Title: The Maid of Honour.
Author: Philip Massinger.
Date: c. 1621.

Genre: Tragicomedy.
Language Difficulty Rating: 4 (moderately straight forward).
Setting: Italy.

The Maid of Honour contains one of Massinger’s funniest characters, the self-important Signior Sylli. The major characters of the play all seem to have significant character flaws, and it is up to Camiola, the play’s moral lodestar, to show them the errors of their ways.

Our Story: King Roberto of Sicily refuses to come to the aid of his ally the Duke of Urbino, who is attacking Siena because the Duke’s proposal of marriage has been refused by the Duchess of Siena. Roberto’s brother, however, the Knight of Malta Bertoldo, leads a troop of nobles to take part in the war. At the same time, Bertoldo is wooing the virtuous Camiola, who is not so easily won.

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