The Danish Romance Play: Fair Em, Sir Clyomon and Sir Clamydes, and Hoffman

Abstract

This essay considers the representation of women from around the Baltic sea in three plays, Fair Em, Sir Clyomon and Sir Clamydes, and Hoffman, and explores how they are framed and conditioned by classical mythology. Unlike the Danish history play, where Danes in general and Danish women in particular are often frightening and alien figures, the Danish romance play gives us resilient, resourceful women who actively deploy stories from classical mythology rather than allowing themselves to be passively inscribed in them, and it also speaks of a continuing and significant connection between Britain and the continent.