Summary
Act 4. Leonidas enters, followed by Amalthea, who intends to tell Leonidas that she is in love with him. Leonidas talks to himself about how quickly his fate has changed and the fact that Polydamas is so influenced by "proud Argaleon's malice." He also worries that Palmyra will no longer love him now that she is a princess.
Amalthea steps forward, intending to tell him of her feelings, but is unable to speak. Finally she sympathizes with him for the loss of the throne and his beloved. She then tells Leonidas that Polydamas intends for Palmyra to wed Argaleon. Leonidas is angered by this news, as Amalthea tries to comfort him, but keeps stammering. When Leonidas asks Amalthea to deliver a message to Palmyra, she refuses, but tells him that that evening the court is having a masquerade, and he can disguise himself to come talk to his beloved. He agrees to meet her in two hours to attend.
After Amalthea leaves, Hermogenes and Eubulus come in. Leonidas recognizes Eubulus and Hermogenes reminds him that Eubulus is his foster father from childhood. When Leonidas asks what has taken Eubulus away from him, Eubulus tells him that he has delicate information to impart, and must do so at Hermogenes' house, in private. As the three of them exit, Palamede and Rhodophil, in masks and carrying torches, enter.
The two friends discuss how much they love masquerade. Beliza enters and tells Rhodophil that Doralice is "indispos'd" and is staying at home to rest. Rhodophil sends Beliza home with the message that he will dream of her in his own bed. After she has left, Rhodophil reveals, in an aside, that Melantha is planning to meet him at the masquerade, dressed as a boy.
Thinking that Doralice is staying home for the evening, Palamede decides that he will not go to court after all, and excuses himself. Rhodophil happily lets his friend go visit his mistress and exits. Left alone, Palamede feels glad that Rhodophil was so permissive and says, "O what a difference will she find betwixt a dull resty Husband, and a quick vigorous Lover!"
Suddenly, Rhodophil enters with Doralice in men's clothing. Rhodophil, not recognizing Doralice, says he rescued the "youth" from a fight. Palamede does not recognize Doralice either, and asks Rhodophil to take the "youth," but Doralice insists that she is better off staying with Palamede.
Scene 2. Polydamas enters, followed by Amalthea, Leonidas, Argaleon, and Palmyra, all in masquerade. After a dance, Amalthea points out which one is Palmyra and Leonidas goes over to talk to her. When she immediately recognizes him, he invites her to his father's house that evening, where he will reveal an important and pleasing secret to her.
After Leonidas leaves, Argaleon spots Palmyra and decides to speak to Palmyra as though he were the man with whom she was just speaking. There is a song and then another dance.
Argaleon approaches Palmyra, who mistakes him for Leonidas. She chides him for being so indiscreet, and tells him she will meet him where they agreed to meet. He walks away, miffed, but determined to reveal Palmyra's plan to the king.
Scene 3. At an eating house, Palamede and Doralice, still in men's clothing, sit drinking wine. Palamede still does not recognize Doralice, and tells her he must leave now that she is safe. Doralice, pretending to be a boy, says, "Were I a woman, Oh how you'd admire me!" Palamede dismisses her, telling her that he is a man of business and must pursue his business affairs.
Doralice taunts Palamede, who thinks she is a 14-year-old boy. She tells him that his mistress is not home, before revealing her true identity. He kisses her hand and just as he does, Rhodophil and Melantha (in boy's clothes) enter, and think that Palamede is seducing a young boy. Palamede pretends that he is chastising the boy. Both of the men recognize the other's mistress, but pretend not to. The two men kiss their respective "boys" as Melantha and Doralice taunt and insult one another. Just as their sparring gets too intense, a servant enters and summons Rhodophil to visit the king. He and Palamede go.
Scene 4. Palmyra, Eubulus, and Hermogenes enter. The men have just told the princess that Leonidas is not a country squire, but Theagenes, the son of the former king. Hermogenes explains that he did not learn that Palmyra was Polydamas' daughter until after he had presented Leonidas to the king. Leonidas enters and dismisses Hermogenes and Eubulus, before talking to Palmyra about the fact that their love is now complicated by the fact that Palmyra's father is the usurper of the throne from Leonidas' father. "He detains my Throne:/Who holds back mine, will hardly give his own," Leonidas says of Polydamas.
Palmyra says she will refuse to be Leonidas' wife if he tries to kill her father, Polydamas. Leonidas insists, "If now the execution I delay,/My Honour, and my Subjects, I betray./All is prepar'd for the just enterprize;/And the whole City will to morrow rise./The Leaders of the party are within,/And Eubulus has sworn that he will bring,/To head their Arms, the person of their King." Suddenly, Polydamas, Argaleon, Rhodophil, Palamede, and guards enter.
Polydamas and Argaleon are suspicious of whatever Palmyra and Leonidas are doing with one another.
Analysis
The play weaves a tangled web of forbidden and unrequited love. This act begins with Leonidas mourning the fact that he can no longer be with his beloved Palmyra, while also learning that she is accepting one of his least favorite people, Argaleon, as a suitor. Meanwhile, Argaleon's sister, Princess Amalthea, is in love with Leonidas, but cannot muster the courage to tell him. This shows the ways that the human heart follows a logic that often creates more pain than pleasure, especially when it is across class lines.
The perfect location for the various complications of the plot to become further entangled is the masquerade that is being thrown that night. The masquerade provides a discreet opportunity for each of the characters to speak to their respective beloveds in relative privacy. Leonidas plans to attend and speak with Palmyra, and both Doralice and Melantha plan to dress as boys in order to carry on interactions with Palamede and Rhodophil.
One of the main currencies in the play is secrets. Almost all of the characters keep information to themselves and there is a contrast between what is made public knowledge and what is kept private. Part of this culture of secrecy is made possible by the structures of the theater itself, in that characters can reveal certain sentiments and plot points to the audience in asides, while saying something quite different to other characters.
The secrets also take the form of performances, such as when Doralice pretends to be a young man in Palamede's company. Assuming her role, she suggests to Palamede that he would admire her if she were a woman, and think her very witty. In this instant, the audience can see that Doralice is putting one over on her lover, going along with the charade for as long as she can in order to learn more about him; meanwhile, Palamede has no idea that it is his mistress to whom he is speaking. In the theatrical world of the play, costumes and masks have the power to deceive and completely transform characters' perceptions.
Dialogue between Leonidas and Palmyra often takes the form of heroic couplets, rhyming lines of iambic pentameter. Heroic couplets were originated by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 1300s, but were popularized by playwrights in the 1600s like John Dryden and Alexander Pope. The couplets keep the verse flowing forward and add to the suspense of the final scene in the act.
