The Bird in a Cage
The Bird in a Cage, or The Beauties is a Caroline era comedy written by James Shirley, first published in 1633. The play is notable, even among Shirley's plays, for its lushness — what one critic has called "gay romanticism run mad." History The play was licensed for performance, under the title The Beauties, by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on 21 January 1633. It was published in quarto in the same year, printed by B. Alsop and T. Fawcet for the bookseller William Cooke. The title page of the 1633 quarto states that the play was acted at the Phoenix, or Cockpit Theatre, which means it was played by Queen Henrietta's Men, as was standard for Shirley plays of that time. The play was ironically dedicated to William Prynne, the Puritan author and religious controversialist who published his wide-ranging attack on stage drama and actors, Histriomastix, in the previous year, 1632. Among other things, Histriomastix was perceived as an attack on Queen Henrietta Maria; Shirley's satirical dedication was seen as a defence of the Queen, and may have influenced the Inns of Court to select Shirley as the author of their masque, The Triumph of Peace, which was staged early in 1634. Women onstage The Bird in a Cage also has some bearing on the question of women onstage. Women did not act on public stages prior to the Restoration; but aristocratic women did appear and dance in masques. And in January 1633, the Queen and her ladies had performed speaking parts in Walter Montagu's masque The Shepherd's Paradise. The Bird in a Cage includes a masque about Jupiter and Danaë, performed by Eugenia and her waiting women in their confinement. (In the early productions, all the female roles were filled by boy actors.) This would have been another dig at Prynne, who was particularly incensed about sexuality and perceived immorality on the stage, in various aspects — boys dressing as women, women appearing in masques, etc. Sources Critics have noted the relationship between Shirley's play and a work in the canon of John Fletcher. "The Bird in a Cage involves extensive reworking of Fletcher's earlier play of wagers and incarceration, Women Pleased." Synopsis The Duke of Mantua plans to marry off his daughter Eugenia to the ruler of Florence; to do so, he shuts Eugenia in a tower and banishes her noble suitor Philenzo. But Philenzo returns in disguise, and brags to the court that he can succeed in any task the Duke assigns him — if the Duke grants him the financial resources necessary. The Duke (in the best fairy-tale tradition), sets Philenzo the task of gaining access to the princess Eugenia in her sequestered tower; the Duke considers the matter as something of a joke, but also a good opportunity to test the soundness of his security. Philenzo is allowed a month for the task, and a blank check on the Duke's treasure house. And of course, the penalty for failure is death.