Drama Dossier r[1]

Drama

___________________________________________________________________________

A dossier by

Ulrike Dlubek, Ulrike Kohn, Nadja Kühne, Tanja Lohse and Astrid

Schuster

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Table of Contents:

1. Introduction: general framework

2. Tendencies and forms of drama

2.1. Sentimental comedy

2.2. Domestic tragedy

2.3. Drama of sensibility

2.4. Other forms

3. Dramatists

3.1. John Gay

3.2. George Lillo

3.3. Richard B. Sheridan

3.4. Susannah Centlivre – example of a female

representative

4. Stages and Costumes

5. Bibliography and Further Reading

1. Introduction: general framework

Since the 16th century, the Master of Revels and the Lord Chamberlain were responsible for

the theatre. They regulated the salary of the actors and the seats, and they had the authority to

prevent performances by closing them. The so-called pre-censorship played an important role

in changing or deleting religiously, morally, and politically offensive passages. All screen

plays had to be shown before the first performance and then the decision was made. In the

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worst case, they could forbid the play from opening. And they always charged a high amount

of money for their activity.

Since these controls were not regulated, there was a slight lapse of this control. Many

managers tried to avoid the control by the master of Revels and Lord Chamberlain. Since

1725, the pre-censorship was only effective when the screenplays had been sent voluntarily to

the Master of Revels. Since 1720, some individualists opened further theatres in London

without the agreement of the King.

Soon the censorship was tightened through the Theatre Licensing Act. The government was

also angry with the critics over politics that were alluded to in the plays. The Theatre

Licensing Act consisted of two measures. First, there was a regulation over vagabonds that

acted in plays without the agreement of the king. Furthermore, all theatres needed a licence

from the Lord Chamberlain or a letter patent from the monarch. It was only allowed to

establish theatres in Westminster. Second, the authority of Lord Chamberlain was

strengthened by allowing him to forbid plays at any time.

Consequently, there were only two theatres left in London. Because of the big demand, the

managers extended the size of their theatres. Covent Garden increased from 1335 to 3000

seats (1782) and the Drury Lane Theatre was increased from 1000 to 3600 seats (1795).

Moreover, the Theatre Licencing Act also had consequences on the performances. Politically

and morally offensive parts had been deleted. Only a few new dramas were performed

because the success was uncertain. Therefore, old and popular plays were preferred. Plays by

Shakespeare were very successful, although they were permissively shortened and changed.

A typical theatre evening lasted about 3 to 4 hours. It consisted mainly of an overture, the

main play, an interlude (music or dance), and a short afterpiece. It was common to show

entertaining pieces like mime, music, circus performances and acrobatic tricks.

Until the 18th century, the audience paid little attention to the action on stage. They rather

talked, commented, gave personal and political comments, demanded repetitions, threw fruit,

booed, or in extreme cases wrecked the furnishings. To change that situation and to

domesticate the audience, the famous theatre manager David Garrick introduced some

changes. He banished the audience from the stage, and he darkened the auditorium in order to

draw attention to the lit stage. It was also important to him to improve the reputation of the

actors. With the help of the actress Sarah Siddons, he paid attention to being morally correct

in all contexts. Within the century, the communication of emotions became more and more

important. By the end of the eighteenth century, body language and mimic were used to

express emotions.

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2. Tendencies and forms

2.1. Sentimental Comedy

Richard Steele has contributed to the development of the English drama. He used his prefaces,

prologues, and epilogues to create new types of comedy. His comedies were not funny, and he

tried to move the focus from art, comedy, and entertainment to moral, emotion, and

instruction. That will be clear in his dedication to “The Lying Lover”: “The design of it is to

banish out of conversation all entertainment which does not proceed from simplicity of mind,

good-nature, and honour.” (Nünning 96)

In the successful play “The Conscious Lovers,” the preface, the prologue, and the epilogue

show the typical character of the sentimental comedy. The aim is to teach the audience by

“the effect of Example and Precept.” (Nünning 96)

Moreover, there are two further characteristics. Terms like good sense, softness of heart and

humanity play an important role. There is also a multiple naming of tears, which was shown

by very expressive body language. Steele also introduces a change in taste and values. He

believed that the comedy should be “too exquisite for laughter,” and that vices should be

refined and civil virtues should be spread to save the honour of the comedy.

