LATVIJAS UNIVERSITĀTE
AGNESE MORTUKĀNE
RIČARDS BRINSLIJS ŠERIDANS
UN ANGĻU 18.GADSIMTA KOMĒDIJA
RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN
AND ENGLISH 18th CENTURY
COMEDY
RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN UND DIE BRITISCHE
KOMÖDIE DES 18.JAHRHUNDERTS
PROMOCIJAS DARBA KOPSAVILKUMS
FILOLOĢIJAS DOKTORA GRĀDA IEGŪŠANAI
LITERATŪRZINĀTNES NOZARĒ CITTAUTU
LITERATŪRAS VĒSTURES APAKŠNOZARĒ
2006.
SUMMARY
Doctoral thesis R.Sheridan and English Comedy of the
18th Century is produced as a study of the 18th century English
drama and, particularly, comedy genre and its highest
achievements in the works of R.B.Sheridan, The authors' works
are surveyed, on the one hand, in close connection with his own
time as ingenious depiction of the social life and individual
destinies, and, on the other hand, pointing out their merits that
have survived up till nowadays, namely, the purposeful use of
magnificent variety of comic devices.
The dissertation consists of introduction, four chapters,
conclusion and a list of primary and secondary sources.
Chapter 1, English Comedy of the 18th Century first of all
indicates the main conditions of the 17th century that have made
certain impact on the further development of English comedy:
Shakespeare's and B.Jonson's differing conception of the comic and
the tasks of comedy genre, the strict rules of the new trend
classicism. Special attention is paid to the contradictory influence
of the Restoration comedy as chronologically it proceeds nearest
the 18th century and even enters it. Besides that regarding the
generic achievements and the purposefulness of comic devices in
depicting contemporary society and its manners it is undoubtedly an
outstanding phenomenon in the whole history of English
comediography. Comparing opinions of several drama and theatre
scholars (L.Bredvold. D.L.Hirst, A.Nicoll and L.Kronenberger) a
conclusion is drawn that the development of English comedy in the
first decades of the 18th century can be evaluated as conscious
reaction to the aesthetic and ethic principles of the Restoration
comedy.
Further on the chapter characterizes the grand changes that
the 18th century brought into England's social life and the overturn
in culture processes as closely linked with it. The impact of these
changes on the place and importance of drama in the context of the
whole culture if is surveyed particularly. The stressed educational
inclination of culture at that time produced a peculiar kind of
comedy, sentimental comedy that was intended as refining of
peoples' tastes and manners and had a rather promising startHowever in later development it lost its purposefulness and even the
very character of comic genre, as it is unanimously admitted by
such scholars as D.Daiches and A.Nicoll. The activities and
contribution to the 18th century comedy of such playwrights as John
Gay and Henry Fielding are presented as basically differing from
the sentimental trend. Meanwhile the satirical challenge of their
works provoked restrictions from the government that for a long
time forward aggravated the thematic choice and use of comic
means for the next generation of playwrights. Thus is given the
context into which O.Goldsmith enters as the first one to express
quite different concept of comedy's character and goals and thus
makes the initial opposition to the sentimental trend and, to certain
extent, prepares R.B.Sheridan's appearance. Finally the chapter
gives the description of Sheridan's life and activities, characterizing
as well the complicated circumstances in which his first comedy The
Rivals was staged and performed.
Chapter 2 The comic of characters accentuates as the most
important trait that characterizes Sheridan's drama and himself as a
true writer of the 18th century his deep interest in his own time and
ability to depict it as well as his contemporaries. From his early
youth already Sheridan perceived such essential quality of his
epoch as constant processes of change in all fields of social life and
starts of quite new views and activities. Most successfully the
playwright managed to reveal this in various models of his
characters' relationships. Exactly in these traditional models of
relationships, well-known already from ancient comedy, as those
of generations, masters and servants, honest and deceitful
tendencies etc. the sharp changes or even the disappearance of the
customary links becomes so conspicuous. The main uniting idea
and basis for the comic in Sheridan's character system is that the
new tendencies find themselves in constant forming and
developing, thus blunders and misunderstandings are quite
inevitable.
