Roger Boyle’s The Tragedy of Mustapha and English Restoration Politics

Abstract

In this article, I argue that Roger Boyle’s The Tragedy of Mustapha (1665) can be considered as an early alarm that warned of the dangerous consequences of the succession crisis in Restoration England. The play represents a broad range of English political expectations and concerns behind a smokescreen of a modified version of Turkish history. Boyle made use of his long political and military experience to diagnose the political dilemmas of early Restoration period. In addition, Boyle took advantage of Charles's interest in theater to deliver certain political messages to the king and the political nation. Boyle used the allegorical story of Sultan Solyman and his sons to touch on the upcoming succession crisis that would endanger the whole nation. The play stresses the importance of having the process of succession performed without foreign interference in order to avoid chaos and infighting.