Examples: - “The Lying Lover” (1703) and “The Conscious Lover” (1722) by Richard Steele

2.2. Domestic Tragedy

It is also called ‘domestic drama’, and it differs from the classic drama. Its typical measures

are summarized in the following table:

time and place close relation to contemporary British circumstances

figures average, non-aristocratic figures

description of figures individualism and psycho-analytic, emphasis on personal

experiences, feelings and suffering, idealism/ demonizing

constellation of figures clear structure of figures according to moral values

plot serious tragically ending plot , closed ending

end catastrophe by chance, tragic ending

focus private, domestic, and informal sphere

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form and language prose, stylistic diction

information dialogue tend to be a monologue

values and norms propagation of civil virtues

potential of effect potential of identification for the audience

intention of effect emotion and compassion, moral aim, propagation of domestic

virtues

(Source: Vera und Ansgar Nünning (1998). Englische Literatur des 18. Jahrhunderts. Stuttgart: Klett.)

Similar to the sentimental comedy, the characteristics, the constellations of the figures, the

plot, and the ending intend to illustrate a certain moral justice. The good ones should be

rewarded and the evil ones have to be punished. All in all, the youth should be warned to save

their innocence and to avoid sins through reflection.

Moreover, the domestic tragedy allows an insight into the virtues and morals. The unity

between father and daughter, avoiding of conflicts and the emphasis on the authority of the

exemplary father, and the obedience of the daughter are typical features for the moral concept

of a harmonic family.

At that time, the idealistic description of the middle class and the British self-presentation

played an important role.

Examples:

- “The London Merchant or the History of George Barnwell” (1731) by George Lillo

- “Pamela or Virtue Rewarded” (1740) by Samuel Richardson

2.3. Drama of sensibility

The appearance of the tragedy and comedy is a characteristic of the 18th century.

Referring to language, the dramatist wants to show a certain moralist intention. The characters

tend to represent themselves as harmonic and to give sermons. The dialogue is mostly about

reconciliation and moralistic instruction. In the centre of the drama, there is a middle class

society that works in the trade branch, which shows moralist qualities. The intention is to

support sense, virtue and emotion. The view of the human being is rather positive where

benevolence and sympathy play a major role.

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The plot shows the equal reward of the good ones and the punishment of the evil ones.

Moreover, almost everything is verbalized, emotions as well as moral lessons. Most plays

have normative figures that are the good ones at the same time. They represent the moral

ideals and they have to prove their emotions and virtues in the so-called demonstration scenes.

All plays show a strict diction in the end: the punishment of the bad ones, the conversion of

sinners, and the reward of the good.

Moreover, the comedies as well as the tragedies tend to show an increasing sentimentality in

the first half of the 18th century, which shaped the “culture of sentimentality.”

Examples:

- “False Delicacy” and “The School of Wives” by Hugh Kelly

- “The Brothers” and “The West Indian” by Richard Cumberland

2.4. Other forms

Besides the main tendencies, there are numerous genres like burlesques, farces, political

satires, historical dramas, metadramas, and melodramas.

Especially in the first half of the century, burlesques and farces were popular. Political satires

appeared in the 1720s and 1730s, and they showed the drama as political media for critics.

Political satires mostly attack vices through direct moral observation. Between 1720 and

1755, historical dramas point out that people should learn from historical events. The two

forms, gothic drama and melodrama, were typical for the last decades and foreshadowed the

following genres of romanticism and the English drama of the nineteenth century. During the

whole of the 18th century, different forms of the metadrama are about drama itself and parody

literature.

