Genre
Play
Language
English
Setting and Context
Sicily the 17th century
Narrator and Point of View
The play has multiple narrators.
Tone and Mood
Competitive, tense, deceptive, disingenuous, and Machiavellian.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Philaster is the protagonist, whereas Pharamond and King of Calabria are the antagonists.
Major Conflict
The contest for the throne of Sicily.
Climax
Philaster’s recovery of the throne.
Foreshadowing
N/A
Understatement
Philaster understates the consequences of Bellario concealing her sex: “tell me why/Thou didst conceal they Sex, it was a fault/A fault Bellario, though they other deeds/Of truth outweighe’d it All these Jealousie/Had Flown to nothing.”
Allusions
Religious allusions such as the mention of God, Heaven, nymph, and gods.
Imagery
The play depicts the intersection between love, betrayal, and politics.
Paradox
Bellario makes a paradoxical assertion: “An innocent man may walk safe among beasts.”
Parallelism
N/A
Personification
The state of Sicily is personified: “the Prince, before his own approach, receiv'd so many confident messages from the State, that I think she's resolv'd to be rul'd.”
Use of Dramatic Devices
Stage directions, such as the use of "exeunt" and "exit," are employed throughout "Philaster" to guide the audience on the characters' entry and exit of the stage.
