Marriage à la Mode is widely regarded as John Dryden's most famous play. It was first performed in London by the King's Company in 1673, and centers around two different plots that entangle in a tragicomic web of mistaken identity, romantic provocation, and courtly intrigue. The text mixes prose, blank verse, and heroic couplets and is widely known for its witty dialogue and pithy assessment of human nature.
Marriage à la Mode follows two plot lines. One concerns two friends, Rhodophil and Palamede, who are trying to embark on discreet affairs with one another's beloveds, Melantha and Doralice. This plotline is markedly sillier than the other plot, which concerns the crowning of the rightful heir to the throne in Sicily, and the forbidden love between Leonidas and Palmyra. The play looks at nobility and the idealistic love shared between Leonidas and Palmyra in contrast to the sillier and more confectionary nature of desire and courtly politics.
Since the play's first performance in London by the King's Company, it has rarely been revived. At the time of its original production, it was met with acclaim for its deft investigation of romantic woe and relatable dilemmas.
