| A selection of Aphra Behn's plays are discussed within a tradition of performance criticism which ranges from William Poel and Harley Granville-Barker to J. L. Styan, Judith Milhous, and Robert Hume. Through conjectural reconstructions of the plays which are based upon a comprehensive review of theatre history and the texts of the plays themselves, Behn is demonstrated as designing her plays so that binary oppositions between characters can be mapped upon a typical Restoration theatre's stage space during performance. This analysis shows that Behn subdivided the stage space to help audiences understand complicated plotlines and manipulate her audience's interpretations.;The analysis of The Rover, or, The Banisht Cavaliers (1677) illustrates how the binaries of nationality, nativeness, class, social status, and gender which mark the forestage space are mixed up when characters move within the scenic stage. The analysis of The Emperor of the Moon (1687) and The Second Part of the Rover (1681) shows how commedia dell'arte staging and characters disrupt the audience's expectations for Restoration character types and a typical comedic ending. The analysis of The Dutch Lover (1673) and The Young King; or, the Mistake (1679) reveals how Behn employs narrative techniques for point of view to valorize her female characters' narrative authority. And the analysis of the prose narrative, Oroonoko, or the History of the Royal Slave (1688), demonstrates that Belm employed dramatic techniques to distinguish individuals from groups and highlight the affinity between Oroonoko and the narrator as "others."... |
