Sapho and Phao

E777727

Sapho and Phao is a 1584 Elizabethan prose comedy by John Lyly that dramatizes a stylized love story between Queen Sapho and the ferryman Phao, notable for its courtly wit and allegorical elements.

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Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Elizabethan prose comedy
literary work
play
allegoricalReading Phao as a court favourite
Queen Sapho as an analogue of Queen Elizabeth I
associatedWith court of Elizabeth I NERFINISHED
author John Lyly NERFINISHED
centralTheme courtly love
love
power and desire
contains classical references
mythological allusions
countryOfOrigin England
dramaticStructure five acts
dramatises love story between Queen Sapho and the ferryman Phao
featuresCharacter Cupid NERFINISHED
Mileta NERFINISHED
Pandion NERFINISHED
Phao NERFINISHED
Sapho NERFINISHED
Sybilla NERFINISHED
Trachinus NERFINISHED
Venus NERFINISHED
firstPublished 1584
form prose
genre prose comedy
romantic comedy
hasDialogueStyle highly ornate rhetoric
hasProtagonist Phao NERFINISHED
Queen Sapho NERFINISHED
hasTheme conflict between duty and passion
female sovereignty
social hierarchy in love
influencedBy Renaissance court culture
classical mythology
intendedAudience Elizabethan courtly audience
language English
literaryMovement Euphuism NERFINISHED
literaryPeriod Elizabethan era NERFINISHED
literarySignificance example of Lyly’s euphuistic style
important work of early English romantic comedy
notableFor allegorical elements
courtly wit
originalMedium stage play
setting Syracuse NERFINISHED
style euphuistic prose
timePeriodOfComposition late 16th century

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

John Lyly wrote Sapho and Phao