ABSTRACT
Evadne has been married off by royal command to Amintor, a noble courtier. The author's The Maids Tragedy weaves two romantic plots together to create one disastrous outcome. The play focuses on the frustrated love of Amintor and Aspatia. After the King dissolves their engagement he forces Amintor to wed Evadne, the royal mistress. Evadne's speech is meant to remind us of Hamlet's soliloquy when he finds Claudius praying and debates with himself whether to kill him or not. The darkness and apprehension built into this speech must be echoed in the words which are full of brooding vowel sounds. The iambic pentameter lines frequently have a mid-line caesura or pause, which gives the character time to think and convince her of the best way to proceed in the murder. She wants him to awaken so that she can confront him with his sins like the mythical Furies of Greek tragedy and ensure that his soul is damned for eternity.
