Mosada

Mosada is a short verse play in three scenes written by William Butler Yeats, and published in 1886.

Related Topics:
William Butler Yeats - 1886

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The only characters are Mosada, a "moorish girl," her friend the hunchback child Cola, a Christian monk and a few nameless inquisitors. The play is set in a fictional kingdom.

Related Topics:
Monk - Inquisitors

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In the first scene, Mosada laments her separation from her Christian lover Gomez. Using magic she attempts to conjure up a vision of him, but is interrupted when inquisitors arrive to arrest her.

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In the second scene, the inquisitors deliberate over her fate with the old monk, who is not told the identity of the girl. They decide she must be executed.

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In the third and final scene, Mosada, alone and in prison, commits suicide by sucking a drop of poison from her ring. The monk arrives to announce her fate, and is shocked to discover his prisoner is Mosada: he reveals that he himself is her lover Gomez.

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In its original publication, the play was followed by a lyric which was later renamed The Song of the Happy Shephard.

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