English Stage Comedy 1490-1990

by Alexander Leggatt (Editor)

Overview

First published in 2004. English stage comedy has weathered centuries of social and theatrical change. How did it survive? English Stage Comedy 1490–1990 is a unique and beautifully written study of the comedy of the English stage from the Tudor period to the late twentieth century. Organized thematically, 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. English Stage Comedy 1490–1990 surveys five centuries of classic comic drama, focusing on major playwrights such as: Shakespeare, Jonson, Etherege, Wycherley, Congreve, Vanbrugh, Goldsmith, Sheridan, Wilde, Shaw, Coward, Orton, Ayckbourn and many lesser-known figures.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415189361
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	08/20/1998
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Alexander Leggatt is Professor of English at University College, University of Toronto, and is the author of Shakespeare’s Political Drama (1988, Routledge) and Jacobean Public Theatre (1992, Routledge).

Table of Contents

Introduction: Five centuries of a genre, 1 Getting control, 2 Watching society, 3 Loners, 4 Other places, 5 Parents and children, 6 Negotiations, 7 Comedy against itself, Conclusion