Preview

Restoration Tragedy

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3571 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Restoration Tragedy
Restoration tragedy

THE lesser tragic writers of this period, uninspired as most of their work seems when judged on its own merits, fall inevitably to a still lower level by comparison with the amazing literary powers of their great leader, Dryden. They have all his faults and only a small and occasional admixture of his strength and resource. In tragedy, as in other departments of literature, the genius of Dryden overtops, on a general estimate, the productions of his lesser contemporaries, and how closely his lead in the drama was followed may be correctly estimated from the fact that, in 1678, on his abandoning the use of rimed verse in the drama, his followers also dropped this impossible form, wisely reflecting, no doubt, that when Dryden was not satisfied as to its success, they might be sure of its failure. The productions of the lesser tragedians, however, in which a desire to catch the humour of the public and to flatter the mood of the hour is the most frequently recurring characteristic, remain most valuable as helping to furnish a clear idea of the state of the drama and the prevailing standard of taste.

The drama on the re-opening of the theatres was subjected to a flood of new influences. Paramount among these was the influence of the court, to which dramatists and actors alike hastened to pay the homage of servile flattery. This lack of independence on the part of the dramatists of the day, coupled with the general relaxation of morals consequent on the restoration, account, in a large measure, for the degradation into which tragedy in England sank. While comedy retained, in its brightest manifestations at all events, some redeeming wit and humour, tragedy fell to a level of dulness and lubricity never surpassed before or since. It should not be overlooked that, in this period attendance at the theatre became a constant social habit, and the theatre itself a great social force; and in this way alone can be explained the success on the stage of much

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The unavoidable result is that tragedy is old fashioned; Tis for royalty. If the excitement of tragic action were honestly a asset of a high character alone, it is unbelievable that mankind should cherish tragedy above all, let alone understand that. Tragedy is invoked when a character is ready to die to secure his one objective. In Shakespearean tragedies, from Hamlet to Macbeth, the primary struggle is that attempt of gaining their “rightful” position in society. Furthermore, Tragedy then is the outcome of a man’s pressure to evaluate himself.…

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Reconstruction Failure

    • 1080 Words
    • 5 Pages

    After the Civil War, the Southern United States was in ruins from all the battles that had taken place. Damage had been done, and repairs had to be made. This repairing process was dubbed “Reconstruction,” and it managed to last for 12 years along with having attained a diverse amount of political opinions regarding the concept. Overall, Reconstruction was a failure because of the South’s lack of obedience towards the North’s plan and the North giving up on the process too soon, when the correct time to stop would be years after the South was feeling they were being accepted back in the Union.…

    • 1080 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Brothels and Convents

    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Cited: Allen, David G. and Robert A. White. “Subjects on the World 's Stage: Essays on British Literature of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.” Shakespeare Quarterly. Vol. 48, No. 1, (Spring, 1997), pp. 110-113. Folger Shakespeare Library. 12 June, 2013.…

    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Ophelia's Suicide

    • 2496 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Romanticized by modern females, downplayed by literary critics and somewhat overlooked by the general public, the character of Ophelia in “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” offers the reader a tantalizing mystery - did Ophelia truly commit suicide? Bear in mind that in the deeply religious culture that was the basis for the inception of Hamlet, suicide was a mortal sin, bearing with it the consequence of eternal punishment and damnation, burial in unconsecrated ground and shame to be forever associated with the deceased. Or, perhaps, was Ophelia’s death an accident, or a murder?…

    • 2496 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ridgeway, William. "THE ORIGIN OF TRAGEDY: INTRODUCTION." Theatrehistory. N.p., 2002. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. .…

    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Macbeth Lit Crit Outline

    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Hook: Shakespeare undoubtedly uses many literary devices and elements throughout Macbeth. One such element is the characterization of Macbeth.…

    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Elizabethan Theater was a main source of entertainment from about 1576 to the late 1640s. The most popular description for this time period’s style of acting is exaggerated, actors had to exaggerate their parts for the audience to become attached and interested. There are many different types of plays and arts that influenced the Elizabethan theater’s style. As for its popularity that was mostly due to the Queen who was a big fan, another contributing factor was the noble’s interest in the theater.…

