Abstract
The best-known English dramatization of the conquest of Mexico is John Dryden’s The Indian Emperour (1665).1 It is not an easy play from which to argue for the dialogical nature of the theatre. For Dryden’s play is written throughout in heroic couplets. All the characters - priests, soldiers, nobility, men, women, Aztecs and Spaniards - speak the same language. Every trace of popular comedy or carnivalesque disruption is excluded,2 and, like Dryden’s other heroic dramas, it reflects Dryden’s conservatism in matters of political and moral theory.3 Moreover, although it was popular in its day, it has enjoyed only a short history of subsequent interpretative performances. The most graphic indication of the difficulties involved in the search for dialogism in The Indian Emperour, however, may perhaps be found in a painting, William Hogarth’s The Conquest of Mexico (1732) (see Plate I).
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
