This document discusses two examples of "illicit love" - incest in John Ford's play 'Tis Pity She's a Whore and illegitimacy in Oscar Wilde's play A Woman of No Importance. It provides context on each play, including an excerpt from Ford's play where the protagonist Giovanni justifies his incestuous love, and how illegitimacy would have been viewed very negatively in the society depicted in Wilde's play. The document also discusses the concept of taboo and how economics factor into what makes love illicit in each play.

1. Illicit Love: who decides what is and isn’t ‘illicit’?

4. Incest Most societies have prohibitions against incest. The incest taboo is and has been one of the most common of all cultural taboos, both in current nations and many past societies, with legal penalties imposed in some jurisdictions. Most modern societies have legal or social restrictions on closely consanguineous marriages.However, in some societies, such as that of Ancient Egypt, brother–sister, father–daughter, and mother–son relations were practised among royalty.In addition, the Balinese and some Inuit tribes have altogether different beliefs about what constitutes illegal and immoral incest.

5. Taboo Definition: A moral or cautionary restriction placed upon certain actions by authorities (kings, priests, shamans, etc.) of a people, which if ignored will result in specific negative consequences. Discuss: Is there a connection between ‘illegal’ and ‘taboo’?

6. Tis Pity she’s a Whore Because of his disdain of the orthodox moral code of his time and his sympathetic treatment of forbidden love, John Ford is often regarded as the most modern of Elizabethan and Stuart dramatists. He was baptized at Ilsington in Devonshire, April 17, 1586, was probably the John Ford who entered Exeter College, Oxford, in March, 1601, and was certainly the John Ford who was admitted to the Middle Temple in November 1602. He first appeared in print with Fame's Memorial (1606), a long elegy on the death of the Earl of Devonshire, and he published other occasional pieces before he finally commited himself to a dramatic career. His reputation rests chiefly upon his three unaided tragedies of forbidden love, 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, The Broken Heart, and Love's Sacrifice. http://www.imagi-nation.com/

7. Tis Pity she’s a Whore Read the excerpt from the play. What is Giovanni’s justification for his love?

8. Oscar Wilde Oscar FingalO'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in Dublin on 16 October 1854. His father was a surgeon and his mother a writer and literary hostess. Wilde was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and Magdalen College, Oxford. While at Oxford, Wilde became involved in the Aesthetic Movement (a 19th century European movement that emphasised aesthetic values over moral or social themes in literature, fine art, the decorative arts, and interior design). His output was diverse. His greatest talent was for writing plays, and he produced a string of extremely popular comedies including 'Lady Windermere's Fan' (1892), 'An Ideal Husband (1895)' and 'The Importance of Being Earnest' (1895). 'Salomé' was performed in Paris in 1896. Drama and tragedy marred Wilde's private life. He married Constance Lloyd in 1884 and they had two sons, but in 1891 Wilde began an affair with Lord Alfred Douglas, nicknamed 'Bosie'. In April 1895, Wilde sued Bosie's father, the Marquis of Queensberry, for libel, after the Marquis has accused him of being homosexual. Wilde lost and, after details of his private life were revealed during the trial, was arrested and tried for gross indecency. He was sentenced to two years of hard labour. Wilde was released with his health irrevocably damaged and his reputation ruined. He spent the rest of his life in Europe, publishing 'The Ballad of Reading Gaol' in 1898. He died in Paris on 30 November 1900.

9. A Woman of No Importance Read the excerpt from the play. Based on this reading, how do you think illegitimacy would be received in this society?

10. A Woman of No Importance The subject matter of this play by Oscar Wilde was controversial in its day, since illegitimacy was much more scandalous in the early part of the twentieth century. George Hartford has an affair with Rachel, a girl of the lower classes. But he is in line for the title of Lord Illingworth and his parents won't allow them to marry. Rachel is cast aside and she struggles to raise her son, never letting him know that he is of illegitimate birth. Somehow she manages to work her way into society and her boy, now grown and known as Gerald Arbuthnot becomes a barrister. To his mother's shock, he lands a position as secretary to Lord Illingworth -- her former lover. The truth about Gerald's parentage comes out and he refuses to work for his father. Meanwhile, his sweetheart forgives Rachel her past indiscretion and remains by Gerald's side.

11. Plenary We’ve looked at two examples of illicit love. Think about ‘taboo’ and ‘illicit’: how do these terms figure in each play? What role do ‘economics’ play in each?