Abstract: At the time of an extraordinary flourishing of the theatre, and an acute need for the Restoration to re-establish its legitimacy, the words dramatists made sovereigns pronounce on stage were a crucial issue for those in power, who scrutinised and controlled them obsessively. This was the same with the public, who seized them to imitate confrontations with the kings. This article focuses on these forbidden words which outlined the dreams and fears of power in a system based on tax qualification.
