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The Letter Writers
''The Letter Writers Or, a New Way to Keep a Wife at Home'' is a play by Henry Fielding and was first performed on 24 March 1731 at Haymarket with its companion piece ''The Tragedy of Tragedies''. It is about two merchants who strive to keep their wives faithful. Their efforts are unsuccessful, however, until they catch the man who their wives are cheating with. The play, a farce dealing with sex and adultery, was a failure. While Fielding avoided the traditional cliches of the genre, he lost the moral purpose. Critics disagree over the quality of the play, but most agree that the missing moral purpose is the key failure of the play. Background ''The Letter Writers Or, a New Way to Keep a Wife at Home'', a three-act farcical play, was first mentioned in the 12 February 1731 ''Daily Post'', which announced that the play would start in March. It first ran on 24 March 1731,Battestin and Battestin 1993 p. 106 and it ran for four nights as a companion piece with ''The Tragedy of Trage ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist, irony writer, and dramatist known for earthy humour and satire. His comic novel '' Tom Jones'' is still widely appreciated. He and Samuel Richardson are seen as founders of the traditional English novel. He also holds a place in the history of law enforcement, having used his authority as a magistrate to found the Bow Street Runners, London's first intermittently funded, full-time police force. Early life Fielding was born 22 April 1707 at Sharpham, Somerset, and educated at Eton College, where he began a lifelong friendship with William Pitt the Elder. His mother died when he was 11. A suit for custody was brought by his grandmother against his charming but irresponsible father, Lt Gen. Edmund Fielding. The settlement placed Henry in his grandmother's care, but he continued to see his father in London. In 1725, Henry tried to abduct his cousin Sarah Andrews (with whom he was infatuated) while she was on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Tragedy Of Tragedies
''The Tragedy of Tragedies'', also known as ''The Tragedy of Tragedies; or, The Life and Death of Tom Thumb the Great'', is a play by Henry Fielding. It is an expanded and reworked version of one of his earlier plays, ''Tom Thumb'', and tells the story of a character who is small in stature and status, yet is granted the hand of a princess in marriage; the infuriated queen and another member of the court subsequently attempt to destroy the marriage. In adapting his earlier work Fielding incorporated significant plot changes; he also made the play more focused, and unified the type of satire by narrowing its critique of the abuses of language. Additionally, in a reaction to the view that ''Tom Thumb'' was a burlesque, Fielding replaced some of the humour in favour of biting satire. The play was first performed at the Haymarket Theatre on 24 March 1731, with the companion piece '' The Letter Writers''. Critics enjoyed the play, but pointed out that it was originally designed as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Farce
Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity or nonsense; satire, parody, and mockery of real-life situations, people, events, and interactions; unlikely and humorous instances of miscommunication; ludicrous, improbable, and exaggerated characters; and broadly stylized performances. Genre Despite involving absurd situations and characters, the genre generally maintains at least a slight degree of realism and narrative continuity within the context of the irrational or ludicrous situations, often distinguishing it from completely absurdist or fantastical genres. Farces are often episodic or short in duration, often being set in one specific location where all events occur. Farces have historically been performed for the stage and film. Historical context The term ''farce'' is deri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The London Cuckolds
''The London Cuckolds'' is a 1681 comedy play by the English writer Edward Ravenscroft. It was performed at the Dorset Garden Theatre by the Duke's Company. The original cast included Cave Underhill as Wiseacre, James Nokes as Doodle, Joseph Williams as Townly, John Wiltshire as Loveday, William Smith as Ramble, Anthony Leigh as Dashwell, John Richards as Tom, Elizabeth Currer as Eugenia, Elizabeth Barry as Arabella, Elinor Leigh Elinor Leigh was a British stage actor of the seventeenth century. Born Elinor Dixon, she was billed as Mrs Leigh or Mrs Lee after she married the actor Anthony Leigh in 1671. This has led to some difficulty distinguishing on playbills between he ... as Engine and Margaret Osborne as Jane.Van Lennep p.303 References Bibliography * Van Lennep, W. ''The London Stage, 1660-1800: Volume One, 1660-1700''. Southern Illinois University Press, 1960. 1681 plays West End plays Restoration comedy Plays by Edward Ravenscroft {{17thC-play-st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harold Pagliaro
Harold E. Pagliaro (June 19, 1925 – February 15, 2020) was an American literary scholar and expert on 18th-century English literature. He was the provost emeritus and Alexander Griswold Cummins Professor Emeritus of English Literature at Swarthmore College. Biography Pagliaro was born June 19, 1925, in The Bronx. He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School as senior class president in Portsmouth, Virginia, where his father relocated to oversee the construction of the Norfolk dry dock for the United States Navy. Upon returning to New York, Pagliaro enrolled in Columbia College to study engineering. After two semesters, he was drafted into the United States Army at 18. Having been trained at Fort Benning, Pagliaro was deployed to France as a replacement soldier in the 121st Cavalry Reconnaissance Unit. He received a Purple Heart, a Combat Infantryman Badge, and a Bronze Star Medal. After being discharged in 1945, Pagliaro received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from Colum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plays By Henry Fielding
Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Play Mobile, a Polish internet provider * Xperia Play, an Android phone * Rakuten.co.uk (formerly Play.com), an online retailer * Backlash (engineering), or ''play'', non-reversible part of movement * Petroleum play, oil fields with same geological circumstances * Play symbol, in media control devices Film * ''Play'' (2005 film), Chilean film directed by Alicia Scherson * ''Play'', a 2009 short film directed by David Kaplan * ''Play'' (2011 film), a Swedish film directed by Ruben Östlund * ''Rush'' (2012 film), an Indian film earlier titled ''Play'' and also known as ''Raftaar 24 x 7'' * ''The Play'' (film), a 2013 Bengali film Literature and publications * ''Play'' (play), written by Samuel Beckett * ''Play'' (''The New York Times ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comedy Plays
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term originated in ancient Greece: in Athenian democracy, the public opinion of voters was influenced by political satire performed by comic poets in theaters. The theatrical genre of Greek comedy can be described as a dramatic performance pitting two groups, ages, genders, or societies against each other in an amusing '' agon'' or conflict. Northrop Frye depicted these two opposing sides as a "Society of Youth" and a "Society of the Old". A revised view characterizes the essential agon of comedy as a struggle between a relatively powerless youth and the societal conventions posing obstacles to his hopes. In this struggle, the youth then becomes constrained by his lack of social authority, and is left with little choice but to resort to ruses wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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