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Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came

10 Minute Play, Drama  /  1m, 2girl(s)

Thornton Wilder

This short play, set in near the site of battle, is part of Thornton Wilder's Playlets: Short, Short Plays for 3-5 Persons .

Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    1m, 2girl(s)
  • Duration
    Duration
    10 minutes
  • Suggested Use
    • Competition or Audition Material
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Appropriate for All Audiences

Details

Summary

“Near the scene of battle... The sun has set over the great marsh, leaving a yellow-brown Flemish light upon the scene.”

Badly wounded in battle and knowing himself to be at the point of death, Childe Roland pounds on the door of an ancient tower surrounded by a lonely marsh, believing it the portal to death and the final resting place for dead heroes and royalty. He is determined to join them. But a girl with red hair and a dark girl dressed in a gray robe bar the way.

This short play is included in the collection Thornton Wilder's Playlets: Short, Short Plays for 3-5 Persons.

History

First published in the Yale Literary Magazine in 1919, Wilder’s senior year, Childe Roland has long been a subject for writers and artists, from Shakespeare to Robert Browning to Stephen King and his Dark Tower. Wilder’s title is drawn from Shakespeare’s “Child Rowland to the dark tower came,” a line from a Scottish ballad used in Act III, Scene 4 of King Lear, and also used by Robert Browning as the title for one of his best-known poems. Wilder’s description of the sunset over the marsh evokes some of the details of artist Thomas Moran’s oil painting by the same name which appeared in 1859. And can we not see a hint of Our Town in the Dark Girl’s line: “You gave us such little thought while living that we have made this little delay at your death”?

Keywords
Performing Groups
CHILDE ROLAND – A knight
THE GIRL
THE DARK GIRL
  • Time Period Medieval (6th-14th Century)
  • Setting

    Near the scene of battle.

  • Features Period Costumes
  • Duration 10 minutes
  • Cautions
    • No Special Cautions

Media

Videos

  • Thornton Wilder: It's Time youtube thumbnail

    Thornton Wilder: It's Time

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £40 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

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Authors

Thornton Wilder

Thornton Wilder

Thornton Wilder (1897-1975) is the only writer to win Pulitzer Prizes for both drama (Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth) and fiction (The Bridge of San Luis Rey). He collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock on Shadow of a Doubt, hiked the Alps with the heavyweight boxing champion ...

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