Metamora; or, The Last of the Wampanoags

Edwin Forrest as Metamora in 1829

Metamora; or, The Last of the Wampanoags is a play originally starring Edwin Forrest. The play was written in 1829 by John Augustus Stone^[1]

It was first performed December 15, 1829, at the Park Theater in New York City.^[2][3] In October 2004, the play was performed at the Metropolitan Playhouse in New York City as Metamora: Last of the Wampanoags!

History

On November 28, 1828 a contest was posted in the New York Critic by American actor, Edwin Forrest, offering a prize of 500 dollars to an original play which met such criteria as, “a tragedy, in five acts, of which the hero, or principal character, shall be an aboriginal of this country.” Forrest, looking to produce a play suiting his strengths, created the contest as an opportunity to boost his acting career. With his play, Metamora, or the Last of the Wampanoags, playwright and actor John Augustus Stone stood out amongst his competitors and took home the prize. The play, which opened on December 15, 1829, was an instant hit. Due to a combination of the highly publicized contest, Forrest’s growing celebrity, and the timely subject matter of the play itself, the performances resonated with audiences across the growing country, earning theatres record profits, of which Stone received very little. Gaining almost no profit from Metamora and earning little success with his subsequent plays, Stone threw himself into the Schuylkill River on June 1, 1834. His death was heavily publicized in the press, and soon after his death, Forrest erected a memorial in honor of Stone, which reads: “In memory of the Author of ‘Metamora’ By his Friend, FORREST."

Edwin Forrest

In the wake of Stone’s death, Metamora flourished even more in American theatres, with Forrest in the spotlight. In fact, no other actor “in the character of the hero qualified Mr. Forrest’s claim to the highest excellence. It was created for, and entirely fitted all his peculiarities." Though he played the lead in Metamora for forty of its sixty-year run, Forrest garnered a reputation as a respected actor and collectively had one of the best and most prolific career of any actor of the time. Some historians argue, however, that he never fully stepped away from his famous Metamora, and any leading roles he undertook “were extensions of his stage Indian, Metamora transplanted to another time and place, but still the proud, doomed individual."

Plot

Metamora, or the Last of the Wampanoags follows of the story of its eponymous Indian hero and his downfall at the hand of English settlers during Puritan infiltration in seventeenth century New England. At the open of the play, Metamora is cordial, if hesitant, towards the puritans, even befriending Walter and his love Oceana, who is betrothed to Fitzarnold. The remainder of the play is devoted to the converging stories of Oceana and Walter, among other puritans, and Metamora, his wife Nehmeokee, their son, and the remainder of the Wampanoag forces. The ending is bittersweet as Oceana is at last able to marry Walter, but Metamora lays slain next to his wife and child, cursing the English with his final breaths.

Themes and criticism

Though Metamora is referred to as an Indian tragedy, its themes of love, war, dramatic deaths and suicides, and declaratory speeches make the play a more likely romantic melodrama. The depiction of Metamora as a kind and “noble savage,” turned violent by force especially resonated with the mid 19th century audience. However, the play’s cultural popularity did nothing to convince critics of its literary value. Critical response was mostly negative, and as one critic very harshly put it, “Mr. Stone did what he could to atone for the injury which he had inflicted upon the world by the production of this play. He drowned himself. We will accept the presumptive apology.” Though widely unpopular with contemporary critics of the day, most acknowledged the success of Forrest as the play’s lead. “This drama was indebted for its success almost entirely to the actor, as its literary merits were feeble” states biographer James Rees.

American character types: the Indian

In the years following such pivotal events in history as the American Revolution and the war of 1812, a strong feeling of nationalism infiltrated early America. This sense of national pride influenced not only everyday life, but also became evident in the arts, including early American theatre. After a time when mostly British theatre was performed in the American colonies, a desire to create drama specific to America emerged. America needed to establish itself in the midst of the well-developed drama and literature of other nations, as well as set a standard for what is uniquely American. However, this need for nationalism soon manifested itself in drama through American character types: the Negro, the Yankee, and in the case of Metamora, the Indian. As historian Walter Meserve points out, “American literature became identifiable only after writers had recognized the potential of American scenery, custom, characters, and ideas... in a sense, they were bound together by a similar desire for freedom: the Yankee from the English, the Indian from the Yankees, and the Negro from bondage.” Depictions of oppressed, underdog characters such as the Yankee, Negro, and Indian overcoming captivity, or dying gloriously, represented the themes of freedom and liberty that characterized the newly independent America.

Indian drama

In the nineteenth century, about seventy-five Indian plays were written. The first American play with an Indian hero was a closet drama from 1776, marking the beginning of what would become one of the biggest trends of the century. The character Metamora was inspired by New England Chief, Metacomet or King Philip, who was famous for attacking the English in 1675-1676. By the mid to late nineteenth century, the popularity of Indian drama quickly declined, mostly due to many satires written in jest of the excessive bravado and grandiose common to such plays.

