The Rover Literary Devices

Definition of Tone

The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical, and so on. For instance... read full definition

The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical... read full definition

The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical... read full definition

Explanation and Analysis:

The play's tone can be gleaned from the prologue, which would have been delivered to the audience before the rise of the curtain, and epilogue, which would be delivered before before the curtain's fall. In Restoration comedies, one of the actors would temporarily abandon their role to deliver the prologue and/or epilogue, which supposedly existed beyond the bounds of the play's action. As such, the monologue's writer—who wasn't always the writer of the play—would to create a moment of intimate and authentic engagement between actor and audience, as well as between dramatist and reader. At the same time, prologues and epilogues allowed the dramatist and actors to tease their spectators, taking advantage of the rare opportunity to frankly acknowledge and address the people in the room.

As can be said for the whole play, the prologue and epilogue of The Rover are cynical and satirical. Nonetheless, both these parts of the play balance their antagonism with playfulness; in these parts, Behn's narrator delivers scorn with loving wit. Like the tone between Willmore and Hellena throughout the play, the narrator of the prologue and epilogue addresses the audience with a tone that feels acerbically bantering.

The Rover's prologue consists of rhyming couplets that preempt audience criticism and comment on the challenges of dramatic composition. At the end, the narrator taunts the audience:

As for the author of this coming play,

I asked him what he thought fit I should say

In thanks for your good company today:

He called me fool, and said it was well known,

You came not here for our sakes, but your own.

New plays are stuffed with wits, and with debauches,

That crowd and sweat like cits, in May-Day coaches.

Ultimately, the overarching message of the prologue seems to be that if plays are witty and debauched, it is simply because they mock real life. The play's characters are who they are because the audience members are who they are. This teasing of the audience members before the play begins is aimed at drawing them in. Just as Willmore and Hellena's derisive repartee is fueled by their desire to seduce each other, the main aim of the prologue is to seduce the play's audience.

It is important to note that the prologue is immediately followed by a note that specifies that it is "Written by a Person of Quality." Although the gender of this supposed writer is left ambiguous, the narrator does claim that the play's writer is a man. While Behn likely wrote both prologue and play, she wants the audience to think that the prologue's writer is separate from the dramatist.

The Rover's epilogue draws on similar themes to the prologue but adds in commentary on England's political situation. In it, Behn criticizes everyone: the Puritans and Cavaliers of the Interregnum as well as the Whigs and Tories of the Restoration. Mocking not just the general audience but also members of Parliament and the Court, she scornfully defends her play and writers from criticism she is sure will come:

– Damn me, I’m sure ’twill never please the court.

Such fops are never pleased, unless the play

Be stuffed with fools, as brisk and dull as they:

Such might the half-crown spare, and in a glass

At home, behold a more accomplished ass,

Where they may set their cravats, wigs and faces,

And practise all their buffoonry grimaces.