Cleone (play)
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| Cleone | |
|---|---|
 Illustration from published version of play. | |
| Written by | Robert Dodsley |
| Date premiered | 2 December 1758 |
| Place premiered | Covent Garden Theatre, London |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Tragedy |
| Setting | Medieval England |
Cleone is a 1758 tragedy by the British writer Robert Dodsley.[1] The play is set some time during the Crusades- despite the presence of police officers, a job that was not extant in the Middle Ages- and centers on the villainous Glanville's attempt to have the titular character murdered and frame his own brother for the crime.
The original Covent Garden cast included David Ross as Siffroy, Luke Sparks as Glanville, Isaac Ridout as Beaufort senior and George Anne Bellamy as Cleone.[2] The play was first printed on the 5th of December, 1758, appended with a poem, titled "Melpomene"[3] which extolled the virtues of domestic tragedy as a genre of dramatic poetry.
The plot concerns a woman named Cleone, whose brother-in-law, Glanville, attempts to convince her husband that she is unfaithful. Granville decides to have his servant kill Cleone so Glanville can frame his own brother, Siffroy for the murder; Glanville plans to have it believed that Siffroy has murdered Cleone in a jealous rage. Glanville involves his devoted wife, Isabella, in his scheme, carrying it out under the pretext that he is avenging himself against Siffroy for stealing his fortune, but in reality, Glanville is motivated by his jealousy of Cleone, who has rebuffed his advances towards her. Glanville's servant accidentally murders Cleone's child instead of his intended target. Glanville and his servant are found out and arrested by the police. Despite the attempts of her father, brother, and husband to rehabilitate her, an aggrieved Cleone dies of madness.
Inspiration
Dodsley writes in the preface to Cleone that he has loosely based his play on the legend of St. Genevieve, referring to Genevieve of Brabant, who according to legend, was a virtuous woman framed for adultery. Dodsley indicates that Alexander Pope encouraged him to write a play adapted from this story.