This play is set in ancient Thrace, and is the reenactment of the rape of Philomele, and her terrible revenge on her violator. While it retains the ancient myth, it also brings in feminist views which are far more modern, as the rape of Philomele is also the silencing of women and their "words" with contempt and butality. The elements of a crumbling kingdom, and the fears of a rebellion by the people, led by King Tereus's soldiers is also a driving motive for the cutting off of Philomele's tongue. So, an ancient myth, political unrest and feminist freedom of thought are cleverly interwoven in the play.