English Drama: Restoration and Eighteenth Century 1660-1789 [Hardcover]

What were the causes of Restoration drama's licentiousness? How did the elegantly-turned comedy of Congreve become the pointed satire of Fielding? And how did Sheridan and Goldsmith reshape the materials they inherited? In the first account of the entire period for more than a decade, Richard Bevis argues that none of these questions can be answered without an understanding of Augustan and Georgian history. The years between 1660 and 1789 saw considerable political and social upheaval, which is reflected in the eclectic array of dramatic forms that is Georgian theatre's essential characteristic.

What were the causes of Restoration drama's licentiousness? How did the elegantly-turned comedy of Congreve become the pointed satire of Fielding? And how did Sheridan and Goldsmith reshape the materials they inherited? In this account of the entire period, Richard Bevis argues that none of these questions can be answered without an understanding of Augustan and Georgian history. The years between 1660 and 1789 saw considerable political and social upheaval, which is reflected in the eclectic array of dramatic forms that is Georgian theatre's essential characteristic.

Introduction; Part 1 The Restoration 16601688; Chapter 1 Thespis Redux; Chapter 1a Entracte; Chapter 2 The Noble Experiment: Heroic Drama; Chapter 3 The Jaws of Defeat: Tragicomedy; Chapter 4 The World Well Lost: Tragedy; Chapter 5 Mask and Veil: Comedy; Chapter 6 Scenes and Machines: Operatic Drama; Part 2 Reform, Retrenchment and Control 16891737; Chapter 7 From Revolution to Robinocracy; Chapter 8 Sorrows Like Your Own: Augustan Tragedy; Chapter 9 Anything Goes: The Diversity of Comic Drama; Chapter 10 Sister Arts: Operatic Drama 16891737; Part 3 The High Georgian Era 17381779; Chapter 11 Britannias Rules 17381779; Chapter 12 The Luxury of Grief: Georgian Tragedy and Tragicomedy; Chapter 13 The Confused Muse: Georgian Comedy and Farce; Chapter 14 Lay All Aristotlelã'