A New Historicist Perspective of John Denham’s The Sophyand Robert Baron’s Mirza

Abstract

The present paper attempts the application of new historicist perspectives to John Denham’s play The Sophy and Robert Baron’s play Mirza. Both the plays have been analyzed together due to elements of similarity in theme, plot and source. The playwrights have used these plays as oblique commentaries on the socio-historical and political conditions of the period but at the same time these plays also embody deeper meanings beyond the topical and national references. These plays may well be viewed as reinforcing the notion of cultural hegemony of the West and thereby representing the psychological divide between the Occident and Orient. The researchers contend that both Denham and Baron have misrepresented the Orient and Oriental characters in their plays since most of the characters have been represented as cultural stereotypes. The research paper aims to find out as to how both the plays support the dominant ideology of the period which was to misrepresent the Oriental characters. Both the plays have been explicated in the light of some of the key aspects of New Historicism.