The second in a series of three comedies, ‘Peace’, along with ‘The Acharnians’ and ‘Lysistrata’, called for an end to the Peloponnesian war. The 'Peace' was brought out four years after 'The Acharnians' (422 B.C.), when the war had already lasted ten years. The leading motive is the same as in the former play—the intense desire of the less excitable and more moderate-minded citizens for relief from the miseries of war. ...
Henrik Ibsen's «The Feast at Solhoug» is set at the annual feast to celebrate the wedding anniversary of Margit and Bengt Guateson. Knut Gesling, the King's sheriff, comes prior to the feast to ask for Margit's approval for marrying her sister, Signe. Knowing that Knut can be a brutal and violent man, Margit gives her permission on the condition that Knut can demonstrate he can be peaceful for a period of one year. In typical Ibse ...
Benjamin Jonson (1572-1637) was a Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor, known best for his satirical plays and lyric poems. Jonson had a knack for absurdity and hypocrisy, a trait that made him immensely popular in the 17th century Renaissance period. However, his reputation diminished somewhat in the Romantic era, when he began to be unfairly compared to Shakespeare. Although Jonson attained a long and thriving career, the majority of his majo ...
"Man and Superman" is George Bernard Shaw's response to the request of his fans to write a Don Juan themed play. This four-act drama often preformed without or with an abbreviated version of the lengthy third act can be seen as a simple comedy of manners or, as Shaw had intended, something quite more, an exposition of Nietzsche's philosophical ideas of the «Superman.» «Man and Superman» is considered to be one of Shaw's great ...
"A Doll's House and Other Plays" is a collection of eight of the most popular dramas by Henrik Ibsen. In «A Doll's House» we have the story of Nora Helmer, the wife of the prideful bank manager Torvald. Nora finds herself the victim of a blackmail scheme by Nils Krogstad, a man whom she has borrowed money from in order to save her husband's life. Probably Ibsen's most famous work, «A Doll's House» is accompanied by ...
Witty playwright Oscar Wilde is most famous for his 1895 play «The Importance of Being Earnest.» The two protagonists use a false identity, Earnest, as a way to escape from unwanted social obligations. However, they encounter difficulties keeping up their personas as their social circles draw closer together. Wilde drew upon what he thought were outrageous social conventions of the Victorian Era and used satire to show the absurdity of its belie ...
Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816) was a man with many roles. He was not only a playwright and poet, he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons and owner of the London Theatre Royal on Drury Lane. Though born in Ireland, Sheridan and his family moved outside of London when he was seven. Both of his parents were theatrical influences for him, as his mother was a playwright and novelist, and his father was at one time an actor. I ...
Originally published in French, ‘Salome’ is Oscar Wilde’s 1896 dramatization of the biblical story of Salome, the step-daughter of Herod who danced before Herod and in so doing wins the granting of any wish that Herod may be able to fulfill. Salome asks for the head of John the Baptist. Fans of Wilde will delight in the dramatization of this biblical story. ...
The 17th century dramatist Jean Racine was considered, along with Moliere and Corneille, as one of the three great playwrights of his era. The quality of Racine's poetry has been described as possibly his most important contribution to French literature and his use of the alexandrine poetic line is one of the best examples of such use noted for its harmony, simplicity and elegance. While critics over the centuries have debated the worth of ...