The traditional opposition of virtuous and mischievous
characters or tendencies Sheridan in his first play The Rivals treats
both in a realistic and modern wav: there are neither completely
impeccable nor incorrigibly evil characters. Meanwhile the
playwright has created a complicated and amusing system of
characters where every separate individual cheats another or even
several ones and, moreover, him/herself. Sheridan's goal is not to
measure the amount or balance of good and evil intentions in each
separate case of deception but to discover the causes of this
phenomenon in general.
The generic peculiarities of the comic opera The Duenna have
partly conditioned more contrasting opposition: a group of
attractive persons faces certain concentration of dishonesty and
deception in Isaac Mendoza's character. However, this opposition
is realized not as a struggle and exposure, but rather like a
competition and duping of the opposite side. Therefore Sheridan's
intention with Isaac's
character looks more like a certain test for the strength and stability
of the young lovers' feelings, as well as for the duenna Margaret's
ingenuity and enterprise.
The well-known peculiarity of the ancient and, consequently,
classicist comedy to present personifications of vices in Sheridan's
comedies is most probably related to that of B.Jonson. In The
Rivals and The Duenna he seems to agree that every character has
its "humor", some drawback or weakness. However, the young
playwright does not show them not exactly as vices, though they
may cause rather serious obstacles in mutual relationships or put
people into awkward situations. Even dishonesty and selfishness
that dominate in Isaac Mendoza's character are weakened by his
foolishness. As certain personification of one vice or passion may
be regarded the group of scandal-mongers in The School for
Scandal. But already their placing as secondary ones in the system
of characters shows the difference from the principle of classicist
comedies.
Thus one may conclude how Sheridan has revised this device.
In his comedies vice or passion is not concentrated in the central
character so that other characters could expose it and drive him out
of their surroundings, thus symbolizing the society's victory over
this vice. Sheridan rather shows vices as distributed in unequal
"portions" in all characters so that they have to realize, admit and
get rid everyone of his/her vice. One may guess that in Sheridan's
opinion this task is much more complicated and difficult, but the
result is ethically more valuable.
Also depicting the conflicts of generations, mainly parents
and children, Sheridan in general gives quite realistic picture of
this
relationship at his own time, the 70ies of the 18th century. In the
family hierarchy father still has the decisive role regarding his
children's
choice
of
education,
profession
and
spouse.
Disobedience causes disinheritance and quite hopeless situation (as
Sheridan himself had experienced both from his own as well as his
wife's family). However, on the same basis of his own and his
young contemporaries' experience the playwright shows the
rebellion of the young people against the patriarchal traditions as
equally realistic and just.. Meanwhile he notes that the new
tendencies are not vet mature, their goals and means of their
achieving are rooted in the same old customs and the uproar is on
imagined or illusory.
In the relationship model master-servant Sheridan stresses as
a new though rather controversial trait of his time the enlivened
scope of the servants' knowledge and abilities: they know not only
their direct tasks but the manners and fashions of the society as well
and, moreover, express quite independent attitude to them. One
part of servants mainly strive to surpass their masters in imitating
their vices and gain satisfaction from cheating them, though actually
they cheat themselves . The comic in the masters' behavior lies in
their neglect or carelessness of their servants' real abilities as well
as in their unabilitv to listen to their sound advice. As a certain
crown of this model may be regarded Margaret's character in The
Duenna. This brave and enterprising woman in equal degree is
eager and able to help the young lovers to resist the father's
stubbornness and fulfill her own intentions. One may presume that
Sheridan approves such kind of character, namely. person of low
origin, who succeeds
due to his/her own enterprise and understanding of the domineering
principles of the moment.