Examples for farces and burlesques:

- “Three Hours After Marriage” (1717) by John Gay, Alexander Pope and John Arbuthnot

- “Tom Thumb” (1730) by Henry Fielding

- “Chrononhotonthologos” (1734) and “The Dragon of Wantley” (1737) by Henry Carey

- “The What D’Ye Call It: A Tragi-Comi-Pastoral-Farce” (1715) by John Gay

Example for political satire:

- “The Beggar’s Opera” (1728) by John Gay

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Example for historical dramas:

- “The Siege of Damascus” (1720) by John Hughes

Examples for metadramas:

- “The Rehearsal” (1671) by George Villiers Buckingham

- “Stop Him Who Can” (1789) by Frederick Reynold

- “The Critic” (1779) by Richard Brinsley Sheridan

3.1. John Gay

Works:

1708 Wine

1711 pamphlet: The Present State of Wit

1712 The Mohocks

1713 Rural Sports

1713 The Wife of Bath

1714 The Shepherd’s Week (dedicated to Bolingbroke)

1715 What D’Ye Call It

1717 Trivia: Or, the Art of Walking the Streets of London

1717 Three Hours after Marriage (/w A. Pope and J. Arbuthnot)

1720 My Lodging Is on the Cold Ground

1720 Poems on Several Occasions (including Dione)

1724 The Captives (invited to read before the princess of Wales, but the nervous Gay

accidentally stumbles over a stool and tears Japanese screen down )

!727 Fifty-one Fables in Verse (dedicated to Prince William)

1728 The Beggar’s Opera (was said to make “Rich* gay and Gay rich”, performed on 62

nights in a row during season of ‘27/28, performed every year since then)

1729 Polly (banned under Walpole, not staged until ~1779)

1732 Acis and Galatea (librettos for Georg F. Händel)

1733 Achilles

Life:

1685/8 – born in or near barnstaple to old Devonshire family, orphaned by the age of ten

- brought up by his uncle, the reverend John Hammer

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- educated at Barnstaple grammar school

- after finishing school, employment as an apprentice to silk mercer, dislikes work

1712 - steward in the household of the Duchess of Monmouth (more leisure time to write)

1714 - secretary to Lord Clarendon, ambassador to Hanover, but with Queen Anne’s death

and fall of the Tory government left to himself

1720 - “Poems on Several Occasions” earns him a small fortune, investment into South Sea

Company but South Sea Bubble almost ruins him, Swift and Pope take care of him

1723 - invited to read “The Captives” to princess of Wales

1727 - declines offer to become Gentleman Usher to two-year-old Princess Louisa

1727/8 - “The Beggar’s Opera” finished, to be produced at Royal Theatre Lincoln’s Inn Fields

with *John Rich (help of Duchess of Queensberry)

- in his last years Gay lived mainly with two of his patrons, the Duke and Duchess of

Queensberry in Wiltshire

1732 - death in London on Dec 4th, buried at Westminster Abbey (in his own epitaph the

writer did not give up his humour: "Life is a jest, and all things show it; / I thought so

once, and now I know it.")

- with Swift and Pope, Gay formed the group of Tory satirists called the Scriblerians.

- the character given to him by Pope: “he was a natural man, without design, who spoke what

he thought, and just as he thought it […, he] was of a timid temper, and fearful of giving

offence to the great,” which caution, however, says Pope, was of no avail. (hn)

- “The Beggar’s Opera” inspired Bertolt Brecht to write his “Dreigroschenoper”

- Gay is considered to be one of the most important writers of the 18th century, inventor of

the ballad or burlesque opera

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(picture: The Beggar’s Opera, Act iii, Scene xi, AIR LV. Illustration by William Blake after

William Hogarth. Five characters, l to r: Lucy Lockit, her father the warden of Newgate,

Macheath, Polly Peachum and her father. Taken from [November 9th, 2005]:

http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/specialcollections/exhibits/past/enlightenment/ )

3.2. George Lillo

works:

1731: Silvia or The Country Burial.

1731: The London Merchant, or the History of

George Barnwell.

1735: The Christian Hero.

1736: Fatal Curiosity.

1738: Marina: a Play of three acts.

1740: Elmerick, or Justice Triumphant.

1740: Britannia and Batavia: a Masque. Written

on the Marriage of the Princess Royal with

his Highness the Prince of Orange.

