SOURCE: Vernon, P. F. Introduction to The Rival Queens, by Nathaniel Lee, edited by P. F. Vernon, pp. xiii-xxvii. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1970.

In the essay that follows, Vernon explains why The Rival Queens was so popular in its own time as well as why the play opened itself to ridicule by later generations of theatergoers, who found many of Lee's literary conventions outmoded.

Introduction

The Rival Queens, or the Death of Alexander the Great, the fourth and most popular of Lee's plays, was published in 1677. …

The stage-history of The Rival Queens is extraordinary and deserves special consideration.¹ The first performance took place before royalty on March 17, 1677, at the Theatre Royal in Dury Lane.² The cast was led by Charles Hart, a celebrated Othello and Brutus, and the creator of leading rôles in many of Dryden's plays. Hart's performances, no doubt based on the author's own...