1. 18th Century English Drama Richard Sheridan (1751-1816)
Part VI The 18th Century
18th Century English Drama
Richard Sheridan
( )

2. 18th Century English Drama
not reach the same high level as novel
the main reason: the Licensing Act of 1737
the Garrick Era
David Garrick, a player:
the greatest name in 18th century English drama

3. the highbrow(文化修养高的) and provocative (挑逗 性的) Restoration comedy lost favour, to be replaced by
sentimental comedy, 感伤喜剧
domestic tragedy, 家庭悲剧
an overwhelming interest in Italian opera

4. John Gay: The Beggar’s Opera (1728)
约翰·盖伊《乞丐的歌剧》
George Lillo: London Merchant (1731)
乔治·李洛《伦敦商人》
Dr. Samuel Johnson: Irene (1749)
约翰逊《伊瑞恩》
Arthur Murphy: The Orphan of China (1759)
亚瑟·墨菲《中国孤儿》

5. Best two dramas Richard Sheridan: The School for Scandal
理查德·谢立丹:《造谣学校》
Oliver Goldsmith:
She Stoops to Conquer
奥利佛·哥德斯密:《屈身求爱》

6. The English drama experiences a brief flowering in the second half of the 18th century for the comedies of Sheridan and Goldsmith.

7. Richard Brinsley Sheridan
The most important English playwright of
the 18th century

8. Contents I. life (1751-1816) II. major works III. themes
IV. writing style

9. I. Life Irish dramatist and politician born in Dublin, Ireland
a pupil at Harrow Boarding School outside London

10. His mother, Frances Sheridan, was a playwright and novelist.
She had several plays produced in London in the 1760s.

11. His father, Thomas Sheridan, later wrote a number of books concerning education and, especially, the standardization of the English language in education.
In 1771 the family settled in Bath.

12. In 1772 Richard Sheridan fought a famous duel against Captain Thomas Mathews.
Mathews had written a newspaper article defaming the character of Elizabeth Linley, the woman Sheridan intended to marry, and honour dictated that a duel must be fought.

13. In 1773, Richard Sheridan at age 21 married Elizabeth Linley and set up house in London on a lavish scale with little money and no immediate prospects of any—other than his wife's dowry.

14. The young couple entered the fashionable world and apparently held up their end in entertaining.

15. 1775: his comedy, The Rivals
a success and established him in the favour of fashionable London

16. In 1777, Sheridan directed his masterpiece, A School for Scandal, in the Drury Lane theatre.

17. in 1776 met Charles Fox, the leader of the Radical Whigs in the House of Commons
decided to abandon his writing in favour of a political career

18. entered Parliament in 1780
allied himself with the Whigs
became one of the most brilliant orators of his time

19. 1783: secretary of the treasury
1806: treasurer of the navy
1806: member of the Privy Council
a close friend of the prince regent
a leader of London society.

20. the burning in 1809 of the new Drury Lane Theatre
financially-ruined
arrested and imprisoned for debt in 1813
became ill in December 1815

21. died in poverty
buried in the Poets’ Corner of Westminster Abbey
his funeral was attended by dukes, earls, lords, viscounts, the Lord Mayor of London, and other notables

22. His plays, especially The Rivals and The School for Scandal, are generally regarded as important links between the masterpieces of Shakespeare and those of Bernard Shaw, and as true classics in English comedy.

23. II. Major works Six Years’ Dramatic Career
The Rivals (1775)，a drama
1776 being the boss of a theatre
The School for Scandal (1777)
The Critic (1779)
End of His Career as a Playwright

24. blend the brilliant wit of the Restoration with 18th-century sensibility
form a link in the history of the comedy of manners between
the end of the 17th century
Oscar Wilde in the 19th century

25. Contents
1. Comedy of Manners
2. The Rivals
3. The School for Scandal

26. 1. Comedy of Manners
Definition: a play about the manners and conventions of an aristocratic, highly sophisticated society.