1740: Britannia and Batavia: a masque. Written

on the marriage of the Princess Royal with

his Highness the Prince of Orange.

1762: Arden of Feversham. An historical tragedy:

taken from Holingshead’s Chronicle during

the reign of King Edward VI.

The latter were published after his death.

source:

http://galenet.galegroup.com/ser

vlet/ECCO

brief outline of his biography:

- very little is known of his biography

- Lillo was born on February 4, 1693, in London near Moorgate

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- his parents might originally have come from Flanders (so he was a non-Anglican

Protestant)

- he worked as a jeweller and dramatist in London

- with the “London Merchant” he became creator of the genre “bourgeois tragedy”:

characters were normal, everyday people; action takes place in a rather ‘popular’

environment; middle-class-issues turning of the theatre: away from the court and

towards the town

- he died September 3, 1739

- Lillo is not famous for his quality of writing, but rather for changing the type of plays

the audience was used to watching

3.3. Richard Brinsley Sheridan

(October 30, 1751, Dublin – July 7, 1816, Savile Row)

= Georgian satirist, most renowned orator of his age,

Irish dramatists and playwright

Family

- Father: Thomas Sheridan, actor-manager,

managed the Theatre Royal, Dublin

- Mother: Frances Sheridan, a writer

- 1773 marries Elizabeth Linley, she died in 1792

- 1795 marries Hester Jane Ogle, daughter of the

Dean of Winchester

- 1775 first son, Thomas, born

- 1796 second son, Charles, born

Political life

- thirty-two year political career, advocate of reform

- 1780 entry into Parliament: elected into the House of Commons as MP for Stafford

- 1782 Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs

- 1783 Secretary to the Treasury

- 1790 openly praises the French Revolution in the Commons

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- 1806 treasurer of the Navy in the ‘Ministry of All Talents’, Westminster seat

- 1807 loses his seat at Westminster, becomes MP for Illchester

- 1812 loses his seat after defeat in the Stafford election

- 1814 without the parliamentary immunity imprisoned for debt

- released after a few days due to the intervention of Prince Regent

Literary achievements

- 1776 manager of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

- 1775 “The Rivals,” a comedy, (January 17),  “St Patrick's Day” (May 2), and his

comic opera, “The Duenna” (November 21) are first performed at Covent Garden

- 1777 first performances at Drury Lane of “A Trip to Scarborough”, a comedy

(February 24), and “The School for Scandal”, a comedy, (May 8)

- at the proposal of Samuel Johnson, elected as a member of the Literary Club

- 1778 “The Camp,” an entertainment, first performed at Drury Lane (October 15)

- 1779 composes his “Verses to the Memory of Garrick,” performed at Drury Lane in

March, first performance of “The Critic or A Tragedy Rehearsed,” a tragedy,

(October 30)

- 1780 altered and added to many dramatic works in his role as manager

- 1790 attacks Edmund Burke’s view that the revolution has dangerously displaced

legitimate authority, the debate ends years of friendship and political alliance between

Burke and Sheridan

- 1794 Drury Lane reopens after three years of reconstruction work that increases the

capacity of the theatre

- “The Glorious First of June” (co-written with James Cobb to celebrate the naval

success of Lord Howe) first performed in July

- 1795 in trouble after staging Thomas Otway's political tragedy “Venice Preserv'd”

in October, press accuses him of inciting rebellion, play is banned for seven years

- 1799 “Pizarro,” a tragedy, first performed on May 24 at Drury Lane, an adaptation of

August von Kotzebue's tragedy “Die Spanier in Peru” the play is an instant hit, and it

runs for thirty-one nights and grosses a quarter of the season's receipts

- 1809 Drury Lane burnt to the ground by a fire in February

- 1812 meets and becomes friends with the young Lord Byron, who idolizes Sheridan as

the greatest dramatist and orator of his age

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- 1816 dies on July 7 at Savile Row, age sixty-five, buried in Poets' Corner,

Westminster Abbey

3.4. Susannah Centlivre

The Custom of our Country inslaves us from our

Very Cradles, first to our Parents, next to our

Husbands; and when Heaven is so kind to rid us

Of both these, our Brothers still usurp Authority ,

And expect a blind Obedience from us; so that

Maids, Wives, or Widows, we are little better than

Slaves to the Tyrant Man.

(Susannah Centlivre, from The Wonder:A Woman Keeps A Secret)

-1667 possibly born in Ireland

- age of 15: joining group of travelling actors

- exposed to drama and literature

- began to write in order to avoid poverty

- her works are known for humour, irony, and strong sense of feminism

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- total of 19 plays

- occasional poems (expression of her political concerns)

- plays mostly centred on unconventional female characters

- statements about work of female playwrights and women in general

Example from ‘the Gamester’:

And why this Wrath against the WomensWork? Perhaps you’ll answer, because theyMeddle with things out of their Sphere:But I say, no; for since the Poet is born, Why not a Woman as well as a Man?

- died in 1723, buried in St. Paul’s Church at Covent Garden

Works:

The Perjur'd Husband; or, the Adventures in Venice, 1700 -first play, performance at Dreary Lane in 1700 The Beau's Duel; or, a Soldier for the Ladies, 1702 The Stolen Heiress; or, the Salamancan Doctor Outplotted, 1702 Love's Contrivance; or, Le Medecin Malgre Lui, 1703 The Gamester, 1704 -popular story -attacking vices of gambling an card playing The Basset Table, 1705 Love at a Venture, 1706 The Platonick Lady, 1706 The Busy Body, 1709 The Man Bewitch'd; or, the Devil to Do about Her, 1709 A Bickerstaff's Burying; or, Work for the Upholders, 1710 Mar-Plot; or, the Second Part of the Busy Body, 1710 The Perplex'd Lovers, 1711 The Wonder: A Woman Keeps Secret, 1714 A Gotham Election, 1715 A Wife Well Manag'd, 1715 The Cruel Gift, 1716 A Bold Stroke for a Wife, 1717 The Artifice, 1722

4. Stages and Costumes

The Protestant Reformation and the rediscovery of the classical worlds of Rome and Greece

had a great influence on the development of the stage:

secularization of an art form, which had been dominated for

centuries by the Church and the monarchs, took place. After the

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Catholic Church and the monarchs lost their influence on theatre, themes were more related to

the masses (e.g. merchants, thieves, and beggars instead of aristocracy and bourgeoise).

Italy was the first country in which the proscenium architecture (the part of a theatre stage that

is in front of the curtain) was developed. On the proscenium, the acting took place while the

area behind the proscenium was reserved for the display of the scenery changes. There were

also open-air theatres (apron stages) but at that time, the theatres became roofed in because of

the monarch’s visits. The two French playwrights, Jean Racine and Molière, influenced the

turning of theatre from classical to more contemporary subjects. Women were allowed to

appear on stage so that young men no longer played female roles. Also, because of the

Reformation movement in Europe, theatres became more independent from state control and

licensing. Commercialization of art and the use of technological innovations were increasing,

so the theatre managers focused their expenses on mechanics of scenery and spectacle.

At that time of the 18th century, theatre was spread over to the colonies of North America.

Philosophers like Voltaire influenced the subject matters of the plays so that characters were

ordinary people. Due to advances in technology and people’s desire for freedom, they had the

time to go to a theatre where they could see realistic plays. One man dominated the theatrical

scene: David Garrick (1717-1779) who was actor, playwright, and manager of the Drury Lane

(Theatre Royal, London). He had a major impact on the way of acting more natural on stage.

He banished the audience from the stage so that the whole stage could be used for acting.

