Experimentation on the English Stage, 1695–1708: The Career of George Farquhar

Elisabeth J. Heard

Experimentation on the English Stage, 1695–1708

The Career of George Farquhar

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Elisabeth J. Heard

Publisher:: Pickering & Chatto
Online publication date:: December 2014
Online ISBN:: 9781851965656

Subjects:: Drama and Theatre: General Interest, Drama, Theatre, Performance Studies

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At the beginning of the eighteenth century, British theatre saw a shift from what critics now call 'Restoration' to 'sentimental' comedy. Focusing on the career of the Irish dramatist George Farquhar (1678–1707), Heard argues that experimentation was the basis for this change. Farquhar's first play, Love and a Bottle (1698) relied on outdated plot devices and character types. By contrast, his final two plays, The Recruiting Officer (1706) and The Beaux Stratagem (1707) used creative new elements to connect with English audiences. Over ten years, Farquhar and his contemporaries experimented with characters, plot lines, and dialogue in an attempt to woo their audiences. In doing so they initiated a new era in British comedy.

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Experimentation on the English Stage, 1695–1708

The Career of George Farquhar

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Frontmatter
pp i-iv

CONTENTS
pp v-vi

Acknowledgements
pp vii-viii

Introduction
pp 1-10

1 - The London Theatre World in the 1690s
pp 11-22

2 - Origins of ‘Humane Comedy’: Farquhar, Congreve, Cibber and Vanbrugh
pp 23-42

3 - Experimentation at the Turn of the Century
pp 43-84

4 - Successful Experimentation: The Recruiting Officer and The Beaux Stratagem
pp 85-112

5 - Farquhar's Contributions and the Post-1707 Theatre
pp 113-134

Conclusion: Farquhar and Anglo-Irish Drama
pp 135-146

Notes
pp 147-158

Works Cited
pp 159-164

Index
pp 165-170

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Experimentation on the English Stage, 1695–1708

The Career of George Farquhar

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