The Function of Metatheatricality in Epicoene and the Spanish Tragedy and Its Connections to Woman Breaking Social Conventions Within the Plays.

Metatheatricality is defined by Stuart Davis as “a convenient name for the quality or force in a play which challenges theatre's claim to be simply realistic -- to be nothing but a mirror in which we view the actions and sufferings of characters like ourselves, suspending our disbelief in their reality.” (Metatheatre). It is present in many Renaissance dramas, yet it is analysed, understood and critiqued in a vast variety of ways. Davis claims that metatheatre awakens our minds to life’s “uncanny likeness” to art, theatre and forms undefinable. Metatheatre begins by sharpening our awareness of the unlikeness of life to dramatic art; it may end by making us aware of life's uncanny likeness to art or illusion. This is a term difficult to analyse, and as a result even Nellhaus describes the analysis of plays-within-plays and self-consciously theatrical characters as “problematic” (3). However, an attempt can be made to critically understand the significance of the epicene in Jonson’s Epicoene. This drama shatters many illusions of typical social conventions, particularly during each revelation of Epicoene’s true character, and most notably in the final scene, where Morose finally learns of the truth surrounding his new bride. Bel-Imperia, Kyd’s creation of a manipulative woman in The Spanish Tragedy, can also be argued to be a social deviant, as she challenges the illusions of performance versus reality throughout. We do not know where her loyalties lie, and she seems to often contradict her own feelings and ideas. Social dynamics are a focus of metatheatre, particularly in these plays, as the pretence of the characters is misleading, yet is a formative aspect upon the play as a whole.

Kyd explores the concept of metatheatricality and women, to an extent, in The Spanish Tragedy. This is evident from the outset, as, at the very opening of the drama, the ghost of Andrea introduces Bel-Imperia to the audience as “sweet Bel-Imperia” (1.1.11), a pleasant illusion that is

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