Metamora and the Indian Removal Act

Opening only one year before the passage of Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act, Metamora’s depiction of a scorned and violent savage against English settler victims raises questions about the motives of both Forrest and Stone. In an essay analyzing the issue, Scott Martin remarks, “Recent interpretations insist that Stone’s play and Forrest’s personation of the title character, coming as they did when the fate of the southeastern tribes emerged as an urgent issue in congressional debate and the public mind, represented more than a mere coincidence in the realm of popular culture." Mark Mallett argues that Forrest’s partiality to the Democratic Party, and to Jackson, was the driving force behind Metamora. “Forrest’s play,” he asserts, “brought the Democrat’s message back into the theatre... effectively distracting public attention from the horrors of the government’s Indian Removal campaign.” However, others contend that Metamora was simply a vehicle for Forrest’s career and a story that suited the romantic ideals of its audience. “The overemphasis of political and racial ideology as the preeminent analytical context may cloud rather than clarify the relationship between Metamora and Jacksonian Indian policy. A close consideration of Metamora’s place in antebellum culture, and the contexts in which it can be interpreted, should give pause to scholars who are quick to detect efforts to engineer political advantage in very corner of art and popular culture."

Bibliography

• Metamora: Or, the Last of the Wampanoags, Feedback Theatre Books, August 1996, ISBN 978-0937657249
• Barrett, Lawrence. American Actor Series: Edwin Forrest. Bronx: Benjamin Blom, Inc.,

1881

• Martin, Scott C. “‘Metamora’: Nationalism, Theater, and Jacksonian Indian Policy.”

Journal of the Early Republic, Vol. 19, No. 1. Spring: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999. JSTOR.org. 2, Mar. 2011 <http://www.jstor.org/stable/3124923>.

• Meserve, Walter J. An Outline History of American Drama. 2nd ed. New York:

Feedback Theatrebooks; Brooklin: Prospero Press, 1994.

• Moody, Richard. Dramas from the American Theatre 1762-1909. Cleveland: The World

Publishing Company, 1966.

• Rees, James. The Life of Edwin Forrest. With Reminiscences and Personal

Recollections. Philadelphia: T.B. Peterson and Brothers, 1874.

See also

• "Metamora, by John Augustus Stone ROMANTICIZING WAR", Metropolitan Play House
• "The last Indian" syndrome revisited: Metamora, take two., Intertexts 22-March-06

References

1. ^ http://www.jmisc.net/BIOG-S.htm
2. ^ Tony Pastor presents: afterpieces from the vaudeville stage, Susan Kattwinkel, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998, ISBN 9780313304590
3. ^ http://www.kouroo.info/general/JohnAugustusStone.pdf

This article on a play from the 19th century is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Plays by John Augustus Stone 1829 plays Native Americans in popular culture New England in fiction Plays set in the United States Race-related plays Fictional Native American people 19th century play stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая? Being beautiful in spirit Mendota Look at other dictionaries: Metamora — may refer to: Metamora; or, The Last of the Wampanoags, a play based on the life of Metacomet (also known as King Philip) Places in the United States: Metamora, Illinois Metamora Township, Woodford County, Illinois Metamora, Indiana Metamora… …   Wikipedia Metamora, Illinois — Coordinates: 40°47′N 89°22′W / 40.783°N 89.367°W / 40.783; 89.367 …   Wikipedia Native Americans on the Stage —    From the 18th century, Native Americans have been depicted in theatrical works, but the first to gain wide popular recognition was John Augustus Stone s Metamora; or, The Last of the Wampanoags (1828). Many 19th century plays depicted Indians… …   The Historical Dictionary of the American Theater 1829 in literature — The year 1829 in literature involved some significant events and new books.Events* Louis Braille invents embossed printing that allows the blind to read.New books*Edward George Bulwer Lytton Devereux *Honoré de Balzac Les Chouans *George Croly… …   Wikipedia Edwin Forrest — (March 9, 1806 December 12, 1872), was an American actor. Forrest was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania of Scottish and German descent. Acting careerForrest made his first stage appearance on November 27, 1820, at the Walnut Street Theatre, in… …   Wikipedia John Augustus Stone — was an American dramatist and playwright.BiographyStone was born in Concord, Massachusetts in 1801. For actor Edwin Forrest he wrote Metamora; or, The Last of the Wampanoags , which was produced in 1829. The play told the life of King Philip.… …   Wikipedia Metacomet — King Phillip Metacomet (ca. 1639 – August 12, 1676), also known as King Philip or Metacom, or occasionally Pometacom, was a war chief or sachem of the Wampanoag Indians and their leader in King Philip s War …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”