Augustan Drama and Spectacle
– George Lillo and Richard Steele wrote trend-setting plays during the early Augustan period, focusing on shopkeepers and apprentices.
– Lillos plays explored themes of temptation, sin, forgiveness, and repentance.
– Joseph Addison wrote ‘Cato’ in 1713, symbolizing Roman integrity during a time of political anxiety.
– The court and crown lost interest in the playhouse, leading theaters to rely on city dwellers as their audience.
– The rise of domestic and middle-class dramas became popular.
– Spectacle became an important aspect of plays, with emphasis on special effects.
– Theaters sought to reduce costs by shortening rehearsal time, resulting in more plays being staged.
Opera’s Impact on Drama
– Italian grand opera gained popularity in England in the 1710s and 1720s.
– Opera violated neoclassical strictures and was controversial.
– Opera took up rehearsal time and space, leaving playwrights at a loss.
– The rivalry and antics of opera singers caused controversy.
– Opera brought new stage machines and effects.
– Opera drove out original drama and took away attention from other forms of entertainment.
Decline of Augustan Drama
– Augustan drama is often seen as an era of decline due to the lack of dominant figures.
– Playhouses started to dispense with playwrights or assign subjects to hired playwrights, giving producers control over the script.
– The public’s taste for low-content plays and special effects reduced theatrical output.
– The Whig ministry implemented official censorship, restricting daring and innovative content.
– The decline of Augustan drama led to the rise of the novel as a popular form of entertainment.
Transition in Augustan Drama
– Augustan drama marked a transition between Restoration comedy and the she-tragedy of the turn of the 18th century.
– The focus shifted from themes of cuckoldry and marriage for fortune to questions about the mercantile class and the role of those who serve.
– Playwrights worked to find subject matter that would appeal to a new audience.
– The era saw a shift from highly witty and sexually playful comedy to plays that reflected middle-class anxieties.
– The plays of the Augustan era explored the morality of achieving wealth and the proper role of the gentry.
The Reemergence of Satirical Drama and the Licensing Act
– Opera stars’ behavior, spectacle productions, and political warfare led to a reclamation of the stage by political dramatists.
– John Gay parodied opera with his satirical play ‘Beggars Opera’ in 1728.
– Robert Walpole tried to suppress Gay’s play and other satirical plays.
– The new Tory wits, including Henry Fielding, escalated satire and criticism of the government.
– The Licensing Act was created in response to the escalating satire and criticism, giving the government control over the content and message of plays. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustan_drama
This article possibly contains original research. (July 2016) |
Augustan drama can refer to the dramas of Ancient Rome during the reign of Caesar Augustus, but it most commonly refers to the plays of Great Britain in the early 18th century, a subset of 18th-century Augustan literature. King George I referred to himself as "Augustus," and the poets of the era took this reference as apropos, as the literature of Rome during Augustus moved from historical and didactic poetry to the poetry of highly finished and sophisticated epics and satire.
In poetry, the early 18th century was an age of satire and public verse, and in prose, it was an age of the developing novel. In drama, by contrast, it was an age in transition between the highly witty and sexually playful Restoration comedy, the pathetic she-tragedy of the turn of the 18th century, and any later plots of middle-class anxiety. The Augustan stage retreated from the Restoration's focus on cuckoldry, marriage for fortune, and a life of leisure. Instead, Augustan drama reflected questions the mercantile class had about itself and what it meant to be gentry: what it meant to be a good merchant, how to achieve wealth with morality, and the proper role of those who serve.
Augustan drama has a reputation as an era of decline. One reason for this is that there were few dominant figures of the Augustan stage. Instead of a single genius, a number of playwrights worked steadily to find subject matter that would appeal to a new audience. In addition to this, playhouses began to dispense with playwrights altogether or to hire playwrights to match assigned subjects, and this made the producer the master of the script. When the public did tire of anonymously authored, low-content plays and a new generation of wits made the stage political and aggressive again, the Whig ministry stepped in and began official censorship that put an end to daring and innovative content. This conspired with the public's taste for special effects to reduce theatrical output and promote the novel.
