Representative American Plays/Francesca da Rimini

by George Henry Boker

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FRANCESCA DA RIMINI
BY
George Henry Boker

Reprinted from the original autograph manuscripts through the courtesy of Mrs. George Boker.

 

FRANCESCA DA RIMINI

Francesca da Rimini marks the climax of romantic tragedy in this country. It illustrates also the tendency to lay the scenes of romantic plays in Italy, Spain, or France; our playwrights feeling apparently that the removal of the scene of such plays from their native land was an essential. With Boker, however, the choice was based on broader lines and was justified by his real understanding of the characters and their story.

George Henry Boker was born in Philadelphia, October 6, 1823, coming from a well established family, and graduating from Princeton College in 1842. He studied law but never practised it, and after marriage and some foreign travel, devoted his entire attention to his literary work. His first publication, The Lesson of Life and other Poems (1848), consisted of lyric and ethical verse, and except for the sonnets gave no indication of his later ability. He next published Calaynos, his first play, in 1848. This was played without his permission being asked, by Samuel Phelps, at the Sadlers Wells Theatre in London on May 10, 1849, and was successful. It was first performed in this country by James E. Murdoch at the Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, January 20, 1851, running for nine nights, and was several times played in Chicago, Albany, and Baltimore. E. L. Davenport appeared as "Calaynos" at the Walnut Street Theatre in April, 1855. In this first tragedy, Boker showed where his strength lay, that is in the representation of strong passion in verse. Calaynos is based on the dislike of the Spaniard for Moorish blood, and in a masterly way he represented the pride of race on both sides that resulted inevitably in disaster.

Anne Boleyn, his next play, was intended for the stage, but was not acted. It was published in 1850, and there are evidences that Charlotte Cushman was considering it, at one time. The Betrothal was first played at the Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, on September 25, 1850, where it ran for ten nights, according to Durang, "with as brilliant success as ever greeted any production within the walls of the edifice." It was played in New York, November 18, 1850, and had two successful runs, and was put on in London in 1853. The Betrothal is a romantic comedy in verse, concerned with the rescue of Costanza di Tiburzzi from the proposed marriage to Marzio, a rich merchant, who has her father in his power. It is a distinct advance over Calaynos and Anne Boleyn in dramatic effectiveness.

The World a Mask, a prose comedy, with occasional passages in blank verse, was played for eight nights at the Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, beginning April 21, 1851. The scene is laid in London in 1851 and the plot is one of intrigue with an accompaniment of social satire. It was never printed and exists to-day in manuscript. It is not one of Boker's strong plays.

The Widow's Marriage, written in 1852, was accepted by Marshall, the manager of the Walnut Street Theatre, but as he was unable to find a proper actress to take the leading part of "Lady Goldstraw," the play was not acted. It is a comedy, in blank verse, laid in England at the time of George II, the plot being concerned with a trick played upon a vain old widow by which she is cured of her foolishness.

Leonor de Guzman, his next play, was a tragedy based on Spanish history, of the time of Alphonso XII of Castile, whose mistress, Leonor, is the heroine. The hatred of Queen Maria for her rival and her revenge are the main motives of the play, which is a powerful one. It was first played at the Walnut Street Theatre on Monday, October 3, 1853, Avith Julia Dean as "Leonor." It was successful both in Philadelphia and New York, where it was put on at the Broadway Theatre, April 24, 1854.

Francesca da Bimini was played for the first time at the Broadway Theatre, New York, September 26, 1855, continuing till October 5th. E. L. Davenport acted "Lanciotto," Mme. Ponisi, "Francesca," and M. Lanergan, "Paolo," It was well received, but its great vogue came later when it was revived by Lawrence Barrett at Haverly's Theatre, Philadelphia, September 14, 1882, Mr. Barrett playing "Lanciotto," Mr. Otis Skinner, "Paolo," and Miss Marie Wainwright, "Francesca." Mr. Barrett played this part for several years. On August 22, 1901, Mr. Otis Skinner revived the play at the Grand Opera House, Chicago, Mr. Skinner playing "Lanciotto," Mr. Aubrey Boucicault playing "Paolo," and Miss Marcia Van Dresser, "Francesca." It was played throughout the winter during the season of 1901-02.

Of all American plays written before the Civil War Francesca da Rimini shows the most vitality. This has been due partly to the lofty conception of Lanciotto's character, the sympathetic interpretation of the medieval woman in Francesca, and the noble expression in a blank verse that has rarely been excelled in English. But in addition to these literary qualities, the strength of Francesca da Rimini lies in its qualities as an acting play. It has never been put on the stage as it is printed. The printed version represents Boker's best judgment of the form in which it should be read, but in 1853 an acting version was prepared by Boker, and in 1882 another version was made by Mr. Barrett. In preparing the present text, the printed version, checked by the original autograph manuscript, has been taken as the basis. In indicating how the play was actually performed, the acting version of 1853 has been taken as the standard. When in this version lines have been omitted, these have been indicated by brackets of this character <> and insertions are shown by square brackets. Certain changes in entire scenes have been indicated in the notes. To have indicated also all the changes made in the acting version of 1882 would have led to confusion, but some of the most important alterations have been mentioned in the notes. The acting version was corrected by Boker so that "Paolo" should be pronounced as two syllables. These corrections have been followed, but in those portions of the play which were omitted on the stage, Boker made no corrections. There are in consequence certain inconsistencies in the text so far as the pronunciation of this word is concerned but the editor has naturally left the lines as Boker wrote them.

Francesca was the last of Boker's plays to be actually performed. There is an autograph manuscript of a play, The Bankrupt, dated 1853, which is a prose melodrama, laid apparently in Philadelphia in 1850, and which is the poorest of all the plays. Königsmark, published in 1869 but written probably before 1857, is a closet play laid in Hanover in 1694. In 1885 and 1886, encouraged by the revival of Francesca da Rimini, Boker wrote two plays on the same theme, Nydia and Glaucus. They were written probably for Mr. Barrett, though they were never played, and are based on the Last Days of Pompeii of Bulwer. They are, however, entirely original in expression and contain some of the best verse that Boker wrote.

Boker's public career was a distinguished one. From 1871 to 1875 he was Minister to Turkey and from 1875 to 1878 Minister to Russia. He took an active part on the Union side during the war, his poetry, such as "The Black Regiment" and the "Dirge for a Soldier" being representative. He died in Philadelphia, January 2, 1890.

Boker's plays and poems were published in two volumes in 1856 and were reprinted in 1857, 1883, and 1891. This collected edition contains Calaynos, Anne Boleyn, Leonor de Guzman, Francesca da Rimini, The Betrothal, and The Widow's Marriage. Köningsmark was published in 1869 and Francesca da Rimini has been republished in a popular edition. The other plays exist in manuscript in the possession of Mrs. George Boker of Philadelphia, to whose courtesy the editor is indebted for an opportunity to collate the manuscripts. Among these manuscripts is included biographical material and information concerning the plays on which this introduction is based. An interesting contemporary criticism by Charles Godfrey Leland is to be found in Sartain's Magazine, Vol. YIII (1851), pp. 369-78. See also R. H. Stoddard, George Henry Boker, Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. XLV (1890), p. 856; C. G. Leland, George Henry Boker, The American, Vol. XIX (1890), p. 392; E. P. Oberholtzer, The Literary History of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, 1906, and A. H. Quinn, The Dramas of George Henry Boker, Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, Vol. XXXII, No. 2 (1917).