The disguise theme in the Middle English metrical romances: Its use, origins and influences

Abstract

The romances dealt with in Part I were written between 1225 and approximately 1500. They are examined from individual texts to show what functions the theme of disguise performed within the narrative, and what literary and moral concerns they reflect in English authors. The discussion, divided under headings, examines the educative use of disguise, disguise used to determine and alter the nature of society, and episodes of individuals concealing their identity in order to prove themselves. Following sections deal with the comic use of disguise, with disguise episodes which contain social comment, with disguise symbolising the inner state of the individual, and with romances whose central concern is identity. Finally, there is an examination of the few examples where disguise features as a stock literary convention. Disguise in these romances, is defined as the assumption of alien dress, and also the witholding, sometimes unintentional, of identity. Part II looks at some sources of disguise themes in legends, popular tales and monastic writings, also at some themes having their origins in myth and ritual. This part finally deals with apparent literary conventions of disguise which are, however, found commonly used in contemporary social life. Part III assesses the later social and literary influence of the disguise theme. Chapter 6 examines its political use as gaining monarchical prestige and national unity, discusses its influence upon the changing form of the tournament, and traces its contribution to the development of the masque. The final chapter examines its use in the secular drama evolving contemporaneously with the masque, the Moral Interlude. Techniques of disguise, soon to become important in the Elizabethan period of high drama, were shared by writers of romance and interlude alike. Tudor dramatists, borrowing in other respects from romances, betray a similar debt in their use of the romance disguise theme.