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Bibliography: * Louis Montrose, The Purpose of Playing: Shakespeare and the Cultural Politics of the Elizabethan Theatre(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996)…

    • 4830 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    much ado about nothing

    • 1405 Words
    • 6 Pages

    This tends to be the reason why Shakespeare’s plays such as The Comedy Of Errors and The Merchant of Venice are set in Italy and Greece respectively. In Messina everything is tranquil and serene and from the first act it looks like nothing can go wrong including relationships. A Shakespearean comedy would best be defined as “a play characterized by its humorous or satirical tone and its depiction of amusing people or incidents, in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity.” Whilst a Shakespearean tragedy would be defined as “a play dealing with tragic events and having an unhappy ending usually with the death of a main character.” Much Ado About Nothing walks the fine line between a tragedy and a comedy. Although Much Ado About Nothing is advertised as a comedy, it would not be difficult for readers to look past the slapstick and satire and uncover a script that encompasses many aspects of an Elizabethan tragedy let alone a Shakespearean tragedy. In this essay I will attempt to understand whether Much Ado About Nothing can be played as a tragedy as well as a comedy, taking into consideration the different viewing experiences of both a modern and Elizabethan audience.…

    • 1405 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Cited: Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Fitts, Dudley and Robert Fitzgerald, trans. Theatre & Dramatic Literature Before 1800. Comp. and Ed. James Wilson. Montreal: Eastman Systems Inc., 2004. 31-52.…

    • 1555 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Shakespeare Play

    • 9984 Words
    • 40 Pages

    5. ^ Elliott, John R. "History and Tragedy in Richard II"Studies in English Literature, 1500–1900, Vol. 8, No. 2, Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama (Spring, 1968), 253–271.…

    • 9984 Words
    • 40 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Klaus, K, & Gilbert, M. (1991). Stages of Drama. New York: St. Martin 's Press. Larque, Thomas. (2001). “A Lecture on Elizabethan Theatre”. Shakespeare and His Critics webpage. http://shakespearean.org. uk/elizthea1.htm [accessed July 15 2011]. Wilson, E, & Goldfarb, A. (2006). Theater: The Lively Art. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities-Social Sciences-Languages.…

    • 1741 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Elizabethan and Jacobean tragedies have had an even more durable life than comedies. Especially at the Globe Playhouse, a varied audience crowded to see the rise and fall of kings, or the working out of revenge and passion. They watched horrific stories concluding with an ultimate test in which the hero, and sometimes the heroine, faced violence and disaster. Death came in many forms, but always brought with it a revaluation of the hero 's life as means of support were taken away: the individual was separated from his or her fellows, endured loss and escalation of pain, and was exposed to intense scrutiny. The audience was invited to judge the hero 's response and ultimate resource. Perhaps these tragedies were so popular because they offered audiences an opportunity to assume the role of God, the all-knowing assessor who had long been the exclusive possession of remote and authoritative clerics: they could watch as man suffers, and so judge his ultimate worth. In the words of John Webster, writing his first tragedy in 1612 (partly in imitation of Shakespeare):…

    • 6475 Words
    • 26 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The posthumous impact of ancient Rome has an unsurpassable influence on the historical background of Elizabethan Theatre. The defining feature of the period is the growth of a modern consciousness, which has another alternative name, ‘Early Modern’. This is not only apparent in the theatre of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century but in present time also.…

    • 2401 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Context: Relatively peaceful, S makes R a devil and usurper to legitimise Eliz. Claim to throne. People were aware of RIII& Tudor’s overthrow of Platagenets, therefore play is dramatisation of actual events. Audience related to the values in the play-divine right, treatment and place of women, good&evil, religion. Nobles spoke in Iambic P, whilst servants spoke in rough prose, this was real, therefore made sense to the audience, everyone loved the theatre.…

    • 331 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics