junk theatre". Such plays were getting old at the time, and, like Theseus, monarchs were search for something new, refreshing, and sophisticated.[7]
In original performances of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', the actor of Egeus and Philostrate were probably one and the same. This can be gathered through discrepancies between the First Folio and earlier quarto versions of the play. In Act V, scene 1, for example, the quartos say "Call Philostrate", while the 1623 Folio says "Call Egeus". One actor filling both roles also explains some of the jumbled dialogue in this scene, as it was probably the result of confusion over the role the actor was playing at the time.[8] Furness interprets this a little differently, saying that Shakespeare may not have originally intended both roles to be played by the same person, but that directors combined the roles to save money. Act V, scene 1 is the only scene in which both men are present at the same time. Philostrate, as the less-important one, would thus probably have been stricken out, while Egeus would have filled both roles. This change in staging would reveal an alteration from Shakespeare's original text.[9]
1. V.i.76-81
2. Bullough, Geoffrey. ''Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare.'' Columbia University Press: 1957. ISBN 0-23108-891-4. pg. 369.
3. Kott, Jan. ''The Bottom Translation.'' Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1987. ISBN 0-81010-738-4 pg. 68
4. Kinney, Arthur. Shakespeare by Stages. Cambridge: Blackwell Pub, 2003. ISBN 0631224696. pg. 141.
5. V.i.35
6. Engle, Lars. Shakespearean Pragmatism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993. pg. 140
7. Kernan, Alvin. Shakespeare, the King's Playwright. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995. ISBN 0-30007-258-9. pgs. 21-22
8. Collier, J. Payne. ''Notes and Emendations to the Text of Shakespeare's Plays from Early Manuscript Corrections in a Copy of the Folio, 1632''. Burt Franklin: September 1970. ISBN 0-83370-627-6
9. Furness, Horace Howard (Ed). A Midsummer Night's Dream (A New Variorum Edition of Shakespeare). Dover Publications:1963. ASIN: B000MDK90G. pgs. XIV-XV.
| Contents |
| Role in the play |
| Context |
| Performances |
| References |
Role in the play
As master of revels at Theseus' court, Philostrate is asked to recommend plays to his Lord to help while away the time. Theseus rejects all of the plays except ''Pyramus and Thisbe'', which Philostrate has given a particularly bad review. He advises the betrothed king not to choose "The Mechanicals'" (the workers') play because it is badly rehearsed. Philostrate: "I have heard it over, / And it is nothing, nothing in the world, / Unless you can find sport in their (The Mechanical's) intents, / Extremely stretched, & conned (learnt) with cruel pain, / To do you service."[1]
Context
The name Philostrate is the pseudonym adopted by Arcite upon covertly returning to Athens in Chaucer's ''The Knight's Tale'' (dramatized by Shakespeare and Fletcher as ''The Two Noble Kinsmen''). Chaucer got the name from Boccaccio's poem ''Filostrato'', a story about Troilus and Criseyde.[2] As Arcite adopts this identity to become a servant at Theseus' court, it is possible that the Midsummer Night's Dream character is meant to be the same person. However, the two characters have little else in common. Other candidates include Philostratus, the author of ''Comus'', a play which has been compared to Shakespeare's.[3]
During the play within a play, when the actors are performing ''Pyramus and Thisbe'', Philostrate fulfills a role that would have been well-known to playwrights in Shakespeare's day—that of the Master of Revels. After 1581, all plays in England had to be approved by the Master of Revels before being performed. This man would check the play for any inappropriate content (as he judged it), and would make suggestions for changes. From 1581 to 1603, Edmund Tilney was the Master of Revels in England. In 1603, the role shifted to Sir George Buc.[4] In ''Midsummer Night's Dream'', Philostrate looks over the play that Nick Bottom and the others are about to perform in the same way as one of this office would have in Shakespeare's day. Theseus calls him, "our usual manager of mirth",[5] also pointing to this connection.[6]
When Theseus asks Philostrate to recommend a play to help pass the time, he lists several which sound ridiculous, such as "the battle with the centaurs to be sung by an Athenian eunuch to the harp." Shakespeare may have used Philostrate in this way to make fun not only of the Master of Revels, but the plays that most people watched in his day. Kernan calls it "junk theatre". Such plays were getting old at the time, and, like Theseus, monarchs were search for something new, refreshing, and sophisticated.[7]
Performances
In original performances of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', the actor of Egeus and Philostrate were probably one and the same. This can be gathered through discrepancies between the First Folio and earlier quarto versions of the play. In Act V, scene 1, for example, the quartos say "Call Philostrate", while the 1623 Folio says "Call Egeus". One actor filling both roles also explains some of the jumbled dialogue in this scene, as it was probably the result of confusion over the role the actor was playing at the time.[8] Furness interprets this a little differently, saying that Shakespeare may not have originally intended both roles to be played by the same person, but that directors combined the roles to save money. Act V, scene 1 is the only scene in which both men are present at the same time. Philostrate, as the less-important one, would thus probably have been stricken out, while Egeus would have filled both roles. This change in staging would reveal an alteration from Shakespeare's original text.[9]
References
1. V.i.76-81
2. Bullough, Geoffrey. ''Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare.'' Columbia University Press: 1957. ISBN 0-23108-891-4. pg. 369.
3. Kott, Jan. ''The Bottom Translation.'' Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1987. ISBN 0-81010-738-4 pg. 68
4. Kinney, Arthur. Shakespeare by Stages. Cambridge: Blackwell Pub, 2003. ISBN 0631224696. pg. 141.
5. V.i.35
6. Engle, Lars. Shakespearean Pragmatism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993. pg. 140
7. Kernan, Alvin. Shakespeare, the King's Playwright. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995. ISBN 0-30007-258-9. pgs. 21-22
8. Collier, J. Payne. ''Notes and Emendations to the Text of Shakespeare's Plays from Early Manuscript Corrections in a Copy of the Folio, 1632''. Burt Franklin: September 1970. ISBN 0-83370-627-6
9. Furness, Horace Howard (Ed). A Midsummer Night's Dream (A New Variorum Edition of Shakespeare). Dover Publications:1963. ASIN: B000MDK90G. pgs. XIV-XV.
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