Costumes

The theatrical taste of the 18th century audience tended to be spectacle

connected to the development of the Italian Opera which became

really successful in England. Theatre became more and more of a

visual experience, and the costumes were extremely important for a

theatre’s success. The masses enjoyed the display of wealth and

extravagant ornaments (through lavish costumes), but there were

some critics who thought the actual play got lost in all this opulence

and abundance.  Theatre’s management was in continuous need of procuring costumes for the

actors. The actors partially provided the costumes that were not loaned or located in the

wardrobe closets of the companies, which depended very much on the financial situation of

the company. By taking a look into Lincoln’s Inn Fields account books one can see that in the

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years 1724 and 1725 nearly 10% of the budget was spent on the wardrobe (see Avery,

Emmett L.: The London Stage 1700-1729. A Critical Introduction, p.civ.).

Scenery and Stage

The aim of stage designing was to make the stage appear tall and narrow. By using role

shutters and candle-lighting the concept of depth perception was realised so that the stage

seemed to be three-dimensional. These shutters were placed in three to five grooves and could

be moved by sliding. When all of shutters were removed so that the stage was left open, the

backcloth was revealed at the rear of the theatre.

The scenery was placed on the inner

side of the stage so that the audience

sitting in semicircles could see the

actors performing from everywhere.

In new as well as in old plays the

managers gave similar attention

concerning realistic stage properties.

They often hired the props for

storage and financial reasons.

Drury Lane put great effort in

creating new scenes and inventing spectacular machines in order to be able to compete with

Lincoln’s Inn Fields. To make these new acquisitions known to the public, the theatre’s owner

advertised them: “All the Habits [= costumes] being entirely New”; “With New Scenes” (see

Avery, Emmett L.: The London Stage 1700-1729. A Critical Introduction, p.ciii). By often

changing the decoration, costumes and props the theatre houses tried to give freshness to the

plays.

6: Bibliography and Further Reading

Historical background, tendencies and genres

Alastair, Fowler. A History of English Literature. Oxford: Blackwell, 1994

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Fludenik, Monika and Ruth Nestvold (ed.) Das 18. Jahrhundert. Trier:WVT, 1998.

Nünning, Vera und Ansgar. Englische Literatur des 18. Jahrhunderts. Stuttgart: Klett. 1998

John Gay

Further Reading:

Coxe, William. The life of John Gay, 2nd ed. London: Salisbury, 1797.

Curll, Edmund. The life of Mr. John Gay, author of The Beggar’s-Opera, &c. London: E.

Curll, 1733.

Gay, John. Fables by John Gay with the life of the author: Embellish'd with seventy elegant

engravings. London: C. Whittingham, 1800.

Gay, John. The Beggar’s Opera. Ed. Peter Lewis.Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd, 1973.

----- The Letters of John Gay. Ed. Chester F. Burgess. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966.

Noble, Yvonne, ed. Twentieth Century Interpretations of the Beggar’s Opera. Englewood

Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1975.

Winton, Calhoun. John Gay and the London theatre. Lexington, Kentucky: UP of Kentucky,

1993.

Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Gale Group.

http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/ECCO

Very valuable source for research of original prints and scans. Particularly negative about this

offer is its rather stressful and time-intense handling (i.e. downloading only one scan per site).

Internet sources (all last accessed on December 5th, 2005):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gay

The article on John Gay features linked information on Gay's life and a partial list of his work.

It is very helpful at the beginning of research because of its summarizing and rather short

character.

http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/specialcollections/exhibits/past/enlightenment/

This page offers general information on the Enlightenment era in Europe. It focuses on

aspects of historical developments, role of the fine arts and in particular of literature of that

time, such as Gay's The Beggar's Opera or Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English

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Language. As the information was collected and presented by graduate students under

supervision of their professor it can be rated reliable.

http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/jgay.htm

Particularly striking about this page is the rather detailed biography of Gay and elaborate list

of his publications until 1966. Quite helpful as a general source of information, but maybe not

as reliable as pages ending with .edu or .ac.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13790/13790-h/13790-h.htm

These files can be considered extremely helpful. In particular because the author reviewed

and commented on every publication of John Gay, including his correspondency with

Alexander Pope, for example. It also features extensive quotations of the plays and friends of

John Gay. Gutenberg projects are very reliable.

http://www2.hn.psu.edu/Faculty/KKemmerer/poets/gay/default.htm

Another valuable page focusing on Gay's life. Apart from a detailed biography, links to full

texts and e books can be found here, like the Beggar's Opera or excerpts from the Fables for

example.

http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~rbear/beggar.html

One of the many online editions of the Beggar's Opera. But this page also offers a short

biography of Gay as well as an extensive bibliography on the topics of Gay and the Beggar's

Opera plus other useful sources.

http://www.hoasm.org/VIIA/Gay.html

Page also features short biography of Gay and useful links to online editions of the Beggar's

Opera and other biographies. Qualified as a general overview but not detailed enough to be

centered.

