The drama's laws, the drama's patrons give, For we that live to please, must please to live. --Samuel Johnson, 1747
Democratic ferment, responsible for political explosions in the seventeenth century and expanded power in the eighteenth, affected all phases of English life. The theatre reflected these forces in the content of the plays of the period and in an increased awareness among playgoers that the theatre "must please to live."
Drawing from a wealth of amusing and informative contemporary accounts, Leo Hughes presents abundant evidence that...
The drama's laws, the drama's patrons give, For we that live to please, must please to live. --Samuel Johnson, 1747
This study of farce and low comedy in the English theatre covers the period in which farce as a distinct genre had its beginning.
Originally published in 1956.
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This study of farce and low comedy in the English theatre covers the period in which farce as a distinct genre had its beginning.