The Libertine

The Libertine is a play by Thomas Shadwell published in 1676. The play is an adaptation of the original plot of El burlador de Sevilla, written by Tirso de Molina, which follows the story of a horrid womanizer who plays with his life and others as he commits sins and "shapeshifts" into a devil-like man. Like most of the adaptations, The Libertine is a story of a mischievous man condemned to pay for the actions of his sins. Characters The play Prologue The Libertine begins with a preface and prologue. Both address the contemporary public of the latter 1600s and therefore should be interpreted in that context. Such prefaces were often used as a means to "settle scores" between authors. Shadwell and John Dryden regularly referenced each other and were famous for their altercations. Thus, Shadwell's "infamous, coarse and vulgar censorship of a maker of verse" is a direct allusion to Dryden.