The King Stag

THe King Stag. It is a play by Carlo Gozzy. King Deramo has interviewed 2748 princesses and noble ladies to be his queen. But he is unable to find a sincere, truthful girl. All have told him one lie or another( which he finds out through a magical bust that laughs whenever a woman tells a lie). But Angela, the beautiful daughter of Pentaloon, is the only woman who really loves Deramo for his human qualities and not his crown.The ambitious prime minister Tarlaglia usurps king Deramo's crown by treacherous means. His almost wife Angela, the daughter of second minister (Pentaloon), whom Tartaglia secretly desires, is almost his, when magician Durandarte's last minute intervention saves the situation. Tartaglia is slain.Peace is restored in the kingdom of Serendip. It is a complex plot. The king receives ladies who desire to be queen in privy chamber. There he asks them simple questions in presence of the magic bust. He has interviewed 2747 of them so far. Three more are to be interviewed as the pay opens. These three remaining ladies are Clarisa, Smeraldina and Angela. Clarisa is prime minister Tartaglia's daughter. She is in love with Pentaloon's son Leander. Tartaglia imposes his will on young Clarisa and forces her to present herself before king Deramo. Scared of her father, the poor girl presents herself before the king. She tells him a lie, and as a result gets rejected. Smeraldina is Brighella's (king Deramo's butler) niece. She too is rejected as a result of lying to the king. Angela follows Smeraldina. Angela is beautiful and noble. She can not tell Deramo a lie. On the contrary, she tells him to let her go because she genuinely feels that she is unworthy of the king. Her sincerity wins king Deramo's heart and since the bust does not( first time after 2749 cases)laugh,is chosen. Deramo announces a festive hunt in the forest in order to celebrate his choosing of a wife. During the hunt Tartaglia treacherously cons Deramo to divulge a secret magic charm. The charm is taught to Deramo by Durandarte. It has the power to make the chanter enter any dead body. Tartaglia and Deramo kill two stags. Tartaglia makes Deramo enter one stag's dead body, and by chanting the newly acquired chant, enters himself into Deramo's body. (What happens next? Wait for my next post, only on "my grey fog")