English Stage Comedy 1490-1990

by Leggatt,Alexander

• ISBN13: 9780415189378
• ISBN10: 0415189373
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 1998-09-21
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

English Stage Comedy 1490-1900is a unique and beautifully written study of the comedy of the English stage from the Tudor period to the late twentieth century. It shows how this remarkably enduring genre has dealt with the tensions of social life, using its conventions as tools for social inquiry. Through an examination of comedy, Alexander Leggatt demonstrates that an approach through genre, neglected in recent criticism, can have much to say about our current concerns with the relations between literature and society. This book surveys five centuries of classic comic drama, focusing on major playwrights such as Shakespeare, Jonson, Etherege, Wycherley, Congreve, Vanburgh, Goldsmith, Sheridan, Wilde, Shaw, Coward, Orton, and Ayckbourn.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Note
Introduction: Five centuries of a genre	p. 1
Getting control	p. 16
Watching society	p. 36
Loners	p. 58
Other places	p. 75
Parents and children	p. 94
Negotiations	p. 113
Comedy against itself	p. 136
Conclusion	p. 158
Notes	p. 161
Appendix	p. 174
Index	p. 178
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