The satiric comedy The School for Scandal differs from all
Sheridan's previous works with its generic peculiarities as well as
with its system of characters. However, the author starts their
depiction as in a quite traditional manner, as typical images in
classical comedies or farces. This regards mainly the couple of the
Teazles, Sir Peter and Lady Teazle. Sir Peter at first reminds merely
the well-known farcical image of whimsical bachelor who has
newly married a young girl and complains of her extravagance.
Lady Teazle, in her turn, seems to represent a half-naive country
girl, quite dizzy of the fashionable London life. Gradually these
characters reveal new traits, due to which their links with their
social circle characterize them as unconscious accomplices in
various mischiefs.
Most impressively Sheridan proves his innovation and
original contribution to the 18th century drama by creating a new
type of comedy characters. On the one hand, the playwright learnt
from the experience of all the previous English comediography that
the audience had always preferred attractive characters that
nevertheless were part and parcel of comedy system due to some
funny weakness and drawback. On the other hand, by this character
Sheridan wanted to reflect the strivings, quest and blunders of his
contemporaries, the youth of the 70ies. The first version of such
character in the young playwright's first comedy The Rivals appears
in Lydia Languish's character. The young girl bravely defies the
conservative customs of her social circle, however, her rebellion is
merely half-spiteful, half-illusory. In The School for Scandal
Sheridan proceeds in the further elaborating of this new character .
removing it to a rather risky degree from attractive and acceptable
image. Charles Surface's character, perhaps, causes more questions
and doubts than any of the author's creations, meanwhile this seems
to be exactly his intention.
The same problem is continues in the following subchapter
dealing with the comparison of similar and contrasting characters.
The comparison of related characters as in a test may reveal quite
unexpected but important features that have remained obscure in
other models of relationships. Both in The Rivals and The Duenna
there are presented two pairs of lovers and the differences between
the young persons' characters are revealed in their understanding of
love and faithfulness. In both comedies such qualities as
sensitiveness and zest are opposed to steadiness and sobermindedness, thus the first ones may appear as unstable and
exaggerated. while the second ones rather dangerously incline to
calculation. None of Sheridan's characters is ideal, but in mutual
experience they learn to understand one another's and each his/her
own character and choose the right way.
Even more intriguing and essential is the contrasting of such
rather differing characters as the brothers Charles and Joseph
Surfaces in The School for Scandal. Though Joseph seems to be
rather vicious and mean character, not in vain called English
Tartuffe, Charles is evidently not intended to be his virtuous
counterbalance. The playwright's goal with those two characters is
more complicated: it is contraposition of various life principles,
various choices both of which may lead to success as well as to
failure.
In Chapter 3 „The comic in action and situations'" is
characterized the course of action, structure elements and conflict in
Sheridan's plays that reflect the competition and clash of opposite
tendencies. For this purpose the playwright really needed wit as the
government decree forbidding political and religious themes on the
stage was still aggravating restriction. The conflict in Sheridan's
plays is comic because of various illusions, wrong presumptions
and delusions on both sides of the competitioners.
The intrigue of Sheridan's comedies is rooted in the everyday
life of his time and reflects the outdated customs and opinions that
the young generation undertakes to question and transform
according to their own intentions. The solution of this conflict,
consequently, takes place in the inner action, for it is not only and
sometimes even not so much the stubbornness of the older or
conservative side that the young people have to overcome but their
own indecisiveness.
Meanwhile Sheridan has carefully elaborated the outer action
that characterizes the social atmosphere and lifestyle. Environment
in the playwright's comedies is depicted with exactness and has
definite meaning for the whole course of action. Thus in his first
comedy The Rivals Sheridan rather purposefully chooses Bath, a
resort town he had got acquainted with during his own quite recent
thrilling experiences that allowed the inexpert author to reveal so
aptly the atmosphere that urges people to pretend and assume roles
in order to achieve their aims. Alongside with that Sheridan
introduces the problem of women's education. As becomes comedy,
the problem is treated in a funny way . meanwhile Sheridan's
biographical facts witness that he dealt with this question quite
seriously, as is known from his youthful project.
