The Tragedy of Mariam is, as its title suggests, a tragedy which revolves around the main character, Miriam. The play was written in the Jacobean period and as such it focuses on the subjects from antiquity while trying to instill into the minds of the audience some sort of moral or social teaching.
The action of the play takes place in the first century BC and spans 5 acts. The main character is Miriam, the wife of King Herodot who is presumed to be dead at the beginning of the first act. Miriam proves herself to be a good wife and laments the death of her husband even though he killed her father. Miriam's family does not agree with her sorrow and even criticize her for crying over her husband. Miriam's sister is also in a difficult situation because she wishes to divorce her husband and marry her lover. Unfortunately, Salome is unable to divorce her husband since this is an option given only to men.
The first act ends with the characters lamenting the social situation women had during those times. They were completely dependent on their husbands and had no rights of their own. Because of this, if a woman wanted to divorce or was in a loveless marriage there were little options to consider.
The second act introduces another character, Pheroras. He is Herodot's brother who was told to marry someone from the family in order to keep the line intact. Pheroras, just like the women in the first act, is unable to act as he wishes because he is a subject of the king and as such has to do what is told. Pheroras, just like Miriam, has mixed feelings concerning his brother's death. On the one hand, he is sad because he lost someone he loved while on the other hand, he is happy to be free to marry the woman he loved.
Other characters are introduced as well, all profiting from the supposed death of the King. The chorus ends the second act by urging the characters to be wary and to be careful until the death of the King is confirmed. This is also the advice given to the audience, urging them to not be quick to jump to conclusions and to be careful about the validity of the news they are told. Another idea is presented here, namely that people will believe what they want to be true, thus creating in a way their own reality. This is extremely dangerous and should be avoided at all costs.
In the third act, the characters find that Herodot is actually alive. The characters begin to panic, thinking about the consequences of their actions. The chorus appears again, criticizing the characters who were not careful in their actions and who now have to deal with the consequences of their actions.
When Herodot returns, he is angered to see everything that has happened. Most of the characters, including Miriam, are sentenced to death, thus being forced to deal with the consequences of their actions. This does not mean that Herodot was happy to execute his wife. In fact, after he is told Miriam is dead, he expresses great sorrow at her loss.
