Everything about The Renegado totally explained
The Renegado, or The Gentleman of Venice is a late
Jacobean stage play, a
tragicomedy written by
Philip Massinger and first published in
1630. The play has attracted critical attention for its treatment of cultural conflict between Christian Europe and Muslim North Africa.
The Renegado was licensed for performance by Sir
Henry Herbert, the
Master of the Revels, on April 17,
1624. It was acted at the
Cockpit Theatre, and became the property of
Queen Henrietta's Men once that company was formed out of the existing Cockpit troupe in
1625. The 1630
quarto was printed by Augustine Matthews for the bookseller
John Waterson; it bears commendatory verses, including one by
James Shirley, and Massinger's dedication to
George Harding, 8th Baron Berkeley, who was a prominent literary patron of the day and the dedicatee of
Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy (
1621) and
Webster's The Duchess of Malfi (
1623), among other works.
Massinger based the plot of his play on a novel by
Miguel de Cervantes titled
Los Baños de Argel, which had been printed in
1615. The play was revived in
1662, early in the
Restoration era.
Synopsis
The play is set in
Tunis, in what is modern-day
Tunisia; the title character, the "renegado" or renegade, is Antonio Grimaldi, who has converted to Islam and become a pirate. The true protagonist of the play, however, is Vitelli, a Venetian gentleman; he's come to Tunis disguised as a merchant, in order to search for his sister Paulina, who has been captured by Grimaldi's pirates and sold into the harem of the city's Viceroy, Asambeg. Even in the harem, however, Paulina's virtue in protected by an amulet she wears around her neck; Asambeg is infatuated with her and treats her with respect. A Turkish princess named Donusa falls in love with Vitelli; when this is discovered, they're both imprisoned in the Black Tower. Donusa tries to convince Vitelli to convert to Islam and marry her, and so gain freedom for them both; Vitelli refuses, and in their ensuing conversation converts Donusa to Christianity.
The renegade Grimaldi falls afoul of Asambeg's bad temper, and his career as a pirate is finished. He experiences remorse for his past, and engineers the escape of Vitelli, Donusa, Paulina, and himself from Tunis back to Italy.
Nineteenth-century critics tended to interpret the play's positive portrayal of a
Jesuit confessor as a sign of Massinger's own supposed
Roman Catholicism. The play's inclusion of a
eunuch character has also drawn comment.
Further Information
Get more info on 'The Renegado'.
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