Also in the farce St.Patrick's Day or The Scheming
Lieutenant the environment substantiates the conflict: in some
English town a unity of solders headed by their commander Irish
lieutenant O'Connor suffer from intolerant if not hostile attitude
due to his nationality. In this case not merely place but also time
has special significance as St.Patrick's is Irish national patron's day.
Thus the choice of farce genre is not casual, as it allows to speak
frankly about serious and unpleasant matters.
The comic opera The Duenna is the only Sheridan's play
where the action takes place outside England, in Spanish city
Seville. The characteristics of the environment is consciously
theatrical, masquerading, creating soil for witty intrigue that would
be improbable in a realistic comedy.
In Sheridan's masterpiece The School for Scandal the author
presents the lifestyle of London's higher society that is so wittily
denoted in the title. The atmosphere of hypocrisy, pretence,
deception and self-deception that the play is permeated with explains
the people's inability to communicate directly and necessity of
assumed roles and manners for sniffing out one another's
intentions.
Analysing Sheridan's ability to structure the play purposefully
it is interesting to observe the growth and development of his skill
from one play to another. Meanwhile certain element is applied
successfully in all plays, namely, time unity. Either learning form
ancient or classicist plays Sheridan manages quite naturally to place
the action of all his comedies in the course of one day, thus
proving the possibility to concentrate the action and achieve
stupendous
solution. Sometimes the density of action is that high, as in The
School for Scandal, it seems to cover much longer space,
meanwhile it is only one "fatal" day that solves long accumulated
conflicts, discovers secret schemes and misunderstandings.
In order to achieve natural speeding-up of action Sheridan
resourcefully makes use of the appearance of a new person that
gives certain push to all relationships and forces other persons to
definite activities. In the first three plays this method is used in
direct way, while in The School for Scandal it acquires ironic shade
as in such environment the appearance of a new person, Sir Oliver
Surface, does not manage to change so much as he himself
imagines.
Sheridan especially proves his dramatist's ingenuity in such
essential element of play as culmination. In his plays the action quite
naturally accumulates tension until it inevitably has to explode, not
solving all problems but considerably altering the previous
conditions. Moreover, the culmination is always comic as the
persons due to their ignorance or wrong presumptions experience
unpleasant surprise or come to ridiculous conclusions about their
victory. In The Rivals Lydia's realization that her secret lover
Beverley and „official" suitor Jack Absolute is one and the same
person and her seemingly illogical reaction is based on
disillusionment. The culmination makes the two lovers relationship
yet more complicated and to the end of the play they have a lot to
overweigh and ponder upon.
In the farce St.Patric's Day due to the limited volume and
simple structure of the play the culmination, the lieutenant
O'Connor's victory over Credulous' suspicions takes place shortly
before the end though there remain some contradictions yet to be
discussed.
In The Duenna the famous scene of Isaac Mendoza and
Margaret in Louisa's „role" acquires ironic shade for Isaac as he
imagines to have achieved his goal and triumphs while actually he is
trapped both by Margaret's ingenuity and his own avarice.
The complicated structure of The School for Scandal may
mislead regarding this aspect. There is strong temptation to
consider as culmination the famous scene of auction at Charles'
which alongside with brilliant verbal duel brings essential changes
into the persons' position and relationship. Meanwhile the true
culmination, real blast, takes place at Joseph's when Charles
overthrows the screen discovering Lady Teazle. It is a stunning
moment for all the present as „the scales fall from their eyes" yet
nothing is solved.
From all the mentioned examples one may conclude that
Sheridan has excellently mastered playwright's professional secrets
so that the audience's attention is not lost from the beginning to the
end.
