Oliver Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, or The Mistakes of a Night

Sudeshna Kar Barua (Independent Scholar - Asia)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1773

Places

Ireland, Republic of (Eire) (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

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Recommended Reading

Oliver Goldsmith’s anti-sentimental comedy

She Stoops to Conquer

or the

Mistakes of a Night

, originally entitled

The Old House, a New Inn

(

Cambridge History

), was first performed on March 15, 1773 at the Covent Garden Theatre in London. It was written with the purpose of re-introducing wit, humour and laughter into England’s playhouses and bringing theatre-goers some respite from the tear-jerking sentimental comedies of playwrights like Colley Cibber (1671-1757) and Richard Steele (1672-1729). The Prologue was written by the theatre-manager, producer, playwright and actor David Garrick (1717-1779), but was spoken by Henry Woodward. “Dressed in black , and holding a handkerchief to his eyes”, the tearful speaker stated that the Comic Muse Thalia was “long sick, now a-dying” and…

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3662 words

Citation: Kar Barua, Sudeshna. "She Stoops to Conquer, or The Mistakes of a Night". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 April 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2099, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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