The Misfortunes of Arthur

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Play by Thomas Hughes (a sixteenth century Gray's Inn lawyer, not to be confused with the Victorian Thomas Hughes).

The Misfortunes of Arthur is a Senecan tragedy written in 1587 and acted before Elizabeth I in the Gray's Inn Entertainment of 1588. (Colleagues of Hughes who assisted in devising the dumb shows for the play included Francis Bacon.) It is based on Arthurian legend, particularly the account of Geoffrey of Monmouth of Mordred's rebellion and Arthur's death. More recent developments in the Arthur legend were largely ignored.

The play is slavishly faithful to the Senecan model: all action takes place offstage, and Arthur never appears with either Mordred or Guenevere. The characters are mostly types, the verse repetitive, and tension absent. The play is not known ever to have been performed publicly.