In Chapter 4 „The comic in language/speech" Sheridan is
first of all characterized as a true representative of his time
intending to educate and instruct the contemporary society. As his
predecessors both in prose, poetry and drama Sheridan regards
language as the most important means for that purpose. From the
very start of his literary and theatrical career Sheridan cultivates rich
and expressive language which nevertheless is quite natural means
of communication as well. Thus any deviations from standard
English in Sheridan's characters' speech attracts attention as the
author's wish to reveal something special about this particular
character. Amidst the whole gallery of the playwright's characters
the most conspicuous in this aspect is, of course, Mrs.Malaprop in
The Rivals with her grotesque muddle of notions and foreign words.
With this image Sheridan first of all ridicules certain high society
people who boast of their exclusiveness actually being half-learned
and narrow-minded. But no lesser is Mrs.Malaprop's part tin the
above mentioned treatment of women's education where she serves
as the most ”accusing” example. Joseph Surface in The School for
Scandal , in his turn, represents the opposite polarity with his
unnaturally polished speech and exaggerated use of moralizing
maxims that hint at his hypocrisy and double-dealing. This
peculiarity may be perceived both as amusing and tragicomic:
Joseph actually has no speech of his own for even being alone he
cannot get rid of this manner. In other words, his masque has
grown to his face. Meanwhile Joseph's preaching is merely one
kind of the stilted speech in the higher society. As another feature,
characteristic of the time, the playwright shows strong inclination
to useless exaggerations that reveals vanity and shallowness of this
social circle. Further on there are analysed various kinds of lexical
peculiarities in Sheridan's plays that characterize the speech manner
of his time. Rather purposefully the playwright makes use of such
specifically English kind of phraseologism as shakespearisms:
through it the characters try to show their intelligence, wit,
sometimes achieving the contrary effect. The same refers to the use
of quotations, allusions or paraphrases of various other literary
sources. Turning to proverbs and sayings Sheridan's characters
usually have some hidden intentions, most often to deceive their
partners, thus giving unconscious self-characteristics. As it was
mentioned in the beginning of the chapter, Sheridan's main trend is
to cultivate good, rich standard English, avoiding cluttering with
accentuated archaic and dialectal embellishments. Also servants,
people of low origin in his plays speak good English, have rich
vocabulary. This logically follows from the above mentioned
author's observation of the servants' wide outlook and independence
of judgements. Also the few examples of archaisms and dialectisms
reveal not illiterate speech of the characters but their wish to gain
special colouring to some utterance. As a true master in the lexical
wealth of language Sharidan sometimes humorously plays with the
polysemy so characteristic of English. In his first three plays most
often it is play with the literal and figurative sense of words causing
humorous effect. Meanwhile in The School for Scandal the
polysemy of the word sentiment, mostly connected with Joseph
Surface, makes it into a key word with satirical inclination.
Naturally, all the more or less individually coloured speech manners
reveal their real purpose in dialogues. Further on in the chapter the
great variety of Sheridan's dialogues is characterized from various
aspects: function, character, comic devices etc. This theme is
connected with the playwright's deep understanding of theatre
specific and use of such scenic effects as contrasting of various
speech tempos and asides. And last but not least Sheridan uses
purposefully such favourite device of English writers as the
characterizing names. This means, as is seen already in B.Jonson's
Volpone, with characters representing certain vices or passions. As
it was described in the corresponding chapter, Sheridan's
characters, at least the main ones, are not embodiments of one
particular vice, consequently the characterizing names hint merely
at some important trait of theirs. In The Rivals Sheridan shows
sparkling sense of humour and invention, endowing all is
characters with apt
surnames. Later on, in The School for Scandal, the characterizing
names acquire much more complicated purpose: they reveal both
essential qualities of the characters as well as their relationships
with other persons. The most expressive in this sense are the
surnames the Teazles and the Surfaces.
In the Conclusion there is given summary of the dissertation.