Hymen's Triumph

Hymen’s Triumph, written by Samuel Daniel, is a pastoral tragicomedy designed for performance at court. As the subtitle states it was “presented at the Queens’ court in the Strand at her Majesties magnificent entertainment of the King’s most excellent Majesty, being at the nuptials of the Lord Roxborough.” The play was performed in on 3 February 1613-14 as entertainment for the marriage of the Scottish Robert Ker, 1^st Lord of Roxborough, and Jane Drummond, one of the courtiers of Anne of Danemark. The play was published in 1615 and it is dedicated “To the most excellent majesty of the highest born princess, Anne of Denmark, Queen of England, Scotland, France and Ireland.”

            The masque-like play centers around themes of love, chastity, and marriage, embodying the allegorical and courtly traditions of the era.

In this dramatic pastoral, Hymen, the goddess of marriage, is disturbed by Avarice, Envy, and Jealousy while she attempts at showing a great love. She disguises as a shepherdess to bring together two lovers whose relationship had been hindered by misunderstandings and external forces.

Through a blend of songs, dialogues, and poetic interludes, Daniel explores the tension between romantic desire and virtuous love. The play is filled with mythological and pastoral figures such as nymphs and shepherds, representing an idealized vision of rural life. In the play, love triumphs not merely as an emotion but as a sacred bond consecrated through marriage, reflecting the moral values of the time.

Samuel Daniel infuses the play with rich and poetic language, offering delicate reflections on love and virtue. His depiction of marriage is celebratory yet laced with moral instruction, appropriate for a courtly audience, he uses the pastoral form to glorify the institution of marriage while reflecting the cultural ideals of the Jacobean court.

Barroll, John Leeds. Anne of Denmark, Queen of England: a cultural biography. University of Pennsylvania Press.

Daniel, Samuel. 2001. Selected Works of Samuel Daniel: Poetry, Drama, and Prose. Edited by Margaret Ferguson. Oxford University Press. 

--- 1998. Selected Poetry and A Defense of Rhyme, ed. Geoffrey G. Hiller, Manchester University Press. 

--- 1994. Hymen's Triumph. Ed. Malone Society. Oxford University Press. 

--- 1615. Hymen’s Triumph. A Pastoral Tragicomedy. London, imprinted for Francis Constable.

Greg, W. W. 1903. “Hymen’s Triumph And The Drummond Ms”. The Modern Language Quarterly, 6.2, 59–64.

Gurr, Andrew. 2009. The Shakespearean Stage 1574-1642. Cambridge University Press. 

Keilen, Sean. 2006. Vulgar Eloquence: On the Renaissance Invention of English Literature. Yale University Press. 

Maus, Katherine Eisaman. 1995. Inwardness and Theater in the English Renaissance. University of Chicago Press. 

Rees, Joan. 1969. The Poetry of Samuel Daniel: Courtier, Poet, and Historian, London: Routledge.

Shepherd, Simon. 1996. The History of Drama, 1558-1642. Oxford University Press. 

The edition of the play Hymen’s Triumph (USTC No. 3006464) by Samuel Daniel is in octavo and consists of 72 pages. It is held at the British Library (Shelfmark: C.39.a.41.).

The frontispiece reads: 

HYMEN’S TRIUMPH. A pastoral tragicomedy.Presented at the Queens’ court in the Strand at her Majesties magnificent entertainment of the King’s most excellent Majesty, being at the nuptials of the Lord Roxborough.

By Samuel Daniel.

London, imprinted for Francis Constable, and are to be sold at his shop in Paul’s church-yard at the sign of the white Lyon. 1615.

Signatures in this edition go from A to E3, all pages are also numbered on the top corner. The first signature is represented only with a letter (A, B, C…E), the second, third and fourth with the letter and Arabic number (A2, A3, A4, B2, B3, B4…etc.) the next four leafs contain no signature.

Character names and songs are in italics. The Dedication has an ornament at the top of the page and an ornate letter. The Prologue has an ornament at the top of the page.