Chapter 6 - Knave or Not?

Summary

This essay considers the impact of censorship on Holcroft’s career as a whole, not simply his experiences under the Examiner but the wider public condemnation of some of his work. Identifying Knave or Not? and He’s to Blame, both staged in early 1798, as the pivotal point in his writing career, the essay shows how the public opprobrium unfairly received by Holcroft coloured his later career. Paying careful attention to the language of the plays, in a decade when the meanings of words were under heated dispute, the essay showcases Holcroft’s political courage compared to contemporaries. It argues that Holcroft deliberately reduces comedic options in order to strengthen the force of his political principles, a move that remains underappreciated today, and paid a considerable price for his resolve not to fuel wit through displays of people’s suffering.