George Lillo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lillo

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Wikipedia is a free encyclopaedia, where everyone can suggest changes to the content

of the websites. That is why the information is highly reliable, cause it is checked by each

user.

http://www.bartleby.com/220/0400.html

You will find detailed bibliographies of several authors on this page. You also get reliable

information cause the books are listed by an established bookstore.

http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/WBIS?locID=slub

Website of the “World Biographical Information System”. You will find nearly everything

recorded of a persons’ biography. It was the only source of reliable facts on Lillo’s biography

and probably the most reliable source as its from the “Fachdatenbanken” of the “SLUB”-

homepage”

http://www.uni-essen.de/literaturwissenschaft-aktiv/Vorlesungen/dramatik/kaufmann.htm

Additionally very reliable German page on the play as it is hosted on a universities’ server.

You can find much background information, e.g. references of the “London Merchant” to

Lessings “Miss Sara Sampson”

http://www.utpjournals.com/product/utq/723/723_hynes.html

Detailed, specialized webpage about “Exchange and Excess in Lillo's London Merchant”.

Taken from UTP-journal, with helpful bibliography.

Richard B. Sheridan

Durant, Jack D. Twayne’s English Authors Series. Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Boston:

Twayne Publ., 1975

Moore, Thomas.  Memoirs of the Life of the Right Honourable Richard Brinsley Sheridan.

2 vols. London, 1825.

O’Toole, Fintan.  A Traitor’s Kiss: The Life of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, 1751-181

London: Granta, 1997.

works:

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Auburn, Mark S. (Ed.) Sheridan’s Comedies. Their Contexts and Achievements. Nebraska:

University of Nebraska Press, 1977

Loftis, John. Sheridan and the Drama of Georgian England. Massachusetts, 1977

Rhodes, R. Crompton (Ed.). The Plays and Poems of Richard Brinsley. 3 vols. New York:

Russell & Russell, 1962

Internet sources:

http://www.rbsheridan.com/

-> biography, plays, poems, speeches, bibliography , reliable

http://bibliomania.com/0/-/frameset.html

-> relaible

http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/s#a754

-> e-texts of several works by Sheridan, reliable

Susannah Centlivre

http://www.geocities.com/theaterwomen/centlivre.htmlThis site offers a biography, a play list and some links. In order to get an overview it is reliable.

http://www.gwu.edu/~klarsen/writers.html#scThis site offers background information, her works and other people from the time of the restoration and the 18th century. In general, it seems reliable.

Stages and Costumes

http://www.umich.edu/~ece/student_projects/early_theater/index.html

This is an official site from the University of Michigan, English Department, which provides

a lot of information and pictures on 18th century in England. It is well structured and seems to

be reliable: there are lots of annotations and original sources given so that authenticity can be

proved.

http://www.tctwebstage.com/sincewill.htm

This is a site of a community theatre containing information on theatre’s history in general,

which is the reason for the clear arrangement of the site. There is no bibliography and it is

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obvious that amateurs are responsible for the content so we can assume that this homepage is

not sufficient to formal criteria for authenticity.

http://www.costumes.org

This site provides a tremendous amount of information, pictures and book illustrations. The

structure lacks a bit due to the amount of the material.

The author of this site is Tara Maginnis, Ph. D. Associate Professor at the University of

Alaska Fairbanks, Theatre Department. There are historical sources and links as well as

original texts and paintings so it is a very reliable source.

Avery, Emmett L. The London Stage, 1700-1729: A Critical Introduction. Southern Illinois University Press, 1968.

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