27. The characters: usually types rather than individualized personalities
The plot: less important than atmosphere.

28. an important aspect of late 18th-century English Comedy
revived in the 18th century by
Oliver Goldsmith
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
a second revival in the late 19th century
endured into the 20th century

29. Examples of comedies of manners include
Oliver Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer
Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s The School for Scandal

30. (1) The Main Characters Captain Absolute (Ensign Beverley): the hero
Lydia Languish: the heroine
Mrs. Malaprop

31. (2) The plot Lydia is a sentimental girl from an upper-class family.
She often dreams to elope with a poor young man.

32. Captain Absolute (a Baron) loves Lydia.
He pretends to be a poor young man to win the heart of Lydia.

33. When Lydia knows the identity of Captain Absolute, she is disillusioned.
She finally realized that romance is not realistic.

34. (3) Malapropism
Mrs. Malaprop, Lydia’s aunt, is a famous comic character in this play.
She has a liking for foreign, big words which she often uses incorrectly.
From her is derived the term “Malapropism”.

35. a malapropism: an incorrect usage of a word by substituting a similar sounding word with different meaning, usually with comic effect.
malapropism ['mælə'prɔpizəm] n.字的误用

36. malapropism
“He’s as headstrong as an allegory (alligator) on the banks of the Nile.”
“He is the very pineapple (pinnacle) of politeness.”
pineapple: 凤梨, 菠萝; pinnacle: 小尖塔, 山顶, 顶点

37. (4) Theme of The Rivals
1. Sheridan ridicules the sentimental and pseudo-romantic fancies of the young woman of the upper class.

38. 3. The School for Scandal an enormous success
a standard for “comedies of manner”
Sheridan’s defining work
renewed the traditions of British comedies of the 17th century

39. Reviews heralded the play as a “real comedy” that would supplant the sentimental dramas that had filled the stage in the previous years.

40. (1) Characters Joseph Surface, the older brother
Charles Surface, the younger brother
“Surface” means superficial.
The audience can’t judge the brothers by their appearance.

41. Lady Sneerwell Mrs. Candour
She often laughs at people, esp. underdogs.
Mrs. Candour
“Candour” means justice, but here it’s an irony.
She is a scandal monger.

42. (2) Summery
Sir Peter Teazle’s ward Maria is courted by brothers Joseph and Charles Surface.
Lady Sneerwell, a malicious gossip and founder of The School for Scandal, wants to marry Charles and spreads false rumours about an affair between Charles and Lady Teazle in an attempt to make Maria reject Charles.

43. Meanwhile, Joseph is attempting to seduce Lady Teazle in order to win her favour, and thus the favour of Sir Peter, which will serve his interests with Maria.

44. The brothers have a rich uncle, Sir Oliver, whom they have not seen in sixteen years, and who visits them both incognito to test their characters before deciding which of them shall inherit his fortune.

45. At first shocked by Charles’ profligacy, he cannot help but like the charming younger brother, and when he discovers that Joseph is a sanctimonious hypocrite he prefers Charles.
profligacy: [lprɔfligəsi] n. 放荡,不检点,浪费
sanctimonious [sæŋktilməunjəs] a. 伪装虔诚的
hypocrite: [lhipəkrit ] n. 伪君子

46. The End
It is a sharp satire on the moral degeneracy of the aristocratic-bourgeoise society in the eighteenth-century England.
The play has been a great success on the stage and regarded as the best English comedy since
Shakespeare.

47. IV. Theme of Sheridan (1) morality
He is much concerned with the current moral issues and lashes harshly at the social vices of the day.

48. (2) Defamation(诽谤) of Character
(3) Deceptive Appearances (不可以貌取人)
(4) Hypocrisy
(5) Steadfast Integrity (诚实、正直)
(6) Pitfalls of Idleness (懒惰的隐患)

49. V. Writing style 1 His dramatic techniques are largely conventional.
They are exploited to the best advantage.

50. 2
plots: well organized,
characters: either major or minor, all sharply drawn
manipulation of such devices as disguise, mistaken identity and dramatic irony is masterly
manipulation: [ mə.nipju'leiʃən ] n. 处理

51. neat and decent language3
witty dialogues
neat and decent language